a small confession

The book of Romans teaches us that "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" (Romans 10:9). Salvation is attained through Christ's work on the cross, but the question of how we claim that salvation weighs heavily on my mind. 


This verse tells us that we will be saved through two things; belief and confession. The question arises, how do those two things intersect? Is it the belief that forces the confession or does the confession shape the belief? Clearly there is some event, or series of events, that brings an individual to a confession of belief, but once that initial step has been taken, how does one remain faithful?

According to the practice of the Church, it is the confession that forms belief. We say the creeds, pray the Lord's prayer and participate in the Sacraments and liturgy of the Mass time and again. These are the things that shape us, they become the traditions that form our beliefs. These rituals and traditions provide the rhythm and lens through which we understand our world and ultimately build up our belief. Faith alone will surely whither and die without constant strengthening, and that strengthening comes to us through tradition.

My whole life I struggled with having a sincere confession of faith that came through sincere belief, and would often falter because my belief was weak. Now I know that my belief comes about through my constant confession that Jesus Christ is Lord.

If you don't believe me, check out Peter, he confessed that Jesus was the Messiah and then went on to deny Christ 3 times. His belief was weak, but as he continued to confess that Jesus was the promised one (cf. the Book of Acts).

Sometimes, I don't believe, but then the words "Our father..." start up again, and once again I am overcome by the inescapable belief in God that comes through confession.