EXTRACT – THE CONFESSION OF JESUS AS LORD

When we have believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, the One who has suffered on the cross for us, but who is now glorified in heaven as Man, it is of the greatest importance that we should definitely confess Him as Lord, that we should let others know by our words and ways that we are His. It is a real joy to tell others that we belong to Him; but quite apart from the question of the joy it gives to us, to confess Jesus as Lord with the mouth is one of the conditions of salvation, “with the mouth confession made to salvation”, Rom.10.10….

It is not at all uncommon to find that a believer has been definitely hindered in his spiritual progress because he has not confessed to those about him that he is the Lord’s. The enemy has many arguments which he uses to try to keep us from confessing the Lord’s name, and the human heart only too readily avails itself of the reasons and excuses suggested; but we may be quite sure that unless we do confess the Lord, that is, take our stand as belonging to Him, we shall be weak all along the line, for we shall lack His support. The reason why confessing Jesus as Lord is necessary, if we are to know salvation in any practical sense, is because Christ has been, and still is, rejected here. The Lord of glory has been crucified….Although, since the day when Jesus was crucified, the world has assumed a Christian garb and would profess to reverence Christ, it has not changed its real character. Let anyone confess the worthy name of Christ…and he will soon find out that Jesus has no real place here.

One reason why we should confess Jesus as our Lord is because confession brings salvation. Salvation does not only mean that we are eventually to go to heaven, and be saved from judgment, but that we should now be delivered from the rule of sin and the power of the world. It is true that “we shall be saved by him from wrath” (Rom.5:9); but in addition to this, salvation means a present deliverance from the course of this world (Gal.1:4)….we shall only realise the present gain of salvation if we confess Jesus as our Lord. If we remain secret disciples, that is, those who really believe but who say nothing about it, we are likely to be overcome by our companionships or associations, and the customs of the world will soon govern our course of life; indeed we may never get free from the power of the world….

The disciple may also through his confession discover another believer, one who is perhaps longing for a companion to share his joys and help him in his pathway. His worldly companions separate him from their company; but this is really an advantage spiritually; it means practical salvation.

No one except the Lord knows what we believe unless we confess; but it is impossible not to confess in some way or another if we are to be true to what we believe….

Another possible hindrance is a sense that we think we are not now, or may not be in the future, quite true to what we profess. Better not say anything, it may be argued, than make a profession and be untrue to it. While this sounds very plausible, it is really the enemy’s suggestion. Would the Lord ever tell us to hide our light? Has He not said just the reverse? Did He not say “Let your light thus shine before men”, Matt.5:16. If in our ways we are not now true to what we believe, the remedy is not in being silent and hiding our light, which would be more untrue, but to get to the Lord about our failure and confess to Him and judge ourselves for our inconsistency, and count upon His grace for both confession and conduct. If we think that we may not in the future be true to our profession, the remedy is again not in silence. That is what the enemy desires – anything to keep Christ in the background or out of sight altogether. Are we to rely on what we can be? Can we not trust the Lord? Is it not written “He keepeth the feet of his saints”? 1 Sam.2:9. If He has said, Confess; may we not count upon Him for grace and power to support us if we do so? Most surely we can....Confessing the Lord’s name in itself imparts a moral stimulus to the life of the one who confesses, and only those who confess know how really the Lord helps whenever they do so….

Another plea against the definite confession of Christ is that our lives should speak; they should indeed! The enemy triumphs if only he can get us to deny in our lives what we affirm with our lips….[but] to use the argument that “life” is better than “lip” in order to keep our lips closed so that Christ is not spoken of, is a subtle effort of the enemy to prevent testimony to Christ. We must not hide God’s righteousness, but declare it; nor must we conceal His loving-kindness, but make it known (Ps.40:9.10). Otherwise our lives have no real testimony about them, whatever our conduct may be….

As we have seen, a definite confession of Christ brings with it a most confirming sense of His support. The timid and uncertain feelings of the secret disciple are no longer experienced, but in their place the soul possesses a deepening sense of power from on high....Confessing that we belong to Christ is an honour indeed! Let our concern be to walk humbly with self-distrust, but with increasing confidence in Him whose Name we confess; for the scripture says “No one believing on him shall be ashamed”, Rom.10:11.

The Christian’s Blessings

M.W.Biggs

Edited and Published by John A Brown

36 Laverock Park, Linlithgow EH49 6AT UK

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