Introduction:

I just finished teaching the Gospels to the seventh and eighth graders in our school this week. It is so much fun to be able to dig into the life of Jesus and share those books with the kids. It is also so revealing every time I go through the Gospels. I notice something different every time. This time through the Gospels for some reason I was particularly drawn to watching Peter and how Jesus interacted with him. I am sure the Holy Spirit was helping me prepare for this sermon the whole time.

Peter became fascinating to me. The guy was so impulsive. One minute he was shooting his mouth off in one direction, the next he was offering his beautiful confessions of faith. One minute he was getting in trouble with Jesus, the next minute Jesus was praising him. Jesus actually told Peter at one point, "Get behind me Satan!" But in our gospel reading for today, Jesus told Peter that his confession of faith would be the rock on which he would build the church.

I guess the reason I was so fascinated by Peter is because Peter is just like us. As Christians we are both sinners and saints. We break God's law daily, but we are redeemed, forgiven and made holy. This gives me comfort. I know that I am a sinner. I know that I am forgiven. Peter understood this and I pray that you do too. And since we are similar to other brother Peter, let follow his example before us in the book of Acts. Let us confess Jesus Christ, for he is our Savior and our purpose.

1. Our Savior

Listen again to vs. 12: "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."

When it comes to our salvation and eternal life, these words make it very clear that no one else cuts it, only Jesus Christ. In spite of this, people in this world have so many strange ideas of how or by whom we are saved. Let me give you a few examples.

Probably the biggest wrong idea is that we have something to do with our salvation. This is a terrible false teaching spread by many religious leaders. It hits at the heart of the gospel. We are sinners and the Bible tells we are dead in our sins. If we are dead in our sin, then there is nothing we can do. Think about it. A dead body cannot move, think, breath, or choose life. It is dead. Because we were dead in our sins, we could do nothing to get salvation. Ephesians tells us that we are saved grace through, and this is not of ourselves, it is a gift of God, not by works, so that no man can boast. So I ask you, on the basis of God's Word, can you choose Jesus Christ and thus be saved? No. Can you work your way to heaven, either here on earth or in purgatory? No. "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."

Another misconception is that anybody who believes generally in a God, whether they believe in Jesus or not, will go to heaven. The Holy Spirit makes it very clear in these words - salvation is found in no one else but Jesus Christ. When the Jailer of Philippi asked the Apostle Paul what he must do to be saved, the answer was simple. Believe in Jesus Christ.

Only Jesus saves and the Apostles' Creed tells us how he saved us. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell and on the third he rose again from the dead, he ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand on God the Father almighty. When you come to God's house and speak those words you are confessing Jesus Christ, your Savior.

But please do not make that the only time you confess Jesus. Confess Jesus Christ to your friends, neighbors, relatives and coworkers. Why? Because their eternal life may depend on it. You may have great intentions with them. You may not want to talk religion at work. You may not want to lose a friend by talking about Jesus. But you know what, Jesus tells us to confess him as Savior so that others may be saved from the fires of hell. Confess Jesus so that others may hear the Word of God and have eternal life.

Transition:

No matter what we do here, as a church or as individuals, if we do not confess Jesus Christ, we have not completed our mission. If I preach a sermon that does not confess Jesus as savior from sin, I do not believe it is a good sermon. If we do all kinds of good things in our personal lives, but we fail to confess Jesus Christ, have we been successful in our mission? No. Confessing Jesus Christ is our purpose. We do it out of love for Christ and love for one another.

2. Our Purpose

Now with that said, is it always easy for us to confess Jesus? No. The world pressures us to keep our faith to ourselves. Sometimes people don't feel confident enough to confess Jesus. They may be worried that they do not know how to confess Jesus. They may be concerned that the words to confess Jesus won't be there. I know these concerns and pressures as well as you and I am a pastor.

Take comfort people. God gives us the power, the confidence, and the words to confess Jesus Christ as a church and as individuals. He gives us the tools to carry out our purpose here on earth. Listen to the words of verse 13 and take comfort that just as God gave ordinary men like Peter and John the tools, he gives them to you also. "When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus."

Peter and John, Jesus' disciples, were ordinary and unschooled men. The tools that they had to confess Jesus did not come from themselves, they came from the Holy Spirit. And they astonished the people. God chooses us. We do not choose him. Praise God for this.

God chooses people from all walks of life. Look around you today and realize that. Jesus is for all people and that is what the season of Epiphany is all about. Epiphany celebrates that God did not just keep his Word and salvation for the Jews. But Jesus came to die for the sins of all people.

And this being the case, chosen by God, given faith by the Holy Spirit through his Word, as believers we all have the same purpose. We all share the same mission to show our love and thanks to God by confessing Jesus Christ.

And so don't take the easy way out. Don't make excuses. Sure it is important to invite people to church, for here they receive the one thing needed, the Word of God. But do not underestimate your purpose to share Jesus by confessing him to your friends, neighbors and relatives.

If you feel you aren't equipped, that you are ordinary, unschooled people, that you don't have the tools, or you don't know what words to use to confess Jesus Christ, then do something about it. Here are three things you can do. First of all, study God's Word. Come to Bible class. Take the Bible Information Class so you can be refreshed with the basics of God's Word. Let the Holy Spirit give you the knowledge from the Bible. Second of all, practice confessing Jesus Christ. The first time you do something you are always nervous. But the more you do something, the better you become and that more confidence you have. Ask me if you want an easy way to practice and I will help you. And third of all, trust the Holy Spirit. After all, none of us here will convert anybody. Only the Holy Spirit can through the word of God, which we proclaim when confess Jesus Christ. Trust that the Holy Spirit will give you the words and will produce the results.

Confessing Jesus Christ matters. We confess Jesus because he saved us from sin and has secured eternal life for us. We confess Jesus Christ because it is the purpose for which the Holy Spirit has called us. Take comfort in these words from Scripture. God gave the Apostle Peter the tools to confess and he has given you them also. AMEN.