Why Evaluate a Profession of Faith

Churches sometimes ask people to share their testimony (or, story of conversion/confirmation, profession of faith) and their understanding of the Gospel. Answering these questions may be a condition for joining the church or a particular team at the church.

Why do churches do that?

A few thoughts…

To protect the church from wolves. The church is commanded to evaluate the beliefs of those who claim to be Christians. For those who do not hold to the true faith, the church is to keep them from their fellowship. (2 John 10–11 “[10] If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, [11] for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works.”)

To protect the individual from zeal without knowledge and from bewitchment. It is possible to be zealous for God and yet not truly know him (Romans 10:2). It is also possible to know the Gospel (i.e, the words) and yet not truly know it (i.e., have understanding) (Galatians 3:1). In both cases, church leaders are called to keep a close watch on the truth for the sake of their own salvation and the salvation of church members (1 Timothy 4:16).

Because there is no verbatim formula to profess one’s faith. One’s verbal expression of belief may take numerous forms (e.g., Luke 18:13; Acts 2:38; Mark 1:15; Romans 10:13). For this reason, it takes some investigation just to hear and properly understand someone’s story of conversion.

Because words mean different things to different people. For example, “I trust in Christ” can stand as a valid profession of faith but only if we know what they mean by “trust” and “Christ.” Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21). Apparently, it is possible to profess the right words but have the wrong meaning. So, churches evaluate a person’s profession to get a sense of the meaning behind their words.

What do you think? Does this sound reasonable or onerous? Would you add any reasons to the list? Comment below.