"Jesus is Lord!" This is the Christian confession. We believe that Jesus was crucified for our sins, raised to life, ascended to heaven, and is coming again - and all of this because of who he is. He is Lord overall. Our confession is centered in Jesus Christ. This morning we are examining the differences between Christianity and Islam in the area of faith and confession. We Christians make a confession of our faith first to God when we believe in our hearts the scriptural message about Christ. Then we are called to make a public confession of our faith before others. For the early Christians, baptism was the most common way that people professed their faith in Christ. It was like putting on a uniform that identified them as belonging to Jesus Christ and to the Christian family. Baptism depicts the believer's identification with the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. And it also pictures the believer's own experience. He has died to sin and self, and has risen as a new person in Christ Jesus, to live a new life of freedom, love, and grace, following the Lord. All of this is through faith that comes from hearing and believing the word of the Lord. Faith stands upon the revelation and command of God, and not upon our own desires or our own ideas. Faith comes through hearing the word of Christ.
