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‘Whosoever Shall Confess…’

‘Whosoever  Shall  Confess…’

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“ Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.” ( Matthew 10: 32- 33)

Jesus made a wonderful promise to the world, as is recorded in Matthew 10:32, stating that those that confess Him before men would be confessed by Him before His Father in heaven. What a great comfort it should be to all, knowing that when the Day of Judgment is come, a day that some think of in fear of the wrath of God, that in the midst of the earth melting away with fervent heat (2 Peter 3:10), and the unrighteous being cast into eternal punishment of hellfire (Rev. 20:10), but those that have made the great confession will be personally escorted by Jesus to be introduced to the Father in heaven and there remain forever more. Knowing these promises are waiting for the faithful that confess Jesus, let's take a look at what is involved in confessing that Jesus is Christ.

In order to confess that Jesus is the Christ, one must first learn of Jesus. Romans 10:17 reminds us that, “Faith cometh by hearing and hearing the Word of God.”

How would it be possible for someone to confess something of which they have never heard? I had a teacher in preaching school that would emphasize this point by asking us to tell him something that we have never heard. The same principle applies to being able to confess that Jesus is the Christ. In order to properly confess Him before men I must first be taught of Him, learn of Him, come to the realization that He is the Christ, and that I must adhere to His teaching. When Jesus commissioned His apostles to carry the Gospel message to the entire world He instructed them to teach, to baptize, and then to con-

Continued on Page 5

‘A Minute with the Minister’

By Jeremy Thornton JEREMY THORNTON (cont.)

tinue teaching (Matt.

28:18-20). His emphasis on teaching shows the importance of learning of Him, learning of His deity, learning of His sinlessness, learning of His sacrifice which cleanses us from sin, learning of His church that was purchased with His blood (Acts 20:28), and learning of the blessings afforded to us by Him (Eph. 1:3).

Confessing Jesus also involves a confession of our sins. As we learn that Jesus is the Christ, we also learn of our guilt of sins which led to Him dying on the cross. The sole purpose of Jesus coming to the earth was for the redemption of the souls of mankind (Luke 19:10).

There was no other way that salvation be made available except Jesus were to be offered as a sacrifice on behalf of sinful man (Luke 24:46; Heb. 10:1ff).

When the Gospel was preached by the apostles, those that heard the message of the Messiah came to the harsh reality that their sins was the reason for Jesus being crucified and they began to ask “what must I do?” (Acts 2:36ff). The Ethiopian eunuch learned of Jesus, pondered what he must do, and confessed Jesus was the Christ and was baptized for the forgiveness of his sins (Acts 8:37-38). When we begin to understand the guilt of our sins but the redemption from those sins that is available in Christ it should led everyone that has this discovery to confess Jesus and be baptized in order to be cleansed from sin.

We must understand that although confessing Jesus is necessary in order to be saved, that does not mean that this confession is a one-time act that takes place. As we look at the meaning of the word “confession,” as is used in Matt. 10:32, we have defined for us a word that carries the idea of not simply stating with our lips that, “Jesus is Christ” but to back this statement up with the way that we live our lives from that moment on. It is one thing to make a statement, and at times making a statement requires a great deal of bravery and courage, but to make the statement and stand by that statement, proving our words to be true by our actions, well, that requires the highest degree of bravery and courage. When one confesses that Jesus is the Christ, they must be willing to not only make the statement, but be courageous enough to prove themselves by living a life that is molded by, or better yet transformed by the teachings of Jesus. Jesus was bold enough to proclaim that the one that makes confession of Him before men will be confessed by Him before His Father. Jesus will continually cleanse us from sin (1 John 1:7-9) if we continually follow Him, doing as He has commanded.

Have you confessed Jesus before men? Have you learned of Jesus, learned of your sins, learned of His sacrifice, confessed that He is Christ, put Him on in baptism (Gal. 3:27), and continue to live a life that is confessing Him? Perhaps the better question is this: will He confess you before His Father in heaven someday, or will He deny you?

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