We are commanded not only to follow Christ privately, but to confess Him publicly. Listen to the awesome words of Jesus, “Whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him shall the Son of Man be ashamed, when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels. Everyone who acknowledges me before men, I will acknowledge before My Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 10:32-33).
The demands Jesus make are heavy, but the reasons He give are compelling:
- The First Reason is “for our own sake.” “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul.” Many people fear if they commit themselves openly to Christ, they will be losers. Just the opposite. The astonishing paradox is that if we lose our lives following Christ we actually find ourselves. “The self-denial is a true self-discovery. To live for ourselves is insanity and suicide. To live for God and man is wisdom and life indeed. We do not begin to fine ourselves until we have become willing to lose ourselves in service of Christ and of our fellows.”[1]
To enforce this truth, he asks a business man’s question of profit and loss: Suppose you were to gain the whole world and lose yourself, what profit would you have made? For what can a man give in exchange for his soul? Why is this? First, we cannot gain the whole world. Secondly, if we did, it would not last. Thirdly, while it did last, it would not satisfy. Of course it costs to be a Christian; but it costs much more not to be.
- The Second Reason is “for the sake of others.” Jesus said, “Whosoever loses his life for the gospel’s sake, will save it.” For the “sake of the gospel” means “for the sake of proclaiming it for others…” Not only must we not be ashamed of Christ, but we should be so proud of Him that we want to spread His good news to others. Many think that only the professional evangelist or seasoned pastor are to proclaim the gospel. Not true. Jesus describes all of His followers as “the light of the world,” and “the salt of the earth.” (Matthew 5:13-16). The world is groping in darkness and utter confusion, and the greatest contribution anyone can make is to live a genuine Christian life of peace and love, build a Christian home, and radiate the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ in a dark world.[2]
- The Third Reason to confess Christ openly is “For Christ’s sake.” Jesus said, “Whosoever loses his life for my sake will save it. Why for “His sake?” Because He gave Himself for us. He asks no more than He gave. He took the cross and asks us to take up the cross also. Will it cost us much? Yes, but it cost Him more, much more. “You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, He became poor that we through His poverty might be made rich.” (2 Cor. 8:9). He left the Father’s glory and the worship of countless angels. He humbled Himself to assume our humanity, to be born in a stable and laid in a feed trough, to work at a carpenter bench, to make friends of rustic fishermen, to die on a criminal’s cross, and to bear the sins of the whole world.
“Were the whole world of nature mine, that were a present far too small, Love so amazing, so divine, demands my life, my soul, my all.”
The most courageous public confession of Christ I ever witnessed was made by 28 courageous Cubans. The scene was a revival meeting in a Baptist church in the suburbs of the capital city of Havana in 1959. Castro had just risen to power. As I was preaching, I noted that the walls of the church were lined up with policemen sent to spy out, I believe, for the new dictator. After joyous singing, I preached an urgent message, gave the invitation for people to come forth to receive Christ as Lord and Savior. Twenty eight brave souls came forth. At that moment, an elderly man rushed to the front and began to quote our text for tonight. “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” (Matthew 10:32-33).
This brave ole saint was risking his life to commend those who had made a public profession of salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ. I left Havana the next day or so and do not know what happened to the old man and those who made their public confessions. But one thing I know is this: After I left Communist officials came to the pastor, Brother Cedilo Aleman, and said, “Bill Bennett was not a preacher, but an agent of the CIA, and they put this brother in prison for life.” While there, his son was called to preach. If people would risk their very lives to obey Christ in open confession, how dare we refuse in free America?
If we do refuse, we should ask ourselves the question, are we truly born again and on our way to heaven, for none other than the Apostle Paul said, “One must not only believe in his heart but confess Jesus as Lord with his mouth openly to be saved (Romans 10:9-10). and the Apostle John says that the “fearful” (cowards afraid to openly confess Jesus) have their part in “the lake which burn with fire and brimstone which is the second death.” (Rev. 21:8).
[1] John Stott, Basic Christianity, p. 117.
[2] Ibid. p. 118.