1st John 4:15. “Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.” PUBLIC CONFESSION. I am not sure which public confession has had the greatest impact on others, But I know the first one I made, had a great impact on me. The day after I accepted Christ as my own Lord and Savior, I had to publicly confess Christ before contemporary teens. It certainly made me nervous, and made me have a serious doubt – Was I really a child of God, or was there something missing? What I understood of the blood of Christ shed – was it only a thought? Was I really a true Christian or had I missed salvation’s blessing? I had no choice but to testify and they listened with differing faces; Some had skeptical looks and just wanted to have some fun – But others seemed to believe it was real and stood still in their places, Waiting with a kind of respect until my testimony was done. One followed me into the school and said he too wanted salvation – And listened that night to the Gospel sitting beside me, Responding to the message that is worthy of all acceptation, He too the provision Christ made was able to personally see.
After all these years that have passed, I still want Christ to confess – Knowing that what one has experienced for so long, Does have a certain credibility when I stand to give a witness, That can’t be ignored and cannot be proven to be wrong. Sometimes the opportunity is given to speak to a large company, Who have gathered together to hear God’s Word, And at other times the group I speak to is only two or three, Yet even if it’s one, I am glad to tell of my Lord. When a blessing like God’s salvation has been experienced for years, And many accompanying blessings have been tried and proven, It seems only right if the time is appropriate to these others share, All that God’s grace means to me, and tell of eternal life given. By the Holy Spirit’s guidance and opportunities that evolves, I hope to be able to speak of the Lord Jesus and tell Of my salvation and life in Christ with all that new life involves I testify that by grace alone I’m saved, and my Jesus does all things well.
“O God, I am not able to express myself very well but I know what has happened to me and am thankful for a story of salvation to tell others. I think of those who were listening last night to the Gospel and I pray for their minds and hearts to be opened to the truth of salvation by grace through faith. I pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.”
God's love has been demonstrated in its fullness among us now. This gives us assurance that when the great white throne judgment takes place, we who have passed from death unto life will not be there to be judged. God's perfect love is being perfected or being brought to maturity in us. We have confidence because we are already accepted by a holy God on the solid foundation of our position in Christ. Likeness to Christ is identifiable in at least seven ways. We have the same heavenly Father [1Jn.3:2]. We have the divine nature [2Pe.1:3-4]. We have been declared blameless in the sight of God [Rom.8:1; Isa.53:5]. As our Lord had a divinely appointed work to do in this world, so do we [Ron.12:1; Mat.28:19-20]. Both our Lord Jesus Christ and we His people are special objects of satanic attacks in this world [Mat.4:1; 1Pe.3:8]. As Christ has been raised from the dead by His glorious resurrection, so it will be with those of us who are in God's family and belong to Him [1Co.15:20-23]. Our inheritance and that of our Lord's is the same because we have been made "heirs of God and joint heirs" with Jesus [Rom.8:17; 1Jn.3:2].
The characteristics of those who have God in their lives are unmistakable. We have no reason to fear the future because "we have been saved from wrath through Him." The punishment for our sins has been taken by our Savior, and we look forward with confidence when the day of judgment comes. It will not affect us, and it will mean the final end of sin. Our personal relations with our Lord will be unhindered by our frail, failing human flesh, and we will "be like Him."