Our True Confession

 

A Christmas recipe from my mom. 

Scripture:

Rom. 10:5    Moses writes concerning the righteousness that comes from the law, that “the person who does these things will live by them.” ⁶ But the righteousness that comes from faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) ⁷ “or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). ⁸ But what does it say?

“The word is near you,

on your lips and in your heart” 

(that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); ⁹ because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. ¹¹ The scripture says, “No one who believes in him will be put to shame.” ¹² For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. ¹³ For, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Observation:

The law had been applied in rigid ways and instead of leading to the Messiah, it drove people further away from what God had really intended. Paul profoundly states in this passage that it is the true confession of Jesus as the Messiah that leads to salvation. It is in this incredible leap of faith, where one is justified. This salvation is for all of humanity, Jew and Greek alike — male and female, slave and free, including all the Gentiles. All who call on the name of the Lord, who declare this confession, will be saved. 

Application:

The passion for evangelism seems to have died down, even among God’s people. Instead of seeing the need for people to declare that “Jesus is Lord,” we seem to believe that love allows, or even encourages people to continue to live a life without Christ. Or, we find that those who may need Christ, and even visit our church, disturb our sense of order and we’d rather not have them present. We may have lulled ourselves into believing that this is love, but it certainly is not. 

Interestingly, over the last number of years a new movement has arisen called “The New Theists.” Ed West wrote about this recently in the Spectator. He discusses the fact that the period of Atheism has led to this new era where social science has discovered the benefits of Christianity. He is paraphrased here in The Knowledge: 

The irony is that this same period coincided with a proliferation of studies “pointing to the benefits of religion”, on everything from child welfare to individual happiness and the suppression of anxiety. So a new intellectual movement sprang up in the 2010s making a simple point: whether or not religion is true, it’s useful, and Christianity has made the West unusually successful. Ideas of this kind have been around since at least the 18th century, probably longer, but the “New Theists”, as they might be called, have “social sciences to back them up”. Evolutionary psychologist Jonathan Haidt argues that since human beings are “essentially irrational”, it makes sense that irrational beliefs are the most powerful for promoting social cohesion. When “New Atheist icon” Ayaan Hirsi Ali recently declared herself a Christian – because an atheistic West lacks the tools to fight radical Islam – she got in trouble “not because she had adopted irrational beliefs”, but because her reasons for doing so were too rational. She’s right, though. If millions of people returned to the Church, “whatever they felt inside”, there would be enormous social benefits. It’s worth a try.

So, from a purely social science perspective, love would tell you to introduce people to Christ and Christianity because it results in a healthier way to live. That’s not what Paul was advocating, but it does challenge our notions of holy love. If I love my neighbor, I will desire the best for them. I don’t want them to have to continue living with the frustrations that they encounter on a regular basis, if I have the answer for them. I would want to lead them to a true confession. And remember, your closest neighbor is your family member!

My picture for today is a recipe my mom shared with the family. My nephew, Paul, sent it to me today. He has collected a number of my mother’s recipes and loves to cook and bake from them. The note at the bottom especially caught Paul’s attention. This woman’s life was changed because of an encounter with Jesus Christ. My mom led her to that confession at the dining room table at our home in Frankfurt, Germany. This woman, Katusha, went on to be my “German grandmother” and cared for me often as a small child. She even came to America to be my grandma at my wedding. Before my husband and I moved to Moscow, we stopped by Frankfurt to visit with her. It was at that time that she shared with me that she wasn’t German, but Russian. She had cared for me and sung to me lullabies in Russian from my infancy. (I believe that this allowed me to learn the language much easier than my dear husband!) She also said that she had prayed for thirty years that the church that came to Germany and led her to Jesus would someday go behind the Iron Curtain and tell her family about Jesus. In Moscow I met Magda Alexandrovna, her little sister, and yes — she came to Jesus and the same church. She also made her true confession. 

Leading others to a true confession is a sign of holy love. 

Prayer:

Lord, may this season be one in which I help to point others in the direction of you. Amen.