Faith That Has a Resting Place

Introduction

It would be difficult to overstate the importance and the role of faith in the life of a Christian. Faith is why we’re here. Faith is why we do what we do. Faith is the reason why we are who we are. Faith is fundamental, foundational, and essential to our Christian lives.

But what type of faith do we have? And what in what do we have faith? You know that the scriptures use the word faith in two primary senses. One, it speaks of the faith, the object of our own personal faith, and when it speaks of the faith, it is speaking of the scriptures, both old and new testament. But the scriptures also and even more primarily speak of faith in regard to our response to the faith. The belief, the trust, and the assurance that we individually and personally have in the Word of God. But again, in emphasizing the importance of that faith, it is important for us to make sure that we have a proper faith. Would you turn with me this morning in the book of 1 Corinthians chapter 2?

In 1 Corinthians chapter 2, we want to talk about our faith this morning. And we want to do some self-examination, both as a group and as individuals, to make sure that our individual faith is a faith that has a resting place. That is, we want to examine whether or not our faith is truly in that in which it should be.

Anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. Let’s pause there and again emphasize that Paul is not apologizing for his poor ability to impart the word. Paul is saying I made an intentional choice of how I would impart the word.

I wanted you to see Jesus Christ through my message. And so I peeled away, I cut away anything that would detract from Jesus Christ and Him crucified. He goes on in verse 6. However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age. And so we’re not speaking wisdom, human wisdom. But don’t misunderstand me, Paul says.

Nor of the rulers of this age are coming to nothing. But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery. The hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew, for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But it is written, I has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love him. Let’s pause again. Paul is saying we didn’t speak human wisdom for two reasons. Number one is I didn’t want your faith to rest in man and the wisdom of man. Secondly, we did not preach human wisdom because human wisdom was not the wisdom that declared Jesus Christ in Him crucified.

Man could not have devised that wonderful manifold wisdom plan of God. And so we didn’t declare to you human wisdom. We declared to you the Word of God. Verse 10, but God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so, no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of this world, but the Spirit which is who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. No one knew this plan. Human wisdom could not have concocted or even figured out this plan.

Only the mind or the spirit of God knew this plan, and so guess what, Paul says? That’s what we’ve declared to you. The wisdom of God, so that, again, as he said back up in verse 5, so that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. I want us to consider this morning whether or not we have a faith that has a resting place, that has that as its foundation, the wisdom and the plan of God. And to make sure, through real self-examination, to make sure that we don’t have a faith that rests in men and in the wisdom of men. And in this examination, I believe that there are two dangers that we must avoid. Two extremes.

1. Blindly Hanging On to Man-Made Traditions

That’s often the case, isn’t it? Two dangerous extremes that we as people of faith must avoid if our faith is to be the proper faith. The first danger that we should avoid is just simply blindly hanging on to man-made traditions. Turn with me, if you will, now in the Gospel of John chapter 9. John chapter 9, the entire chapter records the beautiful story of one of the miracles of Jesus, of Jesus healing a blind man. But the story recorded in John chapter 9 is not really the story of that miracle, as powerful as it was, but it’s the story of the reaction to that miracle. We have the reaction of the blind man himself who progressed in his faith, who went from saying his name is Jesus to saying he’s a prophet, to finally saying, Lord, I believe.

Who blindly held on to their tradition and to their beliefs rather than honestly examining the evidence that was put before them.

It says in verse 6, when he, speaking of our Lord, when he had said these things, he spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva, and he anointed the eyes of the man with the clay. He said to him, Go wash in the pool of Siloam, which is translated sent. So he went and washed and came back seeing. Therefore, the neighbors and those who previously had seen that he was blind, said, Is this not he who sat and begged? Some say, some said, This is he, others said he is like him. He said, I am he. Therefore they said to him, How were your eyes opened? And he answered and said, A man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes, and said to me, Go to the pool of Siloam and wash.

So I went and washed, and I received sight. And they said to him, Where is he? And he said, I do not know. They brought him who formerly was blind to the Pharisees. Now notice verse 14. Now it was a Sabbath when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. Why is that statement? Why does the day matter when this miracle happened? And we might also ask, why does it seem that Jesus performed, or at least so many records of Jesus performing miracles on the Sabbath day. These Pharisees, who were self-appointed religious guardians and leaders of that day, believed, it was their belief, their tradition, that the performing of a miracle on the Sabbath day was a violation of the Sabbath law. That was their mindset.

That was their preconceived prejudiced belief. That was their tradition. And so here they have Jesus performing a miracle. And as we go throughout this story, if we took the time to go throughout this story, we would see that it was a verifiable, indisputable. The man himself said he was the blind man. His parents would testify, cowardly at least, but they would still testify that that was their son and he was blind. The whole crowd knew that this was the blind man. And so this indisputable miracle that should have proven something is set in juxtaposition, in the Pharisees’ mind at least, to their long held tradition that doing such was a violation of the law of God. And so here they had two disparate facts, and we’ll put facts in quotation marks.

One fact is that Jesus violated the Sabbath law, so this man cannot be from God. That’s what their long held man made tradition told them, and that’s what they believed. He cannot be from God because he’s just broken the Sabbath law. That’s what they believed. But the other fact that put them in a dilemma was that a miracle had occurred. And only God can perform such miracles. And so the man who performed this miracle must have the stamp of approval of God. And so, therefore, what he is saying must have the stamp of approval of God. And so, how are we going to reconcile these two opposing beliefs? Are we going to let go or at least re-examine our man-made tradition?

Are we going to reject the profound statement of God? Another way of saying it is, did the Pharisees have faith? Yes, they did. Did the Pharisees have a strong faith? Yes, they did. But I would argue that they had a faith, even a strong faith, but it was in the wrong thing. They had faith in their man-made tradition so much and so strongly that they could not believe the message of God when it was clearly presented to them. And so you see, it’s not enough to have faith. As strange as that might sound.

Self-examination time. It’s easy to beat up on the Pharisees. And they deserve it. But what about me? What is my faith in? Another way of asking that question and engaging in this self-examination is why do I believe what I believe? Do I believe what I believe and practice what I practice and go to church where I go to church because that’s what my parents taught me. That’s what I must examine. I grew up in a Christian family. A family of strong faith, of strong, deep held convictions. It was never a question in the Chapman household in North Alabama whether we were going to church or not. That question was never asked. It was assumed. It didn’t matter what else was going on, we were going to be there.

If the doors of the Beulah Church of Christ were open, the Chapman family would be there in our assigned seat.

It didn’t matter. I must sadly say to my young youthful lack of faith. It didn’t matter to my chagrin what was on TV. It didn’t matter if it was the wonderful world of Disney, or that’s incredible. We were going to church.

That tradition wasn’t a bad thing, but it does, and it should give me pause to stop and ask, why am I here this morning? Did my parents brainwash me? Am I just doing it because that’s the way I was taught? And I do, do I believe what I believe because that’s what my church teaches? Or my preacher preaches. Or because that’s just the way I’ve always done it. When, like the Pharisees, I’m presented with my long held beliefs on one hand, and an opposite truth declared to me, obviously by God. Which will I choose? Now we don’t leave with negative examples. Let’s look at a couple positive examples. Go to the book of Acts in Acts chapter 18. Acts chapter 18 serves as a wonderful positive example, a counterbalance, if you will, to the Pharisees’ attitude.

In Acts chapter 18, begin reading in verse 24, where we’re introduced to a powerful speaker by the name of Apollos. Acts 18, verse 24. Now a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus. And this man had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things of the Lord, though he knew only the baptism of John. So here we have this speaker, this preacher, who is good at what he does. If Apollos was a preaching today, he would be booked up years in advance with gospel meetings. He was good. And he spoke the truth with one omission. Now notice in verse 26, he began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but Aquila and Priscilla heard him and they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.

Can we not assume that they taught him the truth of baptism into Jesus Christ? The question remains, how will he react? Will he bow up with pride because he’s an eloquent speaker? He’s the preacher, and people love listening to him. Will he bow up with stubborn pride and refuse to listen to the truth of God’s word? Or will he just reject that truth out of hand because, like the Pharisees, it’s not what he believes. Or will he do what he did? And will he humbly listen and examine his long held traditions and beliefs and compare and contrast them with the truth of God’s word? And reject one for the greater. I think of those in Acts chapter 17, just one chapter prior. Remember, in Acts chapter 17, we’re told of the nobility of these Berean brethren.

It says in Acts chapter 17, let’s begin in verse 10, and the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away to Berea, and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews, and these were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica. Now let’s pause here. I think we can, if we’re not careful, we’ll make a mistake here. We’ll compare Christians in one town to Christians in another town. That’s not what he’s comparing or contrasting here. He’s not saying the Christians in Berea were more noble than the Christians in Thessalonica. He’s comparing Jews to Jews. He went into the synagogue of the Jews, and these non-Christian Jews were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness and search the scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.

Like the Pharisees, they had long held beliefs and probably traditions. But here was a new message. The gospel of Jesus Christ. How will they react to that new truthful message? Will they, like those in Thessalonica, react negatively and violently, so much so that Paul had to leave that city for fear of his own life? Or will they say, let’s examine this. Let’s see what the word of. Now, what’s important to notice is they didn’t just believe something that was new that came along and said, Yeah, why not? We’ve been doing this for centuries. It’s time to shake things up. That’s not what they did. It says they examined these things in the light of the scriptures. They didn’t just believe it just because a man named Paul was teaching it.

2. Seeking to Be Different Just to Be Different

But they didn’t reject it just because it was different from what they had already believed. Another danger we must avoid, the other end of the spectrum, is seeking to be different, just to be different. There is no, according to Acts 17, verse 11, there is no nobility in holding on to long held beliefs if they’re shown to be wrong. But neither is there nobility in rejecting a long held belief.

One is I’m going to do it the way it’s always been done, without really examining it. The other is, I’m tired of things being done the way they’ve been done, and I want to change them. Not because there’s some biblical evidence to change them, but just because I’m bored. Look with me, if you will, in the book of 1 John, beginning in chapter 2, we want to look at three passages of scriptures in 1 and 2 John. That I think should be our basis, if properly understood and applied, should be our basis for where our faith has its resting place. 1 John chapter 2, let’s begin in verse 24. He says, Therefore, let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father.

John says, you’re hearing a new message. We believe it to be the beginnings of the Gnostic doctrine. The Gnostic false doctrine.

Now it’s important for us to understand what beginning he’s talking about and why that beginning is important. He does not say you keep doing things the way your parents did them, or your grandparents, or your preacher, or your church. He says you abide in what you’ve heard from the beginning because John has confidence that what they heard at the beginning was the truth of God’s word. He’s not saying don’t be fair-minded like those in Berea. Don’t examine things in the light of the scriptures. No, he’s saying just the opposite of that. But he’s saying you hold, you heard the truth in the beginning. I believe the beginning here is the beginning of their life as a Christian. The first time the gospel was preached to them.

John is saying that was the truth of God’s word. And you abide in that. Turn over to chapter 3 and in verse 11, where he says again, for this is the message that you heard from the beginning that we should love one another. That’s the message that you started with when you began your Christian journey. And it’s the truth, not because it’s the first thing you heard, but it’s the truth because it was the truth in the beginning, and it’s still that truth now. Turn over to 2 John. There’s only one chapter, or really no chapter in 2 John, so look at verse 6. Should be easy to find. This is love. That we walk according to his commandments. This is the commandment that as you have heard from the beginning, so you should walk in it.

Conclusion

But neither do we reject the truth that we’ve been taught just because something new comes along? Where is your faith? Is it in the power of God? And in Christ Jesus and Him crucified. Every religious person, every person who is seeking something in their life needs to examine their faith while examining the scripture. And ask two very important questions. Why do I believe what I believe? And what do I believe? May God give us a faith that has the proper resting place. What do you need to do in order to become a Christian? How would we answer that question? Am I going to answer that question the way my church would answer that question, or the way my favorite preacher would answer that question, or the way we’ve always answered that question?

Or could we just go to the scriptures? Just go to the book of Acts and say, what did they do in order to become a Christian? Go to the Great Commission. What did Jesus say that they were to teach in order that one should become a Christian? And put our faith there. If that’s different than what you’ve always believed, will you be a Pharisee or will you be an Apollos? If that’s what you’ve always been taught and believed, are you willing to examine that in light of the scriptures to make sure that really is what the Word of God teaches? And if it is, then abide in what you have heard from the beginning. Would you become a Christian this morning? Can we help you in your Bible study, in your journey to find God and have a faith that has a proper resting place?

Why not come to Him this morning? If we can help you in any way, let it be known right now, as together we stand and as we sing.