| Confession of Faith The way we find out whether the Holy Spirit has brought someone to faith is by hearing the person's "confession of faith." -- that is, the person would tell us what he believes. Of course, God can make someone into a Christian without the person having to tell us. We do not need to know in order for the person's Christianity to be valid--- it is not our place to judge that. The value of hearing someone's confession of faith is that it shows us we can now move on to the follow-up and nurture stage of discipling. How confession of faith differs from other indicators Scriptures tell us certain things a person would say that would indicate to us that the person has come to faith. If the person would say, "what do I have to do to become a Christian," you might answer, "Jesus ahs already done it all -- can I ask you a few questions? Questions like the following give opportunity for the person to confess faith. If the person does confess faith, the person is already a Christian. The sample questions that follow also provide you with the scriptural background for the question. Answering these questions does not "make someone into" a Christian -- they answers are how we discover whether the Spirit has already made the person into a Christian. Therefore this website calls them -- Discovery Questions Do you admit that you are a sinner? If you answer yes, you can know the Holy Spirit is at work in you. Read John 16:8-9: Jesus said, "When He (the Spirit) comes, He will convict the world of sin." One role of the Spirit is to convince you that you are a ________. Will you repent of your sins, telling God you are sorry and hate your sin? If you are willing, you can know the Spirit is at work. Note 2 Corinthians 7:10: "Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation " Your repentance is an indication the the ________ is at work in you. Note Acts 2:38 (answering the crowd's request, Peter said "repent and be baptized;" verse 47 labels those who responded in this way as "saved.") Who is Jesus? If your answer is, "God who became a man," you can know that God is working in you, because according to Matthew 16:15-17. Peter knew that Jesus was Christ because ________ had told him. (Peter told Christ the he was the Messiah; Jesus answered that Peter was blessed, because this had not come to him in a natural way, but had been revealed by God the Father.) What was Jesus' mission on earth? If your answer is, "to die for me," you can know that God is working in you. Note 1 Corinthians 1:18. (For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.) Many people think that the idea of Jesus dying on a cross for us is ________, but those who believe it are those who are "being ________." Note 1 Corinthians 2:12. (we have received the spirit sent from God, so we may understand what God has freely given us.) If you believe God's plan, you were taught by whom? ________ How did Jesus prove that He accomplished His mission? If you answer "Jesus rose from the dead," you can know God is working in you. One of Jesus' disciples, named Thomas, did not believe at first. Note John 20:27-29. (after Thomas realized it was Jesus, Jesus told him, "because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.") Someone who has not seen Jesus, but believes Jesus has risen, is _________l Do you trust in Jesus, not just agree that He exists? If yes, you can know that God is working in you. Note Ephesians 2:8-9. (by grace are you saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is a gift of God, not of works). Your faith did not come by itself, but it is a gift of ________ Note Acts 2:21 (Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved) Will you leave other gods and masters, and trust in the triune God, the God who created everything, as your only Lord? If yes, you can know the Holy Spirit has been working in you. Note 1 Corinthians 12:3. (No one can say Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.) If you realize that Jesus is Lord, it as a result of the work of the _________ __________. Note Romans 10:9 (If you believe in your heart that Jesus is Lord, and confess with your lips that God raised him from the dead, you shall be saved). Confessing that Jesus rose from the dead and is the Lord indicates the speaker shall be _______. These scriptures give us a basis for
recognizing whether the Spirit has made someone into a Christian.
Upon hearing such a confession, you have scriptural reasons to tell the
person, "The Holy Spirit has already brought you to faith." You
can assure the person again of some of the promises that the person now
possesses -- The next step is to arrange for baptism. During the time lag between confession of faith and baptism, we treat the person as a Christian, and begin follow-up. In the words of Francis Pieper, "According to scripture, all means of grace have the same purpose and the same effect." (Christian Dogmatics, Volume III (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House 1953 ) page 108. You do not stop meeting with the person just because the pastor is involved. You can walk with the person in the early steps of follow-up and nurture. That's why it is valuable to set a time to meet again before parting. After a confession of faith, before parting from one another, it is timely to give words of assurance.
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