“Everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.”

Matthew 10:32-33

The word ‘acknowledge’ (or confess) in the Greek is homologeo. Homo means ‘one’ and logeo means ‘word.’ Put them together and it means “to be of one word,” or to say the same thing.

Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). So, to confess Jesus is to say, “Jesus is my way and my truth and my life.” You believe it. You own it. You do not say, “This is what Jesus says, but I have a different view.” Or “I’m not so sure about that.” You say, “I follow Him as my Lord. I listen to Him as my Teacher. I trust in Him as my Saviour.”

Maybe there was a time when you said to God “I’m done with you.” Maybe you made some kind of commitment that was the opposite of faith in Christ. What does this mean for you now?

Peter denied Jesus three times, and afterward he wept bitterly. Then, after the resurrection, Jesus spoke with him. He did not say, “Peter, I’m sorry, but you’ve denied Me, so now I’m denying you.” He forgave Peter and restored him, not only to fellowship, but even to ministry.

So, we can be confident that Jesus was not saying, “If you have ever denied Me, you are gone forever.” Jesus was saying: “If you continue to deny Me, I will deny you.”

If the second part of the verse means, “If you continue to deny Me, I will deny you,” then clearly this is how we should understand the first half. Jesus was not saying “If you ever said that you believe in Me, then you’re okay.” He was saying, “If you continue to confess Me before men, I will confess you before My Father in heaven.” Jesus is calling us to a confessing life.