“Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 10:32-33 NASB1995)

Please understand here that to confess Jesus/God before other humans is not just words spoken. For this word “confess” means to “speak to the same conclusion as; to be in full agreement with; to align with.” So this has to do with us aligning with, agreeing with, and coming to the same conclusion as God/Christ Jesus, but not only about who Jesus is and what he did for us on that cross, but about our sins and our need to die with him to sin and to now obey him and his commands in practice, by his grace, in his power.

For to deny Christ is not just about lip service, either. For there are many people who give lip service to Christ/God but who deny him by their actions, by their thinking, by their attitudes, and by continuing to live in sinful addiction without genuine repentance and a change (transformation) of heart and mind away from sin to walks of faith in obedience to our Lord. So we must align with Christ in how we live and we must not deny him by our behaviors if we want to be saved and have eternal life with God in heaven.

[Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 9:23-26; Romans 6:1-23; 1 John 1, 2, & 3]

“Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household.” (Matthew 10:34-36 NASB1995)

What was the meaning of Jesus’ words here? Well, first of all, how was Jesus generally treated? He was loved by some, but hated by the many. He was followed by many for awhile because of the miracles he performed, and because he fed them and healed their diseases. But the majority rejected him, and they rejected his gospel message and what he required of them, for they thought his teaching was too hard. And many in authority opposed him and persecuted him and mistreated him because of who he was.

So, Jesus’ message to us who are his followers is that, as they treated Jesus, so will they treat us. For, some of his enemies were members of his own household who thought he was crazy and who wanted to put him away. His most severe critics were the religious leaders in the temple who tried regularly to trip him up with his words, hoping to have cause to accuse him of wrong he did not do. So the point here is that, if we follow Jesus with our lives, in obedience to his commands, we will be treated like he was.

[Matthew 5:10-12; Matthew 10:16-39; Matthew 24:9-14; Luke 6:22-23; Luke 12:49-53; Luke 21:12-17; John 15:18-21; 2 Corinthians 12:7-10; Ephesians 6:10-20; Romans 5:3-5; Revelation 6:9-11; Revelation 7:9-17; Revelation 11:1-3; Revelation 12:17; Revelation 13:1-18; Revelation 14:1-13]

“He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.” (Matthew 10:37-39 NASB1995; see also Luke 9:23-26)

We who follow Jesus Christ with our lives are not to put any human being, no matter who they are, above God in priority in our lives. We are not to let any other human being influence us to disobey God and to not follow in his ways or to reject his calling on our lives. Now, when we are children, we must obey our parents, but we are not to obey sin. We can say “no” to sin. And the same applies for married women. We do not have to obey sin if our husband requires us to obey sin. We can say “no” to all sin always!

And Jesus taught that to come after him we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin and to self) and follow him in surrender to his will in obedience to his commands. For if sin is what we obey, and not God and his commands, then we do not have life in him. So, if we hold on to our old lives of living in sin and for self, we will lose them for eternity. But if for Jesus’ sake we deny self, die to sin, and obey his commands, in practice, in his power, then we have eternal life with God. We find our lives in Christ.

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:1-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Acts 26:18]

If This, Then That
An Original Work / April 29, 2026
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love