CSO Newsletter Vol. 2, No. 2
November 07, 2007
Why do we believe what we believe?
Outside the context of a Christian Newsletter, this would be an extremely broad question.
Still, perhaps I should use a more focused approach, for the sake of clarity.
Why do we, as Christians, believe what we believe?
Given the interactive nature of the blog/comment format, let me personalize this directly to you. Why do you believe what you believe, in regards to Christianity? (Are you a non-believer? Feel free to chime in, as well!)
Let’s take a quick look at the Old Testament, specifically within the story of Noah.
Leading into the command to Noah, we see:
Genesis 6:
5And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
6And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
7And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
As I look at the world in which we live even today, Brothers and Sisters, I can’t help but marvel at the patience and compassion of God Almighty, that He has not blotted us all out of His sight, once and forever.
I am reminded, yet again, of the mercy shown upon us by a just God.
8But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.
13And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
14Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.
15And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits.
16A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it.
17And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die.
18But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons’ wives with thee.
19And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female.
20Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive.
21And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them.
22Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.
Was this an act of faith or of obedience on the part of Noah? After all, when God is talking directly to you, how much faith is required? There is, of course, a direct parallel to Christian faith…salvation by unmerited Grace.
Do we have a definition of faith to work with? I believe we do:
Hebrews 11
1Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
If we look a bit further in the chapter, to verse 7, we, of course, learn that Noah acted in obedience, through faith.
7By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.
Indeed, we are clearly taught, in the preceding verse 6, that faith is of the greatest importance!
6But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.
As we know, Brothers and Sisters, there are countless people who say they do not believe in God.
Perhaps, you were once one of them. I know I was…well, I tried to be, but couldn’t quite shake the feeling of conviction whenever I tried to flat-out deny the existence of a Supreme Being, so I settled for ‘agnostic’. I reasoned that I didn’t know if there was a God or not, therefore, I remained free to live my life as I chose. But, I finally had to succumb to the undeniable Truth:
Romans 1:
9Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.20For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
I hereby challenge ANYONE reading this to look around themselves and present to me a thesis which clearly supports the contention that the universe, the world, the countryside, a butterfly; whatever naturally occurring element you so desire to choose, exists without being the product of a Creator.
It is, of course, possible to believe in a Supreme Being or Beings, without acknowledging Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
We need look no further than Saul, a devout Jew, a Pharisee’s Pharisee if there ever was one, and a major player in the persecution of the early Church, even to the martyr, Stephen.
Let’s pause for a moment and consider who Stephen was:
- a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost – (Acts 6:5)
- full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people – (Acts 6:8)
- he spake with wisdom and the spirit – (Acts 6:10)
- all that sat in the council, looking stedfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel – (Acts 6:15)
Stephan found himself facing the council because “certain of the synagogue” conspired to “set up false witnesses, which said, This man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place, and the law: For we have heard him say, that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which Moses delivered us.”
When confronted with the false charges, Stephen could have surely denied them and kept a low profile and would probably have walked away none the worse for the encounter.
However, what he did was to recite an encapsulated summary of Jewish history from the days of Abraham to the death of Jesus, culminating in a powerful statement, surely stirred by faith and the Holy Spirit, saying:
Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.
Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers:
Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it.
(Acts 7:51-53)
Folks, that is one of the best examples of politically incorrectness that I have ever seen, short of Jesus’ own teachings. And the results were predictable:
When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth. (Acts 7:54)
Yikes! If there was ever a time for an individual to renege on his professed beliefs, for the sake of self-preservation, this would be it.
But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,
And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.
Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord,
Were this to happen today, to the subscribers to any of the various religions (read cults) that folks get caught up in, how many would, at this point, quickly set aside their faith as error?
And [they] cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul.
And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.
And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
Saul was right there when the first recorded martyrdom for Christ took place with the stoning of Stephen.
Personally, I think that seeing the steadfastness of Stephens’ convictions, his adherence to his beliefs, should have been a wakeup call for Saul.
This was not the case.
And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles. (Acts 8:1)
As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison. (Acts 8:3)
Brothers and Sisters, though you may have read the following before, I ask that you take the time to read it once again, as it is a truly remarkable occurrence; the transforming of Saul to Paul:
Acts 9
1And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest,
2And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.
3And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:
4And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
5And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
6And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.
7And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.
8And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus.
9And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink.
10And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord.
11And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth,
12And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight.
13Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem:
14And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name.
15But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:
16For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake.
17And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.
18And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized.
19And when he had received meat, he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus.
20And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God.
21But all that heard him were amazed, and said; Is not this he that destroyed them which called on this name in Jerusalem, and came hither for that intent, that he might bring them bound unto the chief priests?
22But Saul increased the more in strength, and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is very Christ.
Paul later makes reference to his conversion experience:
Galatians 1:
11But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man.
12For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.
13For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews’ religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it:
14And profited in the Jews’ religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers.
15But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace,
16To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood:
17Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus.
Not many of us, I think, can give testimony to such a dramatic event in our lives as that which was experienced by Saul/Paul.
What is your testimony? Why do you believe what you believe?
For myself, some of the most powerful cement for the bonding of my belief that the testimonies of the Gospels is true, comes from the accounts of the persecutions and executions of the Apostles, who died with words of confirmation on their lips and in their hearts.
Stand Firm!
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Proverbs 15
1A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.
2The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright: but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness.
3The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.
4A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit.
5A fool despiseth his father’s instruction: but he that regardeth reproof is prudent.
6In the house of the righteous is much treasure: but in the revenues of the wicked is trouble.
7The lips of the wise disperse knowledge: but the heart of the foolish doeth not so.
8The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD: but the prayer of the upright is his delight.
9The way of the wicked is an abomination unto the LORD: but he loveth him that followeth after righteousness.
10Correction is grievous unto him that forsaketh the way: and he that hateth reproof shall die.
11Hell and destruction are before the LORD: how much more then the hearts of the children of men?
12A scorner loveth not one that reproveth him: neither will he go unto the wise.
13A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.
14The heart of him that hath understanding seeketh knowledge: but the mouth of fools feedeth on foolishness.
15All the days of the afflicted are evil: but he that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast.
16Better is little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble therewith.
17Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith.
18A wrathful man stirreth up strife: but he that is slow to anger appeaseth strife.
19The way of the slothful man is as an hedge of thorns: but the way of the righteous is made plain.
20A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish man despiseth his mother.
21Folly is joy to him that is destitute of wisdom: but a man of understanding walketh uprightly.
22Without counsel purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counsellors they are established.
23A man hath joy by the answer of his mouth: and a word spoken in due season, how good is it!
24The way of life is above to the wise, that he may depart from hell beneath.
25The LORD will destroy the house of the proud: but he will establish the border of the widow.
26The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the LORD: but the words of the pure are pleasant words.
27He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house; but he that hateth gifts shall live.
28The heart of the righteous studieth to answer: but the mouth of the wicked poureth out evil things.
29The LORD is far from the wicked: but he heareth the prayer of the righteous.
30The light of the eyes rejoiceth the heart: and a good report maketh the bones fat.
31The ear that heareth the reproof of life abideth among the wise.
32He that refuseth instruction despiseth his own soul: but he that heareth reproof getteth understanding.
33The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom; and before honour is humility.
