Do you confess Christ before men? Do you tell people that you are a Christian? Do you go to church on Sunday’s? Do you fellowship with other professing Christian’s? Do you share your faith on a regular basis? Do you know where your Bible is? Do you own a Bible? What is the basis of your salvation? Can you name the 10 Commandments? In order? Can you name 10 TV shows and the cast? Do you know any scripture by memory? Do you know the lyrics to every Pink Floyd record out?
Let me take one of these questions and expand on it a little bit. Do you confess Jesus before men? A lot of people will say “Sure I do, I tell everyone I am a Christian. Even when I am out drinking with the boys (or girls) at the strip club or when I get home to my live in girlfriend (or boyfriend) and we talk about our faith. I even say “God bless you” when people sneeze. (see previous post)” I see it every day, people will acknowledge that they are a Christian with their mouths, but their lives and actions speak just the opposite. The fruit they are producing are of the bad variety, nothing lines up with being a Christian at all. I would venture to say that most of these poor souls have been proclaimed “saved” by a pastor, elder or alter worker in their childhood church.
So what about Matt 10:32 that says if someone confesses Christ as Savior that Christ will confess them before the Father? Doesn’t that mean they are a Christian? Well, yes it does…. But only if they truly do confess Christ. If their confession of Christ is apparent in their lives, if their lives line up with what true confession of believing in Christ means, Biblically. A true confession of faith is not a one and done experience, that is where most people that are deceived get it wrong. They think that a prayer saved them, that walking the aisle saved them or that being baptized saved them. They are all wrong. Salvation is a miraculous work of God, it can’t be undone, and He NEVER only partially saves anyone. A true regenerated, born again Christian will not do the things I mentioned above, they will not have the earthly desires and use Christ’s sacrifice on the cross as a “get out of hell free” card. Christ’s shedding of His blood was not a ticket to heaven.
Another question. Why do you want to go to heaven? Is it because the alternative is a terrible place to spend eternity? Is it because you want to have all your desires whenever you want them, as many as you want, eat as much as you want, participate in your favorite hobby for eternity (golfing, hunting, video games, etc.)? If you say yes to any of those, then you very seriously have a warped idea of Heaven. Heaven is all about God, not you, not me, not the cute little cherubim or streets of gold, pearly gates and crowns of awards. Heaven is for the worship of God, the eternal praise of our Creator that breathed life into our being. Any other description would border on blasphemy. God did not create us for our own pleasure, but so He would be glorified.
So do you confess Christ as your Savior with lip service only? Or does your confession ring true by your life as a confession. Remember even the demons believe in God, they confess Him with their lips, they believe in Him, they know who He is. Belief in is not the deciding factor, but belief ON Christ. With that belief comes repentance, a new birth. All of your sinful lifestyle choices will become increasingly sinful to you. You will not have the desires you once had, you will not frequent the places you once did and your sins will become increasingly sinful to you - that is called sanctification. God will not start a work and not finish it; He will not only give you forgiveness without sanctifying you as well. If you are walking with a foot on both sides of the fence, then you are in danger of hell, most likely on your way there. Jesus Himself said in Luke 9:62 that anyone that looks back to his sinful life is not fit for the Kingdom.
So for the last time – Do you confess Christ before men? Truthfully? Or would your actions speak otherwise? Do you have a sinful lifestyle? Do you lust for money? Or for the other sex? Do you hate anyone? Do you honor your parents in every way? Do you put God first in your life? You will stand before a righteous God on judgment day, you will not be able to justify your sins by saying you're not as bad as Hitler or the guy at work that cheats on his taxes and his wife. It will be you and the Lord and you will be exposed. Does that worry you? Do you have the confidence of salvation through the blood of Christ? Do you cling to a “flu shot” salvation, the been there done that mentality? Or is it evident that Christ is Lord of your life? You better make sure….. soon.
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