How to Profess Our Faith

We began this series last week looking at all the various pieces that make up our weekly habit of coming to worship. We’re taking about all the things such as singing and praying and reading scripture and giving an offering. But we are also looking at some of these liturgical habits we don’t necessarily do every Sunday, but take in a rotation—things like sacraments, confession, the law. Today we look at one of those liturgy pieces we rotate into our worship schedule about once a month: professing our faith together.

In some church traditions, the liturgical practice of professing our faith together happens every single Sunday as part of worship. In other church traditions, professing our faith together never happens at all as part of the worship liturgy. For those of you have a long history of being in a Christian Reformed Church for many years, perhaps the way this liturgical practice showed up most often was through reciting the apostle’s creed out loud together as part of the worship service. In fact, that is exactly what we did here today as a part of this worship service. But the apostle’s creed is not the only way to give an expression of professing our faith together in worship. We have done this in other ways as well.

Today, let’s consider together what it means for us to include a profession of our faith as part of our worship activity. Let’s think about what a profession of faith is, why we do this as a part of worship, and what it is we should take from it out from this place and into our everyday lives. To set the context for us, look at this scene which takes place early on in the book of Acts. This is a confrontation in which two of the apostles—Peter and John—are called before the Jewish religious leaders. This happens because just the day before as Peter and John are entering the temple, they stop at the gate to interact with a beggar who cannot walk. In the name of Jesus, the lame man is healed. This is the exact kind of miraculous healing that Jesus would do all the time before the Jewish leaders had Jesus executed. And now these same miracles are continuing to happen—along with the eyewitness story from the apostles that Jesus was, in fact, not dead. Here is how that story unfolds in Acts 4.

Acts 4:8–20 NIV

8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! 9 If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, 10 then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. 11 Jesus is “ ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’ 12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” 13 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. 14 But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say. 15 So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together. 16 “What are we going to do with these men?” they asked. “Everyone living in Jerusalem knows they have performed a notable sign, and we cannot deny it. 17 But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn them to speak no longer to anyone in this name.” 18 Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! 20 As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

What profession of faith means

Alright, what does it mean to profess our faith, why do we include this as a part of worship, and what is it we should take from it out from this place and into our everyday lives? Look at the way this story from Acts helps us to focus on the importance of a profession of faith.

a basic proclamation of the gospel truth about Jesus

There is a difference between testimony and profession of faith

Let’s start with identifying what a profession of our faith is. Peter gives us an example in today’s passage that points to a basic proclamation of the gospel truth about Jesus. I want to be specific here so that we can know exactly what a profession of faith is. Peter is not giving a testimony in this passage. There is a difference between testimony and profession of faith—they are not the same thing. Sometimes maybe we confuse that and think that testimony and profession of faith are the same; they’re not. Let’s talk about the difference and why it is important to be aware of the difference.

testimony is a personal story of God being actively present within your own life

profession of faith is a declaration of God’s active love and grace which is universal to all people in all times and all circumstances

A testimony is a personal story of God being actively present within your own life. Testimony is a proclamation of the way in which God’s active love and grace is evident to YOU. It is a story of God in your life. And it is a story that often is unique to you and your life and your circumstances. Testimony is personal. And this is important. God should be actively evident in your own personal life. But profession of faith is something different than testimony. A profession of faith is a declaration of God’s active love and grace which is universal to all people in all times and all circumstances. It is not a story that applies only to you personally; it is a proclamation that applies equally to all believers everywhere in the same way.

sharing of our faith together which focuses on what it is we all have in common as followers of Jesus

Peter gives a profession of his faith about Jesus, and it is a profession that is shared by all of those who believe in Jesus. A profession of faith, then, is a sharing of our faith together which focuses on what it is we all have in common as followers of Jesus. A profession of faith is a summary of what it is we believe about who God is and what God does. And it is a profession that we can all say together because we all share this belief together. More than that, it is a profession that any believer anywhere throughout the world shares with us as well. And more than that, it is a profession that all of those believers in Jesus who went before us in preceding generations also share with us.

profession of faith is a reminder of the one faith which unites us all together as God’s people

A profession of faith is a reminder of the one faith which unites us all together as God’s people.

apostle’s creed is a great example

Often, churches use the words of the apostles creed as a profession of our faith. The apostle’s creed is a great example because it is a statement which expresses who God is and what God does in terms that can embraced by all believers in all times and all places. The apostle’s creed is a basic proclamation of the Trinity. It is divided into three sections which declare the nature and activity of the Father, of the Son Jesus, and of the Holy Spirit. The apostle’s creed forms for us in the church something a basic statement about what it is a person must believe in order to be a Christian.

profession of faith which helps anchor us within our identity as Christians

I remember a few decades ago taking youth group students to a conference in Salt Lake City for a week. While in Utah, we had the opportunity to interact with several people who are members of the Church of Latter Day Saints. My youth group students had questions about mormonism. Mormons talk about God and faith, they talk about Jesus. But it gets confusing once you start looking at what is added into their beliefs from the Book of Mormon. Are mormons Christian or not? Ultimately it came down to the apostle’s creed. Mormons reject the apostle’s creed as a profession of faith because mormons do not believe in the divinity of Jesus or salvation through Christ. It is a profession of faith which helps anchor us within our identity as Christians. It is a profession of faith which reminds us of the one faith which holds us all together by reminding us about who God truly is and what God alone does.

Why we profess our faith together in worship

profession of faith helps turn the focus of our faith away from ourselves and places the focus of our faith upon Jesus

After Peter makes a profession of faith in Jesus in Acts 4, the religious leaders take notice. In particular Luke tells us that they note how Peter and John are ordinary men, but also that Peter and John had been with Jesus. In other words, in the profession of faith that Peter gives, there is nothing particularly notable about Peter and John, but there is something spectacularly notable about Jesus. This gets us to our second question; why do we profess our faith together as part of worship? A profession of faith helps turn the focus of our faith away from ourselves and places the focus of our faith upon Jesus. The response of the religious leaders to Peter and John mentioned nothing about the miracle which was performed. They said nothing to Peter and John about their own story or experiences of beliefs. Their response to Peter and John was focused on just one thing; stop talking about Jesus. The one thing that the Pharisees and Jewish leaders desired more than anything else was to squelch and eradicate this focus upon Jesus. And the one thing which the early church did to overcome it was to consistently practice a profession of faith which focused the attention of their faith exclusively on Jesus.

we all struggle with making the Christian faith more about ourselves than about Jesus

we have moments in which the life of Christian faith has become more about me and what I get out of it than it is about God and what Jesus has put into it

A regular habit of professing our faith together in church as a part of our worship helps us maintain a focus within our faith which is directed exclusively upon Jesus. That’s helpful. It is helpful because we admit that there always seems to be an urge to move the focus of our faith from Jesus to us. Maybe that strikes you as odd or unlikely, but I think we do well to admit the ways in which we all struggle with making the Christian faith more about ourselves than about Jesus. Whenever we approach worship with some kind of expectation about how worship should make me feel, whenever we leave worship with some kind of expectation of what I should get out of it, whenever we come into daily devotions with a kind of anticipation of outcome for me—that this journey of discipleship should provide me more peace or more hope or more joy or more love. You see, I think we can all admit that we have moments in which the life of Christian faith has become more about me and what I get out of it than it is about God and what Jesus has put into it.

regular profession of our faith together reminds us that the life of Christian faith is not primarily focused upon us

A regular profession of our faith in Jesus together reminds us that this whole life of Christian faith is not primarily focused upon us; it is focused upon God for who God is and for what God does. It is a profession which declares the truth of God for all people in all places throughout all time.

What we take from professing our faith together

regular pattern of professing our faith together helps open our eyes to see where God is actively moving in our world

Now then, even though the focus of our profession of faith together is directed toward Jesus and not towards ourselves, there is still a takeaway for us. There is a valuable result of this profession of faith which carries over from this habit of weekly worship and applies into our everyday lives apart from this place. A regular pattern of professing our faith together in a way which focuses the direction of faith away from ourselves and upon God can help open our eyes to see where God is actively moving in our world and in our local communities. Think about it this way. When the focus of my faith becomes all about me, then it likely happens that—even though God is always actively at work in the world around me—I miss what God is doing because my faith is not focused on him, it’s focused on me.

Let me give an example from the Old Testament; this happens in 1 Samuel 3. At that time the priest who presided over Israel was a man named Eli. There was a long boy named Samuel who was dedicated to live and work at the tabernacle as Eli’s helper. One night, God calls out to young Samuel. Samuel thinks it is the priest Eli calling for him. So he gets up and goes to Eli, but Eli tells Samuel that he did not call for Samuel. This same thing two more times. Then Eli realizes what is really happening; he realizes that is it the LORD calling out to young Samuel. Stop right there. I cannot help but wonder what is stirring up inside of Eli at that moment. I wonder what Eli’s faith was going through right then and there. Here was this old man Eli who served as God’s priest for the people of Israel year after year after year; and God over once called out to Eli. And then this new kid comes along as the helper, the aide, the student; and God calls to him? That’s not how this was supposed to work. I wonder how many of us in Eli’s shoes might have told young Samuel to go back, and the next time God calls, tell God he’s gotta come through me—the priest—like he’s supposed to.

Eli recognizes in the moment that the working activity of God was not all about him as the priest

But that’s not what happens. Eli does not cling to a faith which focuses on himself. Eli recognizes that in this moment, the working activity of God was not all about him as the priest. Eli tells young Samuel, the next time you hear the call, answer “speak, for your servant is listening.” Eli becomes aware and attentive to what God is actively doing because he is willing to hold a faith which does not focus back upon himself, but upon God apart from Eli’s own expectations or personal preferences.

regular habit of professing our faith together reminds us of who God is and what God does so that we can have a faith which is more alert to see where God shows up and what God is doing in our world around us

Do you see that in Peter’s profession of faith in today’s passage as well? How quickly Peter turns the inquiry from the Jewish scholars away from anything that Peter and John have done and instead focuses his entire response on what Jesus has done. A regular habit of professing our faith together reminds us of who God is and what God does so that we can have a faith which is more alert to see where God shows up and what God is doing in our world around us, in our own communities, in our neighborhoods.

Jesse Duplantis

In 2015, Louisiana prosperity gospel preacher Jesse Duplantis told his followers that he needed them to give him $54 million so he could buy a new luxury jet plane, even though he already had a fleet of three of jet planes. He told his audience he needed this more luxurious one because it could go further without having to stop and refuel, which meant he himself could go further around the world to spread the gospel without having to be slowed down by airports and waiting for commercial flights. If you’re thinking to yourself that it sounds like Jesse Duplantis has a faith that is more about himself than it is about God, you’re right. And I hope by now you can see what a good corrective habit might be for recognizing and avoiding such a misguided faith.

we all have moments in which we have put our faith in the wrong thing

That may be a rather obvious and extreme example. But truthfully I suppose we all have moments in which we have put our faith in the wrong thing. This becomes painfully obvious once you spend some time in a hospital ER setting. In the years which I served as an ER chaplain at Bronson Hospital in Kalamazoo, I would see it. My job as ER chaplain would be to attend to gathering family and friends. The doctors and medical professionals would attend to the patient in the emergency room, the chaplain would attend to the family in the waiting area. Sometimes a family’s own church pastor would be called in as well. It saddened me whenever that other pastor would come in say the wrong thing to a family in that moment; whenever that pastor would tell the family that they just needed to have faith that their loved one would not die or be left with serious life-altering permanent injury. Tell me, where in the Bible does it ever say that you can stop death from happening with faith? Where does the Bible say terrible accidents and injuries will not happen to you if you just believe the right kind of faith? Sometimes we put our faith in the wrong things.

regularly professing our faith together sharpens and hones our faith in the right things, a faith that professes who God truly is and what God actively does, a faith which holds us all together in Christ Jesus

So today, I invite you into a habit of regularly professing our faith together so that—together—we may sharpen and hone our faith in the right things, a faith that professes who God truly is and what God actively does, a faith which holds us all together in Christ Jesus. This is a pattern of faith which equips us and builds us up to go from this place and have eyes laser focused on seeing the grace of God in the world around us. It is a pattern of faith which holds us anchored firmly in that grace when life in a sinful and broken world pulls at your heart and seeks to sow seeds of doubt in your soul. It is a pattern of faith built upon the foundation of God’s word revealed to his people so that we may live as people who have hope.

There is a character in the Bible who gives a profession of faith and says

Job 19:25 NIV

25 I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth.

I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth

Do you know who it is that says this profession in the Bible? It’s Job. Do you remember Job? Job is the guy who lost it all. Job had his entire family taken from him. Job saw everything that he owned destroyed. Job was struck with sickness and disease. Job’s friends come to him and try to be there for him—like that well-meaning but unhelpful pastor in the ER waiting room. Job’s friend Bildad says something like, you just need to have the right faith and this wouldn’t happen to you. But Job is not duped. Job recognizes that faith is not something which focuses on himself. Job responds to Bildad with a profession of his faith, his faith in a God who redeems, his faith in a God who lives, a faith which holds Job secure. The same faith which continues to hold us secure today as well.