“Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God: But he that denieth me before men shall be denied before the angels of God.”–Luke 12:8–9
In 1765 Joseph Grigg published a hymn that was taken from a poem he had apparently written as a ten-year-old boy. It began:
“Jesus! and shall it ever be!
A mortal man ashamed of Thee?
Scorn’d be the thought by rich and poor;
O may I scorn it more and more!”
In our society, it is becoming less and less socially acceptable to declare allegiance to Jesus Christ and to follow the teachings of the Word of God. We still have the historical veneer of a generic and vague religiosity, but to stand and say that Jesus is the only way to Heaven is sure to spark protests and objections. The more our culture turns its back on Jesus, the more important it is for us to take a clear, uncompromising, and determined stand that we are His followers and that we proudly bear His name.
The early church faced opposition because of their insistence on preaching Jesus. The high priest insisted that they stop using His name. “Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us” (Acts 5:28). More than anything else, the religious leaders did not want Jesus’ name proclaimed—but that is exactly what the disciples preached.
What our world needs is not better methods, but the original message. Our wisdom and philosophy will not change the world, but the Saviour will. “And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ” (Acts 5:42).
The name of Jesus that we carry is an identifying mark we must never be ashamed to claim before the world.– Dr. Paul Chappell
