DO YOU REALLY BELIEVE?
ROMANS 10:9-13 "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. [10] For with the heart man believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. [11] For the scripture saith, Whosoever believes on him shall not be ashamed. [12] For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. [13] For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."
INTRODUCTION: Is your faith, your belief a matter of preference or a matter of conviction? Do you really believe that Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God, God Incarnate? Do you really believe that He died for all of your sins and rose again? Do you really believe that Jesus is alive today and is coming again? How convinced are you that the Bible from cover to cover is the verbally inspired, inerrant, infallible Word of God? Do you truly believe in the reality of hell’s fire and heaven’s splendor? Do you have absolute assurance of your eternal destiny? You say I believe – but how real is your belief?
I. Preference and Conviction Defined
A. Preference – the act of choosing, the act of liking better or best
B. Conviction – a strong persuasion or compelling belief
C. Preference can be described as "a choice; negotiable (optional)."
D. Conviction is defined as "a requirement; non-negotiable.
E. 2 Timothy 1:12 "For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded (absolutely and totally convinced and sure) that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day."
II. Preference and Conviction Differentiated
A. Preferences
1. Preferences being negotiable are subject to change based on what mood you’re in, the circumstances you’re in, or the influences of others.
2. According the U.S. Supreme Court. A preference is a very strong belief, held with great strength. You can give your entire life in a full-time way to the service of the preference, and can also give your entire material wealth in the name of the belief. You can also energetically proselytize others to your preference. You can teach this belief to your children, and it may still be only preference. A preference is a strong belief, but a belief that you will change under the right circumstances. Circumstances such as 1) peer pressure, 2) family pressure, 3) lawsuits, 4) jail, 5) threat of death, 6) convenience.
3. Preference says this is the best that I have found.
B. Convictions
1. Convictions neither changes by what mood you’re in or what conditions you are confronted with. It is decisions you have made and will live and die by.
2. Josh McDowell in his booklet “Beyond Belief to Convictions” states that conviction is the state of being so thoroughly convinced that something is absolutely true that you take a stand regardless of the consequences.” (p.10)
3. A conviction is not something that you discover; it is something that you purpose in your heart.
4. Daniel 1:8 "But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself."
5. Convictions leave no room for compromise it says there is nothing better.
III. Preference and Conviction Demonstrated.
A. Preferences compromise –.Convictions do not
1. Those whose beliefs are preferences and not convictions compromise whenever it is convenient
2. Back in the days of the Inquisition when the Roman Catholic came to the Jew and said, "Are you a Roman Catholic?" Many Jews reasoned in their minds this way; "If I say no, they are going to kill me. They are going to burn me. But if I say, yes, the Lord God will forgive me on the Day of Atonement." – (Todd Bailey, Preference or Conviction) That line of reasoning is based on preference and not conviction.
3. In contrast consider the Convictions of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in Daniel 3:16-18 "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. [17] If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. [18] But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up."
4. Someone has said, “Compromise is ‘accepting what you don’t believe, because you refuse to fight for what you do believe’."
B. Preferences fold – Convictions stand
1. Peter expressed a statement of faith in Matthew 16:16 "And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." (preference)
2. Note what Christ said to Peter not long after Peter’s confession of faith in Luke 22:32 “…when thou art converted (when you move from preference to conviction) strengthen the brethren.”
3. Matthew 26:69-74 "Now Peter sat without in the palace: and a damsel came unto him, saying You also were with Jesus of Galilee. [70] But he denied before them all, saying, I know not what you’re saying. [71] And when he was gone out into the porch, another maid saw him, and said unto them that were there, This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth. [72] And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man. [73] And after a while came unto him they that stood by, and said to Peter, Surely thou also art one of them; for thy speech betrays thee. [74] Then began he to curse and to swear, saying I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew." (preference)
4. Acts 2:14, 36 "But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words." … "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ." (conviction)
C. Preferences give no direction – Convictions provide necessary guideposts.
1. Preferences have no absolutes.
2. Barna states that 81% of kids today claim that “all truth is relative to the individual and his/her circumstances.” (Third Millennium Teens, p. 43).
3. With no absolute – with no objective standard there is no direction.
4. Someone has said. "A person without a conviction is like a ship without a rudder."
5. Ephesians 4:14 "That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine…"
6. Conviction says we do have a standard. Truth is not relative. There are absolutes.
7. Truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it. Truth is the road map for negotiating the difficult challenges of life. Without it we get lost and we develop emotional problems that tell us we’re lost. We often settle for half-truths or no truth at all because they are usually easier. But truth is the only road to emotional health. There is no other path. – (Psychologist Chris Thurman, Preaching Today.)
8. Lincoln was trying to make a point. His hearer was unconvinced and stubborn. So Lincoln tried another tack. He said to the disputer, "Well, let’s see now. How many legs does a cow have?" The disgusted reply came back "Four, of course." Lincoln agreed, "That’s right. Now, suppose you call the cow’s tail a leg; how many legs would the cow have?" The opponent replied confidently, "Why, five, of course." Lincoln came back, "Now that’s where you’re wrong. Calling a cow’s tail a leg doesn’t make it a leg!"
D. Preferences are silent – Convictions speak out
1. Preferences tend to seek political correctness and muzzle the message.
2. In today’s politically correct environment where we are told we must be careful to keep from offending anyone, preference gives reports like this fourth grader who reported on the origins of the Thanksgiving holiday. "The pilgrims came here seeking freedom of you know what. When they landed, they gave thanks to you know who. Because of them, we can worship each Sunday, you know where." (Leadership)
3. 1 John 4:2-3 "Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God. And every spirit that confesses not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world."
4. What is true in relation to demonic spirits is also true of nominal Christians. Those with only a head knowledge and not a convinced heart knowledge and relationship with Christ demonstrate the shallowness of their belief by the lack of demonstration and witness in their daily lives.
5. A girl in a fashionable home was brought to Christ. She was invited to stay with relatives whom she scarcely knew, and whom she had never seen; and she resolved she would not speak of her Lord, nor obtrude her religion. On the day she was to leave for home, an attractive and accomplished lady, a leader in society, while walking alone with her, suddenly said, "Where is your sister, and why didn’t she come? I mean your religious sister: it was because I heard she was coming that I came; I am sick of my empty life, and longed to talk to a real Christian." With shame she had to confess that she had no sister. --King’s Herald
6. Romans 10:10 “For with the heart man believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation”
7. No true Christian can keep his faith hidden as a personal matter. When one has had an encounter with the one true and living God, he no longer can be silent but wants the whole world to know his experience.
8. The great German philosopher and writer, Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (1844-1900) said, “Show me that you are redeemed, and I will believe in your Redeemer.”
