One Faith Series

ONE FAITH

Scott Bayles, pastor

Blooming Grove Christian Church: 2/4/2018

If you’re just joining us, we’re five weeks into a seven-week survey of Christian unity. Jesus wants his church to be one—to be united and harmonious. The trouble is—we’re all human and because of that the church has a long history of disagreements and division. How can our little congregation, yet alone millions of believers from different backgrounds and walks of life, scattered all across the globe, be one?

To help answer that question, the Apostle Paul provides believers with a series of seven “ones” that ought to bind us together in Christian unity. He writes, “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all” (Ephesians 4:3-6 NIV). This list of “ones” creates a solid foundation upon which all believers everywhere can experience true unity of spirit.

Four weeks ago, we started with the first item on the list: one body. Then we focused on the second tie that binds believers together: one Spirit. Then we talked about the third item: one hope. And, most recently, we highlighted the fourth unifying factor Paul mentions: one Lord.

His holiness, humanity, and humility uniquely qualify Jesus for the highly honored position of Lord of all creation. All Christians everywhere are unity by our confession that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Today, we’ll be moving on to the fifth one on Paul’s list: one faith!

Faith. What is faith really? Ask five different people and you’ll probably get five different answers. I have a friend on Facebook who happens to be an ardent atheist and she occasionally makes little jabs at people of faith. A while back she posted a quote that said, “People don’t need to constantly build up or strengthen their faith in things they know exist.” She followed that up by saying “Faith is just believing in something for which there is no proof.” That kind of thinking just shows a complete misunderstanding of the real meaning of faith.

Let me put it this way. I have faith that my wife loves me. I’m kind of needy, so I do need frequent reassurance of that fact. There may even be times that I doubt her love. Maybe she acts in an unloving way. Maybe we get into an argument over something stupid. Her love isn’t perfect. Neither is mine. You can’t put her love for me in a test tube or submit it to scientific experimentation. But I have good reasons to believe my wife loves me. For one, she tells me every day. She shows it in the way she kisses me, the way she looks at me, the way she cooks for me, and thousand other ways. I can’t see it, touch it, or smell it, but I have faith that she loves me.

Faith in God isn’t all that different. You can’t see God, touch him, or smell him. You can’t put God in a test tube. And sometimes your faith will need built up or strengthened. But there are good reasons to believe in God—the fact that there is something rather than nothing, the fine-tuning of the universe, the existence of objective moral values, the person of Jesus Christ, personal experience and so much more. I like how C.S. Lewis defined faith: “Faith is holding on to things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods.” In short, faith means trusting in what you know to be true.

And faith is not only essential to Christin unity, it’s also essential to our individual relationship with God. In fact, the Bible says, “without faith it is impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:6 NIV). If faith is so important to God, then it’s vital for us to have a good handle on the full meaning of biblical faith.

What kind of faith is God looking for? What kind of faith unites us as Christians? To answer that question, I want to invite you to open your Bibles to the book of James. In chapter two, James fleshes out this “one faith” that binds us together. He actually identifies three types of faith, only one of which is the one true faith. First, James describes dead faith.

• DEAD FAITH

The first type of faith James describes is a dead faith. Here’s what he has to say about it:

My brothers and sisters, if people say they have faith, but do nothing, their faith is worth nothing. Can faith like that save them? A brother or sister in Christ might need clothes or food. If you say to that person, “God be with you! I hope you stay warm and get plenty to eat,” but you do not give what that person needs, your words are worth nothing. In the same way, faith that is alone—that does nothing—is dead. (James 2:14-17 NCV).