Matthew 10:32-33 (KJV)

32. Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.
33. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.

1. The Blessing of Confessing Christ . . . "him I will confess before the Father."
   1. What does it mean to "confess Christ" before men?
      Only those who confess Christ before men will find Christ confessing them before God.
      To "confess" Christ is more than "professing" Christ. Confession is much deeper.
      1. The meaning of the word --- "pledging allegiance to Christ as Lord before men."
         In this text there is a peculiar construction of the Greek word "homolegeo." "En" precedes the word. Literally it says "(he) who confesses 'in me' before men."
         Everything about this person points to Christ; conduct, words, actions, etc . . .
      2. The context of this verse --- (Matthew 10:16-31) says that persecution will come.
         It is one things for someone to profess Christ among his friends, another to confess Christ among his enemies. What do people around you believe about your faith?
   2. What does it mean for Christ to "confess you" before the Father?
      In our study of the Sermon on the Mount we saw that there will be people who profess Christ on "that day," but He will day "depart from me, I never knew you."
      1. Those whom He knows hear Him --- "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them."
      2. Those whom He knows follow Him --- "and I know them, and they follow me."
      3. Those whom He knows may stray --- "one lost sheep out of a hundred" (Luke 15).
      4. The Good Shepherd will find His lost sheep --- "He will go after it, and find it."
      Christ will say to the Father, "That is my sheep. I call him by name. He has come after Me. He hears my voice and he follows Me. Even when he strayed, I went after him."
2. The Curse of Denying Christ . . . "him I will deny before the Father."
   Denying Christ carries with it the same strong language of confessing Christ. It has the idea of one who in words and actions denies any allegiance to Christ as Lord and Savior.
   1. This denial is common during persecution . . . and one of the early conflicts within the church of Jesus Christ was over the readmission of people into the church who had formerly denied their allegiance to Christ during the Roman persecutions.
   2. This denial is contrary to the nature of the true Christian . . .
      1. God regenerates the heart . . . so that the Christian is different than the lost man.
      2. The Christian loves His Lore . . . "We love Him because He first loved us."
      3. Any denial of Christ is accompanied by deep grief . . . just as Peter wept.
      God will take the timidity of His child and turn it into bold courage. The Christian may be allowed to deny for a season, but his denial will be like the winter . . . it will always be overtaken by a new spring, a time when the heart repents of its deadness.
   3. This denial is coupled with a denial given by Christ.
      There is no such thing as a closet Christian. There is no room for one to say, "I know Christ" but to deny Him in life and example. Jesus is simply saying, "He that refuses to live his life before men under my Lordship, I won't confess to know him in heaven."