To be a Christian is to confess the Christian faith. This means both personally trusting Jesus and also publicly sharing the truth of the Christian faith when given the opportunity. Confessing Christ is what we see Peter and John and Jesus’ other disciples doing in the New Testament in the days and years after His death and resurrection. Confessing Christ is what we do when we speak the historic creeds of the Christian Church (the Apostles’, Nicene, and Athanasian Creeds). Confessing Christ is also what we do when we give voice to our faith in more informal or impromptu ways. 

            Paul writes to us in Romans 10:9-10, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” It doesn’t have to be very complicated to confess our faith. Paul expresses it as simply as saying, “Jesus is Lord”!

            At a pivotal moment of confessing the faith that we hold as Lutheran Christians, a group of Lutheran laymen gathered in Augsburg, Germany in 1530 to declare the basics of their faith before the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V. Appropriately, they began their confession of faith with the words of the Psalms, “I will also speak of Your testimonies before kings and shall not be put to shame” (Psalm 119:46). 

Confessing the Gospel-centered Lutheran faith in 1530 was something that could get a person killed. However, the presenters of the Augsburg Confession were willing to pay the ultimate price if necessary for confessing the truth that Christ alone saves sinners by His grace. If you’ve never read the Augsburg Confession, I’d encourage you to do so. Click here to see the Augsburg Confession on the LCMS website. The Augsburg Confession is the clearest statement of what we believe, teach, and confess as Lutheran Christians about God, the Bible, Baptism, and the other core teachings of Christianity.

            We continue to confess the God’s timeless truth in our generation. As we enter the next church season of Lent, which begins on Wednesday, March 2, we’ll start a new worship and sermon series under the theme, “The Gospel in Seven Words.” Each Wednesday, we’ll consider a simple way we can confess our faith in Christ in as few as seven words. You’ll have the opportunity to write and share your own confessions of faith to share with your fellow worshippers and with others in your life. I invite you to join us for our 6:30pm services each Wednesday of Lent (March 2-April 6) as we grow in confessing the Good News of Jesus! (We will also have one afternoon Lenten service at 1:00pm on Wednesday, March 16.)

            The Lord bless and strengthen you to do what countless Christians have faithfully done before us: confessing the Christian faith according to God’s eternal truth, the Holy Bible, and confessing the Gospel-centered, Christ-centered Lutheran faith as it has been handed down to us in such rich resources as Martin Luther’s Small Catechism and the Augsburg Confession.

            In closing, consider this amazing promise from Christ: HE confesses your name before God the Father in heaven! (Matthew 10:32) Likewise, may we take courage in Christ to confess His saving name before others.

            Serving Him,

                        Pastor Kory Janneke