Matthew 10:32-33

Matthew 10:32-33

[32] Whosoever  therefore  shall confess  before  men,  him  will I confess  also  before  Father  which  is in  heaven.  [33] But  whosoever  shall  deny  before  men,  him  will I also  deny  before  Father  which  is in  heaven. 

What does Matthew 10:32-33 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Disciples of Jesus must acknowledge Him publicly. One cannot fulfill the basic requirements of a disciple privately (cf. Matthew 5:13-16). Again, the terms "believer" and "disciple" are not synonymous. In the context, confessing Jesus means acknowledging Him faithfully in spite of persecution to do otherwise. Jesus will acknowledge faithful disciples as such to His Father. He will not give this reward to unfaithful disciples who cave in to pressure to deny Him. Obviously Jesus believed it is possible for believers to be unfaithful. Notice that the blessing of Jesus" commendation will go to anyone (i.e, any disciple) who confesses Him publicly. Jesus probably looked at the whole course of the disciple"s life as He made this statement. One act of unfaithfulness does not disqualify a disciple from Jesus" commendation (e.g, Peter). An example of Jesus confessing a faithful disciple before others is His testimony concerning John the Baptist"s greatness ( Matthew 11:11; Luke 7:28).
The view that this passage teaches that a believer may lose his or her salvation if he or she fails to confess or denies Jesus cannot be correct. Elsewhere Jesus taught that believers will never lose their salvation (cf. John 10:28-29). This is the consistent revelation of the rest of the New Testament (e.g, John 10:28-29; Romans 8:31-39; et al.). Jesus was speaking here of rewards, not salvation. [1]