Sermons
Believing Is Imperative
BELIEVING IS IMPERATIVE
Sermon By Terry Siverd
Cortland Church of Christ / July 14, 2019
Our annual Songs Of Light will be next Sunday evening at 6:30.
This will be our 23rd year in a row for this event and we're delighted to once again have Rod Sheldon leading our singing.
Please encourage others to join us. Invitation flyers are on the chairs.
Our members are asked to bring cookies and the church will be supplying the pizza.
Last Sunday we spoke about the importance of hearing the word of God.
Heb.11:6 states, without faith it is impossible to please God.
Sometimes we hear things, but we don't really hear them in the truest since of the word.
Let me illustrate what I mean.
Let's say that Betina tells Albert to take out the trash (i.e., to put the kitchen trash in the garage garbage can).
Two hours later the trash is still sitting in the kitchen.
So Betina asks Albert, “Albert, did you hear me tell you to take out the trash?”
Albert responds saying, “Yes, Mom, I heard you”, but since he did not obey, he really didn't hear.
For a child, true hearing is when you respond positively to what you are told to do.
What is true for children in general is also true for us as children of God.
Thus, the apostles James urges us (Js.1:22) - -
prove yourselves to be DOERS of the Word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.
James was echoing the words of Jesus found in Mt.7:21 - -
Jesus told His disciples: not everyone who calls me Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven,
but HE WHO DOES THE WILL OF MY FATHER who is in heaven.
If we really believe, it will result in ACTION on our part.
The best word for this kind of response is OBEDIENCE.
FAITH in its simplest form is OBEDIENCE.
This is what the apostle Paul calls, “the obedience of faith” (Rom.1:5 and Rom.16:26).
The late German NT scholar Roudolph Bultmann translated Paul's phrase, the obedience of faith as - -
the obedience which is faith.
If something has caused you to come to view obedience as a dirty word, your heart is not right.
And if your heart is sour on this particular word you are going to have a dreadful time trying to please God.
When it comes our the way of salvation and our walk with Christ, obedience is not an option.
It is true, that God has granted us the freedom to decide (He does not force us to believe), but if we chose
to disobey Him then we will suffer the consequences, which are quite dire with everlasting ramifications.
Listen to these two verses juxtaposed.
@ A
Jn.3:16 / For God so loved the world Jn.3:38 / He who believes in the Son
that He gave His only-begotten Son, has eternal life; but He who does
that whoever believes in Him should not obey the Son shall not see life,
not perish, but have eternal life. but the wrath of God abides on Him.
Jn.8:24 blends these two concepts - - unless you believe that I am HE, you will die in your sins
A thesis statement is a kind of summary. It encapsulates what you are trying to do or say.
Luke writes his gospel account for a man named Theophilus (lover of God).
His gospel account of Jesus begins with a thesis statement (Lk.1:1-4) - -
Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile an account of the things accomplished among us,
just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word handed down to us,
it seemed fitting for me as well, having investigated everything carefully from the beginning,
to write it out for you in consecutive order, most excellent Theophilus;
so that you might know the exact truth about the things which you have been taught.
John's gospel account of the life of Jesus ends with a thesis statement (Jn.20:30-31) - -
Many other signs therefore Jesus also performed in the presence of His disciples,
which are not written in this book; but these have been written that you may believe
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.
Since we are talking about the importance of believing we want to focus on John's words.
Of all of the miracles displayed by Jesus, John chose to highlight just SEVEN signs or miracles.
Chp.2 / Turning Water Into Wine (quality)
Chp.4 / The Healing Of The Nobleman's Son (space)
Chp.5 / The Healing Of The Crippled Man At Bethsada Pool (time)
Chp.6A / Feeding Of The 5,000 (quantity)
Chp.6B / Walking On The Water (nature)
Chp.9 / Giving Sight To The Man Born Blind (misfortune)
Chp.11 / Raising Lazarus From The Dead (death)
Similarly, John highlights SEVEN “I AM” statements:
6:35 / I AM the bread of life
8:12 / I AM the light of world
10:7 / I AM the door
10:11 & 14 / I AM the good shepherd
11:25 / I AM the resurrection
14:6 / I AM the way, the truth and the life
15:1 / I AM the true vine
As your preacher, one of my hardest assignments from week to week is to synthesize, shrink and simplify the sermon.
Anybody with a robust knowledge of the Bible can ramble on and on, but to condense the message is quite difficult.
It must have been a tremendous challenge for John to boil things down. In fact, we know that
this was the case, because he closes his book with these hyperbolic words found in Jn.21:25 - -
And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail,
I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books which were written.
Other than the twelve apostles, there were few if any people who would have
witnessed all seven of these miracles and heard Jesus proclaim all seven of these “I Am's”.
But John records them , marshaling them as evidence for any and all who are willing to examine them.
These are serious claims that will serve in building faith among sincere and serious students of any generation.
One of Jesus' disciples (his name was Thomas or Didymus) did not seen Jesus immediately after His resurrection.
Others testified to him that they had seen THE LORD (Jn.20:24), but he remained skeptical.
Thomas (sometimes called “doubting Thomas”) said, Unless I see in hands the imprint of the nails,
and put my finer into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, 'I will not believe' (Jn.20:25).
Jn.20:26-28 records - - After eight days again (Jesus') disciples were inside, and Thomas with them.
Jesus came and, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst, and said, 'Peace be with you'.
Then He said to Thomas, 'Reach here your finger, and see My hands; and reach here you hand, and put it
into My side; and be not believing, but believing. Thomas answered and said to Him, 'My Lord and My God'.
Jn.20:29 notes, Jesus said to (Thomas), 'Because you have seen Me, have you believed?
Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.
Here Jesus pronounces a blessing on all future generations, including our own, who would determine to
carefully read and study the written testimony of the first-century writers and thereby come to faith.
- - - - - - -
I want to close this morning's sermon with one final quote.
It is quote that is vital to a true understanding of Biblical belief.
This quote is from Dr. R. C. Sproul, a marvelous Bible teacher, who passed away not too long ago.
The issue of faith is not so much whether we believe in God, but whether we believe the God we believe in.
Millions of people believe in God and are quick to affirm that God is our Almighty Creator and Sustainer.
Millions also believe in Jesus. That He was a real person who was born among men, grew up as a young
man in Nazareth and even that He was crucified on a cross in the city of Jerusalem at around the age of 33.
But believing in God and Christ is more than just accepting facts about them.
Do we truly believe the God we believe in?
Do we truly believe the Jesus we believe in?
If we TRULY BELIEVE, that belief will not get bogged down with disobedience.
Possessing a serious FAITH translates into obeying all that Jesus directs us to be and do.
In Js.2:17ff, James writes about a kind of watered-down faith.
He points out that even the demons believe and tremble (Js.2:19).
He declares, “faith without works is dead” (Js.2:26).
According to Mt.4:1ff, Satan came to Jesus shortly after His baptism to tempt Him.
Satan challenged Jesus to turn stones into bread.
Jesus could have easily done so, but He responded to Satan's temptation saying,
Man shall not on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.
This is vital to possessing a dynamic faith.
We cannot pick and choose the verses we want to believe and discard and disobey those who don't like.
True belief requires honoring and obeying every word.
Although this may sound overwhelming to us, all I can say is, “welcome to the world of discipleship!”
