Grace Church
257 Kendall Street
Burlington, WI 53105

(262) 763-3021

It’s “I believe,” not “I feel”  Hebrews 11:1 We Believe Sermon Series #2 [Open with Film Clip from It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown -- Linus writing to the Great Pumpkin] Is that what faith is to you? Is it generic? A warm, fuzzy feeling? Is it belief in something as silly as Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny or the Great Pumpkin. Not too many years ago the infamous 20th century theologian, Tammy Faye Baker, made this astounding remark: “The Christian life is so wonderful, I would believe it even if it weren't true.” Unfortunately, thousands of American evangelicals have effectively looked to Tammy Faye Baker as their model of a theologian. Yet what an embarrassment to God. Such Christianity can never stand the test of time and adversity. God has not called us to syrupy religious experience, but to truth, to perseverance in sound doctrine. Friend, do you know what you believe? Do you really believe it? The Bible teaches that faith is the key to everything for the Christian. But what is Biblical faith? The Apostles’ Creed bring us to faith to – “I believe,” not “I feel.” It begins with this powerful assertion, “I believe.” In fact, this assertion is repeated twice in the Apostles’ Creed. But what does it really mean to believe? Why is “faith” such a seemingly confusing concept today. If you are taking notes... 1. There are some significant cultural barriers to Biblical faith. When a person embraces the Christian faith and can say with assurance, “I believe...” that person is embarking on a spiritual pilgrimage. It’s a trip of adventure and excitement, at the same time it is filled with many pitfalls and dangers. The believer quickly discovers that not everyone around him shares his excitement or conviction, even in the Church. Though America at one time was a Christian nation, that is not the case today. Most people, even a large percentage of Christians, are Biblically illiterate and are thus easily influenced by the culture – many times without even knowing it. There are two cultural worldviews that terribly undermine Biblical faith.   A) Our culture values skepticism, not faith. Our world is characterized largely by unbelief. Nonfaith frequently has more value and prestige than faith. “Question everything” is the slogan of the day. It’s a skeptical world out there. Rebuke and scorn are cast at those who walk by faith. To a nonfaith world, for a believer to say that “I believe" with conviction seems to them to be a trip into a make‑believe world where stark reality is somehow anesthetized by faith.    A believer faces the cynical questions of skeptics and scoffers. Biblical faith is not a leap into the absurd or a flight from reality, nor is it a bromide for the sick or a crutch for the weak. It’s not an escape hatch from reality.   B) Our culture is filled with false faiths. Popular Australian musician, Greg Champion, said, “I believe there are nature spirits in the garden and elsewhere. I believe every creature, every ant, every animal is bonded to us. I believe that plants respond to our energy. That trees and mountains possess wisdom we can barely fathom. I believe that Tibetan Buddhists know nearly everything. I believe that it’s the god in me that helps me achieve good things. I believe there’s only one song and we’re all singing it.” A generation ago he might have been dismissed as a wacko. Today he’s a prophet for his generation. We are inundated today with people of “faith.” Make no mistake, it takes faith in something to be a suicide bomber. It takes faith to be a Hindu or a Buddhist or a Mormon or Jehovah’s Witness. But it’s not Biblical faith. It takes faith to watch your little children die because of your beliefs. A small "Christian" Bible study group turned into a deadly cult in Attleboro, Massachusetts. On a small cul‑de‑sac in Attleboro, about an hour south of Boston, stands a modest duplex home with a white picket fence and white ruffled curtains adorning the windows. This is the home of cult members recently accused of murdering a 10‑month‑old baby named Samuel. Samuel's parents, Karen and Jacques Robidoux, and 11 other adults watched and methodically took notes as Samuel slowly starved to death. They thought they were obeying God. The Robidoux family belongs to a small cult that loosely refers to itself as "The Body" and claims to follow the Bible. During the Spring of 2001 members of the cult, composed of 13 adults and 13 children, believed they had received a revelation from God that Samuel could no longer eat solid foods. After the cult denied him solid food for two months, Samuel died in April 1999, three days before his first birthday. Four months later, another baby, Jeremiah Corneau, died under the cult's care when members, in accordance with their belief that modern society is evil, neglected to seek help from a doctor during a difficult birth. The deaths of these two children are frightening examples of the havoc wreaked by false faith. These incidents also provide a tragic reminder that it is possible to sincerely believe a lie, and sometimes those lies have deadly consequences. But false faith is not just the stuff of cults. It’s slithers into the church too. You could have false faith and sit here at Grace every Sunday. The book of James was written to believers but in chapter 2, the Apostle James rebukes professing Christians who have false faith. He delivers a knock-out blow in verse 19 when he labels it a demonic faith, “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that, and shudder.”   1) Biblical faith is more than a head knowledge faith. After nearly two decades of ministry it still puzzles me how people can sit in church for years and remain unaffected by the consistent reading of the Bible and sound Biblical teaching. But it happens. Because the truth is in the head, but not in the heart. It has never filtered into the soul. You can recite creeds until you’re blue in the face. You can quote the Bible from Genesis to the Revelation, but if the information doesn’t bring transformation it’s of no use. The nation of Israel had this problem. What would you’re response be if you saw your Egyptian captors devastated by plagues? Then, the Red Sea opens for you, but drowns the approaching enemy. God gives you food and water. Your clothes never wear out. You hear the voice of the Lord thunder from the darkened sky over Sinai. Wouldn’t that be enough for faith? Apparently not. “For we also have had the gospel preached to us just as they [the Israelites] did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith” (Heb. 4:2). The heart must be receptive or you will never reach God’s Promised Land.   2) Biblical faith is more than a Foxhole faith. People tend to get religious when their lives are on the line. This is pseudo faith that occurs if you witness a miracle or God seemingly delivers on some need you have. Over and over again I’ve seen "Jailhouse Conversions" where faith in God is strong until the prison doors open for that inmate. Foxhole faith turns to God when there’s a need, but after the need is met it mysteriously vanishes. Jesus warned his admirers about "foxhole faith" when He said, “I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill” (John 6:26). Oswald Chambers insightfully writes, “Faith for my deliverance is not faith in God. Faith means, whether I am visibly delivered or not, I will stick to my belief that God is love.”   3) Biblical faith is more than a sentimental faith. Sometimes a feeling occurs and we mistake it as faith. Jesus told a parable illustrating this subtle substitute: “The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the Word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the Word, he quickly falls away” (Mt. 13:20‑21). It’s a superficial kind of experience. Goose bumps and tears do not necessarily equally saving faith. It must go deeper. Paul writes about this in Colossians. “As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving” (Col. 2:6‑7). This is why I’m leery of mass public altar calls. People get caught up in the moment. They may even feel pressured to get up and respond. Studies show that of the people who make faith decisions in mass crusades only about 1/4th continue to live out their faith. What happened to the other 3/4ths? It’s likely that they just experienced a substitute to saving faith. Real faith doesn’t come and go. It’s a permanent and pervading aspect of every area of your life.   So what is true faith? What do we mean as believers when we say, “I believe...” 2. Biblical faith is distinctly different from other kinds of “faith.” Hebrews 11:1 states, “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Our word faith comes from Greek word pistos, which literally means believe into, not just believe. It indicates trustful commitment and reliance. All of us demonstrate this “faith” or “believing into” whether it is in a car, a medicine, a doctor, a marriage partner or whatever, by treating the person or thing as trustworthy and committing yourself accordingly. The same is true of faith in God, but in a more far‑reaching way. It is the offer and demand of the object that determines in each case what a faith‑commitment involves. For example, I show faith in my car by relying on it to get me places. I show faith in my doctor by submitting to his treatment. And I show faith in God by submitting to His claim to rule and manage me; by receiving Jesus Christ, as my own Lord and Savior, and by relying on His promise to bless me both here and for eternity. This is the meaning of the response to the offer and demand of the God of the Apostles’ Creed. Our word creed is not just the name of a popular band but the word comes from the Latin word credo meaning “I believe.” Its root credere, meaning to believe gives us some of the most common, yet important words in our language. A salesperson asks, “Will that be cash or credit?" A young person chooses a college because it’s accredited. An honest person maintains their credibility when their actions confirm what they say. So what is credit? A credit card? A creditor? Simply someone that we owe for a product or service who chooses to believe that we are responsible people who will pay what we owe at a later billing or over an extended period of time. When we sign the credit slip, we’re asking the merchant to believe in us, to trust us. What’s accreditation? An official commission from an association of recognized schools and colleges evaluates a college and approves the faculty, facilities, and the instruction offered. This recommendation is given because the commission believes that the education being offered by that college meets certain standards: the professors are well qualified, the library and other facilities are adequate, the course of study is properly demanding, and so on. The accreditation commission believes that a student attending this college will receive a legitimate degree. Biblical faith is, according to the author of Hebrews, “being sure" and "certain" of things that are not visible to our eyes. It’s the confidence that God is true to His Word. It’s using “God’s credit card” that Jesus’ death on the cross was sufficient to pay for all of our sin and bring about our forgiveness and reconciliation with God. It’s the firm conviction that we are participants in eternal life now because we are trusting God’s promises.   A) Biblical faith requires trusting. A recent Zogby poll revealed that when it comes to trusting others, most Americans are more than just a little leery. While 48.6% of Americans think people can generally be trusted, nearly as many, 47.8%, said one cannot be too careful trusting anyone. Our lack of trust in people contaminates our trust in the people maker, God. We see God through our view of men but God is from a totally different realm. Add to that, the words faith and belief are thrown around so loosely today that they have almost lost all meaning. Let me illustrate. Someone tells me that London is in England: I believe that London is in England. Somebody tells me that 2 + 2 = 4: I believe that 2 + 2 = 4. Basically, this is a proposition: I believe that it is true. Often you’ll find, that that is as far as belief goes when it comes to religious experience. But if you look carefully in Scripture, you’ll find that Scripture begins with believe.  But it’s just the beginning. When Scripture speaks of faith, It means that I not only believe that it is true or trustworthy, it now requires me to rely upon that thing or that person that I believe is true or trustworthy. For instance, say I believe that airplanes fly from Milwaukee to New York. I happen to have a brother in New York. I believe that airplanes flying to New York, if I got on them, would take me to New York. I believe that all these propositions are true. But believing that all these things are true never gets me any nearer New York. I have to believe into. I have to believe upon. I have to trust in. I’ve already believed that it is true, and now my belief moves out of the realm of the intellectual into the realm of actual reliance. As I get on that plane, I fasten my seat belt and I relax and lay hold of, or lean upon or draw from, all the unique resources of the airplane. In actual fact, the law of aerodynamics now takes over the law of gravity, and I fly. I am now believing in. When we talk about belief in the Bible, we’re not just saying that we believe that God exists. That’s the starting point, but we go further than that. I believe that God exists. I believe that, because He is God, He is reliable and trustworthy, and because I believe that He is trustworthy, I will rely upon Him. In doing so I will draw from Him the resources needed to live life as I was intended to live it. I begin to believe.  This is what Paul refers to in Romans 4:21 when he says, “being fully persuaded that God had power to do what He had promised.” The Apostles’ Creed is our personal affirmation that we trust God and believe His promises.   B) Biblical faith is rational. History has produced many advocates of the idea that faith is basically something that is nonrational, something that has to do only with the heart and not at all with the mind. Tertullian early propounded the idea that to believe something because it is absurd is a noble thing to do. Now it is true that a certain amount of courage is required to believe what we think is absurd. And Tertullian is not too far removed from many contemporary thinkers who call us to a kind of blind faith in the midst of meaninglessness. This may be courageous but it is this kind of "faith" that is far removed from the New Testament concept. The New Testament does not call us to crucify our intellect. A Biblical call to faith is not an invitation to embrace irrationality. To be sure the believer is often faced with mystery, with unknown dimensions that stretch far beyond the reach of his mind. But God is calling us to trust in that which He has revealed and made known to us by the Scriptures. While crucifixion is always necessary in the Christian life, it is our pride and selfish will that must be crucified, not our mind. The hope that bears the Christian along in the midst of crisis is not some irrational determination that comes from clenched fists and gritted teeth whereby we determine to persevere in spite of the hopelessness of our life. Rather, the Christian takes his hope from the words of Jesus, "Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). The Lord Jesus does not call His people to an unreasonable act of courage or an irrational basis for hope. He gives a reason for His optimism; namely that He has overcome the world. If Christ has overcome the world and He invites us to participate in that victory it would be irrational not to be of good cheer. One of the greatest illustrations of this is the resurrection of Jesus Christ. While believing in the resurrection demands faith, it is a reasonable faith. Scripture records that there were 500 witnesses to the resurrection. That was probably more than saw Lincoln assassinated but no one questions that historical event. Compare the resurrection to the founding of the Mormon Church. Today there are several million Mormons, yet their faith is based on the “eyewitness” account of just one man, Joseph Smith. According to Joseph Smith an angel named Moroni appeared to him. Millions believe the testimony of just one man without any other witnesses? Biblical faith is reasonable and rational. Truth may be truth without ever touching my mind or my understanding, but if it is ever to touch my life, at some point I must have some comprehension. Biblical faith is not mindless.   C) Biblical faith is personal. Though the Apostles’ Creed is said in unison in the worship service, the opening words are I believe not We believe. Each individual must affirm his faith for himself. The Apostles’ Creed corresponds with the Scriptural truth that Biblical faith is first personal. God does not have any grandchildren. One does not subscribe to the Creed because he is a member of a church that holds it. Instead, he already believes the truth stated in the Creed before associating with a church that professes it. You cannot affirm with certainty the faith of another person. As Augustine noted, “Faith resides in our innermost parts; no man sees it in another, but everyone may see it for himself.” Leslie Weatherhead said, “The only creed that is worth two pence to you is not a creed that you tried to take over from your grandfather. The only creed that is going to be worth anything to you is the creed you built up out of your own experience of Christ.” A creed must be a statement of personal belief. That’s why it is so important that you know what it is that you are affirming. It’s foolish to recite the words of the Apostles’ Creed if you don’t have any idea of what you are really reciting, or worse, that what you are reciting is not an affirmation of what you truly believe. Belief in God through our Lord Jesus Christ is utterly personal. Unless one understands this, sooner or later the practice of religion becomes tedious. It happens all too often. Teenagers drop out of church because it bores them. Adults fall away because the sermons meet no conscious need. Salvation only belongs to those who personally and individually internalize the truth of the gospel, those who turn from their sin and in faith ask Christ to come into their lives. They are genuine Christians, responding to Christ’s call. They heed the apostle who says, “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved” (Rom. 10:9). Biblical faith is personal.   D) Biblical faith is life changing. Paul Harvey has rightly said, “If you don’t live it, you don’t believe it.” The Bible is very clear that there is an escapable relationship between my act of believing and the content of what it is I believe. Faith does not exist, and cannot exist in a vacuum. There is always a connection between myself as a believer and the content that is the object of my faith. The Apostles Creed begins with the statement "I believe." But it is important to note it does not end with that statement. As soon as the believer says he believes he goes on to say what it is that he believes. The New Testament does not call us to faith in general but to faith in particular, namely to faith in a person and in the work of Jesus Christ. Faith involves living. It is more than professing and more than understanding theology. In the final analysis it involves commitment to the will of God. Faith has a content that fills the mind and grasps the heart to the end that a changed life is apparent. One woman made an offhanded remark that was much more significant than she probably realized. She said that for years her ex‑husband had been a "deadbeat" dad, always behind on child‑support and never available for his daughters. She said, "But he’s real religious now and pays his child‑support on time." In fact, she complained that now her daughters want to be with him every weekend so they can go to church with him, a great imposition on her schedule.   E) Biblical faith perseveres. During a Monday night football game some years ago between the Chicago Bears and the New York Giants, one of the announcers observed that Walter Payton, the Bears’ running back, had accumulated over nine miles in career rushing yardage. The other announcer remarked, “Yeah, and that’s with somebody knocking him down every 4.6 yards!” Walter Payton, the most successful running back ever, knew that everyone, even the very best, gets knocked down. The key to success is to get up and run again just as hard. That’s Biblical faith. It takes a lickin’ but keeps on tickin’. There may be delays, detours and even some wrong turns but it keeps going.  F. B. Meyer says, "So often we mistake God and interpret his delays as denials." Delays and disappointments should serve to strengthen our faith. Korean Christians, suffering terribly under Communists, have a motto: "We are like nails. The harder you hit us, the deeper you drive us." That’s faith responding to the divine delays and disappointments by being strengthened because it’s focused in a deep confidence in God. Christ never promises freedom from death and pain in this world, but He does promise us His presence in the midst of these difficulties. It is doubt that robs faith of its muscle. Doubt undermines the call to suffering that is a part of the gospel of Christ. It is doubt that cheapens the cost of discipleship and woos and entices the Christian with phony promises of superficial grace. Biblical faith is a faith that calls for discipline, for courage, for endurance, for growth, in order that we may face with triumph the difficulties that surround us in the pilgrimage of life. Biblical faith is tough because it’s real. It’s not skin deep. It has teeth! It perseveres because it’s real!   F) Biblical faith is not private. For the Christian, believing and knowing just isn’t enough. It’s also necessary to speak boldly about what we have experienced to be true about God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, the Church, the present and future states of human beings–the whole body of God’s truth.    Of course, nobody’s able to recite the whole of Christian doctrine. Thousands of books contain theologians’ attempts at giving systematic accounts of the Bible’s principal teachings. We need something more concise. That’s why a statement like the Apostles Creed came into being, to fill a particular need, to give an outline of what Christians commonly believe. Perhaps you’re thinking, "I really don’t care to broadcast my beliefs. Faith is very private. I don’t want to push them on anyone else. I know what I believe, that’s good enough for me." Pardon me for being blunt, but you’re on the wrong track. Confessing what we believe is our Biblical obligation. We have no option. In fact, confessing what one believes is one of the marks by which a Christian is identified. That’s what the Apostle Paul told the Christians at Rome, “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved” (Rom. 10:9‑10). Friend, have you ever received a subpoena to appear in court and give testimony in a trial? Once the court order has been served, almost nothing can get you out of your responsibility as a citizen to answer questions in public. And if the trial concerns the defense of a friend of yours, someone you love, wouldn’t you be eager to tell what you know? Would you be ashamed to speak what you believe to be true? You and I have been subpoenaed to appear before the Judge of all the Earth (Gen. 18:25). In this particular courtroom, however, we find the Judge Himself on trial. He is accused by Satan of not being able to keep His promises, of not being God Almighty before whom every creature must bow. As soon as we begin to give our witness to God’s faithfulness, the accuser turns on us as well. It’s then we find strength and assurance in the fact that Jesus Christ is our Advocate, our defense attorney. He is able, by the power of His resurrection, to prove our testimony true and Satan’s charges false. Biblical faith is public and is must be proclaimed before a lost world. Conclusion: Our world talks a lot about faith but knows very little of Biblical faith. When real faith takes a hold of us, it always leads to right proclamation and the right actions. We want to go God’s way. Biblical faith always leads to obedience. Obedience doesn’t save us, but saving faith always moves us to obedience. In 1893 engineer George Ferris built a machine that still bears his name, the Ferris Wheel. When it was finished, he invited a newspaper reporter to accompany him and his wife for the inaugural ride. It was a windy July day, so a stiff breeze struck the wheel with great force as it slowly began its rotation. Despite the wind, the wheel turned flawlessly. After one revolution, Ferris called for the machine to be stopped so that he, his wife, and the reporter could step out. In braving that one revolution on the windblown Ferris wheel, each occupant demonstrated genuine faith. Mr. Ferris began with the scientific knowledge that the machine would work and that it would be safe. Mrs. Ferris and the reporter believed the machine would work on the basis of what the inventor had said. But only after the ride could it be said of all three that they had personal, experiential faith You see how the sequences work? Saving faith is not a feeling nor is it irrational. Saving faith informs the mind and transforms the heart, and then conforms the will to live obediently to God’s Word and His commands. The Lord Jesus referred to the outcome of saving faith when He said, “If anyone loves me, He will obey my teaching” (John 14:23). Saving faith results in an informed mind and a transformed heart which leads to loving God. We then almost naturally want to do what pleases Him and what pleases Him is obedience. Biblical faith is not in the Great Pumpkin. It’s in the Lord God Almighty and it results in obedience, studying and knowing what we believe and then proclaiming it to a Hell-bound world.