The “Magic Words” of a “Full Believer”

Let me begin with a story. Although this story is contrived, the message of the story is based on actual events.
 

While visiting with a friend, we were discussing the topic of believers, Christians. My friend told me that, when they are speaking with other friends and as they talk when the topic of one’s faith comes up, they ask if the person is a Christian. When they acknowledge that they are a Christian. I was a bit surprised my friend then added that they delve deeper to make sure the person is a believer. They “push” the point to see if the person has said the “believer’s prayer,” or as I call it, the “magic words.” If the person cannot tell them if and when they said the “believer’s prayer,” they judge the person as not being a “full believer.”
 

My first concern is how can someone be so judgmental; after all no one can look into another’s heart to see if they believe or not. Second, I am wondering what is a “full believer?” Having never said the “magic words” (prayed the “believer’s prayer”) myself, I do, however, almost every Sunday confess my faith with the Apostles’ Creed or Nicene Creed or Athanasian Creed. Even as the Apostle Paul tells us, “9if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved” (Romans 10:9–10). Notice he says nothing about a “believer’s prayer.” I would suppose in my friend’s eyes I would not be considered a “full believer,” whatever that means. I am guessing that a “full believer” would be someone who said the “magic words.”
 

So, let us compare and contrast the “magic words” of the “believer’s prayer” theology versus what the Bible say about faith. If the “believer’s prayer” is the magic bullet that makes one a “full believer,” that would mean a person can actually do something in order to be saved, in other words; their salvation is actually dependent on something they do. Unfortunately, if we look at God’s Word, nowhere does God give us the “believer’s prayer,” or tell us we are to do anything to gain, earn, or claim faith. As a matter of fact, the Bible actually tells us the opposite. To help us understand, we might ask, “Can a dead person bring himself back to life?” or “Can a drowning person save himself?”  Of course, we know the answer to both those questions is a resounding “NO!”
 

What does God tell us about our nature? “None is righteous, no, not one” (Rom. 3:10 ). “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Psalm 51:5). So, God actually tells us that we, in and of ourselves, cannot say the magic words, the believer’s prayer. When Jesus was asking His apostles who others thought He was and then asked them pointedly, Peter answered, “And Jesus answered him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven’” (Matthew 16:17). Notice, it was not Peter who was speaking, but God speaking through him. Also, Paul reminds us, “Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says ‘Jesus is accursed!’ and no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except in the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:3). Here again, our confession of faith is not from inside of us but comes from outside of us by the Holy Spirit working through the Means of Grace, the Word of God.
 

As far as one confessing their faith (not with some magic words), Paul reminds us, “9because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved” (Rom. 10:9-10). The Greek word for “confess” is ὁμολογήσῃ - homolegeo and in verse ten it is a passive word, not active. In other words, again, it is the Holy Spirit giving us the words of confession.  And finally, John tells us, ”Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God” (1 John 4:15). So, when a person confesses faith, saying the creed, saying they are a Christian, who are we to judge that faith especially since we cannot look into their heart?