Private Faith?

Private Faith?

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 it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.

Romans 10:9-10

Everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven.

Matthew 10:32-33

Occasionally we hear someone’s faith described as “very private”—something that person is not comfortable talking about. But the Bible doesn’t recognize even the possibility of having genuine faith but keeping it private and never talking about it with others. According to Paul, true followers of Jesus talk with other people about their love for God and their commitment to him—and they do so openly and boldly. Christianity is personal, but it was never intended to be private.

No one would expect to have a conversation with Tiger Woods without talking about golf. We would never imagine having a conversation with a NASCAR driver without talking about racing. Neither should we expect to talk with someone who’s in love with Jesus without ever getting to the subject of Jesus. We don’t have to have lots of theological training or be ready to answer every question or win every debate to talk about him. We simply talk about what and who is most important to us.

Paul said we are to confess with our mouths that Jesus is Lord. When we confess that Jesus is Lord, we’re not just saying that Jesus is a significant religious figure or just that Jesus is the only way to know God (although he is both of those things). We’re saying, “Jesus is my Lord. The aim of my life is to submit to him as my authority and proclaim how good he is to the whole world.”

DISCUSSION STARTERS

What are some of your favorite topics to talk to people about?

What does it mean to “confess with your mouth”? Why do you think some people want to keep faith “private”?

Paul wrote in Philippians 2:11 that one day every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord. How can that give us confidence now?