The absolutes of religion concerning the after-life are:
Absolutely no after-life > You absolutely cannot know about the after-life because no one has ever reported back >There is absolutely an afterlife, but you cannot know absolutely which way you are going until you get there >There is absolutely an afterlife and you can absolutely know which way you will go.
When you consider the longing that God built into your heart, which one do you hunger for in your deepest part of your being?
Despite the vast different approaches to the after-life, every religious guru is absolutely sure he or she is right. But I am absolutely sure of this: we all can’t be right. Most of us who look at religion and its eternal consequences must be wrong. That is because there is such a thing as absolute truth, and if there is absolute truth, you have to find it.
Heading through April, I want to end this session about Absolutes we must be sure of. These are things we must find. I hope they will be an encouragement to you and a motivation to seek God deeper.
There is much in this life you cannot be absolute about. Stock market, how children and grand-children will come out, if a marriage will last, who will win the World Series early in the season…. One thing that seems the most important is, can we be absolutely sure of our eternal destiny?
There are people who I know who are absolutely sure they have found the way. There are others, however, who are struggling with legitimate doubts. If you are seeking to live intentionally in your evangelism, you will be tuned into what others believe, based upon how they live and what they say. This topic will present itself in your ministry and in your life; you family, your business, your friends…….
First, let me address: Is there absolutes? Let me illustrate the trouble here.
If we bought a new piano or a new organ and moved it into the sanctuary, we would need to tune it, or everything else, typically. The impression is that there are differences in how the instruments are tuned. If the new piano is tuned a little higher than the old equipment, then the key of B-flat is different on one instrument than the other. Or so it appears.
However, there is an absolute in music. The definition of B-flat is, in the scale just below middle C, B-flat has a frequency of 466.16 hertz (that is, the vibrations of sound rise and fall and return 466.16 times a second) and a wavelength of 75 CM (29.527575 inches). Every instrument is supposed to be tuned to this absolute pitch for B-flat. The problem was not the absence of an absolute in music, but the failure of instruments to meet that standard of absolution perfectly.
That is what Paul was saying when he asked if the Law was bad because it presented him exceedingly sinful. Romans 7:5-8, “For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. 6 But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code. 7 What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, "You shall not covet." 8 But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead.
The Law is absolute, and our sinfulness is exposed by the Law. Our performance is off-key. The absolutes in music should mean we could bring in any instrument in the world and play it with our piano. However, the piano’s failure to maintain tuning in comparison to the absolute makes bad music.
Our world depends upon absolutes. Science is supposed to be the study of absolutes in nature. Scientific formulas work everywhere in the world for every generation. Your medication, food preservation, fuel consumption in your automobile…. All depend on absolutes. It works each and every time it is done properly.
This is a way that God reveals Himself to us, showing us His nature. Just as water is H2O anywhere (HOH in formation), it is everywhere, and God is absolutely the same anywhere and to all generations.
Hebrews 13:8 - Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Jesus wanted us to have some knowledge of the absolutes. He wanted His disciples to be certain and comforted by the absolutes He was preparing for us.
Let me say, you can absolutely know you are going to be with Jesus in God forever. But some will have the confidence, but not based on truth. Mat 7:21-23 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' 23 And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'
These had confidence, but not assurance. Many people will have confidence but not based on absolutes. Mat 7:13-14 "Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
Tonight we are going to try to present “assurance” as available to all who seek it.
TEXT: Joh 14:1-6 "Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. 4 And you know the way to where I am going." 5 Thomas said to him, "Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?" 6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Earlier this week, I asked a man, “Are you absolutely sure that if you died today, you would spend eternity with Christ in Heaven.” His honest answer was, “No, I am not.” Today if you ask him, I believe he will say without a doubt, “Yes, I am.”
This is the kind of assurance Jesus wanted His disciples to have. Not an assurance based upon what you want. Everybody wants a good life in eternity. Not an assurance based upon how sincere you are. Everyone is sincerely convinced of correctness.
A piano can be tuned a half note sharp (or higher) than it is supposed to be. Every key can be sincerely accurately stepped from the one higher and the one lower. It can be in perfect agreement with each other key on the piano. That would be sincerity. But it will not play in tune with other instruments that are tuned properly. It is not in tune with the “absolute”. You cannot find assurance within yourself or based upon yourself.
1. Absolute Assurance is found in belief. (…you believe in God, believe also in me.)
Belief is not just sincerety. Jesus is not saying, “Just be sincere”. He is saying, “Assurance is found in believing in Me, Jesus Christ. John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
What is this belief? It is faith. GK “pisteuō” Stong’s G4100, to trust in, rely upon, to commit to.
Ill. My goal is to avoid teaching legalism tonight, or any time, but as an illustration…. I want you to consider the teachings of Santa Claus.
Children love to believe in Santa Claus. For most to believe in Santa Claus and find later that he is not (shhhhhh) real is not a problem. For some, however, they claim it has been. Is Jesus just another Santa Claus that we someday find was a hoax?
However, I want you to consider with me how a child believes in Santa Clause, as well as what they believe. First, he comes to bring good gifts. He knows if you are good or bad. He has a list of the naughty or nice. If you go to bed and go to sleep, he will come, but if you don’t, he won’t come.
For a child who believes in Santa Claus, really believes, do you have a problem getting them to bed? No, you simply remind them of the importance of going to bed if they want Christmas.
That is how you can describe this “pisteuō” in the Greek. Mat 18:1-4 At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" 2 And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them 3 and said, "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
When a child believes, he or she believes absolutely, and it results in behavior. This belief, or faith, is a complete trust that you can live by, and you must live by. It makes no sense not to live it out if you believe it is true. Jas 2:14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? Jas 2:17-18 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. 18 But someone will say, "You have faith and I have works." Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
A shallow belief is simply, “I hope this works.” That will not give assurance. The faith that saves is the one you rely upon and live by. You truly believe, like a child. You believe that Jesus is who He said He is, did what He said He would do, and will do as He promised. It is a dependence in living that what God says it true through Jesus Christ alone.
2. Absolute Assurance is as sure as God is in Heaven. (In my Father's house are many rooms.)
Everybody has a god.
Christopher Benek said, “You see, everyone has a God/god(s). For some like, Richard Dawkins, it may be science that they worship. Others may worship sports or work or money. After showing the below proof to one student who claimed to be a self-professed atheist, he quickly declared that indeed his god was his (game console). Now if by “Atheist’ you simply mean you don’t believe in the Christian God, well I can understand that… My experience though, is that most people don’t have a problem with the concept of a big “G” God per say, they just don’t care for the people/institutions who claim to represent God. But even if you don’t believe in a big “G” God – you still worship a little “g” one. By definition then you aren’t an atheist. And, if you are at all, at least open to the possibility that a big “G” God could exist – because you undertake the possibility that you don’t know everything that there is to know- then you are an agnostic. The question that I’d ask you to consider, logically then is: If you acknowledge that indeed you do have a God/god(s) then which God/god(s) will you choose to worship?
“Everyone has a god. The definition of a god simply put is: a person or thing that is excessively worshiped and admired; an all absorbing passion, pursuit, or hobby; something idolized. [i] By definition excess is simply an amount or quality greater than is necessary [ii] and worship in its most basic form means to have an ardent devotion, or adoration for. [iii] This means that one must simply have actual or substantial concern [iv ] for a passion, pursuit, or hobby that is slightly more that needed for it to be considered a god. Thus it becomes apparent that, although it may not be personified, everyone has a god/God.One cannot “believe in nothing” because even the idea of “nothing” is still something… therefore, after considering the aforementioned proposition, by definition the concept of an “atheist”; One who disbelieves or denies the existence of God or gods [v], is a fallacy.” (http://www.christopherbenek.com/?p=2187).
You can place anyone’s god up against the truth of the real God, and there is no competition. People, if they will examine it, will want our God and not any other. We believe in a God who chose to love the unlovable, enter into our pain, suffer for us the consequences of our shortcomings, give us His nature and adopt us into His family, sharing His endless wealth and glory with the most undeserving. Who would not choose that god?
As sure as there is a god, any God, we can be absolute we have found the right one.
3. Absolute Assurance is as sure as Jesus’ Word. (If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?)
Jesus gave His Word, and His Word is truth. Joh_14:10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Joh 17:17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.
As sure as there was a Jesus, as sure as He spoke wisdom, He spoke truth.
C. S. Lewis, as well as many others, such as Billy Graham, have pointed out that Jesus could not simply be looked at as a good teacher or moral person. He was either a liar, lunatic or Savior of the Word and the only way to God. His claims are either meant to deceive and distort, making Him a liar. Or he was delusional and suffered greatly from a “god-complex” as a raving lunatic. Or He is the way, truth and life, the only way to God, the door, the very lamb of God and sin offering for man. To dismiss Jesus as a liar or lunatic seems increasingly impossible based upon His impact on the World.
The recovery programs based on the redemption of Jesus Christ statistically offer higher results and life-changing power than the best of Psychology, Psychiatry, or Sociology. His redemption has saved more marriages, stopped significantly more crime, rehabilitated more addicts, have restored more fallen lives, than all forms of human self-improvement. Jesus true followers have stood against more oppression, ended more slavery, and impacted more societies with compassion and love than all of the other systems of religion or humanism.
One of the criticisms of Christianity is that religion has been the force or cause behind more wars and oppression than any other institution, and Christianity has had its share, with the Crusades, Inquisition and state religions supporting evil rulers.
I go back to the first point and say these professed Christians who perpetuated such cruelty and injustice were not part of the few. These strainers of the Christian name were opportunists, seeing Christianity as a means of serving themselves, not the Christ.
A real follower follows the Head, Christ, the King, not seeks to use the belief of others to benefit self. Don’t mix those imitators with the authentic followers who surrender. Jesus’ message, His Word, has passed the test of authenticity, and you can take Him at His Word.
4. Absolute Assurance is as sure as Jesus left. (And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.)
1Co 15:3-8 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.
During the first years after Jesus resurrected, any opposition to Jesus Christ could not get over the fact that many saw Him die, and more saw Him ascend into heaven. When Paul wrote 1 Corinthians, there were many, over 500, who said, “I was there. I saw it with my own eyes.”
True opposition of Jesus’ claims did not arise until after all the witnesses were dead. That critical record of Jesus ascension is an important part of our assurance. The disciples were conversing with Jesus, He lifted His arms, and begin to arise up and out of sight. Act 1:9-11 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, 11 and said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven."
The ascension of Jesus Christ is an absolute that can give you absolute faith.
5. Absolute Assurance is found in Jesus alone. (Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.)
One of those who spent time with Jesus after His resurrection and saw Him ascending into heaven preached this truth, that there is salvation in no other. Act 4:8-12 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, "Rulers of the people and elders, 9 if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, 10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead--by him this man is standing before you well. 11 This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. 12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."
This was Jesus’ message, “I am the way, truth, life. There is no other way” This is our unswerving message. And this is our Absolute Confidence born of faith. 2Co 3:2-4 You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all. 3 And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. 4 Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God.
Ill. Once many years ago, a ship was tossed in a storm. A man was frightened, but he saw a young boy who looked so calm. He asked the boy, "Son, how can you be so calm in this awful storm?" The little lad replied, "My dad is the captain, and he has never lost a ship at sea." O friend, Jesus is our Captain, and He has never lost a ship that was in His charge!
