It is easy to depend on works without realizing it. Past faithfulness or confessions of Christ are good examples for us. But if we rely on them in the present—instead of confessing in the moment, we have substituted a dead work that cannot save for the living Christ. One can be quite faithful and then stop believing or confessing. That is why the confession of sins and faith is always a present-tense activity. What do you believe? Not, what did you believe (in the past)?
We either live before God in grace or else we are under His wrath and damning law—in the present moment. If we take the Gospel for granted by thinking faith is a completed, finished work that remains isolated in the past—we fail to see the reality and potential for unbelief and rebellion in us. Christ, who is the living Savior, saves us—not only in our past, but in our present. A living Christ always has relevance for the sinner living by faith in Him. If Christ helped mostly in our past, He is now less of a Messiah for us.
Church membership is a public confession. Being raised a member of a faithful congregation is good, if we continue in that teaching. But if the past fact of church membership is relied upon—it ignores the very present reality in which the sinner must confess Christ or deny Him! We cannot trust in a past confession of another person or that we personally have made already. Belief is not a work that can be banked for moments of inaction or unbelief.
Faith is created by the Spirit, who either makes us alive or else we refuse the Spirit by not trusting in the living Word of Jesus. “It is the Spirit who gives life” (Jn. 6:63). Having the Spirit in the past says nothing about the current situation of the sinner before God. “Whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel” (Phil.1:27). Paul does not want to find formerly great steadfastness, because faith is continuous and indicates our state before God.
Past transgressions and denials of Christ in life or word do not preclude one being faithful now. Indeed, that is the heart of the Gospel—that every sinner is called to repentance. Even for those who were sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, men who practice homosexuality, thieves, greedy, drunkards, or revilers—those who practice such things (now) will not inherit the kingdom of God. But if those things are in the past—forgiveness truly means “you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Cor. 6). We are new in the moment before God, so the justification of the sinner is always in the present—as a work of God the Father. A past and no-longer-relevant salvation—as a dead work confined to yesterday–cannot help us today.
The greatest danger is not that of gross sinners who flagrantly transgress the divine will. It is obvious to all they are not pleasing God. Rather we are most at danger who outwardly do what is right, but think that God must be satisfied a bit with our past righteousness—instead of placing our trust in the resurrected Christ who has promised His current help and intercession. We are warned that a life full of righteous activity is not enough: “whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel” (Phil. 1:27).
As a pastor, I am not impressed by someone’s pedigree, Lutheran lineage, or extensive record of faithfulness. Some of the worst pastors I have encountered have bragged about their heritage to the 3rd and 4th generation. I would like to know if they speak and teach like their forefathers did, but having a tangential connection to someone else’s life and confession is not an indication of the purity of what they do today. Faith cannot be inherited like property. It is not a static thing over the days or centuries, but is a living creation of the Spirit. Being alive yesterday does not mean you must be alive today! Great health a decade ago does not mean great shape currently. References to past history may indicate a person has an inclination about what is godly and how to live as Christian. But it does not tell me if they are doing what God requires in the present.
The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him when he transgresses, and as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall by it when he turns from his wickedness, and the righteous shall not be able to live by his righteousness when he sins (Ez. 33).
Reliance on the past is works righteousness and has nothing to do with a living faith. It is not impressive when someone says “I had a great relationship with my spouse on my honeymoon.” If that is the high-point of a marital relationship, it is quite shallow indeed. That is what it sounds like when people talk about where and when they were confirmed as an indication of their present faithfulness. It is a worthless boast if that is the pinnacle of a Christian’s confession and knowledge of the truth. Solid confirmation instruction can be a good building block—but it is in no way a substitute for actually living a Christian life under the Son of God. In a similar way, a great wedding and first month of marriage is not as impressive as a 50 year anniversary, after many joys and sorrows have been shared.
A person raised to be a solid Christian does not talk much about how they were raised—they have the opportunity to live out what they were raised in—the truth of Christ which is eternal. Adults should not be looking backward at their childhood as if they are already in heaven, past all real concerns. That treats confirmation and other past confessions like dead works—that have no relevance to one’s present way of life. Christianity is not merely a child’s play-toy, it is the power of God for salvation for all.
No one should say: “I used to be a Christian.” A true Christian, rather than a lip-service one, abides in Christ and He in him. This is a living relationship—not a historical test or marker in the past. Christ did not go away, therefore, one confessing Him as an ever-present help must live in Him as He is now. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Heb. 13:8). To refer to a former connection to Christ in the past is to treat Him as less than helpful right now. But we are not to re-crucify Christ or present Him as dead and of no present help. Rather, faith receives in the present all the righteousness of the living Christ, who can never die again. Faith partakes of the living righteousness of the risen Lord Jesus. Confession is by nature a present-tense fruit of the Spirit: “By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God” (1 Jn. 4:2).
Christian proclamation declares the goodness of God, who is reconciled to us through the body of Jesus, right now. “Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ” (Col. 1:28). If we move past and relegate Christ’s help and our dependence upon Him to the dustbin of history, we distance the saving Christ from our present need to be forgiven. After all, we still have the flesh and body afflicted with sin in this cursed world, so we need “a very present help in trouble” (Ps. 46:1). We don’t need a past Savior or historical relics of a former faith—we need a Savior to rescue and sustain today. “For today the Lord has worked salvation” for you to fully depend upon at this moment (1 Sam. 11:13). Amen. -ed.
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