Believe!

A sermon delivered to St. Timothy Lutheran Church Charleston, WV April 27, 2014 Based on John 20:19-31

"On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.” Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came.  So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them,“Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”  Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” Thomas answered him,“My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

The Purpose of This Book

  Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (ESV)

I believe it will snow today…

I believe you’re right! …

I believe in the Mountaineers – or the Thundering Herd
I believe in the American Dream...

I believe in God...

 

We use the word ‘believe’ in many different ways, some of them casual and offhand, some of them more thoughtful and considered.

Thomas was adamant that he would not believe that Jesus had been resurrected unless he saw the Lord in the flesh and touched Jesus with his own hands. When Jesus actually did appear to Thomas, he urged Thomas to BELIEVE - to touch his wounds, abandon his unbelief, and Believe.

After seeing and touching for himself, Thomas did believe.We call him Doubting Thomas – but he DID believe. To me, he seems very contemporary – a man of our own time - one who thinks very much like we do today. He was discriminating about his beliefs, an independent thinker who refused to go along with the crowd, and someone who, once convinced, held on to his beliefs tenaciously. So I propose a new nick-name. Instead of 'Doubting Thomas', I think we should call him 'Hard-Core Thomas'!

And instead of having Talk like as Pirate Day, we could have Talk like a Thomas Day: Aaaragh!

I think we should be more like Thomas, - but how specifically ? Let's answer that by asking some questions about Thomas' belief:

What was the Content of his belief?

When Jesus appeared to him, Thomas quite sensibly fell to his knees and proclaimed his faith by exclaiming, “My Lord and My God!” He believed something about Jesus specifically.Notice that he did not say about Jesus, “My personal higher power and one way among many to God” … NO! Thomas confessed that Jesus was “My LORD and my GOD”!

Why did Thomas believe at that moment? ... Because he was having a Crisis! Reality (in the person of Jesus) was confronting him with something he couldn't avoid – and he had to make a decision! He had to go one way or the other.

On What was his decision based? ... Personal experience. The Experience he demanded to have – seeing Jesus in the flesh!

In that brief interaction, we are blessed to have an affirmation of the reasonableness of our faith in Christ. It's a faith in something REAL – something based in physical evidence, something that Thomas could FEEL and SEE!

But notice also that Jesus took Thomas to task for his refusal to accept the True Testimony of those who had already seen and touched. “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”says Jesus.

 

It's clear that Jesus expects us to believe on the basis of the reliable, true testimony of those who have gone before us. And that friends, is the entire reason John wrote his Gospel: '...these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God...

We don't have access to the pre-acsended Christ the same way Thomas did, so we have to believe on the basis of his and others' witness – the same way eye-witness evidence is given in court. And we say again: Their testimony is reliable and true!

Why believe? ...So that you might feel good about yourself, increase your self-esteem, or have a bumper-sticker slogan to put on your car? No! ...John urges us to believe SO THAT: “by believing you may have life in his name.” LIFE! That's why we believe!

Believing also has other consequences – When Thomas declared his belief in Jesus as God Incarnate, he also accepted Jesus as his Lord, the One to whom he bent his knee in service, the One he vowed to follow unto death. His belief was clear and it led to clear-cut action. Today, however, those who profess belief in Christ are sometimes not as clear about their belief and its consequences as we might expect.

In an article entitled “The Beliefs that Impact Everyday Life” (Christian Counseling Today Vol. 16, No. 3.), apologist Josh McDowell writes about the “Third Millennium Teens” study done by the Barna Research Group, which reveals some startling information. Among the group of teens surveyed, religious beliefs and spirituality were found to be very important.

70% surveyed attended some church youth group and

80% claimed to be Christians.

The Vast majority [of this group] (80%) believes that God created the universe and 84% believe that God is personally involved in people’s lives.

Yet in spit of these orthodox views:
63% also believe that Muslims, Buddhists, Christians, Jews, and all other people pray to the same god, even though they use different names for their god!

87% believe Jesus was a real person who came to earth and

78% believe He was born to a virgin;
Yet... nearly half (46%) believe He committed sins,
Over half (51%) say He died but did not rise from the dead!

48% of teenagers today believe that it doesn’t matter what religious faith you associate with because they all believe the same principles and truth;
58% believe that all religious faiths teach equally valid truth.
67% suspect that there is ‘no way to tell which religion is true”!

Religious Smorgasbord
McDowell comments that these teens are “putting together their own religious canon in a smorgasbord style, believing it is best to pick and choose from the various ideas, concepts of God, and religions around them and construct a tailor-made ‘faith’ that’s just right for them. That way, it will be theirs personally and will offend no one.” McDowell goes on to say that:
“….the majority of young people have been conditioned to believe that truth is not true for them until they choose to believe it. That’s why 81% claim that ‘all truth is relative to the individual and his/her circumstances.”

Remember, this is a description of teens who mostly identify themselves as Christians!

The study goes on to describe the practical effects of unbelief in teens’ lives. Young people who lack a basic biblical belief system are:

· 36% more likely to lie to a friend.
· 48% more likely to cheat on an exam
· 200% more likely to steal

· 200% more likely to physically hurt someone
· 300% more likely to use illegal drugs, and
· 600% more likely to attempt suicide

When the Bible says ‘The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23), this is what it looks like. The pragmatic idea that ‘what works right now is right for now’ will eventually lead ... down a path of self-destruction” says McDowell. (Quoted in Christian Counseling Today Vol. 16, No. 3.)

And while this study described teenagers, it doesn’t take much imagination to extend this description out to adults. We see it all around us in the constant public scandals and swindles that come to light almost every day.

The conclusion is obvious and painful: Unbelief is measurably harmful to individuals and to society as a whole!

Those who do not believe suffer! AND ….
God Himself grieves over those who are being lead astray!

It's for this very reason He reaches out to us by sending His own dear Son, and by writing the Bible – not so that he can ruthlessly condemn people to hell, but that we might Believe – and by believing have LIFE!

But keep in mind that when Jesus says Believe!, it is not a suggestion, it's a command. Failure to believe results in eventual hardening of the heart and death – eternal separation from God. As you are hearing this message, the angels are recording your receipt of it and you will be held accountable for your response to it!

But that is to focus on the negative. What I’d like to leave you with today with are The Triple A’s of Belief:

Assent
Accept
Apply

Intellectual Assent means agreeing with God or ‘confessing’ - ‘saying the same thing’ as God does about the Gospel message. Assent acknowledges the plausibility of Belief. But mere Assent doesn't save you. The Devil assents to the existence of God – but it certainly doesn't save him! Salvation depends on the second A,

 

Acceptance.
Acceptance goes beyond Assent and opens the door of the heart to Jesus, who stands knocking and waits for admission. (Revelation 3:20) Acceptance means placing my trust in Christ as a trustworthy Savior. It means saying the same thing that Thomas said, “My Lord and my God!”

Finally, Applying belief means taking the message I have heard and applying the principles to my life in concrete ways. The apostle James says, ‘Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works ‘(James 2:18). In other words, put your money where your mouth is. If you say you believe in Christ as your Lord and Savior, prove it by your actions.

Belief in God and Jesus Christ is very important. Believing is mentioned 84 times in the book of John alone. Listen to a few of the references from John Chapter Six:

John 6:35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.John 6:40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life...John 6:47 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.

Belief in Jesus Christ as Savior AND Lord is what makes you a Christian!
So having said all this, I'd like to extend an invitation.

If you have never believed in Christ, never placed your faith and trust in Him to be your Savior and Lord, now is the appointed day of Salvation.

If you have placed your faith in Christ as Savior, but have yet to follow him as LORD, now is the time to apply your faith, and follow your Lord with all your mind, heart, soul and strength.

I invite you to pray silently with me this prayer:
“God, I believe that you exist and that You reward those who diligently seek You. I believe that you sent Jesus Christ to live and die for me so that I shall not perish but have everlasting life with you. Please forgive me of all my sins. Cleanse me and renew a right spirit within me. Give me the joy of your salvation and send your Holy Spirit to live within me. Make me your disciple Lord. Change me and use me as you will – and all for your Glory, through Jesus Christ and in His name I pray.”
If you prayed that prayer with me, rejoice for your name is written in the Book of Life and all the angels in heaven are rejoicing over you right now! Please let me know of your assent and acceptance of Christ so that we might begin to help you apply your new belief in Christ.
AMEN.