| “For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified” |
| —Romans 10:10a |
“I’m a spiritual person. I believe, but I like to keep my beliefs to myself.”
Have you ever met people, maybe even fellow believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, who voiced such a position? They claim they do not wish to display their faith openly. Usually, they feel this way because they want to fit into whatever societal group in which they strive to belong.
But, true faith in Christ doesn’t work that way. Earnest believers are marked by the blood of Christ. They can ultimately never really fully fit into a worldly social group. Oh, they can get along. But, they will not really belong. The Apostle Paul explained why in Romans 10:9-10:
If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.
At some point, every true believer will be compelled by the indwelling Holy Spirit to take a stand for Christ. That voicing of one’s faith need not be obnoxious or overly dramatic. In fact, sometimes the clearest word of testimony comes in a subtle statement made with distinct humility. Please let me share an example with you:
More than a six years ago, God brought a new person into my life. The Holy Spirit nudged me, as He often does, that this person might well be a fellow believer. When I viewed this person’s Twitter profile, there it was: a subtle yet powerful testimony of God’s grace at work in his life. At the end of his profile he had written these words: “husband, father, son, brother, sinner, forgiven.”
Yes, indeed! There it was! His subtle, yet humble, testimony of faith: “sinner, forgiven.” I knew immediately that what the Holy Spirit had been whispering to my inner being was true. My new acquaintance was a brother in Christ.
This particular man had many qualities to commend him, many valuable insights and interests, but topping them all, he belonged to the household of faith. Since that time of our first encounter, we have grown in our relationship and I now consider him a very dear friend. Our friendship, based on some very strong common interests, is made even more significant by the fact that we both belong to God through the person and work of God’s Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
As we begin a new day, let us remember to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. And, when He nudges us, without any fear or hesitancy, let us humbly acknowledge that we belong to God through Christ. We do very well to acknowledge with our lips that Jesus is our Savior and Lord.
Based on a blog originally posted on Friday, April 22, 2016
