The Confession – part 6
046 The Confession – part 6
Mark 8:27-38 (33-35)
June 14, 2026
We are discussing the facts about the Christian confession.
We know that confession is REQUIRED:
Matthew 10:32-33 “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.”
We know that confession LEADS TO SALVATION:
Romans 10:9-10 “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”
So we realize that this is a very important concept to understand.
What is the Christian confession?
What does it look like?
As we are studying Mark’s gospel
And the disciple’s confession of Jesus
We are learning those very things.
We’ve been in this passage now for a while, but let me just give you the outline.
We said that the true Christian confession contains 5 realities.
These are sort of the “5 Essentials” of the genuine Christian confession.
#1 RESISTS CULTURE
Mark 8:27-28
Jesus initiated the conversation by asking (27) “Who do people say that I am?”
That is important because the people are wrong
And the disciples are going to be asked to confess
A truth about Jesus that the world rejects.
(28) “They told Him, saying, “John the Baptist; and other say Elijah; but others, one of the prophets.”
Clearly the world gets it wrong concerning Jesus.
We do not confess the culturally relevant Jesus,
We confess the Biblical Jesus.
And that led to the second point.
#2 RECOGNIZES CHRIST
Mark 8:29
“And He continued by questioning them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered and said to Him, “You are the Christ.”
With the prophetic promises in mind,
Peter recognized Jesus as the Christ of God.
And He confessed Him as such.
WE MUST AS WELL.
Without confessing Jesus as Lord there is no salvation.
But, as we noted, it is more than just getting the facts right.
When we confess Him as Lord there is a realization that
We are now giving up our life and entrusting it to Him.
Which is what Jesus revealed next when He shocked the disciples to the core.
The genuine Christian confession
#3 REFORMS CONVICTIONS
Mark 8:30-33
When the disciples confessed Jesus as Lord
They had in their minds visions of glory and grandeur.
What Jesus revealed was nowhere near what they ever expected.
(31) “And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.”
This was definitely NOT on their radar.
That is why Peter took Jesus aside to rebuke Him.
· They were not expecting suffering, death, or resurrection.
· They expected glory and a present physical kingdom right now in their midst.
But we learned that when we sign up to follow Jesus
We do not follow our own expectations, we follow His.
We are following a man
Who suffered and was killed and who rose from the dead,
And it may mean the same things for us.
When we sign up to follow Christ
· We recognize that it is an agreement to suffer.
· We recognize that it is an agreement to die.
· We recognize that it is an agreement to rise.
If we expected anything else then our convictions need to be reformed.
SO THUS FAR WE HAVE SAID:
The Christian confession resists the culture
To confess the Biblical Jesus
Who came to suffer, die and rise from the dead.
THIS MORNING let’s move into
The 4th essential aspect of the genuine Christian confession.
#4 REQUIRES COMMITMENT
Mark 8:33-35
And this certainly makes sense to us.
The calling of Jesus should resonate in our ears.
Matthew 10:22 “You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.”
Matthew 24:9-13 “Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. “At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. “Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. “Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold. “But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.”
Or even the conversation Jesus had with Peter after the resurrection:
John 21:18-19 “Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to gird yourself and walk wherever you wished; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will gird you, and bring you where you do not wish to go.” Now this He said, signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, “Follow Me!”
We recognize that it takes commitment to endure to the end.
If you participate in our DAILY PRAYER JOURNALS
You’ve been reading the admonitions from the writer of Hebrews.
Hebrews 3:6 “but Christ was faithful as a Son over His house—whose house we are, if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end.”
Hebrews 3:12 “Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God.”
Hebrews 3:14 “For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end,”
So certainly there is an endurance aspect here.
But even more than that,
What I want you to understand by the word commitment
Is more so the concept of: OBLIGATION
IF YOU GO THIS WEEK TO BUY A CAR.
You go to the lot
· You find one you like
· You test drive it
· You talk to the salesman and negotiate the price
· Eventually they bring out the contract and you sign your name.
You are signing a promise of commitment to earn the money and pay the money necessary to pay back the loan you are given.
You just committed the next 5 or 6 years of your life to paying for that car.
Such a moment certainly causes you to
THINK ABOUT THE WEIGHT OF WHAT YOU’RE SIGNING.
IT’S A BIG DEAL
Signing up to follow Jesus comes with an expectation of commitment.
THERE IS AN OBLIGATION TO NOW FOLLOW CHRIST.
THIS MORNING I want to talk about
What is required of you and I to honor that commitment.
We recently saw that
Peter did not like the Lord’s revelation of suffering and death.
· Peter had signed.
· Peter had confessed Jessus as Lord.
· But Peter didn’t like where the contract seemed to be taking him.
· And Peter actually balked at the stipulations.
Peter didn’t want Jesus suffering or dying or rising.
And one could probably reasonably add that
Peter didn’t want to suffer, die, and rise with Him.
What Jesus noticed immediately is that
Peter’s confession had a problem.
There was a commitment issue.
And Jesus immediately turned and confronted Peter
And the rest of the 12 who agreed with him.
He explained where Peter’s commitment level needed to change.
This is what it takes to be committed to Jesus.
· This is what you need.
· This is what I need.
If we are going to honor our confession
And be committed to following Christ it requires 3 things from us.
1) THE DIRECTION OF THE MIND (33)
(33) “But turning around and seeing His disciples, He rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind Me, Satan; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.”
We discussed this in closing last Sunday night, but I want to circle back to it this morning as we consider the commitment required by the Christian confession.
What you see here is a “mind” problem for Peter.
Jesus said, “you are not setting your mind on God’s interests”.
THAT’S A PROBLEM.
Instead Peter was thinking more like “Satan”.
“Satan” IS SELF-CENTERED.
· He’s all about his own self interests.
Isaiah 14:12-14 “How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, You who have weakened the nations! “But you said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly In the recesses of the north. ‘I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’”
· I…I…I…I
· Me…Me…Me…Me…
That is Satanic thinking.
James 3:14-15 “But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic.”
But that was Peter’s thinking.
He was in it for himself.
· He didn’t like the thought of Christ suffering and dying because that would certainly affect those who followed Him.
· Peter wanted Jesus to change directions, not just because he thought it would be better for Jesus, but ultimately because it would be better for Peter.
YOU CANNOT FOLLOW CHRIST WITH THAT KIND OF MINDSET.
That is an uncommitted mindset.
That is a Satanic mindset.
The genuine Christian confession
Must address the direction of the mind.
So let’s think about that for just a moment.
Jesus said, “you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.”
“setting your mind” translates (fra-NAY-o)
It means “to direct one’s mind to a thing; to seek; to strive for; to be of one’s party; to side with”
It comes from the ROOT WORD (FRANE)
Which speaks of the diaphragm or parts of the heart.
To the Hebrew it was the mind, the reason, the act of perceiving.
You see it used often in Scripture to speak of a person’s “views”
Or their “thinking” or what they “observe”.
IT SPEAKS OF WHAT A PERSON IS FOCUSING ON.
CONSIDER THESE USES:
Philippians 4:10 “But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned before, but you lacked opportunity.”
· The Philippians were concerned about Paul.
· They had set their mind on Paul’s condition.
· They were preoccupied with him and his needs.
Romans 11:20 “Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited, but fear;”
· Paul warned Gentiles there not to overlook Israel and think only of themselves.
· Don’t make yourself the focus of the entire story of redemption.
But perhaps the most potent use of the word comes in:
Philippians 3:17-21 “Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us. For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things. For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.”
You see it there in verse 19 when Paul says that the “enemies of the cross of Christ…set their minds on earthly things.”
That’s the point isn’t it?
That’s Peter’s problem isn’t it?
Peter is actually rebuking Jesus for talking about the cross.
Peter is at that moment a verbal enemy of the cross.
And the reason is because:
He was “setting [his] mind” on earthly things or on man’s interests.
And thus the problem becomes clear.
We cannot be committed to the confession of Christ
If our chief focus or concern is on our own interests.
· If I am preoccupied with what is best for me.
· If I am concerned about my glory.
· If I am focused on my comfort.
· If I am most interested in my agenda.
When Paul was encouraging Timothy
To embrace suffering and remain steadfast as a follower of Christ,
He gave an illustration I want you to focus on:
2 Timothy 2:3-4 “Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.”
Military plans only succeed when every soldier follows the orders of their superior.
· If every soldier in the battle only did what was in their best interest the total
objective would be a DISASTER.
A good soldier stops focusing on his own personal interests
And gives his attention to his commanding officer.
· He signed up in the military.
· He enlisted as a soldier.
· He must now be committed to his oath and follow orders.
· He must elevate the mission over his own personal interests.
That is exactly Peter’s problem, and that is what Christ here corrects.
PETER MUST REDIRECT HIS MIND.
He must get his focus off his own interests
And make Christ’s interests his chief focus.
AND SO FOR US THE APPLICATION IS OBVIOUS.
We cannot be faithful to our confession of Christ
If all we are ever concerned about
Is our own interests and our own kingdom.
When Paul laid out the stipulations regarding marriage to the Corinthians.
He closed that segment with this passage:
1 Corinthians 7:32-35 “But I want you to be free from concern. One who is unmarried is concerned about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord; but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how he may please his wife, and his interests are divided. The woman who is unmarried, and the virgin, is concerned about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and spirit; but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how she may please her husband. This I say for your own benefit; not to put a restraint upon you, but to promote what is appropriate and to secure undistracted devotion to the Lord.”
Certainly marriage is a good thing, it was designed by God.
· But even in that we must remember that marriage is a tool by which God illustrates the relationship between Christ and His church.
· Marriage is not some end all fulfillment quest for life.
· Marriage is a means of bringing glory to Christ and growing His kingdom.
And Paul’s concern was that people would miss the point of marriage
And fail to be committed to Christ.
AND SO YOU SEE THE POINT.
It doesn’t matter what you are doing,
The focus must be on the glory of Christ and His kingdom.
Whether it’s marriage or parenting or your job or your possessions or your abilities or whatever it is, the goal is Christ’s interests not your own.
IT HAS NEVER BEEN ABOUT OUR KINGDOM.
Matthew 6:31-33 “Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ “For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
If we want a genuine confession of Christ, this must be the direction of our mind.
· We must set our minds on Christ’s interests.
· We must set our minds on Christ’s kingdom.
· We must set our minds on Christ’s objectives.
· We must set our minds on Christ’s glory.
If you try to follow Christ
While only worrying about your own interests
You will never follow.
Jesus said that is Satanic.
Paul said that is to be an enemy of the cross.
Your mind is either preoccupied with you or it is preoccupied with Christ.
Only one mindset is the faithful one.
So in order to have a genuine confession we ask God to renew our minds.
· We each seek to be transformed by the renewing of our mind.
· We fill our minds with the word of God.
· We focus on Christ and His mission.
That is the first area where our commitment must be challenged.
It must first address the direction of the mind.
2) THE DETERMINATION OF THE WILL (34a, 35a)
First we must recognize that these statements are now
Moving beyond just the private instruction of the 12.
“And He summoned the crowd with His disciples”
This is for everyone.
This is for all of us.
There are two statements in these verses that we want to focus on first.
(34) “If anyone wishes to come after Me…”
(35) “For whoever wishes to save his life…”
This morning I want you to consider that word “wishes”.
This is a word that we need to get right
In order to have a proper understanding of what Jesus is saying here.
Even in the Greek
· There are a couple of different words that can speak of a person’s wishes
· They can carry some subtle but important distinctions.
One of those Greek words is: (BLOO-a-my)
· And that speaks of something that a person hopes will happen.
· It speaks of something a person intends to accomplish.
But there is always this aspect that it might not come to fruition.
· It’s a “best laid plan”
· It’s a hope
· It’s an intention
· It’s a wish
Acts 18:27 “And when he wanted to (BLOO-a-my) go across to Achaia, the brethren encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him; and when he had arrived, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace,”
· In that case it panned out
· What Paul wanted came to fruition,
· But there is always the possibility he wouldn’t get what he wanted.
1 Timothy 6:9 “But those who want to (BLOO-a-my) get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction.”
· There it is those who “want to get rich”.
· Some will succeed, some will fail, but the wish or the want is clear.
Now, I give you that because
I think sometimes that is how people read what Jesus is saying here.
“If anyone wishes to come after Me…”
“For whoever wishes to save his life…”
And they sort of read it like a distant hope, a “want to”, a “best laid plan”,
But circumstances may arise that keep me from doing it.
“I wanted to follow Christ, but circumstances changed my plans…”
BUT THAT IS NOT THE WORD JESUS USES.
The other word we see translated this way is (THEL-o)
This is a much stronger word.
It speaks of purpose, will, fortitude and determination.
Matthew 8:3 “Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; (THEL-o) be cleansed.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.”
· Jesus was resolved to cleanse the man, so He cleansed him.
John 17:24 “Father, I desire (THEL-o) that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.”
· You understand that there was no option of it not occurring.
· This was NOT some “wish” or “hope” that in the end it will all work out.
· This was a determination from Jesus that His own be with Hm.
1 Corinthians 12:18 “But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired.” (THEL-o)
· It speaks of God’s unstoppable will.
Let me give you a verse where both words are used
And the difference becomes even more clear.
Matthew 1:19 “And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly.”
· His absolute determination (THEL-o) was not to disgrace her.
· So his wishful plan (BLOO-a-my) was to send her away secretly.
Now, in Mark 8:34 & 35 the word Jesus uses is (THEL-o)
He is NOT talking about a person
Who wants to follow Jesus if nothing alters the plan.
HE IS TALKING ABOUT A PERSON
· Who is determined to follow Him no matter what.
· Who is determined to save his life.
And because he is determined to save his life
He is willing to do whatever is required to see it done.
NOW, WE’LL TALK IN A MOMENT ABOUT WHAT IS REQUIRED,
But first we need to address whether or not that type of will exists in our lives?
· Am I determined to be saved?
· Am I determined to follow Christ?
· Do I have that sort of unbending will?
· Do I have that sort of unflinching resolve?
That resolve we sing of in the hymn:
“I have decided to follow Jesus…not turning back, no turning back”
“Though none go with me, I still will follow…no turning back, no turning back”
“The world behind me, the cross before me…no turning back, no turning back”
That’s what Jesus is talking about.
It’s not only a decision of the mind
To be focused on Christ’s interests,
But it is the resolve of the will
To do whatever is required to see it through.
“I am resolved no longer to linger, charmed by the world’s delight. Things that are higher, things that are nobler, these have allured my sight.
I am resolved to go to the Savior, leaving my sin and strife; He is the true one, He is the just one, He hath the words of life.
I am resolved to follow the Savior, faithful and true each day; Heed what He sayeth, do what He willeth, he is the living way.
I am resolved to enter the kingdom, leaving the paths of sin; Friends may oppose me, foes may beset me, still will I enter in.”
THAT IS THE POINT!
MY WILL MUST BE DETERMINED TO FOLLOW CHRIST.
I have set my mind on His commands and His interests,
Now I must be resolved to carry it out.
As a soldier, I have received my orders,
Now I must resolve myself to charge the beach head.
It is the direction of the mind AND it is the determination of the will.
Philippians 3:12-16 “Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you; however, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained.”
Paul was a resolved man.
He would not stop until he obtained the prize.
And I have to ask whether or not I have that kind of resolve?
Have I set my mind on Christ’s interests?
Am I resolved to follow Him?
That is the type of commitment that is required
In the genuine Christian confession.
There is a third
1. The Direction of the Mind
2. The Determination of the Will
3) THE DENIAL OF THE FLESH (34b, 35b)
Now we come to the actual action part.
Here is where the soldier steps out of the boat and onto the beachhead.
1. He enlisted in the army.
2. He received the orders.
3. He got into the boat to carry out the mission.
4. Now he must actually step out of the boat and charge the hill.
The commitment required here cannot be faked.
The commitment required here cannot be pretended.
It is a “do” or “not do” situation.
It is time for that soldier to put his money where his mouth is.
It is time for that soldier to do what he signed up for.
It requires courage, conviction, and commitment.
· His MIND is focused.
· His WILL is engaged.
· Now comes the ACTION.
AND WHAT MUST THE GENUINE CONFESSOR OF CHRIST DO?
(34b) “he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.”
(35b) “whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s sake will save it.”
HE IS NOW COMMITTED TO LOSE HIS LIFE.
What other commitment could the SOLDIER have at that moment?
· Is there a chance he might survive the battle? Yes
· But then again there might be another battle tomorrow.
· The end result in what will happen to him is outside of his control.
He has signed up to lay down his life for the cause of the mission.
And that is exactly what Jesus is requiring here.
“he must deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.”
This is what Peter is coming face to face with.
This is what you and I are coming face to face with.
When Jesus spoke of the cross everyone there knew what He meant.
It was the cruelly devised Roman deterrent to revolt and insurrection.
· It was a way in which to execute your enemies so that no one else would ever
consider revolting again.
· You were stripped naked, beaten, nailed to a cross, and raised up along the
roads for all to see.
· Men lived for hours if not days on the cross in agony as a spectacle of
suffering and pain and humiliation.
And this is where Jesus was headed.
That was His mission.
You could not sign up to follow Him without contemplating that reality.
WE’RE HEADED UP THE BEACH
There will be bombs and machine guns and barbed wire and other traps.
· You’re going to have to override your self-preservation switch,
· You’re going to have to face the machine gun fire,
· You’re going to have to follow Me up the beach.
THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT JESUS SAID.
And so many over the years have refused to do that.
· Instead of denying self, they preserve self.
· Instead of taking up the cross, they omit it.
· Instead of following they remain in the camp.
They choose at that moment not to sacrifice their life, but to save it.
And Jesus said:
“whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.”
Incidentally, Mark is the only one to include “and the gospel’s”,
BUT IT BRINGS MUCH CLARITY TO US REGARDING THE MISSION.
The mission is a gospel mission.
The mission is a verbal confessing mission.
Jesus is asking us to put our selves on the back burner,
To take up the message of the cross,
And to go into the darkness to proclaim it.
· Might there be opposition?
· Might there be persecution?
· Might there be rejection?
Yes, but that is the job of the soldier.
AND THAT IS THE CHRISTIAN CONFESSION.
The genuine Christian confession is NOT some
Surface level statement of good intentions.
IT IS A CONFESSION OF TOTAL COMMITMENT
· It directs the mind to His mission.
· It bends the will to His mission.
· It overcomes the flesh to carry His mission out.
SO WE CONTINUE TO EVALUATE OUR CONFESSION
DOES MY CONFESSION OF CHRIST
· Resist the world’s ideas?
· Recognize and submit to the Biblical Christ?
· Reform my expectations and convictions?
· Express the commitment necessary to follow through?
And there is no sense being dishonest with myself
Because salvation literally hangs in the balance.
WELL THIS MORNING
We are going to conclude our service with a form of confession.
Paul said:
1 Corinthians 11:26 “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.”
This is a form of confession.
· This is a sign up.
· This is an enlistment.
With full understanding of the full mission of Christ
We participate in His mission
By eating of this bread and drinking of this cup.
But as the cost weighs heavy on the mind during such a ceremony
LET ME REMIND YOU.
“whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s WILL SAVE IT.”
Christ saves those who confess Him!
· Christ forgives their sin and offers them a seat in His kingdom.
· People who genuinely confess Christ go to heaven!
No matter the cost, this is a great offer!
WE CAN BE SAVED.
Our King conquered sin, death, and hell,
We are not following Him only to suffering, but to victory and life eternal! Confess Him today!
LORD’S SUPPER
· Deacons come forward
Acts 21:13-14 “Then Paul answered, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but even to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” And since he would not be persuaded, we fell silent, remarking, “The will of the Lord be done!”
· Give Bread to Deacons
· Deacon Prayer
· Deacons Pass Out Bread
1 Corinthians 11:23-24 “For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
· Take Bread
Romans 14:7-9 “For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself; for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.”
· Give Juice to Deacons
· Deacon Prayer
· Deacons Pass Out Juice
1 Corinthians 11:25-26 “In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.”
· Take Juice
· Deacon Prayer
· Parting Hymn