Crucial Christological Confessions
by Rev. Kirby Williams
Analyzing two crucial confessions that determine eternity!
Text: Luke 12:8-9
Date: 11/05/2023, the Combined service.
Series: "Luke: Thy Kingdom Come" Part 125
Description:
After warning His disciples to beware of the hypocrisy and evil-intent of the Pharisees, Jesus reassured them they had nothing to fear from the world, but that wisdom dictated they fear God, fear hell and "run" to Him as the only One who could save them from the one and reconcile them to the Other. He then highlights the importance of His mediatory role, in our text for this message, by effectively dividing the world into two distinct groups-- those who will acknowledge Him before men and those who will not. This becomes crucial when Jesus reveals it will determine whether He will acknowledge them before His Father at the Final Judgment. We will look carefully at the meaning of these words and seek to clearly define what it means to "acknowledge" Christ and what it means to "deny" Him. Ultimately we will realize there is nothing more important in life or death than these two crucial confessions. First, the one you must make for Christ in this life. And secondly, the one Jesus must make on behalf of you as a condemned sinner at the Final Judgment. For it is these crucial Christological confessions that will determine your eternity!
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I. Introduction
II. Exposition of the text, Luke 12:8-9.
A. Context
1. Three interwoven themes.
2. A fourth theme.
B. Two crucial confessions.
1. Overview, Luke 9:26.
2. The weal of confessing Christ, vs. 8.
a. A solemn warning.
b. Another all-inclusive pronoun.
c. Acknowledging Christ, Luke 3:22.
i. Beyond vague generalities.
ii. Defining the word, Isa. 7:14, Luke 2:10-11,14; John 1:1,14; Heb. 4:15; Matt. 3:15; John 14:6, 1:29; Isa. 53:5; John 19:30; Mark 15:46; Acts 2:27; Luke 24:5,6; Dan. 7:13-14; Matt. 24:30-31; Phil. 2:9-11.
d. Acknowledging the Son of Man.
e. The audience, Matt. 10:32-33; Dan. 7:9-10; Rev. 5:11; Matt. 25:31-32; Rev. 14:9-10, 20:11-12.
f. A glorious scene for believers.
2. The woe of denying Christ, vs. 9.
a. A powerful adversative.
b. A personalized warning.
c. The meaning of "deny".
i. Denying Christ with "lips".
1) Active denial with "lips", Matt. 26:74.
2) Passive denial with "lips", Matt. 27:4.
ii. Denying Christ with "life".
1) Active denial of "life".
2) Passive denial of "life".
d. A chilling scene, vs. 9b, Matt. 7:21-23, 22:13.
3. Christians should be careful who we emulate, Luke 9:23.
III. Application
A. Before the "great white throne", Rev. 20:11-12.
B. A Christological Confession.
IV. Conclusion
