#107 Lu. 12:8-9  MAKING A PUBLIC RESPONSE TO THE GOSPEL

Introduction:

    In our previous text Jesus talked to His disciples about going
public with the gospel message and with other great truths of God
which He had taught them.  He admonished them to proclaim those
truths without fear of the opposition.  In out text today He talks
to them about the individual going public with his faith in Jesus
as the Christ.

I.  A public response to the gospel under the preaching of John
    the Baptist

    John the Baptist had earlier come on the scene.  John had
publicly proclaimed that the Christ also was about to come on the
scene.  He called for the people to repent of their sin and to
trust in the coming Christ as Savior.  John also called for a
public response on the part of those who did believe in the
Christ.  John called for each believer to come forward to be
baptized by him in the River Jordan.
    Many people came to hear John preach, many believed his
message and were baptized by him.  Among those whom John baptized
were the twelve men who would later become the twelve apostles.
All of twelve them were truly believers in Jesus and were truly
saved except one.  Judas Iscariot, like the others, made a public
profession of faith in the coming Christ and was baptized, but the
difference was that he never really believed in Jesus as his
Savior.  All the eleven were saved, but Judas was never saved.
Never-the-less Judas was included in the group of the twelve
apostles.

II.  A public proclamation of the gospel after the departure of
     Jesus

    Up to this point of time the proclamation of the gospel and
other truths of God which Jesus had taught them had been chiefly
done by the early church on a personal and somewhat private basis.
The disciples had done very little public proclamation of their
faith in Jesus as the Christ.  The twelve had been sent out on one
brief tour of Israel and on that tour they had preached the gospel
to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.  On this tour their
had been public, but chiefly their preaching had been done on a
personal basis to friends and acquaintances rather than by public
proclamation.
    But soon Jesus would be crucified and raised from the dead.
Soon after the resurrection Jesus would give the church The Great
Commission to preach the gospel to all the world.  The church
would be told to tarry at Jerusalem until endued with power by the
Holy Spirit.  Then they were to set out on a world-wide mission
program to preach the gospel to all the world.  They were to
preach the gospel to every creature.  They would proclaim their
message publicly.
    As the gospel message was proclaimed those who believed it
would be saved.  They would be saved the moment they put their
faith in Jesus Christ.  John 3:18 says, "He that believeth on him
is not condemned..."  That means that one who believes in Jesus is
saved.  If he believes he is not condemned and one who is not
condemned is saved.  He is no longer lost, but he is saved.

III.  A call for a public response to the gospel under the
      preaching of the disciples

    Just as there was to be a public response to the preaching of
John the Baptist, even so there was to be a public response to the
preaching of the gospel by the disciples.  Those who believed in
the coming Christ as a result of John's preaching were to come to
him and be baptized by him.  Even so, when the disciples of Jesus
preached the gospel there was to be a public response on the part
of those who believed.  Those who believed in Jesus as their
Savior were to come forward and be baptized at the hands of the
church.  They were saved when they put their faith in Jesus Christ
as Savior.  They were saved because they placed their faith and
trust in Jesus as Savior.  They were not saved because they were
baptized.  They were saved before they were baptized.  They were
saved at the point of faith in Jesus and that was before they were
baptized.  John 3:16 reads, "He that believeth in him is not
condemned..." That is true even before he is baptized.  It is true
whether or not he is ever baptized.
    Never-the-less it was the will of God for those who believed
to also be baptized.  The preaching of the gospel was to be done
publicly and their response to the gospel was to be done publicly.
They were to publicly confess Jesus as Savior.  They were to be
baptized and unite with the church that Jesus had organized.  V.
8, "Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men..."
It was the will of the Lord that they openly and publicly confess
Jesus before men.
    Let me point out right here that technically there is a
difference in making a profession of faith in Jesus and making a
confession of Jesus as Savior.  Romans 10:10 says, "For with the
heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth
confession is made unto salvation."  That is, when one in his
heart places his faith in Jesus he gets saved.  It is then after
he has believed and is saved that with his mouth he makes
confession of his faith in Jesus.  But not all who make a
profession of faith actually make a confession of faith.  Judas
Iscariot made a public profession of faith in the Christ and was
baptized by John the Baptist, but his profession was not real.  It
was not genuine.  His was only a profession.
    The other eleven disciples likewise made professions of faith
in the Christ and were also baptized.  What was the difference
between the eleven and Judas Iscariot?  The difference was that
the profession of the eleven was also a confession.  They were
confessing with their mouth what their heart had already believed.
Judas had not believed with his heart and so his was only a
profession.  Any open declaration of faith in Jesus is a public
profession.  But it is only when one has genuinely believed and
been saved that his profession is also a confession of faith.  The
faith has to be there in the heart before one can confess it.
Faith does not have to be in the heart for one to profess it.

IV.  A promise of a public response from the Lord for those who
     confess Him

    (V.  8), "...him shall the Son of man also confess before the
angels of God." There had been the public preaching of the gospel
message.  There had been a public profession of faith on the part
of the believers.  Their baptism was a public demonstration of
their faith in Jesus.  When our Lord comes back to this world,
there will also be a time of public recognition for those who have
believed in Jesus and have confessed Him before men.  Now please
note.  Jesus did not promise that all who have made a profession
of faith in Jesus would be publicly welcomed and acknowledged to
be His.  Rather He promised only that those who make a genuine
confession of faith in Jesus as Savior will be received and given
recognition.
    The world has in the main rejected the gospel of Jesus Christ
and refused to believe it.  The world as a whole has rejected the
Christ as Savior.  The world as a whole down through the centuries
has persecuted and ridiculed those who insist that Jesus is the
Savior of men and that those who put their faith in Him are saved.
But in the end-time events the Lord is going to make a great
public display and show that these were right to place their faith
in the gospel and in Jesus.  Jesus will in the presence of the
very angels of God give public recognition to those who have
placed their faith in Him.  All who have believed in Him even in
the face of ridicule will be publicly vindicated for their faith
in Jesus.

V.  A promise of a public denial of those who deny Jesus

    On the other hand, Jesus speaks about those who have not
placed their faith in Him.  V. 9, "But he that denieth me before
men..."  These are those who have publicly shown their contempt
for the gospel by their rejection of the Christ.  Many of them
have openly declared their disbelief in the gospel.  Many have
openly stated that they do not believe even in the existence of
God.  Many believe in the existence of God but do not believe that
the Bible is inspired of God.  Many believe that the Bible is
inspired of God, but do not believe that Jesus is the Son of God.
Others have declared that they do not believe that one can get to
heaven by merely repenting of sin and believing in Jesus Christ as
Savior.  Others have not actually spoken out against the Christ,
but they have publicly shown their contempt for the gospel by
their continued rejection of Him as their Savior.  In one way or
another they have denied Jesus before men.
    Jesus pronounces public judgment of these men.  (V. 9), "...
shall be denied before the angels of God."  Openly before the
angels and everybody these will be judged and denied entrance into
the glory of God.  Instead they will be sentenced to everlasting
torment.  They have rejected the Lord publicly and they will be
rejected publicly by the Lord.

Conclusion:
1.  I have publicly declared the gospel message to you.
2.  I call upon you who are unsaved to repent and trust Jesus as
    Savior.  (You can be saved without walking an aisle.)
3.  I call upon you who trust in Jesus as Savior to come forward
    and make a public confession of Jesus as Savior, to follow Him
    in baptism and to unite with this church.
4.  I call upon Christians who need a church home to come forward
    to move your membership here.
5.  I call upon all Christians to commit yourself to serve the
    Lord who has saved you.