Three little words capture a huge problem we face in society today. They embody what was at the heart of Adam and Eve’s problem in the Garden and have plagued humanity ever since. They are, “On my terms!” We are happy to be married, but on my terms; happy to be in a family, but on my terms; happy to be employed, but on my terms; happy to be a Christian…but on my terms.
We want God today in America, but on our terms. Piers Morgan did an interview recently on CNN with Pastor Mark Driscoll…regarding a book Mark has written on a Christian view of sexuality. Mark came out and gave Piers a Bible as a gift. The interview started getting tense when Piers asked Mark if he thought homosexuality was sin.
Mark answered that the Bible calls pornography, fornication, adultery and homosexuality sin. Piers replied, “The majority of Americans today are OK with homosexuality, and that will soon become an even greater percentage. It is a new day, a new world!” At which point Piers picked the Bible off the desk and added, “Don’t you think it is time that clergy like you dragged this book kicking and screaming into the new world?”
We are living in a nation that wants to be Christian but on its own terms. We have remade God into our image. Truth is re-interpreted to suit our lives. Sin is glamorized and righteousness ridiculed. Words like sin, judgment and hell are being removed from the national conversation, and Jesus is relegated to the innocuous role of a good example, a teacher, a prophet, but certainly not God.
The world we live in is really not much different from what Jesus’ disciples and the early church faced. And, beginning with Jesus’ disciples, they withstood the erosion of their faith in their day with their confession. This is why Jesus took His disciples to the magnificent seat of paganism, in Caesarea Philippi, and asked them who He was, until Peter confessed, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” (Matthew 16:16)
To confess means to admit, to agree to the extent of professing allegiance. It is a verbal statement of truth that is backed up by the absolute allegiance of your whole heart and life. Our salvation depends on confession, “…if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
Forgiveness of sin flows out of confession, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)
Confession is the focal point of our perseverance, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.” (Hebrews 10:23) Confession is, by definition, exclusive, “No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also.” (I John 2:23) Finally, confession is often very public, “Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” (I Timothy 6:12)
The Greek verb, translated “confess,” in these verses is…
- In the aorist tense, which means “it is all the time”… not a one shot deal.
- It is subjunctive, which means “it is your choice”… no one can coerce you.
- It is in the middle voice, which means “it is for your own benefit”…the blessing of God is on Holy Spirit-inspired confession.
Confession is crucial in the life of Jesus’ disciples because it is the polar opposite of life lived on your own terms. It is crucial in the life of the Church today to stem the tide of muddy thinking that clouds the Gospel in our time. Confession professes that the allegiance of your life IS Jesus, His agenda, His Kingdom, His people…all on His terms.
Pastor Alec Rowlands
