CHOOSE FAITH AND FAITHFULNESS
DR. JIM DIXON
HEBREWS 11:1-16
NOVEMBER 26, 1995
Burrhus Frederic Skinner died a few years ago. He was better known as B.F. Skinner. He was sometimes called the father of behaviorism, the field of psychology that seeks to moderate human behavior through stimulus response and reinforcement. B.F. Skinner is perhaps best known for his book Walden Two and also for his book Beyond Freedom and Dignity. Skinner did not believe in free will. He did not believe that human beings had the power to really choose. He believed that all apparent choices were really the inevitable result of genetic influence and environmental conditioning. Therefore, Skinner believed that individually people were not morally responsible. No culpability. No culpability for individual, moral choices because people really aren’t free. Their choices are determined.
Well, B.F. Skinner disagreed with many psychologists. He disagreed with many philosophers, but most importantly B.F. Skinner was in disagreement with God. Because the Bible tells us that we are, in a sense, free, moral agents. We have been given some measure of moral autonomy. We have volition and we can make choices. The Bible tells us we are culpable and a final judgement is coming and we will be held responsible for the choices we make and for the choices we’ve made. The Bible tells us that there will come a day of accounting and the Bible tells us that by God’s grace, we are able to make decisions that affect our destiny.
This morning, God invites you to make two choices, both of which impact your destiny. First of all, God wants you to choose faith. That’s God’s invitation to you this morning. Choose faith.
Now 191 years ago, a man named John Cleave Symes posed a new theory called the hollow earth theory. Symes believed that the earth was hollow. He believed that far beneath the surface of the earth was an inner world with trees and shrubs, with lakes and meadows, with animals and perhaps even with people. Symes believed that the surface of the earth, the earth’s crust, had two holes in it through which people could access this inner world, one at the North Pole and one at the South Pole. John Cleave Symes wrote letters to scientists in America and scientists in Great Britain, asking them to support his theory and to endorse it. They wrote him back and they informed him that certainly, indeed, there was something round and hollow, but it was not the earth. He took the insult gracefully but, of course, he did not give up.
In the year 1823, John Cleave Symes met a United States Congressman. This United States Congressman was named Richard Johnson. Richard Johnson believed the hollow earth theory. He believed everything that Symes said. So that very year, 1823, Richard Johnson prompted a bill to the United States Congress, a bill that would have required the United States government to have paid, to subsidize an expedition to the center of the earth. Now I’m sure it’s no surprise to most of you that that bill was defeated. What is a surprise, what is amazing, is that 25 United States Congressmen voted to support the bill. Twenty-five United States Congressmen voted to use government funds to pay for an expedition to the center of the earth. Twenty-five congressmen believed the hollow earth theory was viable.
Well, in 1827, John Cleave Symes died but Richard Johnson, the Congressman who sponsored the bill, went on to become the Vice President of the United States. From 1837 to 1841, he served with Martin Van Buren. I am always amazed, I marvel, how seemingly intelligent people are able to believe the strangest things. There are millions of people in this world today who believe in UFOs, in extraterrestrial visitation, who believe in alien abductions. There are many people in the world today who believe in the Sasquatch, sometimes called the Yeti, sometimes called Big Foot. Just this last Friday on the Discovery Channel, there was a special on the Yeti. There are millions of people in this world who believe in horoscopes, who believe in astrology. There are millions of people in the world today who believe in psychic hotlines. It seems like people will believe almost anything and yet so many people refuse to believe in Jesus Christ who is the hope of the world.
Jesus Christ said to His disciples “Believe in God. Believe also in Me.” The Apostle John writes in his gospel, “These are written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing, you might have life through His name.” Nothing is more important than this: that you choose faith, faith in Jesus Christ.
Now Satan is real. He exists. He wants to destroy faith. He is, the Bible tells us, “the father of lies.” Our Lord Jesus Christ said that Satan is the ruler of this world. He markets his lies in this world. Jesus Christ posed this question.: he said, “When the Son of Man returns, when I return, will there be faith on the earth?” Well, you see, if Satan has his way, there will be no faith on the earth. He lives to destroy faith in Jesus Christ and he is marketing lies in our culture and in our nation that he might destroy Christianity and its credibility.
This morning, very briefly, I just want to share with you four lies of Satan through which he is seeking to destroy the credibility of the Christian faith in this nation. He is marketing these lies everywhere, in the newspapers, in the magazines, in television, in the movie theaters. He is marketing these lies through public education. Most of all, supremely, he is marketing these lies in higher education and in secular institutions of higher learning.
The first lie is this: the historical Jesus is so buried under the mythology of the gospels that He cannot possibly be known. That lie is actually being taught on university campuses across this nation. The historical Jesus is so buried into the mythology of the gospels that He cannot possibly be known. According to this lie, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are not giving you facts about the life of Jesus Christ but merely myths and we can’t know the facts.
Secondly, the second lie of Satan that he is marketing in our culture is this: the Bible itself is filled with historical inaccuracies, moral prudery, and theological absurdity. That’s a lie easily refuted but nevertheless marketed by the evil one.
The third lie is that evangelism and mission, Christian evangelism and Christian missions, represent religious bigotry and violate multiculturalism. When Christians share the gospel, it is arrogance. When Christians share the gospel, it is a violation of the sanctity of cultures and subcultures. It violates the sanctity of their indigenous religions. It assumes, by Christians, that their religion is somehow better and it is arrogant. This is the third lie.
The fourth lie is that true spirituality is not to be found in Christianity. True spirituality is to be found in the eastern religions, Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, and in the earth-worshiping religions such as Native American spiritism and even tribal animism. Because, you see, the eastern religions allow for religious synchronism. They allow you to combine elements from all the religions and just kind of create a melting pot of religious ideas. They can be politically correct and they do not require moral absolutes. You can have the veneer of spirituality with eastern religions and still live however you want to live.
Of course, these four lies are easily refuted through Christian apologetics. The historicity of holy scripture is easily defended and is affirmed by archeological evidence. The theology of scripture is easily defended from its Christology, its view of Christ, to its soteriology, its plan of salvation, to its eschatology, to its view of the end times and the second coming of Jesus Christ. The theology of the Bible is easily defended. The fact that they say the Bible is filled with moral prudery simply reflects the erosion of Judeo-Christian values in our time because if you believe what the Bible says, you cannot help but be viewed as prudish by a world gone astray.
Well, as a church, we seek to provide apologetics, a defense from reason for the Christian faith and for positions held by Christians. We want to teach apologetics to your children. We want to teach Christian apologetics to your youth. We want to teach Christian apologetics to moms and dads and to all of you. In this upcoming year and in the upcoming years, you’re going to see classes, even weekend seminars on apologetics in this church because Christianity is under attack. It’s under attack and Christians need to know how to give a rational apologetic for positions held.
And yet, you see, even if we are faithful to provide apologetics, you cannot become a Christian unless you choose faith. There is no amount of apologetic, no amount of defense, that can prove Jesus Christ is the Son of God. There is no amount of rational argument that can absolutely prove that Christianity is true. The only way you can become a Christian in the final analysis is to choose faith. Faith is reasonable. It is not a shot in the dark. It is a response to light. It is reasonable but it’s still something you must choose.
I suppose there are many of you this morning who have heard of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a German poet and he was a German playwright. He was a philosopher and writer, famous in world literature. Von Goethe was not an atheist but he was an agnostic. He believed that he didn’t have enough information to believe in Jesus Christ or to trust in Christianity. He went through his entire life in doubt, not willing to choose faith because he said he needed more light. He needed more information. He died as he had lived. On his death bed, von Goethe was surrounded by his family and by his friends and by physicians. The final words that came out of his mouth were these: “More light. More light.” His family, his loved ones did not rush over to the windows and open the curtains. They knew what he meant. This man went to his death wanting more light, saying he could not choose faith unless somehow he had more light.
Maybe you’re like that. Maybe you’re sitting there today and you’re saying “More light. I need more light.” And maybe you do need more light. Maybe that’s why you’re coming to this church, but I promise you after you have come for a while, after you have heard the gospel, after you have had a chance to ask your questions, after you’ve had a chance to have those questions answered, it’s going to come down to whether or not you choose faith. The Bible tells us God has given enough light through His Son who said “I am the light of the world,” through His scripture and through the Holy Spirit who touches the soul of men and women wherever the gospel is preached.
This morning God invites you to choose faith. Much is at stake. This morning God not only invites us to choose saving faith, faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, but daily faith, faith as Christians to believe that He never fails us or forsakes us, faith as Christians to believe that He will work all things together for our good because we love Him and because we are called according to His purpose. There is no other way to live. Choose faith.
Well, secondly, God invites us to choose faithfulness. This morning He invites us to choose faith and He invites us to choose faithfulness. It’s possible for somebody to have chosen faith but to not be faithful. Faithfulness is a choice too.
Many of you have heard of Paul Anderson. He died recently. He was a committed Christian. He was a great supporter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He had been the Olympic Gold Medalist in Super Heavyweight Power Lifting. An extremely strong man, he was able to bench press 627 pounds, able to dead lift 820 pounds. He did a full squat with 1,200 pounds on his back. Incredibly, he was able to lift off of the ground, using his back, 6,270 pounds, a world record. In the Guinness Book of World Records, Paul Anderson is called “the strongest man who ever lived!” That’s certainly not true.
You know, the Bible speaks of a man named Samson. He’s not a creation of fiction or mythology. Samson really lived. He lived more than 1,000 years before Christ. He was of the tribe of Dan. He was the son of Manoah. In the final act of his life, he pulled down the pillars of the Temple of Dagon, taking his own life and the lives of 1,200 Philistines with him and their lords. Some people have wondered why. Why did his life end in ruin? Wasn’t he part of the community of faith? Hadn’t he chosen faith? The answer is yes but, you see, his life ended in ruin because he did not choose faithfulness.
Samson was a Nazarite. Nazarites were people who had taken vows of faithfulness. To understand the meaning of faithfulness biblically, all we have to do is look at the word “nazar,” the Hebrew word from which Nazarite comes. This word nazar had two meanings. First of all, it could mean consecrated. To be faithful means that you’re consecrated to God. If you would choose faithfulness today then you must consecrate your body, soul, and spirit to God daily, that you might be a vessel for His use, that His love might somehow flow through you as you are simply a vessel for His use as you are consecrated to Him. That’s part of faithfulness.
In the year 1847, in a great stone cathedral in Europe, a custodian was high up in the balcony getting the choir loft ready for Sunday. Suddenly, this custodian heard footsteps. Someone was coming up the stone staircase to the balcony. He turned and he saw a man. This man was approaching 40 years of age. This man looked poor. He was dressed in very poor clothing. This man said that he had traveled a long distance to play the organ for which that cathedral was famous throughout Europe. The custodian said “Well, I’m sorry but no one is allowed to play the organ. This organ is not for public use.” But this stringer began to beg and he said “This means so much to me. I’ve wanted to play this organ for years. I’ve traveled so far!” So finally, the custodian said “Well, okay!”
The stranger came and he sat down and he began to play that incredible pipe organ and the music was majestic. The custodian had never heard anything like this music. As the organ filled the cathedral with beautiful sounds, the sounds were as though they were from heaven itself. When the stranger was done, the custodian said “Sir, what is your name?” The stranger said “My name is Felix Mendelssohn.” Of course, Mendelssohn, in his time, was one of the greatest pianists, one of the greatest organists in the world. Many historians today believe he was one of the greatest composers and conductors in world history. That custodian later thought to himself and later said “I almost kept the master from playing his music in my sanctuary.”
Well, that’s what we do when we don’t consecrate ourselves to Jesus Christ. When we don’t daily consecrate ourselves to Christ, we keep the Master from playing His music in our sanctuary. I mean, He wants to love others through you. He wants to minister through you. He wants to do great things through you if you would present yourself, consecrate yourself to Him.
I think most of you have heard of Joni Eareckson. Joni Eareckson, of course, broke her neck years ago as she dove into the shallow waters of the Chesapeake. She’s a quadriplegic, numb from the neck down, and yet she’s consecrated her life to Christ: body, soul and spirit. All that she is, she’s given it to Christ. And, of course, Christ is using her and has used her in great ways in our world. As Joni Eareckson paints with her mouth, beautiful works of art, and as she sings beautiful Christian music, she proclaims the gospel to audiences around the country. A quadriplegic but consecrated to God.
And so Christ invites you today, whatever your condition, whatever your gifts, to bring them as an offering and to consecrate yourself to Him, that His life and His love might shine through you. But this word nazar not only means to consecrate but it also means to separate. If we would be faithful, if we’d really be faithful to Christ, we need not only to be consecrated to Him, but we need to be separated from the world, separated from sin. This, of course, is not easy. Faithfulness is not easy.
In 1690, a group of people called the Amish were led by Jakob Ammann out of Switzerland. They separated from the Mennonites. In the year 1728, the Amish came to North America. Today, the Amish live in 28 states across this country and in Canada. The Amish have all taken vows of separation, vows of faithfulness, separation from the world. They call this vow the Ordnung. According to the Ordnung, they cannot drive automobiles. They always travel in buggies and carriages pulled by horses. They cannot use electricity. They cannot use telephones. They live agrarian lifestyles. They have pledged themselves to live as farmers and in simplicity. They cannot serve in the military service. They cannot serve in the United States government. They cannot serve in politics. They have pledged themselves to live in community, separated from the world. This is the Ordnung, their vow of separation. They are like monks. Throughout all the centuries monks have cloistered themselves in monasteries, in monastic seclusion, taking vows. Of course, monks have always taken three vows, vows of celibacy, that they would not have any sexual relations; vows of poverty, that they would own no earthly possessions; and vows of obedience, that they would obey the head of their monastic orders.
I think these kinds of vows of separation represent a misunderstanding of biblical faithfulness, a misunderstanding because Christ calls us to be in the world but not of the world. I mean, the call of Christ upon the life of the Christian is more difficult than simply physically removing yourself from the rest of the world. It’s more difficult than not using a telephone or watching a television set. It’s more difficult than that.
In the high priestly prayer of our Lord Jesus Christ, He prayed that we might be in the world but not of the world. He prayed “Father, I do not ask You to take them out of the world but to keep them from the evil one.” So, as we live life in this world, we live in the midst of the cultures in which God has placed us. We are not separated physically or we cannot minister, but we’re called to be faithful in the midst of fallen cultures, faithful in the midst of fallen nations the world over. That is not an easy call.
I don’t think it’s ever been more difficult than it is today. We have taken vows of separation. We’ve taken a vow of chastity as Christians. Not celibacy, but chastity that we would experience sexual relationships only in the context of marriage. We’ve taken not a vow of poverty but a vow of stewardship, not that we would own no earthly possessions but that we would recognize all things as belonging to Christ and that we would use all things in accordance with His will. That means that if we are to be faithful, we are to be tithers to the church of Jesus Christ and its work around the world. We are to examine our lifestyle day after day, year after year, and to see whether or not we are living in accordance with the will of Christ for us. Of course, we’ve taken vows of obedience, not to the head of some monastic order but to Jesus Christ Himself. It’s not easy to live a life that is faithful to Jesus Christ in this world. If we do that, if you do that, sometimes you’re going to seem a little strange to the world out there. You may irritate them a little bit. Not because you’re rude, not because you’re arrogant, but simply because you live differently.
The Bible says that as Christians we are aliens and exiles on the earth. If you look at the heroes of the faith in our passage of scripture for today, they all chose faith and they all chose faithfulness. They regarded themselves, the scripture tells us, as aliens and exiles on the earth, this world not being their home. So here’s a call to faithfulness, recognizing this world is not our home and one day we’re going to stand before Christ.
You know, I love the story that was told by Peter Marshall, and with this we’ll close. Peter Marshall used to be, years ago, he was the Chaplain of the United States Senate. Today it’s Lloyd Ogilvie and prior to that it was Dick Halverson, but long ago it was Peter Marshall who was Chaplain of the United States Senate. In his church there was a family who had a mom and dad and a little daughter. The little daughter was dying of cancer. He was in the bedroom with the mother and the father and this little girl. He was there when this little girl, for the first time, brought up the subject of death. This little girl said “Mom, what’s death like?” Peter Marshall turned and looked at the mother. He said he felt like this mom had been given a great answer from Christ because this family loved Christ. The mom said “Well, remember dear, when you would go outside and play? You would just play all day and get so tired. The evening would come. You’d continue to play after dinner and you’d get so tired that you would come and sit down on the sofa next to Dad and me and you would lay down there and just fall asleep. You’d fall asleep on the sofa next to us. But in the morning you would wake up in your own bed because someone who loved you had carried you there.” She said “That’s what death is like for the Christian. You go to sleep and in the morning you wake up in your own bed because someone who loves you has taken you there.”
As Christians, God wants us to understand this isn’t our room. This isn’t our home. We’re not in our own bed. We’re aliens and we’re exiles. We live in a world that is fallen. I don’t think it’s ever been more difficult for us as believers in Jesus Christ to live lives of faithfulness. But here’s an invitation to choose faithfulness. In a world gone astray, choose faith. Choose faithfulness. Let’s close with a word of prayer.