C.A.M.O.
(Confess And Move On)
Gary Waddell • Victory Ministries Middle Tennessee • iamnotashamed.com • 7/3/2020
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness
(1 John 1:9).
Often people say “I hope so” when I ask them if they are ‘heaven bound’ when they leave this earth. Many of these folks are self-proclaimed “followers of Christ” or “Christians”. That concerns me when I hear this from the “I hope so” or “maybe” crowd. It breaks my heart when I hear it and immediately I have to tell them. Many are still bothered about the past. They still live, or linger, in the past at times fretting about sin they have committed before they received Jesus (John 1:12-13). Now we don’t know for sure whether this certain person or that certain person will go to heaven but we can see the fruits (Matt 7:16, 20). Jesus knows. He sees our fruits and knows His followers. Are people in trouble? Again, we can see the fruits in their lives. Jesus said, “Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them” (Matt 7:20). Note: Jesus is speaking to us, so in this case, we should have discernment and therefore, concern.
There are many people who are plagued, or burdened with the sins of their past. They have proclaimed their trust in Jesus, but are miserable because of those past sins. In many cases, they start having doubts about their salvation. Paul, the Apostle, speaks about this in His writings. Allow me to offer you three points to think about. Ask yourself the following when and if you begin to doubt your salvation.
1. Change: Has there been a change in your life since you received Christ??
I mean a "big change". When we received Jesus (John 1:12-13) as our Lord and Savior, it is all finished. He paid our sin debt. Jesus willingly went on the cross one time and only one time, for the sins of the world. God sent His only begotten Son Once. However, we must have faith and trust in Him that He has removed our sins and cleaned the slate. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new (2 Cor 5:17). Glancing back we do not even recognize “the old man” (or woman) and we should actually “hate” some of our actions in our past. God declares that He “hates” sin and you can read that in the Bible (Proverbs 6:16-19). If there has NOT been a Change in your life, you may want to examine yourself and see if you really did receive Christ in your life. "Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?" Some versions read “disqualified” in place of "reprobates". (2 Cor 13:5). I think of this word as "fake". As a "fake coin". But, it is important to know that Change is important.
2. Confess: Do you confess your sins (or short-comings) to God daily??
Confess and Move On. You can easily remember it with the word CAMO. When I first heard that phrase, it stuck in my mind forever. How true it is for many Christians. When it comes to past sins, just Let them go. We hate what we do but God wants to hear from us just the same. Paul said “For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I” (Rom 7:15). We who are “saved” are saved to the uttermost but sin haunts us in our mortal bodies, and that is why it is important to confess these sins daily to the Lord. Paul again says, "Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me" (Rom 7:17). All of us have a struggle with sin. The devil wants to steal our joy on a daily basis and we must confess on a daily basis. IF you are saved, you are saved to the uttermost. Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them (Heb 7:25). Jesus makes intercessions for us continually. One more time. Confess. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9). He is listening. The Lord knows what is going on in all of our lives.
3. Christ: The Messiah (Heb); the Annointed One or Chosen One (Gr). Are you following??
Jesus Christ, Yeshua Hamashiach (Heb), should be the focal point, or center point of our lives. When we “received” Christ as our Lord and Savior, we not only received life everlasting, we became a Child of God (John 1:12-13). Our Lord has given Himself as a sacrifice for every human being on earth, again, if we receive Him. Yes, He has cleaned the slate so to speak. "As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us" (Ps 103:12). When we became “Christians,” or “followers of Christ”, we pledged to “follow Him”. "But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins," (Lk 5:24a). The phrase “follow Me” appears 19 times in the New Testament with 18 of those instances spoken by Jesus Himself (and one by the angel of the Lord in Acts 12:8 who freed Peter). So it is an important phrase. "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:" (John 10:27). Jesus knows those that belong to Him, because we “follow Him”.
This ties in with the first point, Change. Would we, as the “old man” have followed Jesus before we came to Him? I doubt it. But, After we received Christ, there has been a change. It is important to know that while we “chose to follow Christ”, we must also know that He has “chosen” us to be His disciples. "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain:" (John 15:16). Christian Friends - Following is not an option. It is our joyful duty to follow the Most High God and Savior. Praise & Bless God. He first loved us. Jesus will never let us go. "And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand." (John 10:28). Jesus also said, “lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen” (Matt 28:20b).
Brother / Sister, there is no “hope so” or “maybe” when it comes to our salvation. We are secure in Christ, “sealed” (Eph 1:13) by His blood. Jesus was and always will be the perfect Sacrifice for our sins. He will NEVER go back on His word. If you have any doubts, call upon Him right now from where you sit or stand.
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved (Rom 10:9).
Confess And Move On - Trust Him.
Thanks for “Taking 5" • Gary Waddell • Victory Ministries Middle Tennessee
www.iamnotashamed.com • God bless and bless GOD
