What is a Profession?

WHAT IS A PROFESSION

I Tim.6: ¹² Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.

Heb.3: Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;

Heb.4: ¹⁴ Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.

Heb.10: ²³ Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)

²⁴ And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:

Three times in these verses I provided the Spirit uses the word “profession” in reference to us, the believers. The Greek word for profession indicates a public declaration which includes an open praise that substantiates and authenticates the profession. And in verse 24 of Hebrews chapter 10 love and good works are also directly associated with our profession. You see, a profession without works is no profession at all. In the ecclesiastical parlance of today, if a sinner “makes a profession of faith” in Christ, it is only authenticated by that sinner’s changed life.

No certificates of church memberships, no baptisms, no tithing, and no amount of local church activities qualify as authentication for a person’s profession of faith. But in today’s quick fix atmosphere that is almost exclusively what qualifies as substantiating a person’s profession of faith. In fact, in some circles just repeating a few words in a prayer is recognized instantaneously as a bone fide salvation experience. That is how shallow and self serving the church has become. We are far more interested in numbers than we are true discipleship.

But just what is a true profession? To be sure sinners come to Christ in all kinds of circumstances and in a variety of ways. Many times people are truly converted through the ministry of the Spirit in churches and in situations in which we would strongly disagree. I know personally people that were born again in a prosperity church and later came out of the cult. I know some people who were saved while in the Roman Catholic Church who later came out. That is the exception but still it shows us that the Spirit is not bound.

But a sinner must recognize who Jesus is by the illumination of the Spirit. No man comes to Jesus but that the Spirit draws him. And the Spirit desires to draw all men to Christ. Yes, I said all men. The notion that Jesus only died for a veritable handful and did not die for the entire human race is a falsehood and in fact blasphemous since it presents a gargantuan devaluing of the sacrifice at Calvary. But when the Spirit opens a person’s heart and reveals to him who Jesus is and what He has done as well as that person’s dire need, then that sinner must make a choice.

But that is not just some check the box choice. It is a profession of faith in the Lord Jesus that requires everything. Of course as we walk out our faith we learn just how much it will cost but we also learn more and more about just how much it cost our Redeemer. But this idea that a person can mumble a prayer and then go about his business is not only unbiblical, it is detrimental to the faith and has deceived millions. But the local church has now been designed to swiftly pronounce people saved and get them into attending and supporting that particular local church. And it has been very efficient in doing so.

But these shallow professions have no roots and they soon reveal just how ineffectual they were. But let me reveal something even more sinister that the local church practices. While these quick fix professions of faith are taking place, the church practices a continuing system of affirmation and assurance. That means that the local church and its pastor continually assures its members that they are saved and have no need to worry. So not only does the church have a system whereby sinners can make a costless and rapid profession of faith, but they aggressively assure those who make such professions that their profession need not be questioned. And now you have a religious system and not the true church of Jesus Christ.

That is not to say that no one ever comes to Christ in an American evangelical church because they do. That is because of the grace of God and the ministry of the Spirit. However many are deceived into believing they are saved because they have been whisked through an organized process and have been quickly affirmed. Let me unpack it a little further. Many times a trained “soul winner” leads a person in the “sinner’s prayer”. Now that sinner knows almost nothing, and many times the soul winner is well versed in his part of this process. Sometimes the soul winner has an aggressive personality and that becomes part of the equation as well. But no sooner has the sinner said “Amen” after the sinner’s prayer, the soul winner is trained to lavish upon him assurance of his salvation.

Did you understand that? Right after the sinner repeats a prayer, the trained soul winner asks him a question somewhere along these lines: “NOW if you died where would you go?” And the sinner sometimes sheepishly says “Heaven?” The trainer says “Yes!!” The discussion varies but the desired results are the same. There is little room for the Spirit to work because the system is streamlined to bring about the desired results. Let me also admit something here. The overwhelming majority of churches that practice such things believe that Christ died for the entire human race and that God has given man a free will. Yes, those that believe as do I are the culprits. Most reformed believers would never practice such a thing.

So I ask again, what is a profession of faith. When a sinner comes to understand who Jesus is and what He has done, and when that sinner believes on the Lord Jesus, he is born again. Now as he walks out his profession he will begin to do things he never did before and he will give up things he did with regularity before. He has become a new creation in Christ Jesus and the Spirit that led him to Jesus now begins a process we call sanctification. That means that our lives begin to change in order to more clearly reflect the profession we have made. It does not mean we will never stumble or that we will always be as aggressive in following Jesus as we should. However it does mean we will exhibit fruit that can only be defined as coming from a follower of Jesus.

And those that have made true professions will also believe and teach a true confession of God’s Word. That means that true believers will not change who Jesus is and how a sinner can be saved. There is also a possibility that a true believer can be deceived, however that is a dangerous path. But those who profess Jesus must follow Jesus in word and in deed. The assembly line type of professions is counter to the gospel and has led to a massive ecclesiastical practice that is no more remarkable than the Shriner’s club. In short, what the modern church calls a profession of faith is detached from what the Word of God teaches.

II Cor.13: ⁵ Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?