Would you turn with me to the
12th chapter of the Book of John? And tonight, Lord willing, I'm
going to be speaking from Hebrews one verses one through three,
and I've entitled the message An Introduction to Jesus Christ. An introduction to Jesus Christ
and my intentions in bringing this message. I. And going to imagine that not
one person knows who he is. I know many of you do, but I'm
going to treat it like this. Not one person knows who he is. And that's how I want to preach
that message. I want to tell who he is. An introduction to
Jesus Christ. I'd also like to read you a letter
I got this week from a TV listener. This was encouraging to me, and
it was in response to the sermon that was on TV last Sunday. And this individual has Requested
messages before as far as three years back. But she says, as
I listen to you proclaim God's Word, I weep. And I realize all
of my sins past and present. Have been committed against God. Because of my unbelief in him. My sin. has made me feel so helpless. As I write this to you, I bow
down before God and I ask God to give me a genuine, saving
faith in Jesus. True belief. And I ask Him to
place His Holy Spirit inside my heart and to enable me, by
His power, to live my life before Him in His righteousness. I confess to Him that inside
me I have no righteousness of myself, just my filthy sin, sin
that I despise. I desire His righteousness to
fill my entire being and to let all my future actions be pleasing
unto Him. My Lord and my God, Please connect
my heart to yours. Please take away all of my sin
and please give me your genuine righteousness. Please enable
me for the rest of my life to be pleasing in your sight because
you have mercifully placed me into your righteousness through
Jesus. Lord, please let there be no
pretense, just your genuine salvation. Lord, please let your righteousness,
peace and love abide in my heart forever. And then Lord's taught
that lady something. John Chapter 12. I've entitled this message. Not. Saving faith. Not saving. But. Verse 42. Nevertheless. Among the chief
rulers also many believed. On him. But. Because of the Pharisees, they
did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue.
Four, they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God. Now, the passage of scripture
I just read says in no uncertain terms that they believed on him. They believed the claims he made
concerning himself. The evidence pointed to it. He
raised a dead man. They had the same kind of faith
that we read of in John chapter two, where many believed in him
when they saw the miracles which he performed. While they did,
in fact, believe in Him, they would not confess Him. They believed
in Him, but they would not confess Him because of a religious group
called the Pharisees. They were afraid they'd get kicked
out of the church or the synagogue if they did believe on Him. You
see, this passage of Scripture says they loved the praise of
men more than the praise of God. They were more concerned about
what men think than what God thinks. And the Lord said in
John chapter 5 verse 44, how can you believe which receive
honor one of another and not that honor that comes from God
only? The fact of the matter is you
can't believe if that's the case. Turn over to Matthew chapter
6. Verse 1, take heed that you do not your
alms, that's your gifts, before men to be seen of them. Otherwise,
you have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Look in verse
5, when you pray, That shall not be as the hypocrites are,
for they love to pray standing in the synagogues in the corners
of the streets that they may be seen of men. Barely, I say
unto you, they have their reward. What kind of reward is that?
Not much, is it? Verse 16. Moreover, when you fast, Be not
as the hypocrites are the sad countenance, for they disfigure
their faces that they may appear unto men in the past. They had
a look on their face. Heck, I must be fasting. Verily,
I say unto you, they have their reward. Aren't you grateful that
men think well of you? What difference does it make? Now, I want to ask a question.
But back in our text. Verse 42, nevertheless, among
the chief rulers also many believed on him that says they believed
on him. Now here's the question I want
to ask you. Were these people saved? It says they believed on him.
Did these people actually know the living God? Had God done
anything for them? Were they secret disciples, but
disciples nonetheless? Well, if they were. If they were
really saved, there's really not much to salvation, is there?
Give a sip to something, keep your mouth shut to keep out of
trouble and you'll wind up in heaven. Deep down, we know that
that's not so. No, they were not saved because
there is no salvation apart from Confession. Notice what it says,
nevertheless, among the chief rulers, also many believed on
him, but because of the Pharisees, they did not confess him, lest
they should be put out of the synagogue. Now turn with me to
Romans chapter 10 for a moment. There is no salvation apart from
confession. Romans chapter 10. Verse 9. If thou shalt confess with thy
mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God
hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be what? Saved. For with the heart man
believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession
is made unto salvation. There is no salvation apart from
Confession and to fail to confess Christ. Is the spirit of Antichrist? Let me show you that the scripture
turned to 1st John chapter four. Somebody who refuses to confess
Christ will not be saved. There's no such thing as a secret
disciple. Look in 1st John chapter 4 verse
2. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God, every spirit that confesses,
he doesn't say that believe that Jesus is the Christ, but that
confesses that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God.
And every spirit that does not believe that Jesus Christ has
come in the flesh, I didn't write that right, did I? It's in every
spirit that confesses not that Jesus Christ has come in the
flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of antichrist. Where have you heard that it
should come into the world? Now, there is a faith. That is
not saving faith. It's the same kind of faith that
devils have. Remember that passage of scripture
in James, Chapter two, where it says you believe there's one
God. You do well, you know, there is only one God. We're not, was
it polytheists or monotheists? You know, we believe one God.
He says, you believe in one God, you do well. The devils believe
the same thing. And they tremble. They believe
accurate doctrine. Now, these people believed. They
believed because of what they saw. They saw the miracles he
performed and concluded the same thing Nicodemus concluded. When
Nicodemus said, we know that thou art a man come from God,
for no man can do the miracles you do, except God be with him. Now, they saw the Lord Jesus
Christ raise a man from the dead. And when they saw this, they
said, hey, he's real. We believe. Now, this kind of
faith is the product of man's intellect, reasoning and will. Here's an example at the end
there. Anybody here believe I can pick
that thing up with one hand and hold it over my head? Anybody
believe that? No, you don't believe that. But
what if I went over there? I can't do it, obviously, but
what if I did? What if I went over there and picked up that
piano and held it over my head? You'd say, I believe he can do
it. I believe you'd believe based
upon what you saw. He did it. The evidence points
to it. He can do it. Now, that's a kind
of belief, but it's not saving faith. You see, you can assent
to the truths of the scripture by what you see. Here's an example.
I see election in the Bible. It must be true. I believe it.
I give assent to that. The Bible teaches that God chose
who would be saved before time began. I give assent to that.
I can't deny it. There it is in the Bible. According
as He has chosen us in Him. I give assent to that. I believe
salvation is by grace because the Bible says it is. Ephesians
2 says by grace He is saved. There it is. Therefore, I believe
that. I give assent to it. I believe
that the Bible teaches that Christ is the only way and you can't
be saved any other way. I believe that because he said,
I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the
Father but by me. Now I believe that. There it
is. I believe that. I assume to that. Now a faith
that acknowledges the truth because the evidence points to it is
not saving faith. Now, I want you to listen as
carefully as you know how. There are two things that are
always involved in saving faith. Always. No exceptions to this
rule. There are two things that are
always involved in saving faith. Commitment and confession. Now, I'm going to It's been the
rest of this message attempting to tell what that means. There
are two things that are always involved in saving faith. I'm
talking about the faith that saves the soul. Commitment and
confession. Now in saving faith, there is
always committal. Turn back to John chapter two,
that passage of scripture that we open this service with. Verse 23. Now, when he was in Jerusalem
at the Passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name
when they saw the miracles which he did. They saw him turn water
into wine. They saw it. They saw him heal
the sick. They said, there's something
to him. We can tell by the things that he does, the miracles he
does. But, it says, Jesus did not commit himself unto them,
because he knew all men, and he needed not that any should
testify of man, for he knew what was in man. Now, you see that
word commit? That is the precise same word that's translated believe
in the previous verse. What it says is, they believed
in him, but he didn't believe in them. He knew what was in
him. He knew him through and through.
And he would not commit himself to them. You see, when you believe
somebody, you commit yourself to them. And if you don't believe
them, you won't commit yourself. You won't entrust yourself to
them. In saving faith, there is always
a committal. Turn to 2nd Timothy, Chapter
1. Now, I believe the Lord's given me some light on this. What is it to commit yourself
to Christ? Second Timothy, chapter one, verse twelve. Paul says for the witch cause,
because I preach the gospel, I also suffer these things. Paul certainly was beat, despised,
thrown into prison. I mean, he was always in trouble
over the gospel he preached. Natural men don't love the gospel.
He says, that's why I suffer these things, because I'm a preacher
of the gospel. Nevertheless, I'm not ashamed, for I know whom
I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to keep that
which I have committed unto him against that day. Now, saving faith begins with
Knowledge. You can't believe what you don't
know. Isn't that evident? You can't believe what you don't
know any more than you can come back from a place where you've
never been. It's not going to happen. Saving faith begins with knowledge.
He said, I know whom I have believed. I've heard people say, well,
it seems like their head's messed up, and they're all befuddled
in their doctrine, and they don't seem to understand grace, but
they still have a good heart. Their head's wrong, but their
heart's right. That's foolishness. That's all that is. foolishness.
You cannot believe what you do not know. I know whom. Not just I know what. I know
whom I have believed. And really what you believe is
determined by who you believe. If you believe Him, the Son of
God, you believe His atonement. Let's be successful, don't you?
You don't believe He can fail in any way. He's God. I know
whom I have believed. And I'm persuaded, Paul said.
I'm convinced. I'm persuaded. No doubt about
this, I'm persuaded that He is able. Now, here's what you believe
when you have saving faith. You believe He is able. You're persuaded of that. Abraham
believed God, being fully persuaded that what God had promised, He
was able also to perform. Turn to Jude, the book of Jude,
right before the book of Revelation. Jude. Only one chapter in this
little book, but what a book it is. But look in verse 24. Now unto him that is able to
keep you from falling. And to present you, what's that
next word? Faultless. Faultless. Before the presence of His glory
with exceeding joy. Now do you believe, are you persuaded
that He is able to present you faultless before God? Do you believe that His precious
blood is such that it washed away sin to where you have no
sin because of His blood? And because of that, you're presented
faultless. Do you believe He's able to do
that? Do you really believe that? I love it when those two blind
men came up to the Lord. They come groping up into the
room where He's at. I don't know how they got in there. They were
blind. But they got in there, and the Lord said, What do you
want? And they said, We want to receive our sight. And He
said, Do you believe that I am able to do this. Do you believe
that? That's what faith does. He says,
Paul said, I know whom I have believed and I'm persuaded, I'm
convinced that he is able to keep that which I have committed,
committed, committed to him. What do you commit to him, Paul?
I committed to Him the salvation of my soul. All my eggs are in
this one basket. I have no plan B. I have no contingency
plans. All my eggs are in this one basket. If what He did, if who He is
and what He did alone is not enough to save me, I will not
be saved. All of my hope is right here
that He did it all. If He didn't do it all, I'm in
trouble. You know, a belief in salvation
by works in any way is failure to commit. You think about that. You're not committing yourself
to Him. If you believe in salvation by works in any way, to any degree,
you're not committing to Him. Listen, I've committed the salvation
of my soul to Him. Hands off, I have nothing to
do with it. I have committed. I have, but,
bless God, I committed my salvation to Him. I'm depending on, if
He doesn't do it all, then I won't be saved, because my hands are
out of the equation. If He doesn't do it all, I will not be saved. Now that's what it is to entrust
your, you entrust the salvation of your soul to Him. I've committed
it to Him. That's what folks who have faith
do. They commit the salvation of their souls to the Lord Jesus
Christ. And where there is no committal, And the only way there's
committal is if your hands are off. Your hands are off. You're trusting Him to do it
all. It has nothing to do with any works of yours. That is commitment. And you know, a lot of people's
faith is kind of like those prenuptial agreements. We're going to get married, but
I want to sign this contract. So in case it doesn't work, you're
not going to get this. I guess I can understand why
people do that if they're not going to be committed to one
another. But in a marriage, in a true marriage, you're committing
yourself to that person. Lock, stock and barrel, I am
a one-man woman. I said that wrong. I'm a one-woman
man. I'm a one-woman man. Please forgive
me for that. Maybe that'll make somebody hear
what I said. I'm a one man woman. I'm committed to this woman all
the way through. All the way through. So in saving faith, there's a
commitment. And you know, when you commit yourself to the Lord,
you know what he does to? He commits himself to you. You only commit what is most
precious to you. To somebody you can trust. And He trusts every believer
with that which is most precious to Himself. Isn't that, what
a sacred trust. If you're a believer, you know,
you think I need relevance in my life. I need a purpose in
my life. You shouldn't talk like that. The Lord has entrusted
with you that which is most precious to Himself. Himself. What a sacred
trust. You want a purpose in life? You
want meaning in life? Here it is. Here it is. What
a sacred trust. So in true faith, saving faith,
there is committal. Have you committed your salvation
to Him? I have. I have. I have. I'm not looking
anywhere else but Him. Also, in true saving faith, there
is confession. If thou wilt confess with thy
mouth, the Lord Jesus and believe in thine heart that God raised
him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. In saving faith there
is always confession. The people in our text love the
praise of men more than the praise of God. Therefore, they would
not confess the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, what is it? What does it
mean to confess Him? I won't be saved if I don't.
I don't have true saving faith if I do not confess the Lord
Jesus Christ. What does it mean to confess
the Lord Jesus Christ? What does confession mean? The
word is literally to speak the same thing. That's what confession
is. It's to speak the same thing. It is agreement. It's to agree with what all believers
believe. You've heard of confession of
faith. The confession of faith is what all believers believe.
Now, to confess, I'm in agreement with whatever believers believe
that believe. I'm in agreement with it. For
instance, I confess, I believe the Bible is the Word of God. I really do. I confess that. You mean to tell me that you
believe that that book is actually verbally inspired by God? Every
word in it is inspired by God? Are you so ignorant as you believe
something like that? Yes, I am. Yes, I am. I believe
the Bible is the Word of God. If you don't have the Word of
God, what do you got? My opinion and your opinion. What's that
got to do with anybody? No, this is the inspired Word
of God. I believe. I confess. that Christ Jesus is salvation. I confess that. I'm confessing
to you right now. This is what every believer believes.
Christ is all in salvation. I confess that. I confess that
salvation is all of grace. I mean, I confess it. I don't
just say it privately. I say it publicly. Salvation
is of the Lord. That's what every believer believes.
I confess. I confess. Now, you see, Confession,
it's agreement with what all believers believe, and there's
always something public about it. There's no such thing as
a private confession. Let me show you that in Scripture.
Turn to Matthew chapter 10. Verse 32. Whosoever, therefore, shall confess
Me," how? Before men. There's something
public about this. "...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. A confession has something public
about it. And when we confess something,
what we're doing is we're admitting to guilt. Isn't this the same
word that's used with regard to the confession of sin? What
do I do when I confess my sin? When I confess my sin, I say,
guilty, guilty. I'm guilty of that. I'm saying
I'm going to have to live with the consequences of it. Even
if I'm punished when I confess guilty, I'm going to have to
deal with the consequences that are associated with the guilt
of committing that sin. I confess. I confess before God
my sin. Now, when I confess, I'm saying
I'm guilty of believing that. Even if it's going to cost me
something, even if it's going to cost me every friend I got,
even if it's going to cause my family to forsake me, even if
it's going to cause everybody to turn thumbs down on me, I'm
confessing it anyway. Turn to Acts 24. Verse 14. Now Paul was accused of a lot
of things, but in verse 13, he says, neither can they prove
the things whereof they now accuse me. They can't prove any of it.
But, he says, this I confess unto thee. I plead guilty to
this charge, that after the way which they call heresy. He said,
well, that's heretical to believe that God chose who'd be saved.
That's heretical to believe that Christ only died for the elect.
That's heresy. Paul says, I confess to thee.
that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I, the
God of my fathers, believing all things which are written
in the law and in the prophets. Now, this thing of confession,
remember, there's no salvation apart from confession. There's
a committal and there's a confession. And what I confess, it's not
just a grim, well, I got to admit, that's what I believe. No, what
I confess is what I rejoice in. If I don't rejoice in it, I'm
not confessing it. And let me show you how this word is used.
Turn to Luke 10. Luke 10. Verse 21. In that hour, Jesus rejoiced in spirit. This is the only time this is
said of our Lord during his earthly ministry. He was a man of sorrows,
acquainted with grief. But at this time, the Lord was
happy. He rejoiced in spirit. That's very powerful, isn't it?
At that hour, Jesus rejoiced in spirit and said, I thank thee,
O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you've hid these
things from the wise and prudent, and has revealed them unto babes,
even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight." Now, you
see where it says, I thank thee, O Father? That's the same word
translated confess. I gladly confess to thee. I'm glad it's this way. I'm happy it's this way. What I'm confessing is not just
a grim acknowledgment. I rejoice that it's this way. Turn to Hebrews 13. Let me back
this up with one other Scripture. Hebrews 13. Verse 15. Hebrews 13, verse 15. By Him, therefore, let us offer
the sacrifices of praise continually. That is the fruit of our lips,
giving thanks. to his name. Now, if you have
a marginal reference, it'll say that is the fruit of our lips
confessing his name. You see, with the idea of confessing,
I'm giving thanks. I confess that God is sovereign.
He's in control of everything. I confess it. I sure am glad
he is. I rejoice in it. I confess that
God chose a people before time began to be saved, and I'm mighty
glad He did, because I wouldn't be saved if He didn't. I confess
that Christ actually accomplished salvation for everybody He died
for, and I'm mighty glad He did. There's my hope. There's my standing
before God. I confess that God's grace actually
saves, and it's irresistible and invincible, and I'm glad
that it is. That's what a confession is.
You rejoice in that which you confess. Now, this thing of confession
is the work of God in a man. It's a supernatural thing, just
like faith is just like commitment is. This is a supernatural thing.
Let me show you this. Turn to first John, chapter four. Verse 15. Whosoever shall confess that
Jesus is the Son of God. Do you confess that? You confess. No matter what it costs you,
you confess. Somebody says, I'll kill you if you confess that.
You say, I'll confess it anyway. This is my only hope. Jesus Christ
is the Son of God. We confess that. Look what it
says. Whosoever shall confess that
Jesus is the Son of God, What God dwelleth in him and he in
God. You see, this is the supernatural
work of his grace. Now, wherever there's true saving
faith. There's commitment. And I have
committed the salvation of my soul to him, and there is confession. Now, these fellows who believed
on Him but they wouldn't confess Him because they loved the praise
of men more than the praise of God, they did not have saving
faith. In saving faith, there's a commitment
and there is a confession. Now, I do not want to be like
these people who believe but didn't confess. As a matter of
fact, I believe that's the absolute worst state somebody could be
in. I would rather be around somebody who denies the faith.
I'd rather be around somebody who believes in salvation by
works than somebody who says they believe in grace, but they
won't confess it. A preacher who says he believes
in grace, but he won't preach it. You know what? You know what
preachers believe? What they preach publicly. Nothing more, nothing less. That's
what they believe. If they won't preach it publicly,
it's because they don't believe it. If you want to know what
somebody believes, listen to what he says. I love what the
Lord said. I came up to him and I asked him of his doctrine.
He said, why are you asking me? Ask them that heard me. They'll
tell you. If you want to know what I believe, don't call me
up on the phone and ask me. You have to hear what I say publicly.
And if you want to know what I believe, ask the folks that
listen. They'll tell you. Public confession. Now, how in
the world does somebody confess Christ? I want to do that. I
want to be a confessor, don't you? I want to confess Him publicly. How does somebody confess the
Lord Jesus Christ? Turn to Mark chapter 1. Mark chapter 1, verse 5. And there went out unto him all
the land of Judea and the land of Jerusalem, and they were all
baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins. Now, does that mean, well, I
want to be baptized, so I've got to get in front of you all
and start confessing all my sins? I did this and I thought that. Public confession. Come clean.
Tell us what you did. Is that what that's talking about?
You know better than that. You're not supposed to confess
your sins to any man. I'm a preacher and some people
make a mistake and think I'm a priest. I've had people call
me or even come in and say, well, I did this. I don't want to know.
I don't want to know. I really don't. Don't confess
your sins to me. What good could I do you? You
just messed me up worse than I'm already messed up. So don't
do anything like that. Here's what this means. In the
act of baptism, baptism by immersion, going under the water, coming
back up, I'm confessing I'm so sinful. I personally am so sinful
that the only way I can be saved is by the life death, the burial,
and the resurrection of Christ. I am confessing Him in believer's
baptism. I'm confessing that the only
hope I have is union with the Lord Jesus Christ. Now you look
at the etymology of this word baptism. Here's where it began
in ancient writings. It began with a reference to
taking a piece of cloth and putting it down and dye Let's say it
was white, and you put it in a blue dye. You take it and put
it down, and it comes back out of that water what? Blue. Blue. You baptized it. You immersed
it in the dye, and it comes out blue. Now, in confessing Christ,
when I was baptized into Him, when He went into death, I went
with Him. That was my only hope. My sin
became His. He went into death. He's raised
back up. I'm raised up with Him. I might
have went a different color, but as I come back out, immersed
into Him, baptized into Him, I come out the same color as
that water. I'm just like the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what
I'm confessing, union with the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm saying
to the world, my hope is union with Christ. That's what I confess
in baptism. And if someone refuses to confess
Christ in baptism, they're not saved. Does baptism save somebody? Absolutely not. How in the world
can anybody think that actually going into the water and coming
back out washes away sin? It doesn't wash away sins. Not
in any way. It's what it represents. And
someone, after seeing what baptism means, and if they refuse to
confess Christ in believer's baptism, do I believe they're
saved? Not for a second. Not for a second. This is the answer of a good
conscience toward God. Baptism by immersion. Now, I
confess Christ by believers baptism. Secondly, we confess Christ by
identification with his people. Turn to Hebrews chapter 10. Verse 23. Let us hold fast. The profession
or that's the word confession, let us hold fast the confession
of our faith without wavering without going back and forth,
for he is faithful to the promise. And let us consider one another
to provoke unto love and to good works, not forsaking the assembling
of ourselves together. That's what's going on right
here. The assembling of ourselves together under the preaching
of the gospel, our only hope being Christ Jesus. That's what's
going on right now. It's the assembling of ourselves
together. There's something powerful and special and supernatural
about God's people meeting together to hear the gospel. I haven't
said one thing that you haven't already heard before. I'm aware
of that, but you want to hear it again, don't you? That's the
gospel. We delight in hearing the gospel. And I identify, I'm not going
to forsake myself with the assembling of God's people. I want to be
identified with those people who believe the gospel, don't
you? And if they're hated by the world, I want to be hated
with them. If they're kicked out of the
world, I want to be kicked out with them. I want to be identified
with God's people. That's what it is to confess
Christ. If I refuse to be identified with God's people, why would
you go to that Insignificant Todd row grace church. I mean
look at all these bigger churches that have more programs for people
They got they got things more for the kids. They got they got
singles groups and married groups and old people's groups and young
all these groups You've got all this kind of stuff and what do
they got there? Oh, you got some gospel. That's good enough for
me. That's good enough for me I identify with his people that
believe the gospel of God's grace and And to fail to do so is to
fail to confess Christ. You see, birds of a feather flock
together, don't they? I want to be identified with
everybody who believes the gospel. And thirdly, I confess Christ
by my life, by my conduct, by my conversation. Turn to Titus
chapter one. Titus chapter one. Verse 16. Titus 116, they profess, and
that word profess is the same word that's translated confess,
same word, they confess that they know God. But in works,
they deny him being abominable and disobedient and unto every
good work reprobate. I confess Christ by my conduct,
by my attitude, by my works, by what I do. What's it say if I say I believe
in the sovereignty of God? I believe he's in control of
everything. And yet I spend all my time worrying and trembling
like a leaf. I prove by that that my Belief is theoretical
and nothing more. You see, what you really believe
is what you put into practice. If you don't put it into practice,
you don't really believe it. If I say I believe in forgiveness
and yet refuse to forgive and hold a grudge, what's my belief
in forgiveness all about? I don't really believe it, do
I? If I say I believe in grace and yet try to hold people's
feet to the fire and try to put them under the law, I prove I
don't really believe grace, don't I? That's all I prove. If I say
I love the Lord Jesus Christ and I walk in newness of life
with Him, and I say I'm content with Christ, and yet in my life
all I'm doing is coveting this world and wanting more and more
of this world, what does that say about my belief in Christ? It
means it's not real, doesn't it? What we believe is seen by what
we practice. A theoretical faith is not saving
faith. They confess they know Him. Yeah,
I know God, but in works, what they do, their lives, they deny
Him being abominable and disobedient unto every good work, reprobate.
If I say He's my Lord, but I'm controlled by the fear of man,
What do I say about that? I don't really believe He's my
Lord. So I confess Christ by my life. So how does one confess
Christ? First of all, by believer's baptism. Second, by identification with
His people. And thirdly, by my life. So there
is where true faith is. There's a commitment. I've committed
the entire salvation of my soul to him, hands off, hands off. All my eggs are in that one basket.
When he said it is finished, that's all I got, nothing else.
There's commitment. If you don't believe that, you're
refusing to commit. And there's confession. May God give us grace
to commit and to confess. Let's pray together. Lord, we do not want to be like
these people we read of.