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God-talk or Christ?

by | Oct 14, 2014 | Uncategorized | 0 comments

That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9)

There is no greater joy to any believer than to remember the day of his deliverance from sin. The agony of conviction gave way to the joy of assurance. The fearfulness of the coming day of judgment broke into the glorious anticipation of His soon coming. The dryness of church service blossomed into the illumination of His Word, thereby bearing fruit. The hearing of His Word gave and gives life. We believed, therefore we spoke (2 Corinthians 4:13).

In the verse before us, the content of our speech is affected. Salvation is a belief of the whole man concerning the person of Christ and His resurrection. Salvation is the belief and confession with our lips of the person of the Lord Jesus and the Father’s ability to raise Him from the dead. When a believer is confronted regarding his salvation, the response of his mouth is not an experience, baptism, the keeping of law, church membership, or an identification with a denomination or ethnic group. The confession of his lips is the Lord Jesus. How rare is this confession from those to whom we witness? How rare is this confession within our churches?

There has been a subtle and deceitful transition in the content of speech. You can hear this shift from the pulpit, in books, and over media. Some may call this transition incidental and insignificant. I believe that it is telling. What is this shift of speech? It involves the subject and content of our conversation. If you will listen closely you will find that the overall confession of the church, Christian books, and media is “God” and not the Lord Jesus Christ. This would be true across religious labels and political identity. We speak much about “God” assuming that people know that we are referring to the Lord Jesus Christ. Yet, we must remind ourselves that the demons believe in one God (James 2:19). The watershed issue is the person of Christ and His resurrection not whether there is some generic “God”. The confession of Christ Jesus speaks of exclusivity. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God …. (1 John 4:2-3)

A true ministry, minister, and believer makes much of Jesus Christ. The person of Christ is upon their minds, hearts, and speech. The church confesses not about a god but boldly confesses Jesus Christ, our Lord and God. The pulpit radiates His Glory. Our books are to be baptized in Him. Our believers are scattered as seed throughout the world confessing His Name. Brethren, let us make much of Christ and then He will make much of His people.

Let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead — by this name this man stands here before you in good health. He is the stone which was rejected by you, the builders, but which became the chief corner stone. And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved. (Acts 4:10-12)

Frank Jones

Pastor, Exhorter, Cyclist

Frank Jones is presently pastor at Faith Memorial Baptist Church in Chesterfield, Virginia.

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