Matthew
10:32-33, "Whosoever therefore will confess me before men, him will I
confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall
deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in
heaven."
This morning,
mortal men all too often become shortsighted about reality. In reality,
men are not nearly the "masters of their own domain and destiny" as
often or to the extent they like to think. Simple contemplation shows
that we cannot even get from place to place without relying on and
trusting in other people and things. For example, for me to get to work
on a daily basis, I trust that my vehicle will not break down, there
will be gas at the service station if I need it, food will be available
to eat through the efforts of many to grow and prepare it, and many of
the other daily routines have similar dependencies and needs. While
individuals should do the best they can on a daily basis to strive in
their fields of labour and endeavor, we all need and depend on other
people to "do their part" as well for the services and needs that we
rely on. The need for others shows forth even brighter in a spiritual
sense in our study verses.
Sometimes I
sit in contemplation at the end of the day and wonder how much help the
Lord gave me during that day that I did not even see or notice. The
possibilities are endless for peril in this old world. How many of them
were close to me but prevented from harming me by His Almighty Hand?
How many pitfalls did I get close to? We need Him and depend upon Him
for so much that we cannot even begin to count the ways in which He has
helped and aided us in our daily struggles of life. In our study
verses, the context is crucially important to glean the proper exegesis
of the lesson, but even the immediate context - though very specific in
application - can be broadened a bit as we shall labour to investigate.
The immediate
context deals with Christ sending out His disciples to preach the
gospel. All that precedes our verses in this lesson gives them specific
instructions about how to preach, where to preach, how to walk, and how
to talk, etc. Therefore, the specific application of this lesson refers
to a minister or ministers going about their labours in the kingdom and
how they should behave. The broader application can touch any of God's
faithful trying to war a good warfare in this life. So, let us
investigate the primary thought followed hard by the broader
application. To set the table for this discourse, allow a personal
reflection and illustration that shows a skewed point of view on this
passage.
Many years
ago, I was having a conversation with a man - who wore the name
Primitive Baptist elder - who was in serious error about the doctrine of
eternal security. His theology basically back-end loaded the child of
God's life with good works as some sort of "proof of election" that all
children of God would manifest. They would all manifest a belief in
Jesus, and he was one half-step away from affirming that they would all
hear and rejoice in the gospel. He invoked this passage as one of his
proofs that children of God would all manifest this behavior. They
would all confess Jesus, as no child of God would ever be denied in the
presence of the Father - he claimed. While his point of view is
patently in error (as many children of God have failed to confess Jesus
for one reason or another as John 12:42 so proves), let us at least deal
with this point of view to set up the discussion on the right point of
view.
In II Timothy
2:11-13, Paul gives the young minister a faithful saying that includes
some descriptions about denial. Putting verses 12-13 side-by-side under
the glass could yield the possibility to think "that looks like a
contradiction." It is not, as nothing in the Bible ever does contradict
itself. However, one must figure out how on the one hand He could deny
us, but on the other hand He cannot. As we mentioned in our last
writing, the answer lies in the difference between timely and eternal
stances: positional vs. conditional language. When it comes to our
position in Christ Jesus, He cannot deny us, for such would be to deny
Himself. He can no more deny us entry into heaven than He could deny
His own work in election, predestination, sanctification, redemption,
atonement, and eventual glorification. However, He can and does deny us
on a regular basis in this old world when our steps flounder on the
uneven pavement of life's thinking.
Christ here
tells His disciples how to behave while preaching. The point is
inescapably clear from the context that if they attempt to preach on
their own strength and might, they will fall flat on their face. If
they attempt to preach while wholly and totally dependent upon Him, they
will invoke the blessings of heaven's throneroom as the Father smiles
down upon them and their efforts. Denying Christ in this lesson is akin
to trying to preach based on the power of your own study, prowess of
language, finesse of delivery, and acumen of intellect. While it is
important that a minister study and labour intensely while putting forth
the best and least distracting delivery he can, the demonstration of
God's Spirit and its associated power can only come through dependency
upon Him. If the minister does not depend upon Him, the denial before
the Father will be manifestly evident. I can regrettably say that the
pulpit is the most awfully lonely place in the entire world when I have
denied Christ for my dependency and strength.
Let us move
into the broader thought for a moment. Some Biblical lessons can be
dealing primarily with one subgroup of people but still be applicable to
a broader group, and our verse does indicate such a time and place. The
most fitting place to deal with God's children in general in this lesson
is through the lens of prayer. Prayer is something the Bible says
should be done perpetually. (I Thessalonians 5:17) Yet, many of us -
self included - go about so many daily activities and routines without
thinking about invoking His help and strength through the power of
prayer. In all of the daily routines that we mentioned at the start of
this piece, how many of those things do we need His help in? All of
them. We need His help to live and move and even have our being.
Without Him, we can do nothing. (John 15:5) However, if your pattern
looks a lot like mine, I will charge into the affairs of life without
praying for His help, and then watch things blow up and not go as I had
planned. When the problems arise, then I pray and ask for help.
Sometimes, I feel the answer come down into my chest from on high,
"No." What has happened is that I have been denied since I denied Him
by not initially confessing my need for His help.
However, to
keep from ending this lesson in a downward direction, consider the
converse thought. Whether minister or prayerful disciple, what happens
when we do invoke that help from on high? What happens when the
minister lays his soul at the threshold of the altar pleading, "Lord be
with me in the sermon as I need Thy help desperately?" What happens
when the disciple of the Lord prays fervently, "Lord, watch over my
steps. Keep me from falling, and lead me not into temptation but
deliver me from evil?" Those heart-felt yearnings and petitions should
have the hope and consolation that One is in heaven pleading and
interceding that case. He says, "Father, hear and grant the petition.
In love and mercy, bless, forgive, and aid with heavenly power."
Friends, just as surely as denial will come from heaven when we deny
Christ, so just as surely will heaven pour out blessings unspeakable and
full of glory when we confess Christ as our only help and all in all.
Such verses
and passages as these are not meant to - nor should they ever - be used
as "scare tactics" for children of God to prove their election or
regeneration. Rather, they should be used as faithful exhortations of
encouragement to remember where our hope and strength comes from in our
battles of life. Thanks be unto God, friends, that the war has already
been won by the labours of Jesus Christ, but thanks be unto God as well
that He sees fit to regularly bless and aid us in our battles when we
rely upon the Captain of our salvation and leader of our army. Through
my own unfaithfulness I have been denied in prayer and in preaching, and
through His power, I have been blessed in both as well. May our lives
pressing forward in His service be full of confession of Him with denial
of our Help and Strength wholly absent in all the labours to which our
hand finds to do.
In Hope,
Bro Philip