SEVEN CARDINAL VIRTUES
FAITH
DR. JIM DIXON
MAY 6, 1990
HEBREWS 11:1
Westminster Abbey is one of the most famous churches in all the world. Its official name is the Collegiate Church of St. Peter. It was built in the 13th century. Since the death of William the Conqueror, every English ruler with the exception of Edward V and Edward VIII has been crowned inside of Westminster Abbey. In death, there is no greater honor than being buried in Westminster Abbey. Kings and queens are buried there. Political giants are buried there. Some of the greatest poets in British history are buried there. It is literally a hall of fame for men and women who have been most esteemed in the sight of the British people.
But who are the men and women who are most esteemed in the sight of God? What men and women are in His hall of fame? Well, there’s a list in Hebrews, chapter 11 – a list of men and women highly esteemed of God from Abraham to Daniel, from Sarah to Rahab, men and women who have been great in God’s sight. And why? Why have they been great in God’s sight? Biblically the answer is clear. They have been great because of their faith. Heroes of the faith. You see, in God’s sight, faith really is a cardinal virtue.
I have two teachings this morning and the first teaching is this, faith is greater than works. Most of you have heard Ephesians 2:8 and 9. “For by grace you have been saved through faith not your own doing. It’s a gift of God not of works lest anyone should boast.” When it comes to salvation, the Bible’s clear. Faith is greater than works.
Now we live in a world that desperately needs to hear this message. I’d like to take a moment and share with you briefly some of the teaching of Hinduism. Seven hundred and fifty million people in the world embrace Hinduism. There is no eastern religion that has more impacted the western world than Hinduism. The New Age Movement itself has been predicated on the teachings of Hinduism. And yet many people in the western world really do not understand the Hindu doctrine of salvation.
According to Hinduism, there are seven heavens. And above the seven heavens, the heaven above the heavens, is called “Moksha.” It’s the Hindu equivalent of the Buddhist concept of nirvana, the real heaven, above the seven heavens. Now beneath the seven heavens, there is the earth. Beneath the earth, seven netherworlds, and these are the abodes of the demons. Beneath the seven netherworlds, the many hells. In some Hindu teaching, as many as 8,400,000 hells – plenty of hell for everybody. Seven heavens but 8,400,000 hells. Rather obvious that in Hindu thinking, the human condition is indeed tragic.
The seven heavens are places of reward and pleasure. The 8,400,000 hells are places of punishment and suffering. In one of the hells, for instance, your flesh is devoured by birds year after year. In another hell, your flesh is devoured by worms year after year. In another hell, you’re forced to eat a diet of spit and excrement, feces and urine. I don’t mean to gross you out but that’s Hindu theology, Hindu soteriology.
Now who decides? Who decides whether you go to one of the seven heavens or one of these 8,400,000 hells? Well, Brahmin decides through a creature called “Yama,” and Yama is green in color and he wears a red robe. He has a flower in his hair and rides a buffalo. Yama has a Lasso. He probably uses that to keep people from running away when they hear about the diet that is planned for them.
On what basis does Brahmin or Yama decide whether you go to one of the seven heavens or one of the 8,400,000 hells? In Hinduism, the answer is clear. It’s all on the basis of karma. Karma is works. Good karma is good works. Bad karma is bad works. It’s all on the basis of works. Now if you go to one of the seven heavens, you’re not there for a real long time. They’re just temporary – temporary stations of reward and pleasure. If you go to one of the 8,400,000 hells, you’re not there for a long time either. They’re temporary – temporary stations of punishment and suffering. Eventually you’ll be sent back to the earth through reincarnation that you might live another life and have an opportunity to improve your karma, have an opportunity to improve your works, because the Hindus believe it’s going to take a lot of lifetimes for you to have good enough karma to deserve ‘moksha,’ nirvana. So if you`ve been in one of the seven heavens, you return to earth as a human being. If you’ve been in one of the 8,400,000 hells, you return to earth, perhaps as a human being, but only as an untouchable. If you’ve been really bad, you return as an animal. If you’ve been really, really bad, you return as an insect, perhaps a flea on a dog’s back. And if you’ve been really, really, really bad, in some Hindu teaching, you can return as a plant.
But, you see, it’s a part of an almost never-ending process through which your karma can improve. The hope is that through hundreds and maybe thousands of lifetimes your karma will be good enough to deserve ‘moksha’ or nirvana. And when you finally get there, to the heaven above the heavens, you could say you did it the old-fashioned way – you earned it. That’s really what all the religions of this world are like. They all teach the same doctrine. Every single one of them, you’re saved by works. That’s true of Islam. That’s true of Buddhism. That’s true of Confucianism. Because all the religions of the world, being founded by men, reflect the thinking of man. That if we’re going to get to heaven, we’re going to have to earn it. We’re going to have to get there by our works.
Even agnostics really think this same way. They’re not sure whether there is a heaven but they hope that if there is a heaven, they’re good enough to get in. In the Bible, God says no. You’re not good enough to get in. Only one man was good enough to earn heaven. Only one man earned heaven the old-fashioned way. The man, Jesus Christ. Only His works merited heaven and eternal life.
The Bible tells us that for the rest of us, our works will never be good enough. If we lived a trillion lives, our works would never be good enough to earn and merit heaven and eternal life. In fact the Bible says it’s pride… It’s pride that makes man think he can deserve heaven. It’s pride that makes man want to enter heaven by works. The Bible says if you really want to go to heaven, you’re going to have to humble yourself, humble yourself, through faith in Jesus Christ who died for you and embrace Christ as Lord and Savior. If you put your faith in Jesus Christ, His righteousness will be imputed to you. Your sins will be forgiven you, and heaven will be given as a gift because the word grace means gift, unmerited favor, and it’s only through faith – faith in Jesus Christ.
How much faith do you need to have to be born anew, to become a Christian? How much faith do you need to have to have eternal life and the promise of heaven? Well the Bible makes it clear you can have some doubts, but you have to have faith. You must have faith enough to say, “Lord Jesus, come into my heart. I want to live for you.” You must have faith enough to trust Jesus Christ as your Savior from sin. Faith enough to commit your life to His Lordship. “God loved the world so much He gave His only begotten Son. Whosoever believes in Him will not perish.” By grace you are saved through faith. Not by works. Faith is greater than works.
Secondly and finally, faith is greater than circumstances. It doesn’t matter what your circumstances are, faith in Jesus Christ is greater than those circumstances. Our Lord Jesus Christ said, “If you have faith the size of a grain of mustard seed, you’ll say to this mountain ‘be lifted up and cast in the sea’ and it shall be done for you.” There’s a lot of mountains we face. A lot of obstacles. A lot of hard circumstances. Christ is greater than those circumstances, and by faith in Christ, you can have victory, no matter what your circumstances.
You know, sometime back I read an article in a newspaper. You may have read it too. About a little girl who lived in New York City— in the Harlem section of New York City. There was a fire in the apartment house she lived in. She was the only one in the apartment. The building was being consumed by fire. She was on the fourth floor. The newspaper said that she came out onto the window ledge as the fire was blazing behind her. The firemen were panicked because they couldn’t go up to get her. The building was about to collapse. The fire was just consuming everything. She was about to be consumed. They had a net that they had placed down below and they were begging her to jump from the ledge into the net. This little girl was also blind and she couldn’t see the net. Filled with fear, she refused to jump. The firemen were desperate, the newspaper said, and the father came just in the nick of time. They gave him a loud speaker and he called up to his little girl. He said, “Dear, you need to jump and it’s going to be okay. The net is there and it will hold you. When I count to three, I want you to jump on three… When he said three, she jumped and her life was saved.
I thought about that. I mean that little girl was in horrible circumstances. A building about to collapse, fire engulfing the building about to consume her. Blind. And really… had it not been… the only thing that saw her through those circumstances, I really believe, was faith in her father. The only thing that saw her through those circumstances, faith in her father.
It occurred to me that for us as Christians, the same is true. Really, no matter what circumstances we find ourselves in, the only thing that’s going to bring us through is faith in our Father. In fact, the Bible says that, “as Christians, we walk by faith and not by sight.”
I don’t know what circumstances you’re in, what fires are about you. I’m sure you’ve got to have some problems. Everybody has problems. I’ve never met anybody that had just smooth sailing. Don’t you just hate it when somebody never has a problem. Everybody has problems. The Bible tells us through faith in Jesus Christ we can overcome those circumstances.
You look at Hebrews, chapter 11, and it’s obvious the heroes of the faith were men and women who were in horrible circumstances. They were really in a mess. Each one of them. Noah faced a world in judgement. In righteous indignation, the wrath of God was about to bring a flood upon the world of the ungodly, but by faith, he was saved.
Abraham faced an unknown future — called to leave Ur of the Chaldees with only the promises of God before him, but by faith, he obtained the promises. Sarah faced a lifetime of barrenness while she longed to have a child, and by faith, she conceived and bore Isaac. Jacob feared so greatly for his children and for their children. But by faith he was able to bless them. Bless his children and bless his children’s children by faith. Moses faced the armies of Egypt and the wrath of Pharaoh but by faith he was delivered. Joshua and Gideon and Jephthah and Barack and Samson —faced vastly superior armies, but by faith, won victory.
Rahab faced the wrath of her own people when she gave assistance to the Israelites, and by faith, she did not perish. In fact, we’re told in Hebrews, chapter 11, that by faith, men and women of God conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, received the promises, closed the mouths of lions, quenched raging fire, escaped the edge of the sword. One strength out of weakness became mighty in battle, put foreign armies to flight and received their dead by resurrection, all through faith.
So what circumstances do you find yourself in? What problems do you have today? Maybe you’re having some economic problems in a really hard Denver economy. Maybe you’re afraid you’re about to have some economic problems. Maybe you need to let God tell you the same message that was communicated through the drama this morning, that as, “He feeds the birds of the air and clothes the lilies of the field, He will feed and clothe you.” Maybe you’re having problems with your relationships or medical problems. Maybe you’re a single woman and you’d really like to be married someday, but you feel like in this crazy, fallen, mixed-up world, there’s not a godly man out there. Maybe you’re a single guy and you’d like to be married and you feel like there’s not a godly woman out there. You see, you’ve got to have faith. Faith is greater than your circumstance, whatever your circumstance is.
It says in Romans 8 that, “All things work together for good to those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose.” Do you believe that? It takes faith to believe that, “that all things work together for good.”
You know, I’m reminded of a parable about a little ant, a worker ant, that wanted to go across a cement slab. The ant colony was on the other side and that’s where her loved ones were. So this worker ant wanted to go across this cement slab. The worker ant was told the only way she could go across the cement slab was if she would carry this large piece of straw. The straw was really long and weighed 25 times as much as the ant. The ant could just carry 25 times her weight.
As she headed out, she felt overburdened and she was kind of bitter. This seemed unfair and it seems unjust. She was upset and she felt the weight of the burden upon her and she was becoming tired. When she was about half-way across this cement slab, she came to a crack, a large crack that went all the way through the cement slab from one end to the other. It was so large that she couldn’t span the gap. At the bottom of this crack, which seemed like a canyon to her, there was water. She thought, “What do I do?” Suddenly, she realized the piece of straw… It’s long enough. She took it off her back and she positioned it in such a way that it spanned the gap. She used it as a bridge and went over the crack. That’s certainly a dumb story but, you see, this ant realized that from what she thought was a burden, she received a blessing that enabled her to get where she really wanted to go.
God wants you to know that what you think are burdens —He’s actually able, by His power, if you have faith, He’s able to use them for blessing. What you really think is a burden, He’s able to turn into a blessing if you’d let Him.
Have you ever put a puzzle together — one of those 1,000-piece or 5,000-piece puzzles? I’ve done a few of those with Drew. Unless you have the picture, you really can’t put the puzzle together. Usually the picture is on the top of the box. Without that picture, the pieces of the puzzle don’t really make a lot of sense. If you don’t have the picture so you can see what it’s supposed to look like, you’re just going to be frustrated trying to put those pieces together. Well, God wants you to know that the pieces of your life, through faith, will all come together to make a wonderful picture, but only He sees the picture. He sees the picture and it’s beautiful. You’re not allowed to see the picture. You just see some of the pieces. If you are struggling to put the pieces together, you’re just going to be frustrated. You’ve got to have faith. You’ve got to have faith. “All things do work together for good to those who Love the Lord and are called according to His purpose.” It doesn’t matter what your circumstances are.
Even if you’re at death’s door, it’s just a piece of the puzzle. Even if you’re at death’s door, it’s just a piece of the puzzle and God wants you to know it’s going to be okay. It’s going to work for good. You see, my next-door neighbor is dying. Only 41 years old. Today may be her last day. The doctors say it will. She’s at home. She wanted to die at home. She’s had cancer for three years. She had one year of remission and the cancer came back. It’s really been hard for her, but she has great faith in Christ, and her husband has great faith in Christ. Her mom has great faith in Christ. She’s no 1onger even able to receive IV’s. She’s not conscious today. She may pass away today, leave this world and go to glory.
I talked to her three days ago and she was very weak but able to talk. I sat with her by the bed, and her husband, and we said the 23rd Psalm together. She didn’t have a lot of strength but what strength she had, she wanted to say those words. I prayed with her. As I left the room, she said, “I’ll see you again,” and I knew she didn’t mean in this life. In the midst of circumstances called death, I want you to know her faith in Christ is greater, greater than death.
Her mom’s been taking care of her now for two months. How hard that would be for a mom to watch her daughter slip away. Her husband loves her desperately. He’s put a little mattress by the bed there in the bedroom. He’s just been by her side almost 24 hours a day. How hard for him to see her slip away but, you see, faith in Jesus Christ gives him strength to carry on. They don’t have a doubt where she’s going. “I am the resurrection and the life,” Jesus Christ said. “He who believes in Me though he dies yet shall he live, and he who lives and believes in Me will never truly die. They know it.”
Faith. Faith is greater than circumstances, even circumstances of death. The Apostle Paul said, “What can separate us from the love of Christ. I am convinced that neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities nor things present not things to come nor heights nor depths nor anything else in all of creation can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord,” and that’s faith. Faith, greater than circumstances, greater than works, a cardinal virtue. Let’s close with a word of prayer.