For scripture reading this evening, we turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 12. 1 Corinthians 12, and we will read the entire chapter. Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. Ye know that ye were Gentiles carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led. Wherefore, I give you to understand that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed, and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord. but by this Holy Ghost. Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. There are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. but the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit with all. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom, to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another diverse kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will. For as the body is one and hath many members, and all the members of that one body being many are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body. whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free, and have been all made to drink into one spirit. For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot shall say, because I am not the hand, I am not of the body, is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear shall say, because I am not the eye, I am not of the body, is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling? But now hath God set the members, every one of them, in the body, as it hath pleased him. And if they were all one member, where were the body? But now, Are they many members? Yet one body. And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee, nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. Nay, much more those members of the body which seem to be more feeble are necessary. And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, upon these we bestow more abundant honor, and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness. For our comely parts have no need, but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honor to that part which lacked. that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care one for another. And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it. Or one member be honored, all the members rejoice with it. Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular, and God hath set some in the church, first, apostles, secondarily, prophets, and thirdly, teachers, after that, miracles, then gifts of healing, helps, governments, diversities of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? Have all the gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? but covet earnestly the best gifts, and yet show I unto you a more excellent way. Text for the sermon this evening is the third verse. Wherefore, I give you to understand that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed, and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. Your presence, beloved people of God, this evening is a testimony that you understand the significance of the confession of faith that was made by these four young adults this evening. That you understand that they did exactly what was spoken about in our text. That they confessed Jesus is Lord. All three questions that were asked, and even though they only answered yes, all of those three questions were essentially various aspects of asking the same thing. Is Jesus Lord? Is Jesus Lord such that you acknowledge that He is the doctrine of the Old and New Testaments? Is He Lord such that He rules through the government of the church? And evidently, your presence here tonight indicates you understand the significance. And significant it is, perhaps much more than we realize, which is the purpose of the text tonight, So significant is it when a child of God makes a genuine confession of their faith that the hosts of heaven take notice and they sit in silent witness, just like we did tonight in the church. And even the demons of hell tremble at such a confession of faith because they understand its significance. The significance of confessing that Jesus is Lord is brought out in our text, especially if we understand why the text is there. The Apostle Paul is addressing the problem. He's giving instruction to the church about spiritual gifts because that problem concerned spiritual gifts. There were many spiritual gifts, as the Apostle goes on to point out, that were given in the congregation. Diversity of gifts. Some were teachers, some were prophets, some were given the gifts of miracles and tongue-speaking and even the interpretation of tongues. And the problem was that the church at Corinth had made a list of those that they thought were more important, that were most significant, and they all coveted those gifts, while at the same time minimizing and even perhaps scorning what was actually the most significant of all the gifts, which was simply confessing that Jesus is Lord. That was the main spiritual gift that the Holy Spirit had distributed to the congregation there in Corinth and still does today. The Apostle will go on to make this evident. But in short, it's this, because all the other spiritual gifts simply serve to reinforce the confession that Jesus is Lord. Not only that, this was the one spiritual gift that every single member of the church had. Whereas only some were prophets and only some could speak in tongues. So again, it testified to the lordship of Jesus Christ in a unique way. Not only that, but the confession that Jesus is Lord is an expression of the Christian experience. It really explains his life and his existence, why he goes to church, why he does what he does, why the Word is preached, why the ministry is supported, why we live a life of obedience. The answer to all that is because Jesus is Lord. So consider with me this evening for a while, confessing Jesus is Lord. And we look, first of all, at the meaning. What does the text mean? When it speaks about calling Jesus accursed, and over against that speaks about a man saying that Jesus is the Lord. Obviously, the apostle does not mean Simply saying, having those words come out of your mouth, can only be done by the Holy Spirit. Rather, when he simply speaks of saying that Jesus is the Lord, he's talking about a confession. He's talking about saying in such a way that one is saying, this is my conviction. This is what I believe. Not only that, but it's one that's made not abstractly, not codely, if that were even conceivable, but it's a confession of deep, deep love. In fact, it's even emphasized in the original, where literally it reads, no man can say, Lord Jesus. The idea is that of one who has their arms around Jesus Christ, standing before Him or beside Him, clinging to Him and saying, Lord Jesus. That's the basic meaning. Now, the idea of the text is that there's content to that confession. That when someone says, Lord Jesus, and they do it with that conviction and love, they're saying something about Jesus. They're saying something about a real human being, a person. They're saying something about His life. They're talking about the man Jesus, who, as to His person, is the eternal Son of God. but the eternal Son of God in our flesh. They're saying that Jesus is the one who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, not by a human father. And He was consumed in the womb of one young woman, a virgin named Mary, that He was born in Bethlehem some 2,000 years ago. We're talking about the Jesus who grew up for a little while in Bethlehem, had to flee to Egypt and then move to Nazareth and live there for most of his adult life until around the age of 30, he was called to be baptized by John. Then being baptized, he was driven into the wilderness by the Spirit, where he was tempted for 40 days and nights and began a public ministry. In that ministry, he did many miracles, and many followed him, many believed on him, but many more rejected him, scorned him, mocked him, using the words of the text called him accursed. He is eventually killed. Killed under the sentence of the Roman governor on a cross. He dies and is buried. When someone says, Jesus is Lord, they're talking about that particular person, that particular man. There's more, of course. When one says that Jesus is Lord, they're saying, He's God's Lord. When someone says Jesus is the Lord, they're saying that one is the Christ, God's Messiah, the one whom God has appointed out of the human race, the one person among all men, whom God has equipped with power and authority to accomplish His will, particularly with regard to salvation. It is a confession. that Jesus is not a sovereign or one sovereign among many, but He is the sovereign. He is the King of all kings and the Lord of all lords. And the King of kings and the Lord of lords, not simply now, but has always been throughout all time and history. It means that this Jesus is Lord who is sovereign over all the creation, that he possesses all authority and power to rule the world and all of its creatures and all of its inhabitants. It is the confession that he is sovereign over the church. that he is Lord in a special way over the church, Lord over salvation, completely Lord over salvation, so that salvation is a gift that is accomplished by his power and will alone without the cooperation of men. When someone confesses that Jesus is Lord, They're confessing that he is alive. Oh, he was dead, but now he lives because he cannot be Lord if he is dead. If he is dead, he has been conquered. There is a Lord over him, but that's not the case. Having died and having suffered the wrath of God for the sins that we have committed and fully satisfying them, He has risen from the dead, so that He lives in His body in heaven as Lord. When someone confesses that Jesus is Lord, they are confessing that His death then was not defeat, but victory. They are confessing that He deliberately gave Himself to death, and gave Himself to death to show that He is Lord. That was proven when He arose from the grave, then subsequently ascended into heaven. To confess Jesus is Lord is also to confess that when he ascended, he is Lord because he was given God's own spirit as his own, which is the reference to the Holy Ghost here. The Holy Ghost, as that spirit is his own spirit, out of which and by which he lives, And that Spirit is the Spirit of God. And that Spirit is the Spirit of our salvation. More than that, to confess that Jesus is Lord is to confess that He is my Lord. No one confesses that Jesus is Lord in the abstract, or is confessing that he is Lord of these people over there, and he is Lord over some things over there, but not me. It is the confession, he is my Lord and my God. It is the declaration, therefore, that he is also for you. When someone confesses Jesus is Lord, they are not confessing it like the ungodly must confess it at the final judgment, or that even the devils must admit mumbling it under their breath. But it is the confession that He is absolutely my Lord. I am not my own, but I belong to this Lord. He has the right and the authority over all of me, completely, every thought, every word, every deed, all the days of my life, in body and in soul. It is the declaration and confession that what He did, He did for me. and the what he continues to do he does in me. There's more. To confess that Jesus is Lord is something that every member of the church will confess and does confess. The Apostle Paul is very aware of that when he writes this passage by inspiration. In fact, it's a major point. That over against the other gifts, as impressive as they were, stood this gift. And it stood out because it was not unique to some, but the confession of all. That's why when we make confession of faith, and our confession basically is Jesus is Lord, when that is done, it is being done in the church and by the church. That is a church, a true church of Jesus Christ, is a church that confesses together that Jesus is Lord. And that's why it's important and why it was even mentioned in the Confession of Faith about confessing here in this Christian church. Not only is it the solemn duty of every baptized child of the church to make Confession of Faith, but also to make that in a church that makes the same confession Really, what confession means, it means to speak with, to speak with others, to speak with one voice. That is, when we make confession of faith that Jesus is Lord, we must make sure we make that confession where the church confesses all those other things. Confesses the truth of the Trinity so that He may be indeed the Son of God. Confesses the Incarnation. Confesses the Lordship of His atoning death and salvation. And make sure that the church does not deny that by saying that Jesus is unable to save all whom He wills to save. Otherwise, you deny your confession. It is our duty to make sure that we confess the Lordship of Jesus Christ in one's life. That is, by teaching the commandments of God as the will of this Lord. Some would have Jesus as Lord, but will not have His commandments, will not have His law. We are to make sure that we confess Jesus as Lord in a church that does not deny His Lordship practically by saying, while I'm saved, but how I live is absolutely unimportant. Where you make this confession is absolutely critical. This is confession then that has significance in this sense, also brought out of the text. It is the confession that separates the true and the false church. It is the confession that separates believer and unbeliever. It is the confession that separates the spiritual and the carnal, the saved and the lost. And the only alternative to confessing Lord Jesus is to confess that Jesus is accursed. In the original, that word is a word we know, anathema. The idea of the text is there are only two possibilities of confession. That every human being that every member of the human race will either confess, Jesus is Lord, or Jesus is accursed. We'll either say, Lord Jesus, or cursed Jesus. There is no other option. There is no, I don't have an opinion on that. or I can't really judge. To emphasize or to say that I have no opinion or I really don't know is the same as saying Jesus is accursed. We ought to realize why that is. If Jesus, in fact, is not Lord, then he must be accursed. And he must be accursed because he claimed to be Lord. He claimed to be the Son of God. He claimed to be God's Christ. He sent apostles and he sent preachers to teach and to preach that indeed he was the son of God, born of the Virgin Mary, who suffered and died on a cross, who rose from the grave and descended to heaven. If Jesus is not Lord, then all of that is a lie. Not only a lie, but blasphemy. And those who blaspheme are accursed. If Jesus is not Lord, if he is not who he claims to be, then God must curse him, and God must damn him to hell. And if one will not confess that Jesus is Lord, that is exactly what they are saying. when one perhaps says Jesus is Lord, but what he means is that he is only a man. He is not God in the flesh. Then that individual is saying Jesus is accursed, which is what the Mormons The Jehovah's Witnesses and many other cults say truly about Jesus, because their doctrine is He is not the eternal Son of God. When someone says Jesus is Lord, but what they mean is He really had nothing to do with the creation of the heavens and earth, other than maybe some supervision Or Jesus is Lord, but this evil or that trouble is not under his sovereign control. When someone says that Jesus is Lord, but it's ultimately man who determines who is saved by his decisions and by the choices that he makes. When someone says Jesus is Lord, But he's a Lord who desires to save everyone, but fails to do that, then what they are actually saying is Jesus is accursed. Because in fact, he is not Lord, though he claims to be Lord. This is the great blasphemy that goes on in churches today. This is the great blasphemy that is going on even among those who will say Jesus is Lord. But according to the text, what they are really doing is calling Jesus accursed. And according to the text, No man can confess such things about Jesus by the Holy Ghost. Where that confession is found, that Jesus is Lord but He's actually not, that is not by the Holy Ghost. That's the teaching of the text. Now that leads us to the second point, which is the possibility of confessing Jesus is Lord. We could state it very briefly. The only possibility of confessing that Jesus is Lord is the fact that Jesus is Lord. That's the reality of it. When the apostle says, no man can say that Jesus is Lord, but by the Holy Ghost, that's the meaning. Because the Holy Ghost there is the very spirit of this Lord. But let's look a little closer, because that's not exactly what the apostle says, is it? That Jesus is Lord, and one confesses that because he is Lord. We need to look at this because this was the great mistake in the church at Corinth that had led them astray and had created so much schism in the body of Jesus Christ. The teaching of the apostle here is that it is impossible for man to say, Jesus is Lord. No man can say that. No man can say that Jesus is the Lord. And the problem here isn't intellectual. It's not that man hasn't looked into the issue or doesn't understand it. The problem is the depravity of man. That was really the problem in Corinth. They thought everyone could say, Lord Jesus. That's really the problem where Jesus is actually being called accursed, although they might say he is Lord, for example, in Arminian doctrine. What's the problem there? The teaching, really, that it is in the power of man There is a power that remains in man even after the fall that allows him, with a little common grace from God, to accept God's offered salvation, to choose or accept this Jesus. But this is a rejection of the plain testimony of Lord Jesus himself through the apostle Paul. No man can even say, Lord Jesus. This is further demonstrated in verse two. The apostle is really showing there the condition of every human being by nature. When he says, ye know that ye were Gentiles carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led. That's the natural condition even of the child of God. The apostle follows from that, teaching that no man has the will, has the intellect, has the understanding, the desire, the love to confess Jesus is Lord. Rather, that's anathema to the natural man. And verse 2 also gives the reason why. Why is it that so many refuse to confess that Jesus is Lord. Why is it that even when saying Jesus is Lord, he is really being called a cursed? What's the problem? According to the apostle, they are carried away by dumb idols, even as they are led. those who refuse to confess Jesus as Lord, or those who fall away from the church, refusing to confess Jesus as Lord. That is the reason. Being carried away by dumb idols, carried away by dumb idols of lusts of the flesh, the pride of life, the idols of money and pleasure and ease. And when one serves them and follows after the idols, then Jesus is accursed. That is the blindness of idolatry. The blindness of idolatry is that one is unable, one cannot confess Jesus is Lord. You cannot have Jesus as Lord and continue in a lascivious lifestyle. You cannot confess Jesus is Lord and live in covetousness. You cannot say Jesus is Lord, but also is alcohol. Jesus is Lord over my life for one day. I am Lord over my life all the other days. That's impossible to do. And there's many ways to do it. But this ultimately explains the utter inability of man to confess Jesus is Lord. He is, at his heart and soul, an idolater who, as Paul says, has turned away from the very revelation of God in nature, holds it in under unrighteousness, and says, God is accursed. Jesus is accursed as the Son of God. I want nothing to do with him. Notice that the blindness is that though one may even think Jesus is Lord in a certain sense, he is really saying Jesus is anathema, is due to that very blindness. If one is serving the idol gods, If one is serving their own lusts, and their own flesh, and their own pride of life, then you see Jesus must be accursed. Because Jesus is antithetical to all that. He destroys that. He saves from that. The only possibility of confessing Jesus as Lord is the Spirit. The spirit of this Lord Jesus, what is called the Holy Ghost here, the spirit must enter into the heart and into the mind, into the soul, into the intellect and into the emotions of a human being in order for them to say, Lord Jesus, The very fact that the confession is that Jesus is Lord indicates that this operation, what the apostle is going to go on and call operations, this operation and this work of the Spirit must then itself be sovereign, lordly, kingly. Words we use are efficacious, irresistible. if I can resist the operations of that Spirit, then the Lord of that Spirit, for it is the Spirit of Jesus, cannot be Lord, can it? It's not the case that the Spirit simply comes along and enables us to hear certain things and understand certain things more clearly, and then we have a choice to say Jesus is Lord or Jesus is accursed, No, the spirit so comes that the individual who before called him accursed, who before refused to bow the knee, who hated Jesus and would condemn him, bows the knee, bows the knee, and then in love says, Lord Jesus. And so much is that true, it's emphasized in the text. Notice, no man speaking by the spirit can call him accursed. Again, such is the lordship of this Jesus that a man who receives that spirit has no choice. There is no option for calling him accursed. Only Jesus is Lord. In fact, those who say Jesus is Lord, but in fact believe he is not Lord, who make his salvation and his work somehow dependent upon themselves, if truly they had the Spirit, would be denying the very testimony of that Spirit, the witness of that Spirit in their own life. This confession, in fact, is evidence then of the Lordship of Jesus. The idea is He doesn't become Lord because we call Him Lord. He doesn't become our Lord because we acknowledge Him as such, but He is the Lord. And that He's my Lord is evidenced by that confession. That confession. That genuine confession that Jesus is Lord is evident that He's always been Lord. That's why when one is saved and makes that confession, they will know and they will acknowledge that He was my Lord already in the eternal counsel of God. God chose me. and gave me to Him as my Lord and Master long before I was born or even knew it. He's Lord, and He shows that, and I know that by His own voluntary gift of His life on the cross for my life. And He's Lord when, of course, at some point in my life, He sent the Holy Spirit to dwell in my heart. and change my stubborn rebellion and my hatred and my cursing of Jesus to love, confession, and obedience. The last point we want to make tonight is there's blessedness in confessing that Jesus is Lord. And we can put some of these thoughts together. The blessedness of confessing that Jesus is Lord is that it's evident. It's evidence of the very Lordship of Christ in our life. Evidence of the Holy Spirit working in you and me mightily. It's not true what some said in Corinth, that anyone can just say, Lord Jesus. It doesn't lie in the power of man to confess Jesus is Lord. And why the primary mark of a Christian, the primary mark of a man and woman and child of God, is that they say, Lord Jesus. It's a comfort, not only to us as a church, what an amazing blessing it is. You know that in your own homes, And you know that in the church, what a great comfort it is when we see the evidence of the work of the Holy Spirit in a confession that Jesus is Lord. We know He's here. We know He's among us. For no man can say that but by the Holy Spirit. But how much more blessed is that for us personally? It is true. I really don't know if the four young adults here made that confession genuinely, if they meant it. Because it's easy just to have those words come out of your mouth. That's done all the time. Even Jesus himself pointed it out. There are so many that say, Lord, Lord. Lord, Lord. And he's going to say, depart from me. I never knew who you were. I don't know who you are. Those are just words. Those are just songs. Those are just things you muttered to make yourself feel better. You didn't acknowledge that I was Lord. But each of us knows that about ourselves. Everyone knows that about themselves. Do you or do you not confess that Jesus is Lord? Then don't disparage that. Don't minimize that. Don't set that aside as unimportant. Go back to the text and remember what it says. No man, including you and me, can confess genuinely from the heart. that Jesus is Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. And the blessedness is knowing that Jesus is Lord means that having the Holy Ghost, he cannot depart, that he will never leave you or forsake you. And that's blessedness because, even as we saw in the marks of Christian, That doesn't mean we don't have infirmities that we have to fight against the rest of our life. So the blessedness of confessing that Jesus is Lord is that it makes a difference. It makes a difference in the church. It makes a difference in our life. It is what essentially distinguishes us from unbelievers, from the ungodly, from the world. This is true in the church, and this is true for a Christian. That's why. That's why you're all here, I hope. I hope we're not all gathered here the same way we might be gathered if, say, one of our young adults graduated from a prestigious university with an advanced degree. Certainly, we're proud about that, and we would show up. But is that why we're here? Or are we here to celebrate the wonder that Jesus is Lord, This is the confession that we live out of. This is the confession that even is power in our life. Don't forget that. There will be times, young people, young adults, who have made confession of faith, and your parents will testify to this, that you may doubt. That you may doubt whether you are a child of God. You are saved. You've so sinned against Jesus that He has forsaken you. And the way to strength and recovery is to ask yourself one question. It's not about you. Don't look at yourself. Faith, don't look at itself. Look at Jesus and ask, is He Lord or not? you will find faith confesses, oh, he's Lord. He's Lord. And that's the strength, that's the power, that's the motivation to live as we ought to live. It makes a difference, a real difference in our life. So beloved congregation, young adults, confess. Jesus is Lord. Acknowledge no one, no one says he is Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. Recognize that if we cannot and won't say Jesus is Lord, then we confess he is accursed. Confess Jesus is Lord, then fear him, obey him, Follow Him and love Him. Amen. Let us pray. Our Father which art in heaven, O Lord, we thank Thee that Thou art God and that Jesus is our Lord, that He is Lord over us, Lord over our lives, our hearts and minds and soul. All of our strength is from Him. We learn tonight that even our confession that He is Lord is because itself is proof of that very fact. We thank Thee therefore, O Lord, for Thy Spirit, by which we may confess such things. Strengthen us and guide us. This we pray in Jesus' name, amen.