Jesus is Lord | Part 3
“If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved”
Romans 10: 9
If having faith in Christ is a public confession that we consider to be the true foundation, the key to access God’s free gift of salvation, we can now start to understand what confessing Christ truly meant for his disciples. It clearly wasn’t some sort of magic word formula that anyone could simply repeat after a preacher; its implications go far deeper than a mere enrolment to a religion or a faith denomination. If confessing Christ is in essence meant to be a public act of faith, then it cannot be expressed secretly; because it is only real and it only gains significance as an outward demonstration, a public expression of a heart belief in the redeeming death and resurrection of the man Jesus.
In Matthew 10:32, Jesus himself declare that” Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my father which is in heaven”
As a believer today, has your faith gained meaning and significance? I admit how often we are challenged by the depth of commitment that this confession required, the passion, the willingness to face death are all embedded in this very public confession of Christ. We learned instead how true disciples chose to go against the culture, against their fathers' traditions, against the empirical laws of their time to live and be true to this confession. They refused to compromise their values, no “political correctness” ; they denied themselves and paid the heavy price to trust and obey the teachings of their new found Lord and messiah ( Master, Owner, Proprietor)
“Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, we ought to obey God than men” ( Acts 5:29)
For instance Peter’s mindset when faced with similar opposition may seem overwhelming, hard to comprehend for us. Where do we stand when life peer pressure, unethical practices in our work life, the fear of loss or fear of rejection that is still real for many come to wage war against one desire to obey God? What has being a christian has cost you? if anything at all? Many have denied their faith and gone to self preservation mode ; the Bible was true until it started to cost them something.
Although this insight about Peter’s faith shows that confessing Christ, certainly means experiencing freedom from fear, from man, from a sin conscious burdened mind. Confessing Christ seems to produce the result of revealing to oneself the power of a liberating life free from slavery to the evil darkness of this world. Peter has found that confessing publicly Christ is the only real pathway to discover the redeeming power of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Love of God and the fellowship with the Holy Spirit that is granted freely to us by this very confession. “ God was pleased to make known what is the riches of the glory of his mystery among the gentiles which is Christ in you the hope of glory” (Colossians 1: 27)
Today we are commanded not only to live by this confession but also to become witness of the liberating power of the gospel of Jesus. He knows our battles , He too thought our battles. “Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else?” ( Romans 8:32)
Further readings: Colossians 1; Ephesians 1: Acts 5:40-42 ; Romans 8: 28-39
