The First Sunday after Epiphany

SERMON

INI

Text: Matthew 10:32-39

“Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven. Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.”

In Christ Jesus, who would have us boldly confess His name, dear fellow redeemed:

I read an article that I found on the Internet recently, that was entitled, Vindicating the Biblical Worldview. A worldview is the point of view from which you approach life and make decisions. It involves what you believe to be both true and most important in life, and how you then make moral judgments regarding right and wrong. A “biblical worldview” rests upon the belief that the Bible is God’s inspired word and so the authority upon which one makes decisions and decides moral issues. People with biblical worldviews believe the Bible to be true and able to provide the information necessary to make decisions in every area of life.

The author of the article noted that not too many people in our world approach life with a biblical worldview and, in fact, most people view a biblical worldview with scorn, thinking it to be absurd that anyone would govern his or her life with principles taken from what they perceive to be an outdated book. The author then goes on to discuss why he believes this to be the case. It is not, he says, because the principles of the Bible have been proven wrong. They cannot be, after all, for they originate from God who is always right and always relevant! Rather, the author suggests that there are hardly any Christians today who effectively practice those principles and live godly lives of self-denial and service. Consequently, the author suggests that the world simply ignores the biblical worldview, because it views most Christians as mere hypocrites or worse.

The author concludes the article by asking some questions “for reflection.” Here are the questions: “Do the people around you know you are a Christian? Do they see in you an example of self-denial and service that tells them you are different from other people they know? Do they hear you engaging in intelligent conversation about a multiplicity of subjects from the perspective of a biblical worldview? (Then alluding to an illustration of St. Paul found in 2 Corinthians 3, he asks…) Are you a letter of Christ, written by the Holy Spirit, to the people around you in the world?”

My dear friends, God our heavenly Father has by His grace through the redemption of Jesus Christ rescued us from sin and hell and brought us by faith into His family. He has promised to be with us here in this world and give to us life everlasting. He has not done this so that we can become “milk-toast” Christians, who cower in corners and fail to reflect His love or confess His truths. In our text today Jesus Himself addresses us and speaks of God’s will for our lives in this important matter. CHRIST CALLS UPON US BOLDLY TO CONFESS HIS NAME! We are to do so in spite of the obstacles and in view of the blessings!

I.

What are the obstacles we will face as we strive to confess the name of Jesus Christ and live our lives in accordance with His biblical principles? There may indeed be many, but our text speaks of two of them: opposition to the name of Christ and the truths proclaimed in His word and stress in our personal relationships with people, especially family members, who oppose Christ and His truths.

Jesus tells us very plainly, “Do not think that I came to bring to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” These words sound so harsh and foreboding coming so close to our Christmas celebration. Christmas, after all, is about light and joy and “peace on earth, good will toward men” (Luke 2:14), is it not? In reality, however, our world does not receive God’s Son. That was evident on that first Christmas when so very few people rejoiced at His birth. Yes, the shepherds came and found Jesus in the manger, but why was He is a manger? Was it not because those people occupying the rooms in the inn were unwilling to give up their rooms for a pregnant woman and then for her newborn Child? The wise men came and knelt before Jesus to worship Him, but the “chief priests and scribes,” who informed King Herod of the Christ’s birthplace in Bethlehem, chose to ignore the news that the promised Savior-King had been born (cf. Matthew 2:4-6), while that same Herod tried to kill the Christ-Child (cf. Matthew 2:16).

Our sinful world has been opposed to Christ from the very beginning! Jesus explains why right after speaking of the Father’s love, which brought Him into this world. He says, “God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed” (John 3:17-20). There you have it. The world opposes Christ, because it does not want to admit that it needs a Savior. He is righteous and holy and exposes their sins—sins which they do not want to admit, sins which they do not want to give up, and sins which ultimately will bring upon them the just judgment of God. While God’s word proclaims peace between penitent sinners and God, it reveals the division between God and sinners and creates divisions between believers and unbelievers. These divisions many times lead to conflict. The world jeers at the confessor of Christ and ridicules his adherence to biblical truth. We have witnessed in recent weeks one example of the world’s hostility to Jesus, as more and more people strive to keep Christ out of Christmas.

Some of that conflict and some of that suffering occur within our closest family relationships. When we are led to faith in Christ Jesus, our relationship with Him becomes our most important relationship. The old adage goes “blood is thicker than water,” but Jesus’ blood binds us even closer to Him than mere earthly family ties. Consequently, Jesus, quoting the prophet Micah, warns us, “For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’” It is sad, but true that when individuals are led by the Spirit of God to know the Lord Jesus and to place their faith in Him—to follow Him faithfully, which certainly involves change—difficulties can and do arise within family relationships. A young woman confided in me at one point during her Bible study leading up to membership that her mother called her a “Jesus freak,” because she kept a Bible on the night stand by her bed to use for evening devotions. A middle-aged gentleman informed me that certain family members with whom he had often drunk in excess prior to his conversion, became angry when he would no longer get drunk and sin with them.

Satan often sadly attempts to use family loyalty to undermine our faithful confession of Jesus’ saving name. It is not uncommon for parents to support their children in a sinful lifestyle, rather than to recognize the danger such a lifestyle represents and reprimand them in the name of Christ. It is also not uncommon for children—sometimes adult children—to come to an understanding of God’s will, but then to fail to confess Christ boldly out of deference to unbelieving or misbelieving parents. Jesus warns us, “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.” Dear friends, CHRIST CALLS UPON US BOLDLY TO CONFESS HIS NAME in spite of the obstacles, and…

II.

…in view of the blessings! Those blessings as outlined in the Bible are many. The believer in Jesus Christ, by the grace of God and through the faith engendered by the Holy Spirit, is at peace with God. His sins are removed and separated from him “as far as the east is from the west” (Psalm 103:12). He has been declared an “heir” of heaven (cf. Galatians 3:29), and so can look to the future with supreme confidence. No one and nothing in heaven or on earth can ever “separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:39). We rest in Jesus’ hands, out of which “no one is able to snatch” us (John 10:28). We, therefore, as believing children of God have hope for the future and confidence in the Lord’s present and continued blessing!

In our text Jesus speaks of two significant blessings promised to those who boldly and faithfully confess His name. Before addressing them directly, however, let us consider the context in which they were spoken. Earlier in Matthew 10, Jesus identifies and then sends His twelve apostles out to preach the truths of the kingdom. He warns them that they may face persecution, but He then comforts them with the knowledge that God is so great, so powerful, so all-knowing, and so merciful that they need not fear even though they face persecution. Jesus tells them and us that God is aware of everything that happens to the least of His creatures. He uses the insignificant sparrow as an example: “Not one of them falls to the ground apart form your Father’s will” (Matthew 10:29). He then goes on to assure them and us, “The very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore (if you face persecution); you are of more value than many sparrows” (Matthew 10:30-31).

My dear friends, it is within the context of such comforting and encouraging words that Jesus then extends the following warnings and special promises: “Whoever confesses Me before men, him I will confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven…. And he who does not take up his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.” Confessing the name of Jesus Christ is not an option for us, nor is it to be considered a burden. Rather, it is a blessed privilege we want to embrace and practice. Oh, yes, our sinful flesh will want us to run the other way at times, to become timid and shy when we ought to be bold and daring. Let us remember the words of Isaiah as quoted by the apostle Paul: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of food things” (Romans 10:15). “Faith (indeed) comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). Men, women, and children are dying every day and need to hear the name of Jesus Christ. Let us speak that name and the truths which proceed from that name. When we do that by the grace of God and with the help of the Holy Spirit, Jesus promises that He will indeed confess our names before God the Father in heaven above. If we fail to do so—if we remain quiet, because we perceive there is some outward advantage to us should we deny our Savior and so we seek to secure our life in this world, let us realize that we will lose our real life in the world to come. What, after all, is the worst thing than anyone could ever do to us? Is it not to take our earthly life? Yet, Jesus promises that should you or I lose this earthly life for His sake, we may rest assured that we will find eternal life in heaven.

Therefore, dear friends, let us listen closely to our Savior, for HE CALLS UPON US BOLDLY TO CONFESS HIS NAME! May we all do so to our Savior’s glory, to the salvation of many souls, and for our own mutual encouragement and blessing! Amen.

Soli Dei Gloria!

—Pastor Paul D. Nolting