MUSIC BLOG 01-30-2025
MUSIC BLOG
01-30-2025
The Good Confession
Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
Just as obedience, loving God, and faith in the work of Jesus on the cross are all vital and integral parts of the Christian New Birth, so is confession an integral part of that same life.
I have found that there are times in life when we are not able to move forward until we confess where we are and what we’ve done that has trapped us in our current position. Whether you take Paul’s word to the Romans or James' word to the church in Jerusalem.
The New Testament believer had to publically declare that Jesus is Lord! In our United States current way of thinking this act doesn’t carry much weight in and of itself. I could go on my roof and announce to my neighbors, “Jesus is Lord!” all day long. No one would do much except maybe call me out for being disorderly. However, if I was to put on Facebook or any social media a statement that although agrees with scripture and God’s Holy standard, it would not be well received, most likely my account would be blocked for hate speech, or worse I would be put on a watch list for being a terrorist.
We shudder at the thought of someone ridiculing us for our thoughts (I dare not say convictions because of what that would entail) and choose to be silent in our public arena and choose to be more vocal in the safe environment of the church, Sunday School class or with Christian friends.
Confession also means standing with someone. There are those make-or-break moments in friendships where just standing up with your friend makes all the difference in the world. Paul felt that at his first court appearance when no one was found to stand up for him. I can’t imagine having to stand in the midst of such a dangerous and bloodthirsty group of officials and the Emperor, himself as judge. Such a cataclysmic moment might have been far worse than facing the lions of the Colosseum. Maybe you’ve been in that kind of a situation, and you know how it feels to be truly alone in this world, if so you also know how important it is to show up and sound off for someone.
There is no way to make this easy. It is difficult to stand up and be counted. It is also difficult to admit a wrong or confess a sin, but these are also a part of being a Christian. Although we do confess our sins to God, and we know He forgives and cleanses us, there are some sins that we share with someone else to break the power of that sin over our lives. We aren’t any more forgiven by our confession as we are set free by the confession.
So, we stand up and fight for or we kneel in confession. Both are vital parts of following Christ. Wherever you are in your journey, my prayers go with you to be strong in the Lord and weak toward yourself. God will always give the increase.
Blessings,
Marty