This past Sunday I had the privilege of baptizing a young child. As part of the traditional ritual accompanying this sacrament, I made the sign of the cross on his forehead with my finger, and pronounced, “Child of God, you have been sealed by the Holy Spirit, and marked with the cross forever.”
That statement is both a promise of the current reality of being welcomed into God’s kingdom (John 1:12) and the promise of eternal salvation to come (1 Peter 3:21). But of course, although making the sign of the cross has strong spiritual reality, it does not physically appear like a tattoo, visible for all to see. But what if it did?
I once read about a nurse who participated in a baptism in her hospital’s neonatal ward. The newborn infant had a condition called “dermographia” or “skin-writing,” in which the skin welts up, forming red marks and lines when it is touched. As the nurse watched the baptizer make a sign of the cross on the child’s forehead, suddenly red lines appeared leaving a sign of the cross on the skin. The nurse was moved by the visible sign of an eternal reality. Eventually, of course. the welts subsided and the cross went away. But what if they had remained? What if the cross had remained permanently visible?
And what if that were true of every Christian, that at our baptism or at the moment of our conversion, a permanent cross appeared on our foreheads for all the world to see, and for us to be reminded of our faith every time we looked in the mirror? It would be awesome to know our true brothers and sisters in Christ at first sight, and to know who were phonies. We could separate the true sheep from those wolves in sheep’s clothing, the true pastors from those out to fleece the flock, and the politicians who claim religious faith and say, “God bless you!”, from those who say it and actually mean it. It would be awesome if we could become men and women marked for Christ.
The Bible say that believers on earth now receive such a spiritual mark: “When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit” (Ephesians 1:13), and that eventually those in heaven “will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads” (Revelation 22:4). Such Scriptures provide the basis for our statement that in baptism we are “sealed by the Holy Spirit” and marked with the cross of Christ forever.”
But unseen spiritual realities and future manifestations of those realities don’t show themselves visibly now, so how can we see that someone is a true Christian in today’s world?
Some people think they can identify Christians (or show they are ones themselves) by looking holy:
- By wearing Christian jewelry, such as crosses. That may be true, but some gang members wear crosses, and some people like wearing pretty “bling” no matter what it represents. Besides, you can remove the jewelry when it is dangerous or unacceptable to wear it.
- By wearing message T-shirts that bear Bible verses or clever sayings. Not bad, but anyone can wear a shirt and then take it off. And some messages are not so biblical.
- By wearing Christian symbols as tattoos. But Leviticus 19:28 says, “You shall not make any cuts on your body for the dead or tattoo yourselves: I am the Lord.” Does that still apply to Christians,or just to the Israelites?
- By dressing nice for church. I appreciate that, but looking nice may depend more on one’s finances than on the treasures of their heart. Besides, 1 Samuel 16:7 says that “man looks on the outside appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”
- By becoming a pastor, missionary, or other leader in the church. Those are good and holy professions, but don’t guarantee a true faith or holy life.
- By charitable good works. Even rank unbelievers or adherents of other religions can do good and laudable things, and we should commend them for doing so, but their motivations may have nothing to do with Christ. For example, Muslims make alms-giving a pillar of their beliefs.
- By memorizing or quoting Scripture, but even Satan quoted Scripture when tempting Jesus. And how many activists quote the Bible when it seems to support their cause?
So, it is not by dress or appearance or social positions in a church that we prove our identity as Christians, because anyone can mimic Christian behavior and seem good in a moral sense. Instead, consider the following clues, not as absolute proof of the true faith, but when taken together, can be visible signs that people are marked with the cross of Christ:
- They love God in Christ (Matthew 22:37), and proclaim it gladly to others.
- They seek to love their neighbors (Leviticus 19:18 and Matthew 19:19) and their enemies (Luke 6:27) as themselves.
- They confess that Jesus is Lord, that God raised him from the dead (Romans 10:9), and that he has come in the flesh (1 John 4:2).
- They continue to profess Christ even under persecution, when to do so is costly or deadly (James 1:12).
- They worship God regularly and seek fellowship with other believers (Hebrews 10:25 and Acts 5:42).
- They turn the other cheek and return good for the evil done to them Matthew 5:39).
- They seek to keep God’s commandments because they love and fear God (John 15:14).
- They delight in God’s Word, even when challenging (2 Peter 3:16).
- They meditate on God’s law, day and night (Psalm 1:2).
- They recognize their own sinfulness, while forgiving others (Matthew 6:12-15).
- They put the best construction on what others do and say (Luke 7:37-50).
- They don’t judge people (Luke 6:37), but extend mercy to them (Matthew 5:7).
- They pray always (Luke 18:1).
- They seek what is best for others (Romans 12:10).
- They give thanks in all things (Philippians 4:6).
- They think on things that are good and holy (Philippians 4:8).
- They are reconcilers and peacemakers (Matthew 5:9).
- They are cheerful givers, to God and to those in need (2 Corinthians 9:7).
- They are humble (Psalm 51:17).
- They abhor and avoid the fruit of the flesh – “sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these.” (Galatians 5:19-51)
- They exhibit the fruit of the Spirit – “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control;” (Galatians 5:22-23).
Whew! What a list! But I offer it with four caveats: First, it is not a complete list; I’m sure you could think of other signs of true Christians. Second, this list is impossible to follow perfectly. Third, doing these things does not save us; they are works which follow salvation and are empowered by the Holy Spirit. And finally they are not a checklist for us to evaluate others, but rather to examine our own hearts before God, asking whether we truly love God and others as ourselves – the greatest commandments.
If we do show such love for God and our neighbor, then we won’t need a cross etched on our foreheads, for we will bear the true marks of one who is “marked by the cross of Christ forever.”
Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.
Read: Galatians 5, and all the verses cited above!
P.S. In reference to point 11 above, Luther’s Small Catechism explains the Eighth Commandment as follows: “We should fear and love God that we may not deceitfully belie, betray, slander, or defame our neighbor, but defend him, [think and] speak well of him, and put the best construction on everything.”