In the name of our Savior Jesus Christ, who helps us to confess Him by removing our fears and strengthening our hearts with His promises, my dear friends:

Confessing Christ. Talking about the Savior. Sharing the gospel. We’ve all heard about it, read about it, and maybe even learned about it. I don’t think any of us would really have a problem learning about evangelism. And I doubt that any of us really gets all that shook about going to a class to learn about it. But when it comes to actually sitting down and talking with someone else about our faith in Jesus, many of us would say, “No way! Not me! I’m too afraid.”

So, what are we so afraid of? Sometimes we’re afraid that we won’t know what to say or won’t be able to answer a question. Sometimes we’re afraid that we might come across sounding pious or phony. We’re afraid of what people will think. We’re afraid of an argument or being made fun of. So we keep quiet, too afraid to speak.

This morning our Savior speaks to those very fears. Just like us, Jesus’ disciples had been called on to spread the good news of salvation. Jesus helped His disciples confess Him by telling them what to expect. He talked about beatings, court trials, family conflicts, and even death. In fact, the deadly persecution faced by the first disciples makes our own fears of ridicule look—ridiculous.

Jesus says, “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” When Jesus spoke these words to His disciples, He was telling them and us, “Put your fears in order.”

Have you ever thought about doing that? Jesus tells us there are two kinds of fear connected with sharing our faith in Him. One is the fear of men and what might happen, if we speak up. The other, the one we’re most likely to overlook, is the fear of what might happen if we don’t speak up. The fear of God can deliver us from the fear of men. The One who put aside the fear of death for us teaches us not to fear the threat of death for His sake. When you put your fears in order—God first, men second—Jesus helps you to confess Him.

What is it that makes people afraid of “things that go bump in the night”? It’s really not the noise that scares us so much as the fear of not knowing what made the noise. It’s the fear of the unknown—probably the greatest fear known to man.

When it comes to confessing Christ as our one and only Savior from sin, we often experience that same kind of fear. We don’t know how people will react to what we say. We’re afraid of being embarrassed, laughed at, or even worse, ignored. But Jesus, who is both God and man, knows what it’s like to be human. And so, He helps us share the good news about Him by removing our fear of the unknown. He tells us what to expect, when we talk about Him.

Jesus reminds us that we are His disciples, His students, and that “a disciple is not above his teacher.” The highest goal for any student is to be “like his teacher.” That’s especially true of us, disciples of Christ, who are urged to have the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus.

If we are disciples of Christ and members of His household who are trying to be Christ-like in our thoughts, words and actions, then we have to expect to be treated the way Christ was treated. Think of the baby Jesus, carried to Egypt to escape the wrath of Herod. Think of the mobs that tried to stone Jesus or throw Him off a cliff. Think of the agony of Gethsemane; the hatred of the high priest, Caiaphas; the jeers of the crowd as they chanted “Crucify Him!” If the world did that to our Teacher and Master, can we students and servants expect anything different?

Jesus removes our fear of the unknown by telling us what to expect, when we faithfully confess Him as our Savior. With that obstacle out of the way, we can boldly talk to the world about our Savior. There is no need for us to bottle up the message of God’s power and love in Christ because we’re afraid. In fact, we are the ones who suffer when we give in to that fear. In the Old Testament lesson this morning the prophet Jeremiah described how it felt when he tried to hold back from speaking God’s word: “When I said, ‘I will not make mention of Him, nor speak any more in His name,’ His word was in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back, and I could not.” The message is clear. God’s good news is meant to be shared, or as Jesus says, “Preached on the housetops.”

When was the last time you heard about a Christian being thrown to the lions or having his tongue cut out for confessing Jesus as his Lord and Savior? We don’t hear much about the physical persecution of Christians anymore, although it does still happen in some parts of the world today. Some countries close their borders to Christian missionaries. Some businesses have the policy that religion must not be discussed in the work place. Some communities deliberately promote and carry out recreational activities on Sunday mornings during church services. Friends don’t like to hear about Jesus, so they limit their activities with us. All those things are also forms of persecution.

Of course, we don’t want to lose our life, our job, our place in the community soft ball league, or our friends. So, out of fear of persecution, we keep quiet about our Savior’s life, death, and resurrection for us. But Jesus removes that fear when He says, “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” It’s a small thing to lose the body, but to lose the soul is to lose everything!

In spite of the consequences, this is still one of the greatest fears to which we give in. We’re sitting in the lunchroom at work, when a coworker tells a filthy joke that also takes God’s name in vain. We sit there quietly or laugh along, not because we enjoyed what was said, but because we feared the ridicule of our coworkers. By not confessing Jesus and the will of God, we may have escaped the condemnation of men, but another kind of condemnation remains.

Men may turn away from us, torture our minds and bodies, and even take our lives, but they cannot take our souls. Our souls are in the safekeeping of our heavenly Father, who, for Jesus’ sake, will not condemn us. In thanks then, we will boldly and joyfully confess our Savior without fear of persecution.

By removing our fears, Jesus paves the way for us to confess Him. And He strengthens our convictions and moves us to confess Him by offering us His promise. The promise is clear and simple. “Whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven.” Nothing more needs to be said about what confessing Jesus might cost. Here Jesus simply states that all who trust in Him, put away their fears, and confess Him before men will be identified with Jesus and acknowledged as His own.

So, how do we confess our Savior before men? We need to realize that the power to confess Christ comes only through the means of grace—the gospel in Word and sacrament. We begin our confessing of Christ by hearing and studying God’s Word and by receiving strength from the Lord through regular attendance at the Lord’s Supper. Then we will be properly equipped to confess Jesus as our Savior through our words and actions.

We see how Jesus helps us confess Him by removing our fears. He removes the fear of the unknown by telling us what to expect. He removes our fear of persecution, because even at their worst, our enemies really can’t harm us. Even in the worst of times, we know that we are in the protecting and loving hands of our heavenly Father, who assures us that “in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”

So, go ahead and confess Jesus. It’s when you put your fears in order and risk your standing with men that you discover the power of God, and Jesus helps you to confess Him.  AMEN