Encore Post: Christians are a confessing people. That should not surprise anyone. After all, Jesus told us we would be his witnesses in every part of the world. He directed us to make disciples from every people, going to them, baptizing them and teaching them everything he taught us. (Matthew 28:16-20)
From the very beginning, Christians have spoken together short summaries of what they believed. Several of these are in the New Testament itself. The most important is the sentence, “Jesus Christ is Lord.”
The Jewish people did not speak the name of God — Yahweh. Instead, they said, “my Lord.” When Christians confessed that Jesus was Lord, they were implying he is God. When they called Jesus Lord, the were echoing the Christmas angel, who told the shepherds he was “a savior, who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11) When Christians call Jesus Lord, they do so by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:3) When we confess Jesus as Lord, we do what all people will confess on the Last Day. (Philippians 2:10-11)
As Roman persecutors were to discover, this confession was so precious to Christians, that they would rather die than call anyone else Lord. When called upon to burn incense on an altar dedicated to Caesar as a god, saying Caesar is Lord, they refused. They counted it a blessing to suffer and die as a martyr — a witness for their Lord.
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