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)
To operate correctly, the wheels on a car must be in proper alignment with each other. Puzzle pieces don’t join to become a recognizable picture unless the pieces are correctly aligned.
Part of alignment under the authority of Jesus Christ involves a willingness to publicly declare and demonstrate commitment to and an association with Him. To put it another way, if you are a secret-agent Christian—or a spiritual CIA representative—you have not made Jesus the Lord in your life.
Jesus makes a clear tie between His followers’ public acknowledgment and confes- sion of Him before men and His confession of us before the Father. Now, keep in mind, Jesus doesn’t say if you confess My Father before men then I will confess you before Him. It’s easy to say you believe in God. People pour so many different definitions into the one word “God,” that when it comes down to it—just saying “God” doesn’t mean a whole lot anymore. Yet when you publicly confess Jesus Christ, everyone knows who you are talking about. The name Jesus is ultra specific.
As long as you remain a secret agent saint, you won’t be maximizing both the kingdom power and authority that are rightfully yours through Christ. It is much more than simply believing in God. In fact, Satan believes in God. Alignment under the lordship of Christ— putting Him in first place—involves publicly declaring and demonstrating an association with Him in both your words and actions.