CONFESSING Christ as Lord and savior
The Fifth Amendment of the Constitution states,
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous, crime unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
When living for Christ, we find ourselves on the stand in the court of public opinion being bombarded with questions about our Father, fellowship and faith, but we find ourselves lost for words and unable to give an adequate defense. Thus, we plead the Fifth. We chose not to incriminate ourselves through a showing of a lack of knowledge of God’s word or the courage to stand up for it. We are unable to confess to the crime of which the world accuses us, the crime about which Christ Himself warned us (John 15:16), the crime that is not a crime at all, but rather the confessing of our faith, which is a proclamation of our obedience to God. As Christians, we must realize that we are always on trial, and since we are on trial (not before God, but before the world), it is of grave importance that we have a great defense. The apostle Peter makes mention of this very issue, and he explains how to best defend our faith in so doing: “...always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you” (1 Pet. 3:15). We should expect people to play judge and jury when questioning things they do not understand, especially when it comes to non-believers observing Christians confessing their faith. The confession of one’s faith does not only come by the words that we say, although it is essential that we recognize that we must verbally proclaim the word of God as a way of helping others to hear the word and grow in the faith (Rom. 10:17); we also must live the very words we speak. In the book of Hebrews, we see a chapter dedicated to those who confessed their great faith. This was not only done by the word that they spoke, but also by the actions that followed. Hebrews 11 displays for us numerous scenes that could be likened to a courtroom setting. With God being the judge, we are the jury, and in Hebrews 11:8, Abraham in on trial. Being on the stand, Abraham confesses his faith before God and men through his obedience to the word of God. When we, as Abraham and all of the other men and women mentioned in Hebrews 11, confess our faith in word and deed, the outcome will be the same every time—it will result in obedience, which is why the confession of our faith is so important: “...without faith, it is impossible to please Him” (Heb. 11:6).
The scriptures are always being tried in one way or another; it is our responsibility as children of God to defend the word of God. We should be mindful of what we say while we are out and about in this world or amongst the brethren, not only in word, but also in deed (Col. 3:17). This means not being ashamed of the gospel (Rom. 1:16), not being ignorant of the word (Acts 17:30), or not pleading the Fifth when questioned about our faith. We must always be ready to give an answer for the hope that we have (1 Pet. 3:15), and be able to explain what we believe, why we believe, and warn those who do not (cf. Col. 1:28).
--Jerrod Doss
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous, crime unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
When living for Christ, we find ourselves on the stand in the court of public opinion being bombarded with questions about our Father, fellowship and faith, but we find ourselves lost for words and unable to give an adequate defense. Thus, we plead the Fifth. We chose not to incriminate ourselves through a showing of a lack of knowledge of God’s word or the courage to stand up for it. We are unable to confess to the crime of which the world accuses us, the crime about which Christ Himself warned us (John 15:16), the crime that is not a crime at all, but rather the confessing of our faith, which is a proclamation of our obedience to God. As Christians, we must realize that we are always on trial, and since we are on trial (not before God, but before the world), it is of grave importance that we have a great defense. The apostle Peter makes mention of this very issue, and he explains how to best defend our faith in so doing: “...always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you” (1 Pet. 3:15). We should expect people to play judge and jury when questioning things they do not understand, especially when it comes to non-believers observing Christians confessing their faith. The confession of one’s faith does not only come by the words that we say, although it is essential that we recognize that we must verbally proclaim the word of God as a way of helping others to hear the word and grow in the faith (Rom. 10:17); we also must live the very words we speak. In the book of Hebrews, we see a chapter dedicated to those who confessed their great faith. This was not only done by the word that they spoke, but also by the actions that followed. Hebrews 11 displays for us numerous scenes that could be likened to a courtroom setting. With God being the judge, we are the jury, and in Hebrews 11:8, Abraham in on trial. Being on the stand, Abraham confesses his faith before God and men through his obedience to the word of God. When we, as Abraham and all of the other men and women mentioned in Hebrews 11, confess our faith in word and deed, the outcome will be the same every time—it will result in obedience, which is why the confession of our faith is so important: “...without faith, it is impossible to please Him” (Heb. 11:6).
The scriptures are always being tried in one way or another; it is our responsibility as children of God to defend the word of God. We should be mindful of what we say while we are out and about in this world or amongst the brethren, not only in word, but also in deed (Col. 3:17). This means not being ashamed of the gospel (Rom. 1:16), not being ignorant of the word (Acts 17:30), or not pleading the Fifth when questioned about our faith. We must always be ready to give an answer for the hope that we have (1 Pet. 3:15), and be able to explain what we believe, why we believe, and warn those who do not (cf. Col. 1:28).
--Jerrod Doss