9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
We've all heard this verse taught in our churches as a staple of assurance in Faith. "If you confess Him as Lord with your mouth, and believe he was raised, you are saved." But, in context to the time period and the persecution of the early believers, the word "confess" takes on a whole new meaning.
Imagine that it's 30 years after the death and resurrection of Christ. You are working in a Roman camp along with 40 other laborers on a wall. You and 5 others are the only "christians"in the group of 40 men. Your working all day in the hot sun, singing praises to God the Father, when on the horizon you see a squadron of Roman soldiers coming your way. Your hands start to sweat, you heart starts to pound as they get closer to you. As the soldiers arrive, they order all 40 of you to line up, single file. Then, starting with the first man they demand "Confess your Lord!" "Caesar!" he replies, and they let him pass. Then the next "Confess your Lord!" they demand, "Caesar is my Lord!" another replies; and they too let him pass. Until all that is left is your small group of brothers in Christ.
Finally the soldiers make it to the first of your christian brothers and demand "Confess your Lord!" He bows down to his knees and boldly confesses "Jesus of Nazareth is my Lord". In horror you watch a Roman soldier draw a heavy sword and in one swift motion brutally decapitate him and his body falls limp on the ground. Then they demand the next man "Confess your Lord" and he too says "Jesus is my Lord" and likewise they murder him on the spot in front of you. Then the next man too confesses "Christ is my Lord and Savior" and they dose him with oil and set him ablaze to your horror. Amidst the screams and the bodies it's your turn. You walk up, kneel down before the Roman soldiers and they say "Confess your Lord!" and you say......
To confess Christ means that you live for him, and if it came right down to it, you would die for him.
Let's be careful about telling young Christ seekers that by just saying "Jesus is Lord" that they will be saved. Scripture does NOT back up that claim.
Amen.
