We Walk By Faith ¡V Part 2
Developing A Belief
Scriptures: John 20:24-29; Matthew 24:23-25
Introduction:
In the introduction to this series last week I shared with you that faith is an unquestioning belief; complete trust or confidence. By definition faith can only exist where there is a belief. If you consider the title of this series ¡§We Walk By Faith¡¨ many would assume prior to last week that I was talking about our relationship with Christ. In reality, we walk by faith in everything we do, whether you¡¦re a Christian or an atheist, you walk by faith in some areas of your life. The difference is where you are focusing your faith. Let me explain.
Faith is believing something without question ¡V you do not have a doubt about what you believe. When you believe something without question you act on that belief. All of our actions are based on our first believing something. When we make a purchase, we make that purchase believing that the item being purchased is needed by us. When we enter into relationships with other people, we enter the relationship believing something about the person. When we accept a job with a company, we do so believing that the job is something we can and desire to do and will be compensated accordingly. And even though we have no real proof that they will pay us ¡V we take them at their word that they can and will. Likewise, when we choose to unite with a Church, we do so believing that the place we choose to worship is the best place for us. A majority of our decisions are made based on something we believe. If believing is the foundation of faith, the fact that we are making decisions based on something we believe proves we are in fact walking in faith in different areas of our lives. If we can understand that our actions are based on something we believe and that believing something without question is truly faith, then we can begin to track backwards as to how we develop a belief and then use that process to develop beliefs pertaining to our relationship with Christ. If you understand how you develop a belief you can begin to understand why you do or do not believe something as it pertains to Christ. Whatever process you use to develop whatever you believe can be adjusted to take in those things you must believe about Christ. This is just the first step but remember, not every thing we must accept about Christ is going to have a physical presence for us to touch. This morning this message will focus on how we develop beliefs. I touched on this briefly last week, but we will go a little deeper this week.
I. Understanding What Drive A Belief
How many of you have ever heard the story about ¡§doubting Thomas¡¨? For those of you who have heard the story, you know it roots. Thomas was one of Jesus¡¦ twelve disciples who is primarily known for his doubt around Jesus¡¦ resurrection. Because of his doubt, he is referred to often as ¡§doubting Thomas¡¨. We refer to people the same way when they refuse to believe something without proof. Even though he is known as a doubter, Thomas was not a coward. John the eleventh chapter records Thomas telling his fellow disciples that they should follow Jesus to Judea and die with Him. Jesus was returning to Judea to raise Lazarus from the dead and Thomas recognized the threat to Jesus by the Jewish authorities. Although he did not fully understand what was happening within Jesus¡¦ ministry at this point, he was willing to go with Him and possibly die with Him in Judea.
This morning I want to examine his story from the viewpoint of what it takes to make someone believe something. Turn with me to John chapter twenty and we will begin reading at verse twenty-four. ¡§But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. So other disciples were saying to him, ¡¥We have seen the Lord!¡¦ But he said to them, ¡¥Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.¡¨ (Vss. 24-25) When the other disciples told him that they had seen Jesus, Thomas¡¦ reply was that unless he could see the imprint of the nails and put his finger through it and put his hand into His side, he would not believe. Please note that Thomas was not saying that he just needed to see Jesus for himself, he was saying that when he saw Jesus, he would need proof that it really was Jesus. The proof would be the imprints from nails in His hands and the gash in His side.
I am not here to judge Thomas, but I would like to offer his story up to help us understand how we ourselves develop different beliefs which leads to our having faith in something. When you read about Thomas, you might think he was being harsh, but consider the times. Prior to His death, Jesus told His disciples that in the last days there would be many claiming to be Christ and He warned them about believing them. Matthew 24:23-25 records Jesus telling His disciples the following: ¡§Then if anyone says to you, ¡¥Behold, here is the Christ,¡¦ or ¡¥There He is,¡¦ do not believe him. For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. Behold I have told you in advance.¡¨ Matthew 24:23-25 As you can see, before Jesus was crucified and resurrected, He forewarned His disciples that there would be false Christs coming forward and performing miracles and would fool many people in those last days. He told them not to believe the reports. I believe that Thomas took Jesus at His word. Remember, the knowledge they gained after Jesus resurrection was much greater than what they had prior to it. So when Jesus told them not to believe the reports of the false Christs, Thomas probably filed this information away until such time as he needed it. Well, he needed it on that day. When Thomas heard that the other disciples had seen Jesus he refused to believe it unless he could see for himself. Not only did he need to see Jesus, but he needed to see the proof ¡V the injuries to Jesus¡¦ hands and side. Those injuries could not be replicated by someone claiming to be Christ and was not. The real Christ would have those injuries and if Thomas was to believe anyone was the real Christ, that individual would have to have those injuries. His process for believing and thus developing faith first required proof. It was not enough for him to see Jesus, once he saw Him he needed to have proof that it really was Jesus. For Thomas to believe that Jesus was resurrected, he needed to see for himself. I am sure the other disciples told him that Jesus hands had the imprints, but he was not taking them at their words. He needed his own proof and that was that.
When we examine Thomas¡¦ response we find someone who is like many of us. I mean when we think about the things, processes and people that we have faith in, for the most part it is not blind faith that we have, but faith that has been built over time. We have faith in things, processes and people when we have tested them and they have found to be worthy of our believing in them. We have had the opportunity to ¡§prove¡¨ that what we believe is based on a solid foundation and therefore since it has been proven we can have faith in it. This is the process that many of us use in our daily lives. There are some things we accept blindly based on the source of the information, but for the most part, we do require proof. We test the waters so to speak before we jump right in. We want to find out if the water is too cold or hot before we commit to getting all of the way in. This my friends is the natural faith that we all walk in ¡V a belief that has been tried and tested and once proven establishes our faith. The beginning of this process starts with the source of the information we are asked to believe.
II. Sources of Beliefs
In our natural lives we develop a belief based on the information we receive. For immediate belief, that information most often must come through a source that we already believe in. When that does not happen, we reserve the belief until it can be proven. From this we know that the foundation for our belief starts with the source of the information we are being asked to believe. Let me give you a couple of examples. Last week I talked about relationships. I told you that if you could not trust the person you¡¦re in a relationship with to do the right thing when you¡¦re not with them, then you¡¦re in the wrong relationship. This morning I want to go back to the beginning of the relationship. How quickly does trust comes when you meet the person on line in a chat room or at a party versus someone who is introduced to you by someone you trusts and knows you intimately? Most of us would trust someone quicker if they were introduced to us by someone we trusted. When you invite people to come to our Church they walk in through those doors not knowing me. All they know is what you have told them about your Church. When they walk in, they are coming based on what you have told them as they trust you. If they decide to stay, they will begin to trust me, but it will be a process based first on your trust of me and second their interactions with me. When you trust the source of the information, your belief comes quicker. The same is true in reverse. When you do not trust the source, the belief which leads to faith comes very slowly or not at all. What you believe about the source directly impacts how you are able to believe what the source is bringing you.
For our developing a belief in Christ, we have three primary sources: the Church, the Bible and the Holy Spirit. The first source is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the one who will begin to reveals Himself prior to our relationship with Christ as it is the Holy Spirit who convicts us and leads us to the point of decision. I know we often think of Him as working for and with those who have already accepted Christ and that is true, but He also works with those who are in need of Christ. The Holy Spirit is the link that completes the circle. The Holy Spirit will reveal the truth of God¡¦s word to us as we are studying it and He will also use the Church (us) to accomplish God¡¦s will in reaching out to the lost. The Holy Spirit is truly our primary source even though we may not recognize Him all the time.
The second source is the Church. I know some of you are thinking that it is the Bible, but in actuality, the Church is the second source. There are many people that will come to Church at the request of someone and not even own a Bible. The Church is the first source that a person will use knowingly to determine if they will believe in Christ or if they will walk away. (Again, most do not recognize the role of then Holy Spirit in our conversion process.) Because the Church is the first source people recognize it must be about its job. When I use the term Church, I am not talking about a denomination, I am talking all who profess a belief in Christ. We must recognize that for the faith of many to grow, it will start with what they hear, see and experience from those who are believers.
The third source for developing a belief in Christ is the Bible. Once a person gets introduced to Jesus through the Holy Spirit and the Christian (Church) the next source (the Bible) becomes the primary source of information. The Bible then takes on the lead position because oftentimes there will be things that people find out about a Church that later turns them off. Remember, we are all about relationships and sometimes our individuality pushes others away from us. When this happen people tend to go and find another place to worship. Although they may change Churches and/or denominations, the Bible remains constant. When a person accepts Christ, the Bible then becomes their first source for understanding who Christ is and what our lives are based on. The Bible becomes their source for spiritual food. But here is the catch and where some people lose the battle. The Bible and all of its different translations beg the question that if it is truly the word of God why are there so many versions of it? People who desire to confuse believers of the Bible will quickly point out that the different versions of the Bible and all of the different denominations must prove that the Bible cannot be genuine or to be blindly trusted. The fact of the matter is this, you can trust the Bible, but you will also need to study it versus just reading it. You must compare Scripture texts in context and then you will be able to see the connectivity between the Scriptures. Our faith (belief) in Christ comes through our hearing understanding of God¡¦s Word and we will discuss this more next week.
Our natural faith has a foundation based on something that has been tried and tested after we accept the source of the information. When we receive new information that we must choose to believe, our first instinct is to consider the source. If the source is a trusted source, then we move to the next step of testing the information. We do not believe it at face value so we test it before we commit to it fully. This is the process that is within us from the beginning and it teaches us to begin to walk in faith in the smaller things. But what about our faith in Christ? What about our faith in a God that we cannot see, touch or have a natural conversation with? Next week we will examine how faith in Christ comes but before I close out this message today, I want to set up next week¡¦s message by closing the loop on our story of Thomas.
III. Thomas Believes
Let¡¦s pick up Thomas story with verse 26 of John chapter 20. ¡§After eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst and said, ¡¥Peace be with you.¡¦ Then He said to Thomas, ¡¥Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing.¡¦ Thomas answered and said to Him, My Lord and my God!¡¦ Jesus said to him, ¡¥Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.¡¨
Eight days after Thomas had made his confession that he would not believe without some proof, Jesus appeared to the disciples and gave him the proof. When Thomas saw that it was Jesus, he proclaimed Him as his Lord and his God. Thomas believed because he had seen what he needed to see in order to believe. My question to you this morning is what do you need to see in order to believe without question? As I close this morning, I want you to look closely at what Jesus told Thomas when Thomas now professed that he believed. ¡§Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.¡¨
Jesus said the truly blessed ones are those that believed the report without requiring proof. Those who believed without seeing Him. Remember, Jesus did not appear to every believer once He was resurrected. There were many who had to hear about it word of mouth and they believed immediately. All of us who accept and believe in Christ fall into this category. We have read the report and we believe even though we have not seen. This is the faith that Christ requires of us ¡V to believe even when we cannot see the proof with our eyes.
Next week we will focus on how faith comes through the hearing of the word of God. After that message we will begin focusing on why you can belief the Bible which will begin your road to a much greater spiritual faith walk as you will have some of the ¡§proof¡¨ you need to believe blindly. ƒº
God bless.
