Silent Faith

There was a comment on yesterdays post that I want to consider today.

A simplistic profession of faith in Christ is inadequate apart from a changed life. That having been said, Scripture is exceptionally clear on the matter of confessing faith in Christ. Never are silent saints praised. Regardless of what might be our own personal proclivities, our affirmation of Christ is to be clear and unequivocal. Such does not at all constitute a prideful parading of our faith.

I want to thank Earl for the comment.

I do have a few points of I wanted to discuss:

1. "A simplistic profession of faith in Christ is inadequate apart from a changed life." I agree that God leads us to a changed life. It's ironic that this would come up again, because back when I was talking about WinterJam, this is exactly what I meant. I think a changed life might not occur with just a simple profession of faith, and that we need to continue to nurture new Christians even after a simple profession of faith. It is, however, a first step that we should celebrate.
2. "Never are silent saints praised." I think we always set ourselves up for problems when we use the word "never." Never is a pretty legalistic word. And aren't there times when silent is exactly what God calls us to be? Aren't there times when actions are louder?
3. I hope that my pairing of this topic with the statement about Methodists didn't mislead anyone. I agree that speaking of Christ is not a "prideful parading" of our faith.

My point is just that perhaps speaking of our faith is a fruit of our transformation, not a condition for it.