Is acknowledgment of Christ enough for us to be in right standing with God? We are told in Ephesians 2 that we are saved by grace through faith in Christ Jesus, and we believe it is by grace through faith and not works. But what does that mean to you? Before you think about your answer, let me put the words of Christ here, as written by the Apostle Matthew: “Therefore, everyone who will acknowledge Me before men, I will also acknowledge him before My Father in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father in heaven. Don’t assume that I came to bring peace on the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I came to turn ‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household.’ The person who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; the person who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And whoever doesn’t take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me. Anyone finding his life will lose it, and anyone losing his life because of Me will find it.” Matthew 10: 32-39Now the first part of these verses tells of the depth of rest of the dialogue. The acknowledgement of Christ before men. You and I are given many opportunities to acknowledge Christ before men. Staying silent when the call is to speak is not acknowledgement. Staying silent because of fear is not acknowledgement. Staying silent because of not wanting to create a scene is not acknowledgement. If you were ever in a situation with others in which you did not fear to talk about your children or parents, but are fearful of talking about Christ, you are not acknowledging Christ. He said that He did not come to bring peace but a sword. Acknowledging Christ may put us in some unfriendly situations, but those situations or circumstances are not a reason to withhold our acknowledgment of Christ and who He is in our lives. There are some of you who cannot speak of Christ in the workplace, for fear of losing your jobs. But those rules deal with proselytizing others, instead of just acknowledgment of our faith. But fear has kept us from speaking because we fear men more than God. Today would be a good day in our Journey to decide to acknowledge Him before men, because we love Jesus above all else. And He is the reason we live. Remember, Jesus carried His cross because of what He spoke in front of others. For nothing more than speaking truth when those listening didn’t want to hear it. Can we do the same? Pastor Andy
Barnabas Man 