The Faith Journey

What are we going to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He didn't spare his own Son but gave him up for us all. Won't he also freely give us all things with him? Who will bring a charge against God's elect people? It is God who acquits them. Who is going to convict them? It is Christ Jesus who died, even more, who was raised, and who also is at God's right side. It is Christ Jesus who also pleads our case for us. Who will separate us from Christ's love? Will we be separated by trouble, or distress, or harassment, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? ... In all these things we win a sweeping victory through the one who loved us. I'm convinced that nothing can separate us from God's love in Christ Jesus our Lord: not death or life, not angels or rulers, not present things or future things, not powers or height or depth, or any other thing that is created. (Rom. 8:31-35, 37-39)

Question One: Have you faith in Christ?

Persons who say yes to God's call to ordained ministry must be able to say yes to each of the Historic Questions without reservation. Faith in Christ, of course, is at the center of pilgrim discipleship. Jesus, who died on the cross for us, sacrificed his life that we might gain abundant life. The Jesus of Nazareth became the Christ of our salvation. We meet Jesus at the cross, where we accept his grace that saves us from our sins. Christ lives in our hearts, our minds, and our daily lives.

John Wesley, who compiled the Historic Questions, grappled with his personal faith in his early ministry. Although he preached about faith in Jesus Christ, he felt that his own faith in Christ was lacking. He even thought that his missionary venture in America was a failure, but God was in the process of transforming him as a pilgrim disciple. Wesley, however, struggled to be reconciled to God through a practice of stringent obedience to God's Word.

Prior to John Wesley's Aldersgate experience, he questioned his personal faith. In his Journal, he noted that he pondered the possibility of not preaching. He questioned himself: "How can you preach to others, who have not faith yourself?" Wesley shared his quandary with Peter Boehler and asked Boehler's opinion about whether he should stop preaching. Boehler told him "by no means." Wesley asked, "But what can I preach?" Boehler replied, "Preach faith till you have it; and then, because you have it, you will preach faith."

Wesley's Aldersgate experience proved to be a watershed moment in his faith journey. John Wesley had joined a group of Christians who met at Aldersgate Street for prayer and Bible study. Wesley provided a poignant description of his experience at Aldersgate Street:

In the evening I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street, where one was reading Luther's preface to the Epistle to the Romans. About a quarter before nine, while the leader was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ alone for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.

Faith in Christ is the gate that Wesley believed opened the path to justification. Having faith is accepting and trusting that Christ's death is a gift for me, the pilgrim disciple.

People in ministry are called to be spiritual leaders in the church and the community. These leaders, from John Wesley's perspective, should have faith in Christ. In the Apostles' Creed we say that we believe in Jesus Christ; however, our faith in Christ must exceed mere belief in Christ and the attending statements about Jesus in the creed. Wesley was talking about faith in Christ that is perched on Christ the solid rock. It is a personal relationship with Christ, the Lord of life, the crucified and risen Savior. Faith in Christ is manifested in the pilgrim disciple's journey that is devoted to Jesus, "the way, the truth, and the life." It is about feeding the sheep because you love Jesus. It is the world stopping to notice you because people see Christ in you.

At least two core questions are associated with the first question (Have you faith in Christ?) that warrant prayerful consideration. First, do you know Jesus? Do not be offended by this question, but try to think about the question in terms of relationship. Consider the disciples of Jesus who left their work to follow a stranger, Jesus. They did not know him, but they followed him and engaged in a life-changing ministry with him. Over a three-year period, the disciples developed a very close working relationship with Jesus. With Jesus, they preached the good news, healed the sick, and raised the dead. The disciples learned from Jesus, engaging in a new way of praying. They grew with Jesus, learning how to love even their enemies. Yet after these experiences, they still did not know Jesus as an intimate friend and Savior.

When Jesus was taken to the cross, the disciples deserted him because they feared for their lives. The disciples were not sure about whether Jesus was indeed the Messiah. Like John the Baptist, they still had some degree of uncertainty about Jesus' true identity as the Son of God and the Son of Man. The disciples tarried in the upper room for forty days, spending their time in prayer, listening to God. When the Day of Pentecost came, the disciples emerged from their secret place and proclaimed the...