Confession: Evidence of Love

I John 4:12-16

It is hard to confess something that you do not genuinely believe if you know there are going to be negative consequences for that confession. For instance, I am not going to go confess to committing a murder that I did not commit knowing that the prosecution is seeking the death penalty. That would be crazy. Let's be honest, there is a strong temptation to not confess the things we do believe if we know that it could get us in trouble. We often feel it is better to just remain silent.

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No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.

I John 4:12-16

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We have discussed abiding in God and Him abiding in us. His spirit lives within believers. God sent His Son to die for our sins. To be frank, these are the things that Christians like. However, what John covers next is often where many Christians stop. The next topic he discusses is confession.

It is easy to confess Jesus in church. There are typically like-minded people there. We are not really worried about conflict or someone disagreeing with us. Church is a place where we can feel safe to talk about Jesus because that is what it is all about there. There real question is, would we confess Jesus outside of church and if there were potential negative consequences?

If we love Jesus and are filled with His Spirit, we must confess Jesus to the world around us. The only way a person can be saved from their sins is if we proclaim the Gospel. Paul wrote, "How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? (Romans 10:14). Jesus said, "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). He also said, "If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you" (John 15:18). Jesus made all of this known before He commissioned us to preach the Gospel. If we love Him, we will keep His commandments (John 14:15). We confess Him to the world because we love Him. We confess Him to the world because we love them. The Gospel is the only hope any of us have.

Father, so often intimidation gets thrown our way. Satan wants to scare us into silence. I pray that we would love You and that our faith would prevent us from remaining silent. Strengthen us for the fight we are called to engage in. May we stand bold and firm in this world for You.