Opening illustration: At the close of an evangelistic meeting held by D. L. Moody, a Norwegian youth stood up to testify of his faith in the Lord. He wanted the congregation to know that he had been saved, but he had difficulty speaking English. Haltingly he managed to say, “I’m up here because Jesus wants me to be a witness. He promised that if I tell the world about Him, He’ll tell the Father about me!”
Moody later remarked, “That boy’s testimony went straight to the heart of everyone present. ‘If I tell the world’ - yes, that’s exactly what the Bible means when it says we must confess Christ!”
Our Lord does not want us to be silent disciples. He encourages us to witness boldly to others about His grace. Scripture provides eloquent proof that we are to be vocal about our standing in Christ. Romans 10: 9 states, “Confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus.” And verse 14 asks, “How shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard?”
Introduction: Puts the disciples into this place of testimony by the power of the Holy Ghost, and with the world opposed to them, after the Lord’s departure. It is the word and the Holy Ghost, instead of the Messiah on the earth. They were neither to fear opposition, nor to trust in themselves, but to fear God and trust to His help; and the Holy Ghost would teach them what to say. All things should be revealed. God reaches the soul: man can only touch the body. Here that which goes beyond present promises, the connection of the soul with God, is put forward. It is coming out from Judaism to be before God. Their calling was to manifest God in the world at all costs-to manifest Him to faith before all things were made manifest. It might cost them dear before men: Jesus would confess them before angels. It is bringing the disciples into the light as God is in it and the fear of God by the word and faith when the power of evil was present; all that evil; however secret would be brought to light.
How could I tell the good news?
1. Beware of Hypocrisy (vs. 1-3)
As Jesus watched the huge crowds waiting to hear him, he warned the disciples against hypocrisy – trying to appear good when one’s heart is distant from God. The Pharisees could not keep their attitude hidden forever. Their selfishness would like yeast, and soon they would expose themselves … All the evil doctrines of the Pharisees God would unmask while on the other side He would provide opportunity for greater proclamation of the gospel. These doctrines had infiltrated into the synagogue through their adherence to cultural norms and beliefs as the Pharisees taught the Torah. These were not part of Godly teaching but things they had cherry picked from their own culture in order to incorporate into the teaching of the Torah in the Synagogue. Apparently a lot of it was pertaining to good works but not pointing to Yahweh. Therefore the Pharisees wanted to look good on the outside but have a hidden dark side too. Doctor Luke is bringing about awareness so that none of us would follow a similar path. Here is God’s warning for all of us when we proclaim God’s Word in any form. Just live it! He makes it very clear that whatever we may utter in secret or behind people’s backs, it will come out in the open and might even embarrass us, therefore let your yes be a yes and a no be a no. When you proclaim Christ, and then let it be Him alone and no other rather than placing other things at the same level or above Christ. If you proclaim Him God then no other is god except Him. Being dual-faced and double-minded will only make us look like a hypocrite at the end.
One of the saddest things about hypocrisy is that many in the Lord’s church have succumbed to deadly playacting. Some Christians try to outwardly appear faithful and concerned about the Lord’s work, but inwardly they are worldly – they are only pretenders. Jesus said, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you are like unto whited sepulchers, which outwardly appear beautiful, but inwardly are full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but inwardly ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity” (Matthew 23: 27-28). Jesus said we must beware of hypocrisy (Luke 12: 1). Paul speaks of hypocrisy when he says, “They profess that they know God; but by their works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate” (Titus 1: 16).
One can be hypocritical when they try to make laws where God has not made them. Our Lord warned, “But the Lord answered him, and said, you hypocrites, doth not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering?” In our present day many are hypocrites in worship. Our Lord declared, “You hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, this people honored me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain do they worship me, teaching as their doctrines the precepts of men.” (Matthew 15: 7-9).
2. Teach the ‘Fear of God’ (vs. 4-7)
There are many directions a person can take in life, but the Bible says that as we make decisions, either we can be wise or foolish. If we want to be wise, we must start by dealing with our hearts in that we must be sure that we fear the Lord and have surrendered our lives to Him. Proverbs 9: 10 says, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Those who fear the Lord are those who have true wisdom, understanding, and insight as to what this world and this life are all about. They are those who do not waffle when it comes to principle and truth, but they stand firm for righteousness and justice, things in which God delights. Those who fear the Lord don’t pander to the crowd or seek to people-please, but they seek to please the Audience of One.
Fearing the Lord is a starting point for faith and a guiding motivator for life in Christ. Our entire lives should be lived by fearing God and keeping His commandments. Those who fear God will keep the commands of God, living out Christ’s desires on earth. When we fail to fear God and thereby exalt ourselves, we will sin. The fear of God is to be a lifelong posture which will enable us to walk in holiness over the long haul. The Christian life requires much perseverance, and a right view of a holy God will help keep us on the right track. Proverbs 28: 14 says, “How blessed is the man who fears always, but he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity.” As soon as we start being careless, as soon as we devalue eternal priorities in exchange for temporal pleasure, and as soon as we lose sight of God’s nature as a consuming fire (Hebrews 12: 29), we will walk arrogantly and lackadaisically into Satan’s traps. It is imperative that we recognize that we are engaged in a battle and that we represent the true Sovereign of the universe. There is nothing else and no one else to fear but God. He alone has all power, and nothing happens beyond what He ordains. He deserves our full allegiance, obedience, respect, reverence, awe, and fear. God’s manifestations of Himself as recorded in the Scripture as earthquakes, trumpets, fire, thunder, and so on are there to remind us of His awesome power, wonder, and authority (1 Kings 19: 11-12, John 12: 29). He is the Master of the universe, and we must keep that in mind as we make choices each day.
Jesus says in Luke 12: 4-5 which is also reiterated in Matthew 10: 28 “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Only unbelievers will face God’s wrath in hell, so, as believers, we wrongly understand the idea of fearing God if we think God is going to pour out His wrath upon us. As believers, the fear of the Lord shows up most clearly based upon how we view our time on earth. Those who fear God will keep His commandments not because they are afraid of God’s wrath but because they know that they have a stewardship before God (1 Corinthians 9: 17). They understand that they will have to stand before the judgment seat of Christ and give an account for how they lived their lives (2 Corinthians 5: 10). Some Christians will receive an abundance of rewards on that day, while others will suffer great loss as they recognize that they were not nearly as faithful as they could have and should have been (1 Corinthians 3: 10-15). They will be saved as if going through the fire.
Luke makes a point at the end that we should not fear man but fear God alone who has the power and authority to cast us in hell if He perceives so. The Psalmist makes a point that it is a curse to rely or fear man. He also states that we are precious to Him more than any other living thing on earth and He can never ever forget us but every one of us has to undergo the fiery test in order to prove our life to be honorable to God for eternity. Fear of opposition or ridicule can weaken our witness for Christ.
3. Confessing Christ before Everyone (vs. 8-9)
To confess that Jesus is the Christ means that a person agrees that Jesus is indeed the Messiah (John 1:41; 4; 25-26, 42). According to the Old Testament, the Messiah was portrayed as ... the God–Man (Isaiah 7: 14); the mighty God (Isaiah 9: 6); the sinner’s Substitute (Isaiah Chapter 53); the eternal King (Micah 5: 2); The LORD (Jehovah) our righteousness (Jeremiah 23: 5-6).
There was a cost involved in confessing that Jesus is the Messiah: "for the Jews had agreed already, that if any man did confess that He was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue" (John 9: 22). Because of this cost many failed to openly confess Him: "... because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue" (John 12: 42).
The word that means the opposite of the word "confess" is the word "deny" (see John 1: 20; 1 John 2: 22-23). To confess is to say, "YES"; to deny is to say "NO." In Luke 22: 57-60 Peter should have said, "YES, I know Him!" (v. 57); "YES, I am one of them!" (v. 58). "YES, I was with Him!" (vs. 50-60). But Peter denied Christ and refused to acknowledge a relationship with Him.
When asked, "Do you own Jesus as your Savior and Lord?" the believer can boldly respond, "YES, I do. I acknowledge that He is mine. I belong to the Son of God Who loved me and gave Himself for me!" Don’t be afraid to publically claim Him as your own. During the great Christian persecutions of the second and third centuries, those believers who would not deny the Lord, even at the risk of great suffering and torture and martyrdom, were known as confessors. May we never be ashamed of the God who was unashamed to die for us (2 Timothy 1: 8; Romans 1: 16; 1 Peter 4: 16)!
"Let the redeemed of the LORD say so" (Psalm 107: 2). How can we who have been redeemed not proudly speak of our Redeemer? He is not ashamed to call us His brethren (Hebrews 2: 11). May we not be ashamed to call Him our God and Savior. If we confess Him before men, He will confess us before His Father in heaven (Matthew 10: 32). As I enjoy a saving relationship to Christ I am able to say to others: "I want you to know that Jesus Christ belongs to me. He is my Savior." My Savior in turn will say to the Father, "This person belongs to Me. He’s Mine!" On the contrary, if we deny Christ before men, He will deny us before the Father. "This person does not belong to me. I never knew him." How tragic!
We can disown Christ when we (i) hope no one will think we are Christians; (ii) decide NOT to speak up for the right; (iii) silent about our relationship with Christ; (iv) blend into society; (v) accept our cultures non-Christian values. We acknowledge Him the Lord and Savior of our life when we (i) live uprightly (morally); (ii) look for opportunities to share Christ; (iii) take a stand for Christ; (iv) love others; (vi) loyalty to Christ; (vii) use our lives and resources for God’s glory and carry out God’s will.
According to Luke 12: 8, if we gladly own Christ before men, Christ will gladly own us before the angels of God. But if we deny Him before men (v. 9), He will deny us before the host of heaven. Notice Christ’s promise to the overcomer: "He that overcomes, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels" (Revelation 3: 5). The person who truly believes on Christ "shall not be ashamed" (Romans 10: 11).
Illustration: There are many of you here this morning who are uninhibited and fearless in sharing the good news of the gospel to all those around you, especially to those who are unsaved.
Application: If you love the Lord, it’s your duty to witness to others. Maybe all you need to say to someone is: “Jesus means so much to me. I wish you knew Him too!” You will be surprised what such a simple, straightforward testimony can accomplish. Determine today to “tell the world.”
(i) Have we considered and reassessed our life by examining whether we have fallen prey to hypocrisy … are we living up to what we articulate? What we believe and profess … do we live it? Do our actions line up to our words?
(ii) Is the ‘fear of the Lord’ seen daily in our walk, talk and life? The manifestation of the ‘fear of God’ in our life is going to make many people wonder and be drawn to their Creator.
(iii) Have you publically confessed Christ and acknowledged that He is your Lord and Savior? Have you shared this with your friends and loved ones? Do they know that you are a believer in Christ? What about the people that you work with or go to school with? Do they know about your relationship to Christ and what He means to you? "We must not be ashamed to let all men see that we believe in Christ and serve Christ and love Christ and care more for the praise of Christ than for the praise of man. The duty of confessing Christ is incumbent on all Christians in every age of the church. Let us never forget that. It is not for martyrs only, but for all believers in every rank of life. Finally, the confession of our mouth must agree with the conduct of our life. In Titus 1:16 Paul describes a group of people who profess (confess) that they know God. But do they really know Him? Their lips say, "Yes, we know God!" But their life says, "No, we don’t know God." Their walk is in conflict with their talk and this is an abomination to the Lord.
If your faith in Christ is worth having, it’s worth sharing.
