2 Timothy 1. 11-12
“And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. This is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him for that day.”
I have been blessed by hearing several life changing statements in my life from a variety of sources. One of those I want to mention for you today is this: “What the church needs today in Christian preaching is better theology.” You might expect that sentiment to come from someone with an interest in theology and you would be right. It was Dr. John Eddins, Professor of Systematic Theology in my seminary.
That has been one of my goals in preaching through the years. Theology is what we believe about God which, since it is God with whom we are concerned, comes to include everything in human life. So this morning I want to express some of the belief which you and I have pledged ourselves to believe as members of this church.
I told you some time ago that the American church is beginning to face one of the greatest challenges of its history. People in the larger culture have now come to believe that the church is practically non essential.
The church is simply one more option out of an entire array of choices.
People outside the church and some who were birthed within it believe that they can satisfy their spiritual sensitivities- when they choose to become aware of them -- not by involvement in a church or even a religious body but by their on-line personal approach.
What they literally believe is that there is more reality to life in the tabloid magazines in the supermarket checkout than they find in the theology of the church. They believe that “spirituality” is what they need – certainly not Christianity and not even the latest fad in near Eastern religious mysticism. The saddest part of this story to me is that the church has failed to teach theology and belief to its youth and to demonstrate its absolute application in their lives. Perhaps this is not so much the fault of the church which perhaps has tried as it is the responsibility of parents who have abdicated their calling to stand for the right in the midst of societal pressures.
One thing that deeply disturbs me about these “spirituality seekers” is the source they use to satisfy their “deeper longings”. They seem to accept the information they find on the Internet as the truth and nothing but the truth. Therefore, they eagerly disdain what they were taught in their formative years in favor of a smorgasbord approach to spirituality which lets them choose what they like and discard what they do not like.
The Internet may be a good source or it may be a very poor and inaccurate source. But as we have seen with Wikopedia, its information can be easily manipulated to suit personal agendas and distort truth.
In any sort of research, one has to know the writer of the article or book – not personally- but the school of discipline from which they come and the personal biases which they may represent.
An even more alarming thought is to place one’s spiritual future under the influence of a Hollywood actor or actress.
Sadly, they believe that any belief is all right – just as long as you believe in something. What is even more alarming is that many Christians think the same way.
According to the multicultural society in which we live, Christianity and the local manifestation of the church is not to be the preferred method of spiritual instruction and experience and certainly not the necessary avenue to God.
In their interpretation of life, it does not matter what one believes or in whom one believes –just that in some way we believe in some thing and give it our quite divided allegiance when it suits us.
1. Such an approach is idolatrous. For the idol worshipper does not seek to worship God; he or she seeks a god to worship them.. For the gods they worship demand no commitment and give but one blessing: do whatever seems right to you in life - there are no standards or morals or authorities, either ultimate or secondary.
That is of course idolatry. The God of the Church of Jesus Christ does not permit rivals but demands total and absolute allegiance to Himself as Master and Lord.
2. Another concern I have is that belief is reduced to whatever suits you and me. It really does not make any difference what you believe; it is only important that you do believe. This certainly puts you and me in control of faith – that is heretical.
The Apostle James tells us that even the demons are closer to God that this ill-notioned idiocy. “The demons believe in God and they shudder.”
It makes all the difference what you and I believe because our destinies in the world to come and our purpose and joy in this life depend upon our beliefs.
The defining boundaries of our beliefs stand on a firm foundation of the Written Word of God.
A. Our beliefs must be based on truth as it is
presented in Christian theology and experience.
If your belief is not based on the truth of God, then you are betting your life on a false proposition. That is very risky. It is not enough to just believe in God. We must know who that God is in whom we have belief.
B. Our beliefs must be based on agape. Agape is the willful expression of the loving goodness of our God in every situation who is committed to accomplishing the best for everyone in every circumstance. Theology which is truth but lacks agape is often hard and legalistic, such as occurred in the church at Ephesus. The Risen Christ faults that congregation because they have become doctrinally correct—as they should be – but they have lost their love – their agape- their essential good will for one another.
C. Our beliefs must also be based only fully in Jesus Christ as He is presented to us in the Written Word as the Truth and Agape of God. The Apostle John tells us that the Living Word – Jesus- became human, dwelled among us, full of grace and truth.
What we believe is ultimately tied to a person whose name is Jesus, the Son of God. In Christ, truth and love are personally presented in a living covenant, a new covenant, as Jeremiah predicted.
D. We have three English words which are used variously in the translation of one Greek word which represent belief. In the Bible, faith, belief, and trust are used for “pisteuo” depending on the context.
It seems to me that each of the three words help us in understanding our relationship with Christ also. Simply stated, we begin our life in Christ by faith.
(1)By faith, we believe in all simplicity that Jesus died for us because we are sinners. We believe that He took our sins upon himself and imparted to us his sinlessness so that we might find peace with God. He has also made the way for us to live in Him day by day and then, when this life is over, to live in his presence eternally.
That is the faith of a child for its parent which Jesus described by saying that we must come to Him as little children – in simple faith.
(2)Then our simple faith begins to mature and it ripens into a system of beliefs which helps us understand the mystery of Jesus Christ and our place within his world and church. So believing turns into doctrine.
(3) Lastly, our mature – heady understanding of the faith ripens into a loving affection for our Lord as we learn to walk daily with Him. We come to trust Him with everything in our lives and long for Him to help us.
So the progression moves from simple faith to strong beliefs to a trusting marriage with Christ.
Do you remember the rite of passage into manhood for a little boy of the Cherokee nation?
His father takes him into the forest, blindfolds him and leaves him alone. He is required to sit on a stump the whole night and not remove the blindfold until the rays of the morning sun shine through it.
He cannot cry out for help to anyone.
Once he survives the night, he is a MAN.
He cannot tell the other boys of this experience, because each lad must come into manhood on his own.
The boy is naturally terrified. He can hear all kinds of noises. Wild beasts must surely be all around him.
Maybe even some human might do him harm.
The wind blew the grass and earth seemed to shake the stump against which he leaned, but he sat stoically, never removing the blindfold. It would be the only way he could become a man!
Finally, after a horrific night the sun appeared and he removed his blindfold.
It was then that he discovered his father sitting on the stump next to him.
He had been at watch the entire night, protecting his son from harm.
We, too, are never alone.
Even when we don't know it, God is watching over us, Sitting on the stump beside us.
When trouble comes, all we have to do is reach out to Him.
Now what does believing in God really look like?
--Trusting Jesus is obeying what He tells in his word.
Why do we not like to read the Bible and accept it
As God’s word to us? Is it not purely and simply because we disagree with what we fear it will tell us and we are unwilling to submit to it?
--Trusting Jesus is exchanging what we can see with our eyes—betting our lives on a reality we can only feel inside in the holy of holies of our hearts.
Reality is what your heart knows in Christ ---not what your physical senses can tell you.
And his name is Jesus.
It is not about some principle or a fine philosophy, but about knowing the God you can trust when your life is broken and all hell breaks loose in your relationships and there is nothing to hold on to.
What you find on the Internet or in some philosophy book will be cold comfort when money is gone and homes have been destroyed and jobs have disappeared and those you love have died.
Life is about a Person and his name is Jesus.
In Him you will find God – far bigger than you are – and that is the only God we need.