Suppose you go to the doctor, and you are diagnosed with some serious condition: “This will need treatment, and there are two ways we can go. The first is surgery, but there is an alternative, and it’s noninvasive.”

At this point, most people would be focusing on the second option. Most of us would like to avoid surgery, if at all possible. We want the noninvasive option, and if that’s not possible, then give us the minimally invasive option.

We naturally think the same way about faith. We would like to have a minimally invasive faith. But notice what Jesus says here about the Holy Spirit: “He lives with you and will be in you” (14:17). Now that’s invasive! The Spirit of God will live with you and will be in you.

What does a noninvasive faith do for you—believing that there once was a man called Jesus, that He was God, and that He rose from the dead? How does that make a difference in your life? How can that comfort you in suffering? How can that give you strength to face the world today?

Jesus said, “The Holy Spirit will be with you and in you.” Jesus gave Himself for us on the cross. Jesus gives Himself to us by the Holy Spirit.

We participate in all that Jesus has accomplished for us by the Holy Spirit. The work of Christ does indeed “invade” every aspect of the true Christian’s life.

How have you seen change in your life since you became a believer in Jesus? Has this change been noticed by others as well?

How do we know the presence of Jesus in our lives today? In what way is He with us? And how exactly does He help us?

After Jesus rose on that first Easter morning, He appeared to His disciples multiple times over a 40-day period. Then He was visibly taken up into heaven as the twelve disciples watched (see Acts 1). After He returned to the Father in heaven, the resurrection life of Jesus was communicated to the first disciples by “another Helper,” the Holy Spirit.

Notice what Jesus says here about the Spirit: “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper” (John 14:16). The disciples already had Jesus as their helper. But now Jesus is returning to the Father, so when Jesus talks about “another Helper,” He is telling the disciples that this helper will do for them what Jesus had done for them. This helper is the Spirit of truth and He will be with them forever (14:17).

Jesus Christ has ascended to the right hand of the Father in heaven where He intercedes for us. But He is present with us by His Holy Spirit.

When are you most aware of Jesus’ presence with you?

Obedience to Jesus here is not simply calling yourself a Christian. The hardest days of your life will be your greatest opportunity to confess Him. Here are five ways to confess Jesus:

1. Confess the glory of Christ in costly obedience
The Bible tells the story of Mary pouring perfume on Jesus’ feet. Mary could not think of a better use for this treasure, so she poured it on Jesus, and in doing so, she confessed His glory.

2. Confess the presence of Christ in loneliness
Paul writes from prison about friends who let him down (2 Tim. 4:9-11). But instead of turning his disappointment into bitterness, Paul confessed Christ: “But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me” (4:17). What are you going to do when other people let you down?

3. Confess contentment in Christ under financial pressure
When Paul faced financial struggles, he might have said, “Why did Jesus allow this?” Instead, he used his need to confess Christ: “I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:12-13).

4. Confess the sufficiency of Christ in sickness & pain
When Paul faced “a thorn in the flesh” (2 Cor. 12:7), he pleaded with the Lord to take it away. But the Lord said, “No.” So Paul used his own pain to confess Christ: “[Jesus] said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (12:9).

5. Confess the sovereignty of Christ in sorrow & loss
Job’s wealth was plundered, his children died, and his wife said: “Curse God and die” (Job 2:9). But Job said: “The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD” (1:21). Your confession of Christ in trouble will reverberate through heaven and hell forever.

Is there an opportunity for you to confess Christ in your circumstances today?

If you only read this verse in isolation, it might sound like Jesus is saying that salvation is by works: “If you do this for Me; I will do that for you.” But this is not the message of the gospel.

We are saved by the blood of Jesus, not by an act of confession. There is no redeeming power in confessing Christ. Redeeming power lies in the Christ who is confessed. This Christ becomes ours by faith, and our confession is one evidence of faith in the Christ who saves us.

That is how we should understand the words of Jesus here and how we should understand these familiar words: “If you confess with your mouth, that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Rom. 10:9). Redeeming power lies in the Christ who is confessed, not in the act of confessing.

Jesus is not talking to unbelievers, but to His disciples.
Notice, this whole chapter is about Jesus speaking to those who have already made a commitment to Him: Jesus “called to him his twelve disciples” (Mat. 10:1). This isn’t evangelism—calling unbelievers to confess Christ. This is for Christians. He’s challenging us.

Jesus is not talking about something easy, but something hard.
When you first hear this verse, it sounds like an easy thing to do. Here’s the Lord Jesus Christ, and what does He want me to do? “Everyone who acknowledges me…” (Mat. 10:32). So, that’s what we have to do—we have to acknowledge Jesus and accept that He’s the Saviour and say we believe in Him—nothing terribly difficult about that… until you consider the context.

Are you tempted to interpret these kinds of sayings in the Bible as things you must do in order to be right with God? Why or why not?

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.

Have you been denying Jesus? Are you ready to begin confessing Him?

If you were to make a list of the greatest days of your life, you’d probably have a few to choose from. They would likely include graduations, weddings, birthdays, and retirements.

But Jesus speaks here about a day so momentous that it will outshine any other day of your life. One day you will stand in the presence of God, and on that day, you will see the Son of God. You will hear His voice. He will speak to you.

On that day, the Son of God will either confess you or deny you. To confess you means He will say to the Father, “This is [put your name here], and she belongs to Me.” To deny you means the Son will say to the Father, “This is [put your name here], and he has nothing to do with Me.” Every person will hear the Son of God say one of these two things.

Jesus makes it clear that what He says about you then is tied to what you say about Him now: “Everyone who acknowledges me before men [that’s what you say about Jesus now], I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven [that’s what He will say about you then], but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven” (10:32–33).

What are you saying about Jesus now with your thoughts, words, and actions?

For centuries Evangelicals have had a clear understanding of the message of the gospel. The message is the incarnation and the atonement. God became man in Jesus Christ. Christ died on the cross for our sins and broke the power of death by His resurrection. This Christ offers forgiveness of sins and peace with God, new life by the power of the Holy Spirit, and entrance, not into the hell that we deserve, but into everlasting joy in the presence of God.

Evangelicals have also had a clear understanding of the mission of the gospel. The mission is to proclaim this gospel to people in every culture, inviting them to receive what Christ offers by coming to Him in faith and repentance, trusting Him as Saviour, and following Him as Lord. But there is an inherent offence in this gospel-the uniqueness of Jesus as Savior, the guilt of our sin, and the judgment of hell-nobody likes these things.

Liberalism did not accept the inspiration and authority of the Bible, so it selected certain truths and discarded others. The message of liberalism is not the incarnation and the atonement. It is the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of men. God loves you and we need to love each other. That's true, but you don't need an incarnation or an atonement for that. You don't need repentance and faith in Christ for that. There's no hell to be saved from in that.

A new message led to a new mission. Liberalism changed the church's mission from individual salvation to cultural transformation. Instead of saying, "Our ministry is to lead people to repentance and faith in Christ through the gospel," they say, "Our mission is to change society."

Jesus says, "I will make you fishers of men." God's method of changing society is to change the individuals who compose it.

What is your response to the message and mission of liberalism?

Here are seven observations suggested by Jesus’ analogy of fishing.

1. Some people are really good at fishing, but anyone can do it.
You don’t have to know much about fishing to catch a fish, and God gives some people special gifts of evangelism, but every Christian can play a part in drawing other people to Jesus.

2. Fishing requires great patience.
You throw out a line or a net, and then you wait. Many of us have loved ones who we long to see won to Christ. Fishing requires great patience.

3. Fishing teaches how to deal with discouragement.
The disciples had toiled all night, and they caught nothing (Luke 5:5). Anyone who enjoys fishing has a story like this. You haven’t caught anything today? Get up early and go out again tomorrow.

4. Christ invites us to come fishing, not go hunting.
Some Christians sound more like hunters than fishers. But there is an art to fishing, and Peter gives us wise counsel: speak with gentleness and respect (1 Pet. 3:15).

5. The church is a fishing boat, not a pleasure boat.
It’s easier to have a ministry that is about ourselves. But Jesus does not say, “Follow me and I will take you on a delightful cruise.” He says, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

6. Fishing is hard and sometimes dangerous work.
Have you seen the television programme Deadliest Catch? Fishing is one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. Read the book of Acts and you will see that pioneer evangelism is up there too. The best fishing is often done in the most difficult waters.

7. There’s great joy in catching fish.
Have you ever seen someone looking miserable about a fish they just caught? Of course not! Catching fish is fun, and there is far greater joy in seeing a person come to faith in Jesus.

Which of these observations is most helpful to you?