Matthew 10:32-33 “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.

This is a very significant statement/promise on Jesus’ part, but I think that in the modern context we tend either to take it lightly or ignore it completely. In America today it can mean very little when someone says, “I am a Christian,” because they mean it in a strictly cultural sense. The situation is rather different in Japan, where the same statement can cause a major family disruption. Doctrinal purity doesn’t mean very much when a person is putting their family harmony, social standing, or even life on the line for the name of Jesus! (In Japan there is no risk to life, but in numbers of countries a confession of faith is an invitation to be killed.) When we get to heaven we won’t be questioned on assorted points of theology, we will be divided as to whether we followed Christ or not. That’s not to say that theology isn’t important, or that we don’t need to keep learning, but it is to say that salvation is a heart matter, an allegiance to Jesus Christ, and other things are secondary.

This is an area in which I still have trouble with the American mindset. When a Japanese says, “I am a Christian,” it sets them apart from the vast majority of the people around them, and I am not to take it lightly. When such a person fails to live an exemplary life as a disciple, I am not to insist that they were never saved, but rather seek to help them understand what their confession of Christ means. As has been said, when we get to heaven we are sure to be surprised as to who is there and who is not! It is true that our actions can either acknowledge or deny Christ, and Jesus was very hard on those who called Him “Lord” without doing what He said, but I am not to go around judging people’s salvation. Rather, I am to speak the truth in love with the goal of setting people free to be disciples of Christ indeed, for their blessing and the glory of God.

Father, recently there have been people saying, “I am becoming a Christian” to me, in the presence of witnesses. Keep me from taking that lightly. Rather, help me teach and nurture them, allowing Your Spirit to use me to reveal Christ to them indeed, so that they may know Him whom they claim indeed, and walk in Christ in this world and the next, as You desire, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!