Certain Faith

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." (Hebrews 11:1)

Some people try to prove the existence of God based on science. Some try to prove the validity of the Resurrection of Christ based on history. As important as it is to present to the world a “reasonable faith”, there is no way we can offer proof that is beyond the shadow of a doubt. Doubt is part of our make-up as limited, flawed creatures.

But God helps us move beyond our doubts. Philosopher Blaise Pascal, who was anything but an orthodox Christian, nevertheless hit on a truth when he wrote –

“Faith is different from proof; the latter is human, the former is a Gift from God.”

False Flattery vs. Genuine Praise

They remembered that God was their Rock, that God Most High was their Redeemer. But then they would flatter him with their mouths, lying to him with their tongues; their hearts were not loyal to him, they were not faithful to his covenant. (Psalm 78:35-37)

One time I was given an award for community service. At first, I felt both honored and humbled. But when I met with the team that selected me, I gained an increasing sense that they were falsely flattering me. I felt very uncomfortable. Later, I learned the presentation banquet was essentially a fund raiser for their ministry. They were hoping I would draw people not just to support me, but to further their cause.

When we give someone positive feedback, we need to examine our motivations. Are we flattery them for our own benefit, or are we praising God for what God is doing through their lives? A man named Wendell Phillips once said –

"Many know how to flatter, few know how to praise."

We need to let go of false flattery and develop the discipline of praise for God in the lives of God’s people.

God of Technology

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe. (Hebrews 12:28)

Many people today worship at the altar of technology, coming to believe that we can save ourselves if we just devote enough time, energy, and money into fixing problems. Curing cancer. Reversing the aging process. Eventually, even overcoming death.

As Christians, we believe God is in charge of all life – even technological “advances”. God has a purpose for us to discover what we discover, at the time and in the way we discover it. This is good news, because God knows much better than we do what is best.

At the same time, this is a hard truth to hold onto. It’s counter-cultural. As theologian Miroslav Volf puts it –

“It is increasingly difficult for Christians to [assert that] God governs history and that the salvation of the world can, let alone must, come from God. And the more God is pushed out of our world, the more difficult it will be to address this loving God in prayer and thanksgiving, and to stand before this holy God in awe and reverence.”

Look for the New Life

In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? (Luke 24:5)

"We look for the resurrection of the dead." (The Nicene Creed)

The resurrection of Christ was not seen by anyone. Someday, however, in God's own time, we will witness believers who have
gone before us rise from their lifeless graves to enjoy life with the Lord forever. What an awesome sight that will be!

As we wait and watch for this to happen, it is essential that we also look for the Lord “in the land of the living." Physical resurrection is yet to come; spiritual resurrection happens each day as the Holy Spirit enters the hearts of those who have died to the world and come alive in Christ.

Look for the resurrection - wherever it can be found.

The Son of God

The high priest said to him, “I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.” “Yes, it is as you say,” Jesus replied. (Matthew 26:63-64a)

"Either Jesus was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But don't make up any patronizing nonsense about His being a just great human teacher." (C.S. Lewis)

A Good Servant

[Jesus said] “Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.” (John 12:26)

A good servant knows his Master so well he can anticipate his needs. He is right there when his Master wants something. In the same way, true disciples of Christ know him so well, that they do just what he wants even before he asks, and they are always be ready to respond when he speaks.

Jesus modeled this for us when he washed the feet of the disciples. Peter’s response was much like ours would be. God’s Messiah shouldn’t be washing feet – he should be marching into Jerusalem to claim victory, to free God’s people. He shouldn’t be on his knees with a towel around his waist. He should be sitting on a throne, with people kneeling at his feet.

Jesus told Peter, and tells us – if we don’t let him be your servant, we can have no part of him. This is who he is – God’s servant. And if we want to follow him, we have to do be a servants too.

Close to Church, Far from God

[Jesus said,] “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.” (Matthew 6:5)

Self-avowed Christians (particularly church members and leaders) need to exercise great care in how we live out our faith. Do we make a show of it or does it show itself in our words and actions? If we are motivated to demonstrate faith in order to gain personal benefits, we won’t enjoy eternal rewards.

Matthew Henry once wrote --

“It is common for those that are farthest from God, to boast themselves most of their being near to the Church.”

Good News and Bad News

“The time has come,” [Jesus] said. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15)

To repent is to completely turn around – to shift from going in one direction (toward worldly sin) to going in the opposite direction (toward God). It requires transformation of our whole selves - hearts, minds, and bodies. This can be very difficult and extremely painful, but to enter God’s presence, it is absolutely necessary.

To receive the good news of God’s saving love in Jesus Christ, we must face the bad news of our sin. We can only be forgiven if we first admit we are sinners. If we try to gloss over the challenge of the gospel, we aren’t really accepting the good news at all.

St. Augustine wrote --

“If you believe what you like in the gospels, and reject what you don't like, it is not the gospel you believe, but yourself.”

Do you trust in Christ’s love or in yourself?

Resentment

But he answered his father, “Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends.” (Luke 15:29)

The older brother in the story of the prodigal son burns with anger at his father and resentment toward his brother. He is so blinded by this, that he fails to see the blessings he had received working alongside his father day by day.

The problem with the older brother is that he is so driven by a false sense of what is fair. Our idea of justice is not necessarily God’s. God knows what is best for us and, as difficult as it can be, the best thing for us to do is to accept this, not resent it.

Evangelist Tony Campolo, reflecting on this passage, writes –

“Resentment is something that leaves you feeling right, when you are wrong.”

God is God

“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:9)

The God of the Universe is so utterly different from we are, we can not even fathom Him. Certainly, we are made in God’s image, but even saying this, we’re not sure what it means. The Bible reveals to God’s Word (through the power of the Holy Spirit), but only within the limits of human language and understanding. Jesus Christ shows us what God is truly like, but only in actions limited by human senses. We can only see “through a glass darkly” who God is.

The German theologian Karl Barth once wrote –

“The Gospel is not a religious message to inform mankind of their divinity or to tell them how they may become divine. The Gospel proclaims a God utterly distinct from men.”

God is God, and we are not.

True Freedom

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. (Galatians 5:1)

Never are we less free than when we freely engage in sin. Sin enslaves us. We have less strength, less courage, less wisdom. Only when God claims us as His own are we truly set free to become who we were created to be. The process requires a surrendering to God’s will, not an exercise of personal freedom. Conversion is not our own doing, but the work of the Holy Spirit.

Evangelist Charles Haddon Spurgeon witnessed many conversions in his ministry. Reflecting on this, he wrote –

“Conversion is not, as some suppose, a violent opening of the heart by grace, in which will, reason and judgment are all ignored or crushed. The reason is not blinded, but enlightened; and the whole man is made to act with a glorious liberty which it never knew till it fell under the restraints of grace.”

Winning Approval

Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ. (Galatians 1:10)

“I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.” (Bill Cosby)