Telling the Truth

Guest (Male): Today on Telling the Truth, Stuart Briscoe shares how you can better understand and live out the gospel. But first, everyone experiences disappointments in life. And when those thoughts are left unattended, they can lead you to despair and cause you to miss out on the abundant life Jesus promised.

That's why we want to help you win the battle against feelings of discouragement by sending you Stuart and Jill Briscoe's five-message series, *Hope for the Disheartened*. The *Hope for the Disheartened* series is our thanks for your gift to help more people experience life through the teaching and resources of Telling the Truth.

So request your copy when you give today. 1-800-889-5388. That's 1-800-889-5388. Or you can give online at tellingthetruth.org. Now, here is Stuart Briscoe's message, "The Faith We Profess."

Stuart Briscoe: I have directed your attention towards what we commonly call the Epistle to the Hebrews. Now I'm going to read to you two brief passages: one from chapter three, one from chapter four. Chapter three of Hebrews, verse one, this is what it says: "Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess."

Then in chapter four, verse 14, "Therefore, since we have a great high priest"—you’ll notice both passages refer to Jesus as the high priest—"since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess."

Now, you may have noticed in those two readings that in the first one, it talks about Jesus being the one whom we confess. But in the second reading, it talks about Jesus Christ as being the focal point of the faith that we profess. And there's a clear expectation in Scripture that those who are followers of Christ make a good confession, and that we hold fast to the profession of our faith. Or to put it in very simple terms that I think we're all familiar with, it is expected of Christians that we will walk the talk. But it is equally expected that we will talk the walk.

Now, the issue here as far as the Hebrews is concerned is that the writer is concerned that they may not be holding firmly to this proclamation in valid and realistic form that they have made of the concrete relationship that they have with Jesus. That's the issue. Now, what does he mean by this proclamation in valid and binding form?

In the early days of the Christian church, baptism was of critical importance. Frankly, I think baptism to a very large extent has lost much of its significance in the contemporary church. Many, many people call themselves believers who've never been baptized. Many have gone through a mode of baptism they're not even sure what it was; they have no recollection of it, and they've never taken the trouble to find out what it signified. Frankly, it has diminished dramatically in significance.

Let me explain what it meant in the days in which Hebrews was written. It was very important to the church, who were bringing new people into the faith, to be sure about the people who were making this confession of a concrete relationship with Christ—a confession in binding and valid form. So this is what they did: they put the people through extensive training.

It was called catechizing, a term that is still in use in some Christian communions to this day. Some of you are familiar with this approach. This was a very, very extensive teaching and training in the fundamentals of the faith, so that they knew what they believed. Not only that, they knew it in such a way that they could stand firm when they inevitably ran into enormous opposition.

Moreover, the personal lives of these people who were being catechized—catechumens they were called—these people, their lives personally were scrutinized in detail to make sure that they were living consistently with that which they professed to believe. And only after they had satisfied the catechism and had satisfied that their lives were consistent with what they were professing, were they candidates for baptism. And then, and then only, they decided whether they wanted to go through it. Now you can see how far we've moved.

When we read now in definitions like in the *Theological Dictionary of New Testament Terms* that this profession, this *homologia*, was an act of proclamation in which the concrete relation of man to Jesus was expressed in binding and valid form, we can understand what they were meaning. And the concern was that having made that confession or profession, they were in danger of moving away. Now, if this sounds a little bit far-fetched and totally unrelated to the days in which we live, in many ways it is as far as the Western church is concerned. But the Western church has moved a long, long way away from her roots in many, many ways.

But let me assure you, I have very good friends who have suffered deeply for no other reason than they became baptized. *Homologia*, it's in your heart, and it's in your mouth. It's in your mouth, and it's in your heart. And it is expected of the Christian that that Christian will at some point make an initial declaration as to whose they are and whom they serve in unequivocal manner.

And then, having made that statement, it's like getting married. Doesn't take long to get married; takes a lifetime to live it. So you make your *homologia*, your declaration of faith, your confession of Christ. It takes a lifetime to live it and to continue to say it. This idea from Deuteronomy 30 is picked up in Romans chapter 10. You know the verse, Romans 10:9: "If you will confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved."

Pretty straightforward, isn't it? It's not hidden in the heavens; it's not above you. It's not over the sea; it's not beyond you. It's very straightforward. If you are convinced in your heart that Jesus is Lord, then the most natural thing in the world is to confess it with your mouth. And if you confess it with your mouth and you believe it in your heart, you'll be saved.

Guest (Male): More teaching from Stuart and Jill Briscoe is coming up, so stay with us. Did you know you can find more life-giving content from the Briscoes at tellingthetruth.org and on the Telling the Truth app? There, you can sign up for daily devotionals, watch videos, read blogs, and access a variety of other resources to help you experience life. And while you're there, you can also request this month's featured resource as thanks for your gift of support to help share the abundant life Jesus offers with more people around the world. Visit us online or download the app today and experience life with Telling the Truth. Now, here's more from Stuart.

Stuart Briscoe: Now, we have all kinds of ways of making it possible for people to, quote, "come to faith" which do not necessitate an intelligent, articulate profession of their faith by mouth. We have all kinds of ways of getting around that. And it doesn't help at all.

The Apostle Paul takes this further: Deuteronomy 30, Romans chapter 10, 2 Corinthians chapter 4. I love it: "I believe, therefore I have spoken." Don't you like that? If you believe it, why not speak it? "I believe, therefore I have spoken." Now then, the problem with these people, of course, was that they were moving away from it. You only wobble if you lose focus. And that's why the writer of Hebrews tells them in chapter three, verse one, "Fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess."

Now, it is perfectly possible for things to come into our lives: personal doubts, personal fears, external things where we are disappointed, where we become discouraged. Even in the spiritual realm, we can find ourselves under difficulties. And what do we do with it? We concentrate on Jesus. And we hold fast the confession of our faith. For we profess Jesus.

What do we profess about Him? What do we confess about Him? I'm glad you asked. "Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess." That's what it says in chapter three, verse one. This is what it says in verse 14 of chapter four: "Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God."

All right, who is it we confess? Who is it we concentrate on? Who is it all about? And the answer is Jesus. The Bible says, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." That's Genesis 1. John chapter 1 says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself." So one thing we do know is this: there was a beginning. That's about it.

Now, I can never understand why people spend so much time arguing about it, because none of them was there. And everything is speculation. What we do know was there was a beginning. Something else we know is that God was already there, and He was there with the eternal Son and the eternal Spirit. When we talk about Jesus—and the writer of Hebrews loves to talk about Jesus—there’s something very, very significant about that. That speaks of His earthly, human side. It speaks of His incarnation.

Incarnation. Jesus came into the world, and He lived and He died. But you need to understand something: if He hadn't been born as a human being, He couldn't have died. Because God is Spirit, and you can't kill a divine spirit. So the only way that Jesus could die would be if, first of all, He had taken on human form. Jesus. So He took on human form; He was incarnate with the express intention of dying.

Why did He have the express intention of dying? Because He was going to be the great high priest. The great high priest would take an animal, and it would die as a substitute for the sins of the people. For the rule of God was this: "the soul that sins will die." That's law. Now listen to grace: but a substitute may die in your place.

And the whole of the sacrificial system of the Old Testament was about substitutionary atonements that could never eventually take away sin. And then came Jesus, who in His perfect humanity is now ideally suited as God and man to be the one and only perfect sacrifice for sins of the whole world for all eternity. And it's all wrapped up in Jesus. Jesus. That's whom we confess. Who would not want to confess Him?

But we confess Jesus, the Son of God. For He is, on the one side, fully human, and on the other side, totally divine. So that now I can say—mystery of all mysteries—that Jesus incarnate, who died on the cross, was the eternal Son of God. And I can say unequivocally, the Son of God loved me and gave Himself for me. Who wouldn't confess that?

Jesus, the Son of God, the apostle. You've heard of the Apostle Paul and the Apostle Peter. Have you ever heard of the Apostle Jesus? No? Apostle means "sent one." You know, when Jesus talked about the Father, particularly in John's Gospel, this is how He referred to Him over and over again: "He who sent me," "He who sent me," "the one who sent me," over and over and over and over again. Why?

You see, the major religions of the world are about mankind seeking after God or something similar. Christianity, incredibly, is all about God seeking after man. That is why He sent the apostle of our faith. He sent Him looking for us. I was with a friend in Tennessee the other day, and he used a cute Tennessee expression. I thought it was cute, anyway. He said, "I was as lost as a ball in tall weeds."

That's quite an expression, isn't it? "I was as lost as a ball in tall weeds." And Jesus came through the tall weeds and came looking for you. The apostle. Who wouldn't confess Him?

And the great high priest who has gone through the heavens, that's what it says. The great high priest. The high priest went into the holy place bearing the blood of the sacrifice for the sins of the people. Jesus has now passed through the heavens. He died and was buried, and He rose again. He showed Himself openly in many infallible proofs, and then He burst in ascension through the heavens.

The Hebrews believed in three-layered heavens. That's why they could go into the third heaven. Sometimes they talked about the seventh heaven. First heaven was where the birds fly. Second was where the stars twinkle. And the third one was where God dwelt in holiness. And Jesus burst through where the birds were flying, and He rocketed through where the stars were twinkling, and He arrived in the holiest of holy places and opened a new and a living way where He ever lives to make intercession for you.

It is Jesus, the Son of God, the apostle and great high priest who ascended through the heavens, whom we confess. The problem is, sometimes we go wobbly. And you know why we go wobbly? Because we lose concentration. We lose concentration, and we focus on other things. But this passage reminds us of something. It reminds us that the Word of God is living and powerful. And this is what we concentrate on.

You can be involved in church life and totally ignore your Bible. And let me tell you something: you do, and you'll suffer spiritual anorexia. And spiritual anorectics go wobbly eventually. For the Word of God is living and powerful. Anything outside the Word of God concerning Jesus, the Son of God, the apostle, a great high priest of our faith—anything outside the Word of God is sheer speculation. Anything about Him inside here is more necessary than your daily bread. What I've been trying to say is: keep the faith and don't go wobbly.

Guest (Male): Thanks for joining us today here on Telling the Truth. We pray today's message has helped you to experience life in all its fullness through Jesus Christ. Everyone experiences disappointments in life. And when things don't go the way we expect or desire, even tragically or in similar ways, discouragement can become entrenched as we begin to believe destructive thoughts like, "It's always going to be this way," or "I'll never overcome this."

And when those thoughts are left unattended, they can lead you to despair and cause you to miss out on the abundant life Jesus promised. That's why we want to help you win the battle against feelings of discouragement by sending you Stuart and Jill Briscoe's five-message series, *Hope for the Disheartened*. In it, Stuart and Jill help you discover why your hope must be tied to trusting God and reliant on His strength and timing. You'll learn that even in troubled times, you have a God who loves you and gives you every reason to look forward with unspeakable peace, hope, and joy.

The *Hope for the Disheartened* series is our thanks for your gift to help more people experience life through the teaching and resources of Telling the Truth. So request your copy when you give today. 1-800-889-5388. That's 1-800-889-5388. Or you can give online at tellingthetruth.org.

Jill Briscoe: Stuart, when someone loses their focus on Jesus, how do they get it back? I mean, how do they hold fast to the confession of their faith?

Stuart Briscoe: Well, there can be all kinds of reasons that we get distracted. And quite naturally, when we do become distracted away from the Lord, the focus on Him will become blurred. But I would say that one of the ways in which this can be rectified is just to renew your acquaintance with the Lord. It would be to refresh your understanding of the Lord.

And where would you go to do that? Well, you'd want to go to the Gospels. And I would say—and of course, this is a very generic answer to many of the questions that we're asked—we need to make sure that we are constantly in touch with God's self-revelation as contained in the Word. That is a very general rule of thumb as far as spiritual life is concerned. And in this particular instance, if you've got your focus back on Jesus, then go to the Gospels, because they focus on Jesus. And that is the way to get yourself back on track.

Jill Briscoe: For someone who's gone to church but never spent time in God's Word, what can they do to make it a daily habit? Where should they start?

Stuart Briscoe: The short answer—the very, very short answer—to the question "How can we make spending time in God's Word a daily habit?" is simply by doing it. Now, I guess we probably would like a little more information than that. And so, where would you start?

And I think we would have to start by asking ourselves, "Do I have any interest in God's Word, really? What do I believe about God's Word? Do I recognize that there is huge value in exposing myself to God's Word?" These are the questions that lie at the root of the problem.

And then if we can say, "Well, of course it's valuable. And of course, it's irresponsible of me not to be availing myself of it. And of course, I recognize that it is my necessary food, my spiritual nourishment, and I am undernourished"—well, if I can recognize that, then it's just a matter of saying, "I am going to take some very, very definite steps based on a conviction that I have that the Word of God is necessary for my well-being spiritually, and I am going to make a priority of it, and I'm going to start doing it, and I'm going to start doing it today."

Guest (Male): Next time, we'll hear more from Stuart about wisdom in God's Word. We hope you'll join us then for Telling the Truth with Stuart and Jill Briscoe. Be listening tomorrow and experience life here on Telling the Truth.