Confession Verses Profession

"...and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the age."  Matt. 28:20b

The power of faith is overthrown by several factors, and one of the substantive ways this is done is by systemic trivialization.  For instance, one might point out that because so and so seemed to be a person of faith until his scorching sin was revealed the entire community of faith comes under suspicion   This, of course hurts the ethos of the community.  It is very real, and it is an old problem.  There are many examples in the national and local press of such cases.

These cases are hard to bear because they negate the meaning of the faith community.  The faith community is composed of those persons who have been transformed by Grace through the power of the Spirit of God because such persons have surrendered themselves to the compelling kerygma (good news) of salvation through the redemptive, and atoning death of the Iesous for all people.  Such persons are then to grow up in the faith by accumulation more and more of the knowledge of God, and reckoning themselves dead to the practice of pre-grace behavior and attitudes.

I am well aware that there are those who grow up hearing these words, but have not availed themselves of their meaning apart from a social and religious context.  There is the religious meaning of faith-words, and there is the real spiritual meaning of faith-words.  This is the real object of our faith journey.  To have the scales removed from our eyes so that we might see reality unspoilt by the narrow fiction of socially-sanctioned religion.  This is not easy for anyone to master because of the weighty politics of social religion.

Please understand that social religion allows a person to remain unchanged within, but he or she has a smattering of religion and the 'official' vocabulary so as to be accepted by the group, and no one questions the profession of faith.  God looks at the qualitative nature of faith.  In the book of Revelation John wrote that 'his eyes were as a flame of fire' which denotes the power of the Iesous to see though all motives and designs of the heart.  But in civil religion duplicity of life is reinforced because no one dares to ask if the profession is real for fear of offending the professing believer.

This is repressive faith.  Real discipleship teaches disciplined freedom as a member of the faith community.  There is on the other hand a faith that is real by the standard set forth by the Iesous. The eleven disciples met the Iesous on a mountain that he had chosen. It was on that particular mountain that he gave to them what had been called 'The Great Commission.'

The disciples were to go forth and teach first and then baptize new believers. The document never states that they were to preach in the modern western since of the word.  They were to 'teach' by systematic elucidation of the biblical materials concerning the redemptive work of the Iesous and by lives rich in grace unencumbered by darkness.

Where has this faith commitment fled?  God is watching the behavior and actions of his people.  God had taken up residence in the temple of our collective hearts.  Therefore, we must have a higher view of worship.  We must take up the great commission to speak the word of life into a world in obvious decay.

The Iesous has promised us that he would be with us as we teach, and model the 'new' life for others.  The verb 'I am' is filled with the sacred promise that Yahweh extended to Mosheh (Moses), with his great commission.  God uses the same dynamic verb-name in order to show himself mighty on our behalf too.  Our work will not be easy, it too requires the power of God.  Discipleship is the key, it is biblical discipleship that is enjoined, not religio-cultural discipleship.  The disciples were to go to all the nations (ethne) without reference to skin color, or hue or any other DNA imposed trait.  People were to be addressed as those in need of the good news of faith.

We are now in the 21st century and the promise of the Iesous remains.  If God is for us who can be against us?  We may be certain that God is with us as we carry on our great and sacred duty.  We can renew the way we are seen through the eyes of the watching world.

Blessings to you.

For more information about Dr. Rich and his teaching ministry please follow this blog and visit his website.