Our Lord and Savior confronted us with a powerful and profound declaration in Luke 12:8-9, when He proclaimed, “Whoever confesses Me before men, him the Son of man will confess before the angels of God. But he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God.” Friends, this is an often misused and abused passage of scripture. I have heard preachers use this verse, in an attempt to coax people to take a walk to a platform at the end of a sermon, on many occasions. But this verse has nothing to do with taking a walk to the preacher or to a platform inside of a church building. The word “confess” means for a person to proclaim what is true, about the Person of Jesus; the work of Jesus; and the teachings of Jesus. Notice that this confession is before the “men of the world system”! This is not primarily speaking about “what you say and do before a congregation” within the walls of a church building! Neither is this issue of “confessing” about what you say with your lips. This word “confess” is primarily focusing on what you say with your lips and your life, before a lost and dying world!

There are many people within the pale of the Christian church, who are “big talkers” within the church walls; but they are not authentic walkers before the world! They are only hearers of the Word. They may even give “lip service” to the Word. However, their life and their lips do not demonstrate the evidences that they are authentic disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, before a lost and dying world! Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to me Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven.” Well then, the question would be, who is going to enter into the kingdom of heaven? Jesus says that it is, “He who is continuing to do the will of My Father, Who is in heaven”. This clearly reveals to us that it is the one that not only hears the Word; not just one that is giving lip service to the Word; but it is the one who hears these teachings of Jesus and does them, before a watching world! This person is manifesting the kind of “confession of Jesus Christ” that is clearly demonstrating that the have embraced the Person of Jesus Christ; the work of Jesus Christ; and the words (the teachings) of Jesus Christ. Their beliefs and their behavior are giving the ongoing evidences that they have been converted from a rebel sinner into a worshiping saint!

I think about the confession that Ruth made in Ruth 1:16, when she testified to Naomi, “Entreat me not to leave you, or to turn back from following after you; for wherever you go, I will go; and wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people shall me my people, and your God, my God....”. This confession was made by a young woman, a poor woman, a widow woman; and one who was previously a foreigner to the Lord. But now she makes an open allegiance of her commitment to the Lord, not only with her lips, but also with her very life. The rest of her life revealed to the world, that her confession was authentic. This is to be the life testimony of every true disciple of Jesus Christ, before this wicked world system. They proclaim with their mouth and their manner of living, “I am a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, and I am not ashamed of Him”. As we continue to live in a culture that is utterly fallen and rapidly deteriorating, we must not be ashamed to publicly acknowledge the Lordship of Jesus over our lives; both in our talk and our walk. The people within our sphere of influence must know, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that we are the purchased property of the Lord Jesus Christ. We ought to be ashamed, if we are ever ashamed of the Lord Jesus and His gospel! We ought to be fearful of ever being fearful about proclaiming Him, through our life and lips! We ought to be taking opportunities, and making opportunities to declare that ‘we are the glad and willing slaves of the Lord Jesus’!

Take notice dear friends, that as soon as Naomi came out of the land of the idolatrous Moabites, and headed back to her people and her God, the Lord gave her the soul of this young woman who was so closely related to her. It may be that some of us have left our first love with the Lord Jesus; and we have been living at a distance from the fire and freshness of that flaming intimacy with Jesus, which we once knew. It may be that some of us have not been pursuing a life that is “set apart from our flesh’s agendas; and set apart unto God’s agendas” for our life. It may be that some of us have been trying to serve two masters. But we will never win the souls of those around us to the narrow road that leads to eternal life, by compromising with them and with the world! We must publicly be faithful to our Lord and Savior, in our walk and our talk, if we are going to be faithful witnesses to the lost within our sphere of influence. True “heart-faith” in the Lord Jesus produces a courageous, constant, and consistent confession of Jesus Christ as Lord. This confession is to encompass every area of the life of a true disciple of Jesus.

A physician makes his confession, not only by the plaques on his wall; but also by the practice of his work! His profession is validated by his practice. His confession is verified by his conduct. The same will be true of every authentic disciple of Jesus Christ. His confession is manifested by his conduct before a lost and dying world! It will be clearly seen in his ambitions, his attitudes, his affections, his actions and his words. Oh dear friend, my prayer for each of us, is that our profession would be clearly manifested in our practice. One man said it in this manner, “Be so clearly a Divine portrait of the Lord Jesus, that the moment that a person of the world lays his eyes upon your life, he must say, whether he likes it or not, “Yes, that is a work of God; that is a Christian”.”