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“Amen!”  This is often spoken in Christian conversations when one believer agrees with or wants to affirm what is spoken by another believer.  Or this may be called out during a sermon when the pastor speaks a truth that really resonates with the hearer.  What is quickly being communicated in this verbal shorthand is, “I say the same thing as you and we believe we are saying the same thing together as what God says.”  Or at least that’s what it should be communicating.  I fear that the last half is not always the intention of the heart of the ‘Amen-er’.

Confession literally means “to say the same thing.”  But what same thing are we to be saying?  Is it to be like an echo chamber just hearing a repeat (but lesser quality) of what you yourself have said?  Is it to be like a self-affirming group of “yes-men”?  Is it to be like a homogonous group of mindless clones?  Is it to be like falling in line with the majority just to fit in? 

By default, we think about confession in the realm of admitting that we sinned and need to seek forgiveness.  This is not bad or wrong, but confession is even more than that.  Even in confessing sin we do not always get it right to say about our sin what God says about our sin.  We can and should grow and mature in our sin confessing.  Confession is also a more general truth speaking.  There is A Truth, A Gospel, and therefore objective truths that are derivative.  God gets THE say about what it true, what it means, how it applies to our lives, et c.  As individual believers, we must be striving to know, understand, believe and agree with God in these things.  We must confess what God says; we must say the same thing about him, ourselves, others, the world, sin, et c. as what he says about them. 

An added blessing is that we get to do this alongside other believers in the local church.  We as Anchor Baptist Church, together, can say the same things as one another as we each say the same thing that God says.  We can corporately confess (and say “Amen!”) in a manner that fosters peace, unity, edification, maturity, rejoicing, fruitfulness, gratitude, godliness, and glorification of God.  There is no need for division, dispute, grumbling, complaining, selfishness, et c.

We have each been gifted the mind of Christ.  We each have been given a new identity in Christ.  We each have been given the one Spirit.  We each have the Word of God.  In humility let us each hold fast to Christ, setting our minds on things above, keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, and strive to be mature in Christ.  We must not be idle.  We must be busy following and setting faithful examples for one another.  We must together be confessing God’s truth, both warning and encouraging one another along the way.

Can you say “Amen!” to that fellow believer?