Confession….A Resolution
Carlos M. Aguilar

Much is spoken of and said about resolutions this time of the year. Most do some self-examination and whether it is introspection or an examination of our outer self we must make certain plans to accomplish our new goals or we will never achieve them.

As a Christian our resolutions were set in place when we confessed Jesus as Christ, King of kings, and Lord of lords (1 Tim 6:15). Let us not forget the importance of that confession. In Rom 10:9-10 we read, “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Note that in our text confession of faith is made just as important as the faith itself. Here confession and faith are tied together with the coordinating conjunction "and"---“If you confess with your mouth and believe in you heart.”---this makes the confession just as important as the faith itself. There are too many brethren who once the good confession was made and their baptism completed, they cease to confess the name of Jesus Christ in their lives. As we know in our study of the scriptures that what God thinks on a subject is different from what man thinks. The scriptures clearly teach that salvation is based on what God says. No one else has any say on this matter.

I remember the day I became a citizen of the United States. It was quite a large gathering of people ready to start a new life as citizens. At the appropriate time we publicly professed our allegiance to the United States of America. Even so, it has pleased the Almighty God to ask the sinner, when he desires to become a citizen of the heavenly Kingdom, to stand publicly, and, renouncing allegiance to all others, profess his allegiance to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. In our every day life we are not ashamed of what we believe nor of that to which we belong. Where is the loyal American citizen who is ashamed of his citizenship? We are proud to rise to our feet at the playing of the national anthem and to cover our hearts as the stars and stripes wave in the sky. Yet when we have opportunity to stand up for Christ and let others know what we believe about Him, there are some who immediately begin to be at a loss for words and remember they had made a confession of allegiance. Those people remind me of those rulers in John 12:42-43. “Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.” The good confession is a confession, which is made with the mouth, but may we never forget that it must be backed by the life.

Paul says, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord.” The Greek word for "Lord" literally means "master, ruler, supreme one." When you confesses Jesus as your Lord, you are acknowledging that He is the Supreme One in you life---that He is your Master, and you are His obedient servant---when He speaks you are willing to say, "Here am I, send me.”

If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in you heart (believe what is in your heart?) that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. Now why is that so important? It is important enough to have our salvation based on it. Of all of these marvelous events in the life of our Master, why select the resurrection as being most vital? Why is it that we must believe in His resurrection if we are to be saved? Don't you see? This is the keystone---if this is knocked out, the arch comes down around our ears with a crash. It is the resurrection of the man we know as Jesus, which is foundation to all else!

If you don't believe that God raised Jesus from that cold stone tomb, you don't believe anything about the Son of God! Paul declares that if Christ has not been raised our preaching is vain, your faith is vain, and you are yet in your sins (1 Cor 15:13-17). Faith in the resurrection is essential! If you do not believe that God raised Jesus from the dead, you do not believe that Jesus lives and saves (Heb 7:25). If you do not believe that God raised Jesus from the dead, you do not believe that he is coming again in judgment (Acts 17:31). The proofs are abundant.

It was in the parts of Caesarea Philippi that inspired Peter made his good confession: Matt 16:16. And Jesus pronouncing a blessing on Simon Peter, declared that this truth was revealed to Peter by the heavenly Father, and promised that on this great foundational truth He would build His church. Matt 16:16-Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” We must acknowledge Him as the Christ, the Anointed One. Remember that in the Bible times there were three classes of people who were anointed with the holy anointing oil; the prophets, the priests, and the kings. When we confess Jesus as our Christ, we acknowledge before the world the acceptance of Him as our Prophet, our Priest, and our King. The good confession pays tribute to the divine Jesus---"You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

There a lot of things that we might not understand about Jesus and why He wanted us to do certain things. But He never said, "Explain me" He said, "Follow me" He never asked for perfect understanding. He never asked for perfect service. He asked for love and obedience.

May He have it? If you believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, and are willing to acknowledge Him as Lord, will you take the first opportunity to make your confession before witnesses? 

CHURCH HISTORY: A BIBLICAL VIEW
Part I No.1 Compiled and written by Gary Eubanks

A study of church history necessarily begins with a consideration of the historical setting in which the church began. The gospel was not spread, nor was the church established, in a sterile vacuum, isolated from the historical context. Consequently, both were greatly influenced by, and, in turn, influenced, the forces of their environment. Hence, one cannot fully appreciate the progress made by the gospel and the church without understanding something of the elements in the historical background which paved the way.

This is not to say, of course, that the church was a purely natural phenomenon. But it is to say that God works through history to bring about the fulfillment of His plans. Indeed, one cannot seriously study this part of church history without gaining a much deeper appreciation of God's providential preparations for His church. Just as God's people of the Old Testament had to await the completion of God's preparations Gen. 15:16, so it was for God's people of the New Testament Gal. 4:4.

The "apostolic age" refers to the first major period of church history when the apostles were living c. 30-100 A.D.. The study of this period will enjoy the advantage of a historical record within the Scriptures. This first lesson is a study of what actually occurred prior to the time of Jesus and His apostles, but it is properly placed with this period since it was preparatory to their time.

At the time Christ was born c. 6 BC the infant Roman Empire was ruling Palestine, and indeed all the lands surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. Octavian, the grandnephew and successor to Julius Caesar, became the first emperor in 27 BC and took upon himself the title "Augustus" meaning, "revered one", by which he is commonly known. It is arguable that Augustus was not only the first, but the greatest, of the Roman emperors. The benefits of his reign to the advancement of the cause of Christ are immeasurable. For several centuries preceding his reign the Romans had been gradually adding the lands of the Mediterranean basin to their dominion. Palestine was added when the great Roman general Pompey captured Jerusalem in 63 BC. Octavian's accession to the imperial throne brought many years of international and civil warfare to an end. His forty-year reign 27 BC - 14 AD brought greater peace, unity, and progress to the Mediterranean world than it had ever known. This period of relative peace continued for centuries after the reign of Augustus and has become known as the pax Romana "Roman peace". Such peace was of immense value to preachers of the gospel cp. I Tim. 2:1,2.

Since the Roman Empire placed the Mediterranean world under a single, unifying political system, it greatly facilitated the travels of gospel preachers. Crossing borders within the Roman Empire was no more difficult than passing from state to state within the United States today. Also, the Romans were magnificent and inveterate builders, especially of roads. Beginning with the Appian Way in 312 BC the Romans built a network of straight, paved, durable roads stretching into, and tying together, every corner of the Empire and some of the roads are still used today!. Built to expedite troop movements and trade, they were also of great service to gospel preachers in their travels and communications.

Roman domination also brought one, coherent legal system to the Mediterranean world, and Roman law more than once worked to the advantage of Christians Acts 16:35-39; 19:39; 22:24-29; 23:27; 25:9-12,16. Most people are aware of the severe persecutions which Rome eventually brought against Christians, but during the First Century A.D., when the church was getting its foothold in the world, Christians enjoyed almost complete freedom to practice and propagate their religion. For the most part, it was the policy of Rome to permit religious freedom and limited self-government among native peoples under its rule.

Another boon to the spread of the gospel which Rome did not begin but certainly aided was a universal language. The Greek language had been spread beyond its homeland by the conquests of Alexander the Great, "the apostle of Hellenism" 356-323 BC. It soon became the language of commerce , the courts, the educated people, and international communications. The Romans, who spoke Latin, were great admirers of Hellenistic culture and also acquired the use of Greek in international relations. Greek, as a common language, also greatly facilitated the spread of the gospel. The entire New Testament was written in Greek. The Hebrew Old Testament had been translated into Greek in the Third Century BC. This translation, known as the Septuagint, thus made the Old Testament available to the Western world.

A. Popular religious thinking. The common person who lived about the time of Christ was a religious person. He believed in many gods and spirits, both evil and good, who affected or controlled the course of his life. Every aspect and action of his life brought him into contact with a god or goddess whose goodwill he entreated, or whose wrath he averted or placated, by sacrifices, rituals, and other forms of religious homage. Pagan religion eventually became so complicated that castes of priests were formed to direct it. The needs of the individual were increasingly overlooked as religion was turned into a tool to promote the interests of the state. As a matter of fact, pagan religion had become so cold, ritualistic, and meaningless by the time of Christ that many Romans began to seek spiritual sustenance outside their traditional mythological religions.

B. Greek philosophies. Some turned to various Greek philosophies. In the Fifth and Fourth Centuries BC Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle were prominent Greek philosophers whose teachings greatly influenced educated thought in the years to come. Epicurus 342-270 BC taught that the highest goal in life was mental bliss or pleasure, which was interpreted to mean freedom from pain. Epicurus also believed that the world was formed by chance and had no order. Men were free to do as they pleased and had no existence after death. Though Epicurus himself sought to attain his goal by asceticism, Epicureanism eventually devolved into crass sensuality. Zeno, his contemporary, taught that there was an all pervading Reason that gave order to the world, and men could obtain the greatest happiness by living according to pure reason. Thus, Stoicism derived from the term stoa, a porch from which Zeno taught advocated the suppression of emotions. Both Epicureanism and Stoicism had their followers Acts 17:18, but the common man had neither the time, nor patience, nor disposition to grapple with such ambiguous, abstract, and unprovable philosophies. Indeed, in the centuries before Christ the finest minds of Greece had set themselves to pondering the purpose and conduct of human life and had come up essentially empty-handed. Philosophy had clearly demonstrated the futility of human wisdom without a divine revelation I Cor. 1:21.

C. Eastern religions. Because of the emotional bankruptcy of the traditional mythological religions in the West, certain Eastern cults held an increasing appeal to Romans. The cult of Cybele, the "Great Mother," a fertility goddess from Asia Minor, came to Rome by invitation in 205 BC. but failed to gain a wide following due to the self-mutilation and licentiousness involved in its rites. The worship of Isis and Serapis, imports from Egypt, was a milder fertility cult whose elaborate and mystical initiation rites appealed especially to Roman women. Of all the Eastern religions Mithraism was the most popular and noble. The god Mithras was taken from Persia and was regarded as the champion of good in its fight against evil. Mithraism practically became the unofficial religion of the Roman army for a while. In some of its rites and concepts it was quite similar to the gospel of Christ and was a major competitor to it.

It must not be forgotten that Judaism cradled the religion of Christ and made great, howbeit unintentional, contributions to its progress. The great issues of Judaism in the time of Christ were instigated by an external catalyst. Beginning with Alexander the Great, Greek rulers had brought Hellenism to the lives of Jews. Some accepted it and others did not. This divided Jews into two camps - the Hellenists and the Hebraists Acts 6:1 - generally represented respectively, by the religious sects of the Sadducees and Pharisees. The Sadducees were aristocratic , worldly, and skeptical of afterlife and the existence of spirits. Pharisees were more conservative and more popular with the Jewish people but had amassed and defended a large body of oral traditions which burdened the average Jew Matt 15:1-9;23:1-4.

Except for a period of independence 165-63 BC following the Maccabean revolt, Jews had been under foreign domination for 500-700 years by the time of Christ. During those years they had also been scattered throughout the Roman world in what became known as the Diaspora; that is, the "scattering" Jn. 7:35. On the positive side this dispersion of Jews eventually led to the development synagogue and a healthy exposure of the Gentiles to Jewish beliefs, all of which made for a warmer reception of the gospel. However, many years of foreign domination also led to a craving on the part of Palestine Jews for a political Messiah which left them ill-prepared for the kind of Messiah Jesus was to be.