We continue in our series Dare to be Different and this month our focus is on Different Features. I want us to consider together Four Features Of Faith:
1. Confession of faith
2. Confession of sin
3. Confession of Christ
4. Confession of salvation
Most of us know the account of the crucifixion of Jesus. Listen to Luke 23:32-38, Two others, both criminals, were led out to be executed with Jesus. When they came to a place called The Skull, they nailed Him to the cross. And the criminals were also crucified—one on His right and one on His left. Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” And the soldiers gambled for His clothes by throwing dice. The crowd watched and the leaders scoffed. “He saved others,” they said, “let him save himself if he is really God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.” The soldiers mocked Him, too, by offering Him a drink of sour wine. They called out to Him, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” A sign was fastened above Him with these words: “This is the King of the Jews.”
Luke 23:39-43 says, One of the criminals hanging beside Him scoffed, “So you’re the Messiah, are you? Prove it by saving yourself—and us, too, while you’re at it!” But the other criminal protested, “Don’t you fear God even when you have been sentenced to die? We deserve to die for our crimes, but this man hasn’t done anything wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.” And Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
Let’s examine the Four Features of Faith we find in these verses:
First, THE CONFESSION OF FAITH
“Don’t you fear God even when you have been sentenced to die?”
Most people in the world today have faith in something or someone. It could be a belief in themselves or a guardian angel, or the spirits of their ancestors, or in mother earth, or in a “god” or “gods”, or in some great mystic force.
It matters what we believe, what we have faith in and who we have faith in is important.
The Bible says in Hebrews 11:6, It is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to Him must believe that God exists and that He rewards those who sincerely seek Him.
The only faith pleasing to God is genuine faith in God. Real faith in God, real faith in Jesus as our Lord and Saviour. Our faith must be genuine and it must be an obedient faith.
We are saved by grace through faith, not by our works, or our deeds, or trying to live a good life by our standards or the standards of the world. Yet the Bible is emphatic when it states that faith on its own, without works, is useless. James especially makes this clear, Faith without works is dead (James 2:20).
Our confession of faith is demonstrated not just by our words but also by our actions by our obedient service to our Lord.
Our confession of faith in God, in Christ as Lord and Saviour does not make all of our problems and troubles disappear. The thief on the cross recognised Jesus for who He was but the thief was still on the cross.
Think about the story of Job for a moment. Job’s troubles came because he had faith not because he lacked faith. The same was true of the Apostle Paul, because of his confession of faith the apostle faced problems and difficulties and hardship and trial.
Many of us who confess Jesus as Lord know that as disciples of Christ, there have been times in our lives when our faith has been tested by troubles.
The truth is when problems have come, that is when we have discovered God is for us not against us.
He has sustained us, He has carried us, He has led us, He has blessed us.
In times of trial, in the storms of life, we can still confess that God is faithful, His promise is He will never leave us, He will never forsake us.
Second, CONFESSION OF SIN “We deserve to die for our crimes¨
1 John 1:9 says, But if we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.
Jesus provides the way for us to be forgiven of sin and also to conquer sin through Him.
We are forgiven because of His sacrifice on the Cross.
1 John 1:7 reminds us, “The blood of Jesus Christ God’s Son cleanses us from all sin”
1 John 2:1-2 says, “if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.”
Jesus came on a rescue mission, to save us from our sins, He took our punishment, He paid the price for our salvation.
Jesus was without sin, John describes Jesus as “righteous” (1 John 2:1), “In Him there is no sin” (1 John 3:5).
Because Jesus was without sin, He and He alone could be the propitiation, the atonement for our sins. He was able to carry all of our sin, all of our shame, all of our darkness, and conquer the death we deserved.
We are not yet perfect, we will continue to sin till God calls us home. When we confess our sins, past, present, future, if we are in Christ we are forgiven. We are not forgiven on our own merit we are forgiven because of who Jesus is, His perfection, His righteousness.
Friend, when you are tempted by sin remember in Christ, you are strong, the word of God abides in you, and you can overcome the evil one in God’s strength.
We are not perfect, we still sin, and when we are aware of sin in our lives we still need to confess it and pray to ask God to forgive our sin.
Third, CONFESSION OF CHRIST but this man hasn’t done anything wrong.
Romans 10:9, If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
Confessing Christ is a necessary part of salvation.
Our declaration acknowledges the truth about Jesus.
Jesus is the Son of God (Acts 8:37, 1 John 4:15).
Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah (Matthew 16:16).
Jesus is Lord (Philippians 2:9-11).
Jesus was God manifest in the flesh (1 Timothy 3:16, 1 John 4:2-3, 2 John 1:7).
The Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:12, Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
And in Matthew 10:32-33 Jesus said, “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.”
How often do you dare to declare to others that Jesus Christ is your Lord and Saviour?
Do you tell other people about your faith in Him?
Do you declare how He has saved you from your sin?
Do you confess Christ by the way you live your life?
To say one thing and live another is hypocrisy.
Confessing Christ is useless if we don’t obey him.
In Matthew 7:21 Jesus said, “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter.”
In Luke 6:46 Jesus asks, “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?”
The truth is the confession of our lips should also be evident in our lives. We must confess Christ through our words, our actions, and our lives.
Fourth, CONFESSION OF SALVATION “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.”
Romans 10:10, For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.
Saved. The Bible speaks of being saved in three tenses:
Past tense - We have been saved.
Present tense - We are being saved.
Future tense - We shall be saved.
An understanding of how we have been, are being and shall be saved helps us to have full assurance of our salvation.
Past tense - We Have Been Saved, we have been forgiven.
2 Timothy 1:9 says, “For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was His plan from before the beginning of time—to show us His grace through Christ Jesus.”
The work of Jesus on the Cross is a finished work. Jesus has already done everything necessary for every person who has ever lived, is living, or yet to be born, who repents and accepts Jesus as Lord to be saved.
The Apostle Paul explained to the church in Corinth, “You were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified.” (1 Corinthians 6:11).
To Titus, Paul wrote, “He saved us.” (Titus 3:4-5).
A little earlier in Titus, Paul wrote, “The grace of God has appeared bringing salvation to all men” (Titus 2:11)
Present tense - We Are Being Saved
1 Corinthians 1:18 says, The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God.
Paul spoke to the Corinthians of “those who are being saved” (2 Corinthians 2:15). Paul uses the word “saved” in a present and ongoing way.
Paul told the Philippians, “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who is at work in you.” (Philippians 2:12-13).
Paul talks of our Salvation as a work-in-progress, we are saved, we are eternally secure, we are assured of our sins forgiven and our place in Heaven, yet we are also being saved.
God is still working in our lives to make us fit for Heaven.
God is still actively saving us, the blood of Christ is still actively cleansing us, the Holy Spirit is still working in us and through us, to change us, renew us, transform us.
Our past sins were forgiven when we became Christians, our sins since then, our present sins, our current sins also need to be forgiven too.
As we repent, as we confess, God continues to forgive, as we continue on with Him, we continue to be saved by the power of God.
Future tense - We shall be saved
Romans 5:9-10 says, Since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through Him! For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life!
For those of us who are in Christ, those who have accepted Him, those who have repented and turned to Him, those who have known Him as Lord and Saviour, those who have confessed Him, our promised salvation, when we go to be with the Lord for eternity, is a future event.
We shall be saved.
Here is more truth from The Apostle Paul, Romans 13:11, “our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.”
Ephesians 1:13-14, when you believed in Christ, He identified you as His own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom He promised long ago. The Spirit is God’s guarantee that He will give us the inheritance He promised and that He has purchased us to be His own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify Him.
The Holy Spirit is given as a guarantee of our redemption, our eternal inheritance, our eternal salvation.
We shall be saved.
As I draw to a close listen to the words of Jesus in Luke 23:43: Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
Jesus promised this thief on the cross next to His a place in Heaven. God promises all who make a confession of faith, a confession of sin, a confession of Christ and a confession of salvation a place in Heaven.
Which of the thieves are you? What is your confession? What is your declaration?
With all you have heard, are you the scoffer, are you the unrepentant sinner?
Or are you the believer, the repentant, the forgiven, the assured of a place in Heaven?
The promise of Romans 10:13 is, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Dare to be different, dare to confess, dare to declare, Jesus is Lord, Jesus is Saviour.
Sermon audio available here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/four-features-of-faith-series-dare-to-be-different/id1016102507?i=1000437344759 and here https://sermons.estuaryelim.church/20190505_apm_dean_courtier(fourfeaturesoffaith).mp3
