The Proof Is In Our Mouths

Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.

Matthew 10:32-33

As we move through life, we will encounter many different types of people. And in order to know who a person is and what they are all about is usually as easy as listening to what they say. Given enough time spent with people, we can collect a lot of information on their beliefs, desires, priorities, and yes, even the condition of their heart. Of course, we are not talking about their cardio/physical health rather the spiritual condition of their soul. Their rhetoric will usually give that away.

Jesus tells us that in order for us to have any expectation that He will welcome us into heaven, we must welcome Him into our hearts and lives in this life. How do we know this? Consider His words:

Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.

Matthew 10:32-33

There is a principle at work in Jesus’ words that we need to recognize and embrace. We cannot go throughout our lives being ashamed of Jesus and the gospel and expect, at the same time, to be in right relationship with Him. Much like a husband who claims to love and cherish his wife yet finds every way possible to avoid spending quality time with her is the person who claims salvation yet is neglectful to foster an intimate, passionate walk with the Lord. It doesn’t make sense in marriage and it doesn’t make sense in our spiritual lives either. If we truly love the Lord and are walking in right relationship with Him daily, that reality will finds its way into our speech.

This is not the only place in scripture that we find this truth. The same principle can be applied to forgiving others. Consider Jesus’ words:

For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.

      Matthew 6:14-15

If we expect God to forgive us of our sin then we must be willing to do the same for others. To suggest that our behavior is not at all connected to the spiritual reality within our hearts would be to ignore biblical truth. Our speech, our behavior, and our response to others (friend or foe) speaks volumes on our real spiritual condition. 

So let’s get down to the heart of the matter. A person’s rhetoric tells us all that we need to know about what is going on spiritually in the life of that individual. An unbeliever will speak like an unbeliever and a Christian like a Christian. If we have truly been born again and are now walking in the power of the Holy Spirit, we will boldly and unapologetically proclaim the name of Jesus. In fact, it is this bold proclamation of the powerful name of Christ that brings about salvation. Consider the words of Paul:

…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; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

    Romans 10:9-10

We would do well to remember that the words “faith” and “believe” both come from the same Greek root word meaning “to trust.” It is our trust in Christ that brings about our righteousness (notice it has nothing to do with works) but it is our proclamation with our mouths (confessing Jesus) that brings about our salvation. This is why authentic, spiritual conversion always leads to a public confession and proclamation of the name Jesus. To shrink back from this bold identification with Christ would indicate that something is wrong in our spiritual lives. When we have a heart that is passionate for the Lord, that passion will yield boldness in our rhetoric.

Going back to part one of this series, this is why it is so important for us to correctly assess our lives and our need for a Savior. To be ashamed of the gospel is to deny its power and perhaps even our need for it. But only when we come to the place where we know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that we are lost, spiritually dead, and in need of spiritual transformation and salvation, can we receive God’s redemption found only in Jesus. And an authentic, born again relationship with Jesus Christ coupled with spiritual growth and maturity will always yield a bold proclamation of His name!

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

        Romans 1:16

See also Luke 6:37-38, Philippians 2:9-11