Two men
are neighbors. Both are good
neighbors. They are honest, family
loving, hardworking, faithful, conscientious friends. One is a Christian and the other is not. Why?
What makes one a Christian? Hopefully,
Christians are characterized by good works, honesty, love for neighbor, and
many other desirable qualities, but none of these provide the one essential
mark that Identifies us a Christian.
Is not
the one mark simply the fact that we believe in and are committed to Jesus
Christ and thus wear his name? Jesus
said in Matt 10:32, “Everyone who confesses me before
others, I will also confess before my Father in heaven.” We do this when we become a Christian and we
do it every Sunday when we confess our faith at the communion table.
The
confession of faith we use is actually a composite of several that are found in
the New Testament. When we say it we are
saying what people like Peter, Paul, and all of the earliest Christians said. The four parts of our confession come from
four places in the New Testament.
Consider first, “JESUS IS THE
CHRIST, THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD.”
This is what Peter said in Matt 16:16 when Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” They had been hoping for the Messiah, the
Christ, for centuries and Peter comes to the remarkable conclusion that Jesus
is the Christ and that He is the Son of God.
Second, “AND MY PERSONAL LORD.” This reflects the shortest and probably the
earliest confession of faith in the NT: “Jesus is
Lord.” Paul says in 1 Cor 12:3, “No one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy
Spirit.” In the Roman context
Caesar was Lord; in a world of slavery, the owner was Lord and master; among
the Jews it was applied to God. But now,
believers in Jesus confess that he is Lord.
Next we add: “AND SAVIOR.” In Acts 4 Peter and John are arrested for
preaching Christ. After a night in jail
they were brought before the highest and most powerful Jewish authorities who
challenged them: “by what power or by what name have
you done this?” Peter’s answer
included these words about Jesus: “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other
name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” It is no accident that the very name “Jesus”
means “savior.” And so we confess him as
savior.
We begin with: “I BELIEVE WITH
ALL MY HEART.” Should this be part
of our confession? Yes, Paul says in
Romans 10:9-10, “If you confess with your mouth the
Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you
will be saved. For with the heart one
believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto
salvation.”
What
does it mean to believe “in your heart?”
Or “with the heart?” The Bible
consistently uses the word “heart” to signify the “whole inner self, the source
of the inner life, thinking and feeling and volition” (Thurston, Bonnie, God Alone 18). It means that I believe this so much
that I am willing to invest all that I am, my very being in it.
This
confession of faith is the essential mark that says to the world: I am a
Christian. Will you say it with me now?
I BELIEVE WITH ALL MY HEART THAT JESUS IS THE CHRIST, THE
SON OF THE LIVING GOD AND MY PERSONAL LORD AND SAVIOR.
