Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Not Ashamed
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.” (Romans 1:16)
We are living in a time in which people stand up for a variety of causes. People stand up for everything imaginable, and in some cases, they are even willing to lay down their lives for what they believe. Although we may not agree with what they are saying in some cases, we have to admire their courage for believing in something so strongly that they are willing to risk their lives for it.
Isn’t it time that we, as Christians, stand up for what we believe? Romans 10:9 says 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.”
What does it mean to confess the Lord Jesus? The very word confess gives us a clue. It is a word that means, “to be in agreement with.”
When I am confessing Jesus Christ, I am not merely acknowledging that He existed, nor am I just acknowledging that He is God. When I confess Jesus Christ before others, I am saying that I agree with Him.
It is not enough to simply acknowledge that He has power and that He is moving in the lives of certain people. There must be a personal acknowledgement that I have received Him as my own Savior and Lord.
In a day when so many are standing up for so many causes, it seems to me there are so many in the church who are not standing up for anything. Let’s be willing to stand up and confess Jesus Christ before others.
Copyright © 2008 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New King James Version, copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
For more relevant and biblical teaching from Pastor Greg Laurie, go to www.harvest.org.