3011. Faith First, Confession Following

A Sermon Published On Thursday, October 25, 1906.

For with the heart man believes to righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made to salvation. {Ro 10:10} {a}

For other sermons on this text:

   {See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 519, “Believing with the Heart” 510}

   {See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 520, “Confession with the Mouth” 511}

   {See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 3011, “Faith First, Confession Following” 3012}

   Exposition on Isa 42:1-17 43:18-25 Ro 10:1-19 {See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 3441, “God’s Memorial of His People” 3443 @@ "Exposition"}

   Exposition on Ro 10:1-15 {See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 2988, “Great Pardon for Great Sin” 2989 @@ "Exposition"}

   Exposition on Ro 10:1-20 {See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 3522, “Christ a Sanctuary” 3524 @@ "Exposition"}

   Exposition on Ro 10 {See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 2327, “Whole Machinery of Salvation, The” 2328 @@ "Exposition"}

   Exposition on Ro 10 {See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 2752, “Door, The” 2753 @@ "Exposition"}

   Exposition on Ro 10 {See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 2932, “False Justification and True” 2933 @@ "Exposition"}

   Exposition on Ro 10 {See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 3051, “Lessons from a Dovecot” 3052 @@ "Exposition"}

   Exposition on Ro 10 {See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 3229, “Royal Saviour, The” 3230 @@ "Exposition"}

   Exposition on Ro 9:1-5 Ro 10 {See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 3397, “Timely Expostulation, A” 3399 @@ "Exposition"}

1. In speaking of this important matter, — confessing with the mouth what we have believed with the heart, I call your attention, first of all, to the order of the two things. Believing with the heart must come first; confession with the mouth must and should come afterwards. To confess with the mouth what I do not believe with the heart would be hypocrisy; instead of being an acceptable sacrifice, it would be an abomination in the sight of God. How dare I profess to have faith if I do not possess it? How dare I assume a form of godliness unless I have proved its power in my spirit? So first comes the heart’s believing, and then follows the mouth’s confession. Do not reverse the scriptural order, but take care that you do all things in their due course. Among the last words of the Lord Jesus Christ to his disciples are these, “He who believes and is baptized shall be saved.” Note the order, — not baptism first, and believing afterwards; but he who first believes, and then is baptized on profession of his faith, is the servant of Christ who obeys his Master’s commands in their right order; and it is he who “shall be saved.”

2. Having noted the order of faith and its confession, next, note the connection between them. Confessing with the mouth is to follow believing with the heart just as effect follows cause. We are to confess with the mouth because we believe with the heart. The heart’s belief is to be so potent and energetic a thing that it constrains us to confess openly what we have received inwardly; no confession is worth anything unless it is the outcome of the grace by which we have received the Lord Jesus Christ as our Saviour.

3. There is a due order for faith and confession, and there is a clear connection between faith and confession.

4. Notice, also, the result of the two put together: “With the heart man believes to righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made to salvation.” The result of faith and confession is salvation. I do not doubt that a man, who truly believes in Jesus, is saved even before he makes a confession of his faith; but it is very remarkable that the blessing of salvation is constantly connected with these two things rather than with either one of them alone; and we must not put asunder what God has joined together. The same truth is taught in the memorable sentence which I quoted to you just now: “He who believes and is baptized shall be saved.” There is no saving efficacy in baptism, yet belief and baptism are joined together by our Lord Jesus Christ, and again I say, “What therefore God has joined together, let no man put asunder.” I would not like to attend to one duty, and neglect another, when I found my Master laying both on me. The path of obedience is always the path of happiness; and if any God-given command should ever seem to your imperfect apprehension to be less important than another, remember the wise words of the mother of Jesus to the servants at the wedding in Cana of Galilee, “Whatever HE says to you, do it”; and do it conscientiously, gladly, promptly, because HE commanded it, even though you cannot see any other reason for doing it. {b}

5. We have, on this occasion, to consider the lesser duty of the two, which is, nevertheless, most certainly required for all believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. In talking about it, I shall have to speak of four things: — first, what it is that we are to confess; secondly, when we are to confess it; thirdly, why we should confess it; and, fourthly, how, and in what spirit we should confess it.

6. I. First, then, AS BELIEVERS IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, WHAT IS IT THAT WE ARE TO CONFESS?

7. It is clear, from the text, that we are to confess with the mouth what we believe with the heart. The same things which, through our faith in them, are the basis of our salvation, become the subject of our confession before God. What we privately and personally rest on for salvation, we are to publicly and emphatically affirm to others as the basis of our confidence; and you know what that is, beloved. It is neither more nor less than the person, work, character, and offices of our blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We build for eternity on him. He is the foundation and the chief corner-stone of the invisible yet most substantial structure on which all our confidence rests; and if any believer should ask, “What am I to confess?” the answer is plain enough, confess JESUS CHRIST.

8. First, we are to confess that we believe him to be the appointed Saviour of sinners: — that we look on him as being the long-promised Seed of the woman who came into this world to bruise the old serpent’s head, and to recover his chosen people from among the terrible ruins of the Fall. We believe him to be the Son of God, equal with the Father and the ever-blessed Spirit; and we accept him, and confess him, as our Saviour, in whom alone we have confidence, on whose unique sacrifice we rely for pardon for all our sins, and on whose constant intercession we depend for our preservation to the end. We confess Christ before men as King of kings and Lord of lords, as “the Apostle and High Priest of our profession,” the Messiah by whom alone can be fulfilled Gabriel’s prophecy to Daniel, “to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness.” We must confess Christ in all his offices and characters, and if we lay stress on any part of his life, or any attribute of his character, it must be on what is most attacked in the age in which we live. The great point of controversy in Paul’s day was the resurrection of Jesus; and hence, wherever he went, he preached the resurrection. He knew that this truth would arouse the ridicule of the philosopher, and bring down on him the fierce opposition of the Jew; but, nevertheless, this was always a prominent point in his preaching and writing, “Christ is risen from the dead.” Sometimes, it has been the duty of Christians to make most prominent the deity of Christ, because that truth has been the one most attacked just then. Some years ago, many insults were cast on the Godhead of our Lord, and then every genuine Christian was bound to expound and defend that master-doctrine that Jesus Christ “is over all, God blessed for ever.” Whatever may be the point in the character of our Lord which is most debated and disputed, it is the duty of his true disciples to bear witness on that point with special distinctness and frequency. To confess Christ, is to say of him, “I have received him into my soul as my Saviour, and he is my sole hope for time and for eternity. I honour him as the Son of God, and I submit to his laws as those of the great King who is worthy to rule as he pleases; let others set up what lords they wish, and be governed by what laws they choose, as for me, the crucified Man of Nazareth — who is none other than the ever-blessed Son of God, co-equal with the Father and the Spirit, — shall have the absolute control of all my powers and faculties.” This, I take it, is the way in which “with the mouth confession is made to salvation.”

9. But, in confessing Christ, we must take care that we confess all his words as well as himself. You remember that solemn declaration of the Lord Jesus Christ, “Whoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” A scriptural confession of Christ involves our profession of faith in that form of doctrine which is revealed in the divinely-inspired Scriptures, our union with that body of believers who most clearly comply with the requirements of our Master’s Word, our willing subjection to whatever we perceive to be according to the mind and will of Christ; and we are not faithful to our conscience altogether unless, in every point, as far as we receive the light, when we know our Master’s will, we do it. Oh, that all Christians would look on this kind of confession as being one of the most important parts of the Christian’s business here below! Instead of that, it seems to be the view of some that you are to keep a great many truths in the background just because they happen to be inconvenient either for yourselves or for other people. But, brothers and sisters in Christ, the true ideal of a New Testament Christian Church is that of a company of believers witnessing to all of Christ’s truth, considering every fragment of the Word to be so precious that, if the entire Christian community should go to martyrdom in defence of that one truth, that priceless truth of revelation would be saved at a cheap rate even by so great a sacrifice. To stand firmly by God’s Word in everything, to conform to our Master’s will even to the jots and tittles, to savour the things that are from God, and not those that are from men; — it is this that every Christian should seek to do by the aid of the ever-blessed Spirit.

10. Further, dear friends, it is the duty of each Christian to confess his own faith in Christ. You should affirm before your fellow men that you have believed in Jesus. I think the Scriptures teach us that this ought to be done early in our Christian career. We should not live as secret Christians, for years, as some do, as though they were ashamed of Jesus, and saying nothing to show that they have believed in him. Confess that, unless you are dreadfully deceived, you are saved by Christ, and are resting in him. Then confess what Christ has done for you, and do not be ashamed to confess the details of your case. Paul told Timothy that “before he was a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious”; but he adds, “However for this reason I attained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might demonstrate all longsuffering, for a pattern to those who should hereafter believe in him to everlasting life.” Do not be ashamed to confess that there is a change in you, that you are not now what you once were; tell the story of your spiritual experience. Is it not written, concerning God’s deliverance of his people, “It shall be to the Lord for a name?” Do not rob God of the great name of Deliverer, to which he is so fully entitled. It is due to a physician, when he has been the means of curing some extraordinary disease, that you should tell about what he has done, so, tell to others what the great Physician has done for you.

11. If you have been, spiritually, raised from the dead by the Lord Jesus Christ, never cease to proclaim abroad what he has done for you; and as you grow older, and your experience increases, confess with your mouth the deeper truths that have been revealed to you. Tell to the young people around you what the Lord did for you in your times of trouble. Speak well of your Master; imitate the holy resolution of David: “I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make her boast in the Lord; the humble shall hear about it, and be glad”; and when the time comes for you to die, be sure that you give a closing testimony to Christ then, if it is possible for you. Let those around your bed hear you tell, in your last moments, how real and true you find Christ to be for you when all else in the world seems like a dream, and your life melts away like a shadow.

12. This appears to me to be an accurate, though brief, summary of a Christian’s confession of faith, — what Christ is in himself, and what Christ has been to him and been for him. You yourselves can supply any deficiency that there may be in my summary, for the flight of time prevents me from dealing further with this part of the subject.

13. II. Now, secondly, let us enquire WHEN SHOULD ONE, WHO BELIEVES WITH THE HEART, MAKE CONFESSION WITH THE MOUTH?

14. Should he not make it as soon as he is converted? Is it not the most fitting time for making his first confession when he comes forward to unite himself with a Christian church? Many churches, nowadays, have given up the old-fashioned custom, which once prevailed in Baptist churches, of candidates coming before the church, and making a public affirmation of their faith before their fellow believers; and, through the abandonment of that scriptural method, they have bred a race of cowardly good-for-nothings, who hardly dare to say that their souls are their own, who never know what their religious convictions are, but are turned this way and that, with every wind that blows, like so many weather-cocks. But you, my brothers, and my sisters too, though some of you once thought it a great ordeal and trial, have all testified before the church, “Yes, we do believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.” Some of you said it with very trembling lips; but, still, you all said, personally and individually, as your turn came, “Yes, we are on the Lord’s side.” It seems to me that this is an apostolic custom which ought never to be given up, and I scarcely consider that to be a church which receives its members without any testimony of their faith being verbally given. We know that Paul himself, when he went up to Jerusalem, “attempted to join himself to the disciples”; but they were afraid to receive him until they had heard how he had been converted to God, “and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus.” Then they gladly received him, “and he was with them coming in and going out at Jerusalem”; Why it is that good Christian people are so frightened over the little matter of saying to their fellow Christians, “We believe in Jesus,” utterly amazes me. If you have been, as Jeremiah says, wearied by running with the footmen, how can you contend with horses; and if, in these little billows of trouble through making your public affirmation of faith to your own brothers and sisters in Christ, you get so frightened, what will you do in the swelling of Jordan? You are afraid of going to see your minister about joining the church, are you? Yet you have to meet the devil, foot to foot, as Bunyan’s Christian had to meet Apollyon! Are you afraid of meeting a few of your fellow Christians? Why, you have to meet death; you have to face a scorning, scoffing, frowning, jeering, persecuting world! If you are afraid of a company of believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, who are only too glad to hear you say that you are on the Lord’s side if it is really true, and who will cheer, and comfort, and help you as far they possibly can, — if you are afraid of us, surely you cannot have the courage which ought to be the possession of all good soldiers of Jesus Christ.

15. Then, next, both of two ordinances of the Christian religion are confessions of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. It seems to me that the baptism of believers is a most impressive and instructive mode of confessing with the mouth what we have believed with the heart. Coming to the open pool, the believer says to you who look on, “I believe that Jesus Christ died, and was buried, and rose again on my behalf; in testimony to which I also am about to be buried in this liquid tomb, out of which I shall rise, as he rose from the grave. I believe that this flesh of mine is beyond improvement, and must die; I look for no perfection in my body, for I know that the perfection I am to receive is spiritual; as Paul wrote to the Romans, ‘If Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness’; and I give up this body of mine to be buried, — the body of my flesh, these old corruptions, to be buried once and for all; I affirm, today, that I am dead to the world, that my life is hidden with Christ in God, and that the life which I henceforth live shall be a resurrection-life, a life in the power of the Holy Spirit, who has quickened me, and raised me up from among the dead to live with Jesus Christ in newness of life.” I cannot conceive of a more impressive and instructive form of confession with the mouth than what our Master himself has enjoined on us, not only by precept, but also by example when he told John to baptize him in the Jordan River, and said to him, “So it becomes us to fulfil all righteousness.”

16. And then, when we gather around the table of communion, in obedience to our Master’s command, “Do this in remembrance of me,” we “show the Lord’s death until he comes”; and there, in the breaking and eating of the bread, and the pouring out and drinking of the wine, we make another confession with the mouth that we have trusted in Jesus as our Saviour, that he is “the living bread which came down from heaven,” on which we live, and “the wine on the lees, well-refined,” which is the choicest cordial our quickened spirits can enjoy.

17. So you see that both the ordinances are God’s own methods by which we are to confess our confidence in his Son, Jesus Christ.

18. More than this, every Christian is bound to affirm his faith in Christ at all times when it is possible. We are not merely Christians on some special occasions, we are Christians always, and Christians for evermore, if we are Christians at all. We are not only believers in Jesus when we meet each other at the communion table, or at a prayer meeting; but we are believers in Jesus outside, at our work, in our business, or our daily occupation, whatever it may be. I utterly abhor that so-called “piety” which belongs only to places and to dates! Your “holy” places, and your “holy” dates, and your “holy” water, and so on are all equally anti-Christian and Popish. To the Christian, every day is equally holy, every place equally holy, and everything equally holy. He is a sanctified man, and all things that are around him are sanctified to God’s service, and to his fellow creatures’ good; and, to that end, he confesses Christ with his mouth at all times.

19. Still, there are certain special occasions when he should do this. For example, it is our duty to confess Christ with the mouth when enquirers ask us for information about him. There are many people, in the world, with a sufficiently candid spirit to want to know what Christianity really is; so, as the apostle Peter says, “be always ready to give an answer to every man who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.” Do not let such enquirers go away unsatisfied, even though it may be a very long and difficult matter to satisfy their enquiries.

20. Also watch that you are always ready to make confession of your faith to objectors, even though they should only ask questions and raise objections just for the sake of opposition. When a controversy is started, and someone else speaks on the wrong side, do not hesitate to put in a word for what is right and true. I have heard of some people, who are of so gentle a spirit that, if they hear others engaged in controversy, they always walk away. Well, have you never heard of the soldier, who was so gentle-spirited that, whenever there was any fighting to be done, he always hid away in a corner, or some other safe place? That was not very creditable on his part, and when he was discovered, he was shot; and that mode of skulking, which some people adopt whenever a religious controversy is on, is about as honourable to them. If you can say a word that will really help a good cause, do not withhold it; for, sometimes, even the simplest observation may come in just at the right time, and may overthrow the adversary of the truth. So, bear your personal testimony for the truth in times of controversy. And take care that you always confess Christ when you are likely to be ridiculed for doing so. This, indeed, will be a test of your sincerity. To confess Christ in summer weather, when religion, as it were, walks in silver slippers, is what a hypocrite might do; but to take your place beside Christ when he stands in the pillory, and every man’s hand is full of mud and filth to throw at him, this is what only a genuine Christian can do. Confess Christ when his followers are in rags; acknowledge him when his disciples are oppressed and persecuted. Remember what Paul mentions to the praise of Onesiphorus: “he often refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain.” Do not any of you Christians be ashamed of Christ’s chain; but consider it your highest honour and glory, as Paul says, to “fill up what is lacking of the afflictions of Christ,” “for his body’s sake, which is the Church.”

21. Let me, having thus given you sufficient opportunity for making your confession of faith, urge on those present, who have believed in Jesus, but have never yet confessed their faith, the duty of doing so at once. Be no longer backward, but say, “I also am on the Lord’s side.” Please, if you have never done so, take the first opportunity you have of doing it; and, in some way, but especially in your Lord and Master’s own way, come forward, and say, “He is my Saviour, my King, my All in all; and I hereby affirm him in the midst of this crooked and perverse generation.”

22. III. Now, thirdly, let us ask, WHY SHOULD WE CONFESS OUR FAITH IN CHRIST?

23. I shall not spend many minutes over this point, for it seems to me that every true Christian’s heart can supply him with many reasons for acting like this. To confess God, in the person of his Son, Jesus Christ, is a part of true religious homage which is naturally due to the Most High. Our prayers and praises are rightly due to the great Being who created us, and who still preserves and provides for us; and our confession of Christ, if we have truly believed in him, is due to the One who has redeemed us from destruction with his own most precious blood.

24. We should confess Christ with the mouth because he claims this from us. I repeat the solemn words I quoted to you a little while ago: “Whoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” Tremble, lest you should incur the doom of those who are ashamed of Christ. There is another terrible passage in the twenty-first chapter of Revelation: “But, the fearful, and unbelieving, … shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone; which is the second death.” {Re 21:8} “The fearful” — that is, those who are afraid to confess Christ; — not those who are fearful concerning their own salvation; not the Little-Faiths and the Much-Afraids; — but those cowards who are afraid to suffer for Christ’s sake, and who therefore take the side of the world for the sake of their present ease and comfort; — these are those who shall be shut out of heaven, and have their everlasting portion with idolaters and liars in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone. I implore you to tremble lest that should be your lot.

25. We should affirm Jesus Christ, my brethren, if only for our own sake, for really it does a Christian great good to say publicly, “I love the Lord.” It gives happiness, comfort, satisfaction, rest of heart, and lasting joy to confess Christ before men. I do not have the time to tell you of all the blessings that I personally received through publicly affirming that Christ was my Saviour. One thing I may say, however; I believe that, up to that time, I was one of the most timid people in the world; I never spoke to anyone, and never ventured to give an opinion on anything without tears coming into my eyes. But, from that happy day when I walked into the water, at Isleham Ferry, to be baptized into the name of Christ, I have never been afraid of any man in the world, nor of the devil either, while engaged in the pursuit of the things of God. My baptism was a kind of crossing of the Rubicon {c} for me. I had burned my boats, drawn my sword, and thrown away the scabbard, so that there was no possibility of going back, and I never wished to do so; and I believe that, others, who are always timorous, and trembling, and afraid, would derive perpetual benefit from once and for all boldly affirming themselves to be on the Lord’s side.

26. And, brethren, we ought also to do this for the sake of others. Who knows what good you may do in your family by confessing Christ with the mouth if you have believed in him with your heart? There is another poor trembler in your home; if you come out for Christ first, that other one will soon come out too. Frequently, it is my happy lot to see a daughter come to join the church; and when I ask her if her parents are godly people, she says, “Oh, yes, I hope so, sir!” “Do they attend the Tabernacle?” “Oh, yes, sir!” “Then how is it that they have not joined us?” “Well, sir, I think it is because they are so timid”; and then, often, in about a month afterwards, the father and mother both come; they cannot let their daughter be in the church without them, so they also come and affirm their faith in Christ. It is not the right order, you know, for the child to come first, but it often is so; and when one comes, others soon follow. I have known, many a time, the youngsters of the family to be the boldest in acknowledging Christ as their Lord and Master; and then, when they have broken the ice, the other believers in the household have followed them, and made the heroic plunge. Confess Christ, therefore, because of the good you may do to others by doing so.

27. Further, by giving such public testimony to your faith, — that is, if you live up to it, — you help to let the world know that the old faith has not died out; and, though they may hate you for doing it, you will have borne your personal witness that there is a God, that there is a Saviour, and the wicked world will not be able to sleep so soundly as it did before. Your confession will touch its guilty conscience, and cause it to have disquieting dreams; it may be that you will help to awaken it, and so be the means of bringing some out of it whom Christ has bought with his precious blood, who also will boldly come out on the Lord’s side.

28. Beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, if you will look through the history of the Church of Christ, you will find abundant reasons why every Christian should publicly acknowledge his Master. Look at those days of diabolical persecution under Diocletian and the other Roman emperors. Look all down the blood-red path of the noble army of martyrs. Where would the confessors of Christ have been if all Christians had kept the knowledge of their faith to themselves? Where would the Church of Christ itself have been if every believer had done as some do now, namely choke the good seed within their own hearts by never giving expression to the faith that is in them. Why, when the fires of persecution were the hottest, Christians were the bravest, and multitudes of men and boys, matrons and maidens, were not ashamed to come to the Roman and other tribunals, and say “We are followers of Christ, we acknowledge the Man of Nazareth as our Lord and Saviour.” They did not hide themselves away; many of them even seemed to court grim Death, though he came dressed in his most terrifying garb. Torture, flaying alive, breaking on the wheel, dragging at the heels of wild horses, rotting in foul dungeons, burning at the stake, — none of these things could quench their courage. They knew whom they had believed, and were persuaded that he was able to keep what they had committed to him, and therefore they marched bravely to prison and to death. What then? Shall others fight to win the prize, and shall you, as a coward, stay by the baggage? God forbid! Instead of that, may the Lord help you to confess Christ in the day of his rejection so that you may be honoured with him in the day of his exaltation! May God help you to take his part in the midst of the sneers of the world, so that you may be with him when the acclamations of cherubim and seraphim, and the innumerable host redeemed by his blood, shall make all heaven ring and ring again with the music of his matchless name!

29. IV. And now, lastly, IN WHAT SPIRIT SHOULD WE CONFESS CHRIST?

30. We should confess Christ, first, with due self-examination. As it is with the Lord’s supper, so it is with this important matter of confessing Christ with the mouth. “Let a man examine himself,” says the apostle, and so do we; for, remember that confession with the mouth will be very dangerous unless you are sure that you have believed in Christ with your heart. I am greatly afraid for those of you who are not converted, but who have united yourselves with some Christian church. After the exercise of the best judgment on the part of church officers, such a calamity will occasionally occur; but if, my friends, this is your case, you are in a most perilous position. You are not very likely to be converted now, for the preacher’s message to the sinner will pass on to someone else when it should be received by you. The fact of you being in the church may he very much to your spiritual detriment. Therefore do not confess with the mouth what you have not believed with the heart.

31. But, when you have believed with the heart, take care that you promptly and quickly confess Christ with the mouth. Do not need to be forced to do it. Do not need that mother, or father, or friends should urge you to do it. Christ did not need any forcing to give himself to die for you, so you should not need any forcing to live for him. The best wine flows most freely from the grape, and the sweetest honey is what drops unpressed from the comb. Let your soul freely drop with love for Christ, like the droppings of the honeycomb. “Freely you have received, freely give” to him who freely gave his all for you.

32. Take care, too, that you also come forward very boldly. Do not be ashamed to confess Christ with the mouth in his own appointed way. What you are about to do has no shame connected with it. If you sincerely believe in Jesus, you have no more need to blush at being baptized than a king has when he comes forward to be crowned, or a knight when he kneels to receive the accolade from his sovereign. There is no sin in being a disciple of the Son of God, and no shame in confessing that I am his.

   Ashamed of Jesus! that dear Friend,

   On whom my hopes of heaven depend!

   No; when I blush, be this my shame,

   That I no more revere his name.

33. Further, confess Christ with the mouth very plainly. Do not acknowledge him in a mystical kind of way which no one can understand, but bear your testimony by plain words and by even plainer actions. Remember that “actions speak more loudly than words”; and therefore make your confession most of all by the consistent Christian character of your daily life. “Let your conduct be as it becomes the gospel of Christ.”

34. Then, make your confession with the mouth constantly. Do not retract at home what you say abroad; and, on the other hand, do not disown abroad what you acknowledge to be true at home. Do not be one thing in the church, and another thing in the world. Remember that you are always a Christian if you are ever a Christian; stand firm in the faith, therefore, at all times. Nail your colours to the mast if you have entered the service of the Lord High Admiral of the Galilean Lake.

35. Above all things, confess the Lord Jesus Christ sincerely. Let there is no hypocrisy about your confession in any way. Do not repeat some other Christian’s experience which is not your own. Do not borrow your confession of faith from the biography of some eminent Christian. Let your own experience be what you profess; say, with the apostle John, “what we have seen and heard we declare to you.”

36. Also, make your confession modestly; — not as though you had anything to boast about in being a Christian, — not as though your Christianity was the result of any good thing in you. Take care to ascribe it all to sovereign grace. Do not blush at being a Christian; but, at the same time, do not boast about it. As Paul wrote to the Philippians, “Rejoice in Christ Jesus,” but “have no confidence in the flesh.”

37. Further, make your confession of Christ wisely; — not doing it so as to irritate others unnecessarily, — being willing to suffer for Christ if needs be, but not making a martyr of yourself when there is no occasion for doing so. Boldly speak out for Christ whenever you can, but always blend the wisdom of the serpent with the harmlessness of the dove.

38. Finally, confess Christ, out of love for him, because you cannot help doing so. Let holy zeal blaze and burn within you until the sparks fly out of your soul in the form of a burning confession of Christ. Let your feet be dipped in the holy oil of complete consecration to Christ, so that you may leave a sacred unction behind you wherever you walk. That will be the best confession of your faith that you can make. Still, do not separate the word of confession from the action, for it is to be confession with the mouth. Do say, and say it unmistakably, “I am a Christian.” If Christians have any other nickname beside that of Christians, — for so it was given to them at the first, — do not be ashamed of that nickname. Do not be ashamed of the denomination to which you belong, even though some may denounce you as a sectarian. Remember that the genuine Christian is and must be a sectarian; that is to say, he is one who firmly holds the whole truth which he has learned from the Scriptures, through the teaching of the Holy Spirit; and, therefore, he is what the world calls “a sectarian.” But as for latitudinarianism, which believes nothing, and considers no truth to be worth anything, the modern Diana of the Ephesians, — please make no shrines for that hideous idol, and pay no reverence to it; but, like honest men and women, read your Bibles, find out what is revealed there, and stand by it at all costs. If it brings an ugly name on you, and you are called a sectarian, be willing to bear that name for Christ’s sake; only take care that, in bearing it you do not have the horrible spirit of some sectarians, who denounce all others because they do not see eye to eye with them, and who have no fellowship with them because they cannot say “Shibboleth” exactly as the sectarians say it. Love the whole family of God, but do not to ashamed of those distinctive truths which give you a name which makes you a separatist from the ungodly, and from those who do not follow the whole counsel of God. Stand up boldly for Christ and for his truth, so that, when he comes again, he may say to you, “Well done, you good and faithful servant, you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things; enter into the joy of your Lord.”

39. You, who have not yet believed in Jesus with the heart, must make no confession with the mouth; but I pray that you may be even now led to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. The way of salvation is simply this, — Trust Jesus Christ, that is believing with the heart. Depend on his merits, rely on his all-sufficient atoning sacrifice, rest in his perfect righteousness. If you do that, you are saved, and then, being saved, come forward, and affirm your faith, and may God bless you in doing so, for Christ’s sake! Amen.

{a} Other sermons by Mr. Spurgeon, on this text are: —  {See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 519, “Believing with the Heart” 510} {See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 520, “Confession with the Mouth” 511}
{b} Other sermons by Mr. Spurgeon, on this subject are: —  {See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 2275, “Belief, Baptism, Blessing,” 2276} {See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 2339, “Baptism Essential to Obedience.” 2277}
{c} Rubicon: The ancient name of a small stream on the east coast of northern Italy, forming part of the southern boundary of Cisalpine Gaul; the crossing of it by Caesar marked the beginning of the war with Pompey. To cross or pass the Rubicon, to take a decisive or final step, esp. at the outset of some undertaking or enterprise. OED.

In the Press Will shortly be Published.

John Ploughman’s Almanac for 1907

The great broadsheet bearing the familiar name of John Ploughman, one of C. H. Spurgeon’s pen-names, is nearly ready for publication. The 365 proverbs, proverbial sayings, mottos, &c., compiled for the coming year, are said by competent judges to be fully equal to those on previous Sheet Almanacs. The three large pictures, which go right down the centre of the sheet, all refer to kindness to animals; and in the letterpress reference is made to C. H. Spurgeon’s dogs and horses, and two of his capital stories about dogs are reprinted for the benefit of readers who may not have heard or read them. “John Ploughman” was fond of dumb animals, but he was more fond of boys and girls, and his Almanac again presents several pleas for the fatherless (and, in some cases, motherless) children at the Stockwell Orphanage.

Spurgeon’s Illustrated Almanac for 1907

The Book Almanac again contains 365 Texts of Scripture selected by Pastor Thomas Spurgeon, together with a letter from him, and an appeal for additional support for the Institutions under his presidential care. The articles bear the names of C. H. Spurgeon, Thomas Spurgeon, Dr. Maclaren, Dr. Churcher, H. O. Mackey, E. Tanton, and J. W. Harrald; and among the illustrations are two specially relating to C. H. Spurgeon, — one being a reproduction of a photograph taken at Mentone, at his request, a quarter of a century ago, and never previously published; the other being a view of part of the trunk of a fine large eucalyptus planted by C. H. S. in the lovely garden of Sir Thomas Hanbury, at La Mortola, Italy.

Price one penny each.

London: Passmore & Alabaster, Paternoster Buildings; or can be procured through all Booksellers, Colporteurs, etc.