Fact And Faith In Creative Tranquility Series

As John draws this short letter to a close, I am amazed by the manner in which his intensity builds. He increasingly, uses the phrase, we know. His task has been to call the church back to foundational things. The effectiveness of this series of sermons is based on our response to a very important question: How has the inspired Word of God called us back to our foundation?

Unlike the society in which we live, a true mark of a Christian is the certainty we have when it comes to foundational truths about God. While we may not know everything, we do know certain things. In fact, we voice them forthrightly, without any sense of shame or hesitation. There are foundational truths of the Christian faith that are as secure as the fact that the Sun appears first in the East and puts us to bed at night when it disappears in the West.

Philip Wylie says that Americans are becoming a “nothing” people, “a generation of zeroes,” because we do not believe anything.

As self-responsibility within our society has atrophied, what sort of a nation have we become? One social critic, Philip Wylie, has de¬veloped the idea that we are be¬coming a nation of nonpersons, engaging in "nothing education," "nothing readership," "nothing citizenship," "nothing art," and "nothing music." He describes our society as a "generation of zeros," produced by an educational sys¬tem which avoids the creation of any "trauma" for the individual student, from which all competi¬tion, all discipline, and all possi¬bility of low grades have been re¬moved from the student’s path. He cites television as the creator of a generation of nothing read¬ers. He cites the current student population who all too often are for nothing and who often assume no role or responsibility in their society except that of criticism and nihilism as nothing citizens and eventually nothing persons. He finds the total absence of crea¬tivity in much of modern art as a demonstration of nothing art and levels much the same charge against modern music. He cites the noninvolvement of the mem¬bers of our society, people who are unwilling in case after case to offer aid or even call the police in times of crisis, as for example in the Kew Gardens, N. Y. mur¬der of a woman, witnessed by some thirty-eight people who did not want to become "involved." (Philip Wylie, "Generation of Zeros," This Week Magazine, Feb. 5, 1967.)

We have been told by the self-appointed philosophers of our day that no statement can be absolute truth. Their self-refuting statement backs them into a corner because we can conclude, using their logic, that their statement is false; therefore, we can believe certain things.

These individuals accuse believers of exercising what they call “blind faith”–faith without any basis in fact. Condescendingly they quip, “I would love to believe like you do, but I simply cannot.” The implication is that they cannot divorce their will from reason and act unreasonably.

I John climaxes with the suspense that is characteristic of courtroom drama–something that continues to fascinate people. We are fascinated by the arguments of the prosecutors and defense lawyers. Yet, a critical piece to the courtroom scene is the variability of the witnesses called upon to testify.

So it was in the trial of Dr. Sam Shepherd, a doctor accused of killing his wife, John T. Scopes, a science teacher indicated and found guilty of teaching evolution in Tennessee, and the famous O.J. Simpson trial.

Near the end of the first century in the Roman province of Asia various testimonies about the person of Jesus were circulated. Various forms of Gnosticism are still circulated today. Again and again witnesses are called upon to verify the humanity and divinity of Jesus.

John is inspired to let us know that belief in Jesus Christ is not disassociated from reason. In our text, he gives us three good reasons for believing. Ray Stedman says, “The whole genius of the Christian faith is that it rests upon facts.” What are these facts?

1. Acts of God in history.

2. Incontrovertible movements of God which cannot be explained away or dismissed by a mere wave of the hand.

3. Truths which are imbedded in the hearts of those who belong to the human race.

In the verses we are going to explore this morning we will see each of these testimonies bearing witness to the authenticity of the call to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ for eternal life. The witnesses upon who John bases his case are trustworthy.

I. THE HISTORICITY OF JESUS CHRIST IS A TESTIMONY OF GOD’S REDEMPTIVE PLAN

This is the one who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. 1 John 5:6