Love to hear from and know who is listening
Football fans are some of the loudest and proudest people on the planet! When they go to their favorite teams game they dress in the team colors, they paint their faces to match the team colors and logo, sometimes they wear elaborate costumes in support of their favorite teams. They scream as loud as they possibly can in support of their team. There is absolutely no doubt where their allegiance lies! Football fans will spend large sums of money to attend the game and on the tailgate parties before the game begins. They will devote many hours and sometimes even days traveling to distant games in support of their team. So why don't we, the people who profess to be Christians, have such a loud and proud faith in Jesus Christ? Some of us have such a secret faith, our friends may not even know we are Christians. On the other hand if your friends came to your home to watch a football game with you I bet there would be no doubt who your favorite team is!
Matthew 10: 32-33 NKJV Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.
If my favorite football team makes it to the super bowl game. I will spend quite a bit of money at the grocery store so I can prepare all my favorite snacks to munch on while I watch the game. Without hesitation I will invite my friends and family over to watch the game with me. Then I will spend the next several hours shouting, jumping up and down and cheering during the game. Yet I can't sit through a 30 minute sermon without falling asleep! If I add up the amount of money I spend at the grocery store on food for the game, which total will be larger, my grocery bill or my tithe check to the church. If you add up the amount of time you spent getting ready for the super bowl game and watching the game will it be more or less time then the amount of time you spend reading your bible this week? If being Christians suddenly became illegal would there be enough evidence in your life of your faith in Jesus to find you guilty in a court of law.
Romans 10: 9-10 NKJV 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.
These verses should not be understood to mean that we are saved by means of an audible profession of faith. Salvation is by grace, through the gift of faith in God, not by words we speak. At the time of the writing of the book of Romans, for a person to accept Christ and confess Him as Lord usually resulted in persecution, and many times even death. At that time, to embrace Christ and confess Him as Lord, knowing that persecution was sure to come, was an indication of true salvation and the work of the Holy Spirit. Outward professions of faith are rare when one’s life is at stake! I am thankful that I am not faced with such persecution and that I can worship freely anytime I want to without fear of being thrown in jail, beaten or even killed.
When was the last time that you stood up for your faith with the same level of enthusiasm that you show for your favorite football team! When was the last time you called your friends and family and invited them to come join you at church? When was the last time you spent your hard earned dollars in support of your faith and your local church as freely as you support your favorite sports team. Is your faith a secret faith or are you a loud and proud Christian!!!!
