INTRODUCTION TO AFFIRMATIONS OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH
As time marches on and the aging process begins to cast a shadow on my short-term memory, my mind seems sharper now than ever regarding long-term memory. It is interesting to me that, at 85 years of age, I am still recalling interpretations of Christian beliefs that have been hallmarks of my ministry for three score and more years.
After all, I have sat under the preaching, on a right regular basis, of no fewer than a dozen inimitable pastors with whom I was associated in my role as Church Consultant, Christian Educator and Community Counselor. In my associations, and during those years of Christian service, each of my pastors involved me in the ministries of preaching and teaching the Word.
Living in the latter days of my life on this earth, with the 21st century well under way, I find myself “up against it” regarding a lot that I read today, and hear, about endeavors by more than a few Christian ministers to re-define basic Christian doctrines – beliefs that, for me, were and still are “pillars” upon which to build one’s Christian life.
In our world of instant communication, we pick up on much negativism as to the validity of our Christian Faith - for instance, the brazenness with which professing Christians embrace ways other than Jesus Christ for being saved – even by folks who know that Jesus proved what He said: “I am the way, the truth and the life . . . No one comes to the Father except by me.”
An illustration of how some folks are thinking occurred at one of my favorite places for fellowship with friends - The Waffle House: One morning while sitting at one end of the coffee shop, I and everyone else could hear a guy at the other end waxing eloquent about religious issues. Although I for the most part had tuned him out, my ears perked up when he started talking about how one goes to heaven. Don’t know how the subject came up, but what I heard this guy say was: “All people of all religions will go to heaven if they’re good.”
Now folks, I’m in favor of everyone being good; and I’m in favor of everyone going to heaven; but it doesn’t matter what I am in favor of, or what the Waffle House customer’s view was; the fact is that the Bible tells us who will and will not go to heaven; and nowhere in the Bible does it say that “all people from all religions will go to heaven if they are good.”
Later in this series, I share my understanding of a Christian view of “how to go to heaven”. The “who and how” of receiving, by grace through faith, God’s gift of eternal life ought to be a major objective of all Christian preaching and teaching.
Pursuing an evangelistic objective, however, in no way diminishes but enhances the importance of affirming and acting upon all other major Christian doctrines – the necessity of which motivated me to reaffirm my Christian beliefs.
There were basically ten tenets which I felt the need to reexamine and work through in my own mind until I could say, “This I believe.”
Yes, reflected in my statements of belief are numerous interpretations and perspectives gained from a lifetime of intensive Bible study, as well as listening with an attentive ear to good teachers and preachers, not to mention all the research done through the years in preparation for teaching teachers – probably the most rewarding aspect of my ministry. Amen.
AFFIRMATIONS – SERMON IX: BELIEF IN ETERNAL LIFE AND OUR LORD’S PREPARED PLACE
By His grace, God forgives and cleanses sinners who repent. The apostle John’s declaration of this act of purification is all I need to convince me of the truth of it: “Beloved, the blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, cleanses us from all sin.” How much is all? It’s all there is.
What does it mean to cleanse? It means to wipe away the ill effects of germs or contamination caused by dirtiness or defilement – and thereby to make pure. Why do we need to be cleansed? Why do we need to be made pure - spiritually speaking?
From years of life experience, we have come to understand that, as taught in the Bible, sin marred our souls and made us unfit for eternal life with God whose nature is best described as holy.
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty! (Revelation 4:8)
There was no way that sinful human beings could cleanse themselves and, in that way, become pure enough to dwell in the eternal presence of God.
Yet, it is evident from Scripture that God’s desire for the purification of His creation was and is the Creator’s top priority.
So it was that the same God who said “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness” also said in the words of the apostle Peter, “God is not willing that anyone should perish but that all should come to repentance.”
Folks, God the Father does not desire any of us to be separated from Him. It always has been, and is, God’s purpose that His people spend eternity within the realm of God’s holiness.
For that reason, says the apostle John, “God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
What we could not do for ourselves, God did for us. He provided a way for us to be cleansed from the stain of sin and thereby become holy as He is holy so that we might dwell in heaven with Him.
God sent His Son (they called Him Jesus) to die for our sins; when we repent of our sins and by faith accept Christ as Lord and Savior, God forgives and cleanses us; also, the Bible tells us that He “clothes us” in the righteousness of Jesus Christ in preparation for dwelling in the Father’s “house”.
Take Jesus at His word when He says, “I go to prepare a place for you; and if I go to prepare a place, I will come again, and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there you may be with me.”
There is no logical basis for not taking Jesus at His word when He makes this wonderful promise to His disciples. He said it prior to his crucifixion. He confirmed it by His resurrection.
His death, burial and resurrection had been prophesied . . . promised . . . preached by many who went before Him; He himself talked about it with those who walked with Him, and later proclaimed it worldwide after it all happened just as He said.
While He was still with them, Jesus sought to comfort His disciples by telling them, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.”
His promise to His disciples I believe with all my heart - if for no other reason, for the very reason that Christianity has existed for over two thousand years – and that reason is the resurrection!
Other religions base their doctrine on a great teacher or preacher or prophet; but no other religion can say of their founder, “He has risen indeed!”
I choose to stake my eternal destiny on the One who was raised from the dead – none other!
When the resurrected Christ says, “Because I live, you too shall live,” I take Him at His word.
When the resurrected Christ says, “Whoever comes unto me, I will never cast out,” I take Him at His word.
When Christ says, “Whosoever believes in me, though he was dead, yet shall he live,” I take Him at His word.
When the resurrected Christ says, “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes Him who sent me, has eternal life and will not be condemned, for he has passed from death unto life,” I take Him at His word.
And when He says, “I go to prepare a place for you,” I take Him at His word.
Folks, I really don’t care what kind of place it is; all I can say is, if it’s good enough for Jesus Christ, it’s good enough for me!
If it’s like a mansion, fine; if it’s just a cabin in the corner of glory land, fine; if it has streets – and they are paved with gold – fine; but if there are no streets, fine; if there is no gold, fine.
Somehow, I cannot think of heaven in those terms anyway; they to me are only symbolic of the best our language has to offer to describe the glory of heaven. All I care about is that heaven be a place where God and the family of God live in peace and happiness for eternity. What a wonderful place that would be! What a wonderful place that will be!
Dr. James L. Sullivan once told about three ladies – members of his congregation in Mississippi – who went to New Orleans to attend a performance by one of the world’s great concert pianists.
When the three ladies returned home, one of them talked about how the people were dressed and the hats worn by the women. Another talked about the mechanics of the performer – how efficiently his fingers manipulated the keyboard.
The third lady – a music teacher – could find no words in the English language to describe her appreciation for the glorious experience that had been hers to enjoy for an evening.
When we all get to heaven, we will be in the same heaven, suggested Dr. Sullivan, but our ability to appreciate the wonder of it, and to experience the glory of it, will depend, he said, on the quality of our relationship to Jesus Christ in the here and now.
If you live in the here and now as if there is no heaven or hell beyond this life, you are running the risk of missing out on a glorious experience that could be yours - not for an evening but for eternity.
Truth is, you can make life on earth what you desire to make it; if you want a taste of heaven in this life, you must live like it – loving God with all your being, and loving others as you would want others to love you.
If you want your life to be like hell on earth, you can make it that way too; just act like the devil in all your relationships – in all that you say or do - and it will be so.
The quality Christian life reverences and honors God by living according to standards of holiness as taught in God’s Word - and by striving to be like Jesus Christ. “Without holiness, no one will see the Lord.” (Hebrews 12:14)
Someone might be thinking, “Well, that’s a tall order” – and it is!
Rev. William D. Longstaff thought it to be a tall order, too; this pastor with a discerning heart became concerned that ordinary folks like myself might get the idea that “holiness” is an expectation beyond achievability; so, he composed the words of a hymn to convey simply and forthrightly how a Christian can put “holiness” into practice and live a quality Christian life – one that honors God.
Basing his hymn on Hebrews 12:14, the title given to the hymn by Longstaff suggests living a holy life is possible if we are willing to “Take Time to Be Holy”:
Take time to be holy, speak oft with thy Lord;
Abide in Him always, and feed on His Word.
Make friends of God’s children; help those who are weak;
Forgetting in nothing His blessing to seek.
Take time to be holy, the world rushes on;
Much time spend in secret with Jesus alone;
By looking to Jesus, like Him thou shalt be;
Thy friends in thy conduct His likeness shall see.
Take time to be holy, let Him be thy guide,
And run not before Him whatever betide;
In joy or in sorrow still follow thy Lord,
and, looking to Jesus, still trust in His Word.
Take time to be holy, be calm in thy soul;
Each thought and each motive beneath His control;
Thus, led by His Spirit to fountains of love,
Thou soon shalt be fitted for service above.
By taking this hymn line by line, we see that “holiness happens” when we “take time” to pray, often . . . feed on God’s Word . . . strive to be like Jesus . . . make friends of God’s children . . . minister to those in need . . . be a doer of the Word and not a hearer only . . . be led by the Spirit in every way, every day.
Take time to be holy! Amen.
