|
Introduction:
We have read I
John 5:4. “And this is the victory that has overcome the
world—our faith.” We sing the song based on this
verse—“Faith is the Victory.” But what is the faith that
overcomes the world? During this lesson, I want us to answer this
question by looking at a contrast. There are several passages in
the New Testament that describe faith that does not overcome the
world. By examining those passages, I believe we can see the faith
for which we should be striving. Discussion: I.
A small faith will not overcome the world. A.
Four times in the gospel of Matthew, Jesus spoke against
having a little faith (Matthew
6:30, 8:26; 14:31; 16:8). By comparing these passages, we
can see that the small faith was an unapplied faith. It was a
faith that believed in God, but did not really believe God. It was
a faith that acknowledged intellectually the aspects of God and
His power, but did not trust God at a gut level, the level at
which we decide how to live when under stress. Consider Matthew
14:31. Peter could see Jesus’ power to walk on water. In
Matthew
8, Peter had witnessed Jesus’ power to command the wind
and the waves. His faith was strong enough to step out of the
boat. But in the middle of the storm, his intellectual
acknowledgements did not translate into gut level surrender to the
Lord. While I agree that we should not be so hard on Peter,
because we may not have even gone as far as he did, I also note
that if Jesus rebuked him, he deserved rebuke. And if we would not
even go as far as he did, we deserve a greater rebuke. B.
We need to have a large faith that applies our faith to our
daily lives, because the small faith will not overcome the world.
Consider the passage in Matthew
6:25-30. Too many Christians spend their time worrying and
fretting over money and their financial future. Christians must be
good stewards and that does mean considering their financial
future. But, too many Christians live as though their eternal
security is bound up in the stock market. We all believe God can
take care of us, but do we really believe He will. A large faith is one that lives God’s teaching. If God says
it works this way, then it does and that is how I will choose to
live. How large is your faith? II.
A silent faith will not overcome the world. A.
In John
12:42-43, we read of ruling Jews who believed in Jesus.
However, they would never vocalize that faith. They did not want
to be ostracized from people. They wanted people to like them and
speak well of them. They knew if they stated what they really
believed they would be cast out. So they kept quiet. Jesus pointed
out how useless a silent faith is in Matthew
10:32-33. Our faith must be confessed and vocalized before
men, otherwise Christ will deny us. B.
We need to have a vocal faith as illustrated by Paul in II
Corinthians 4:13—“we also believe and therefore
speak.” Too many Christians are like the Jewish rulers. They do
not want to be ostracized for their beliefs, so they keep them
quiet. “Folks will think we are crazy if we tell them what we
believe.” “Folks won’t like us ...” “Folks won’t be my
friends …” The problem is, if we do not tell them what we
believe, then Jesus will deny us in the judgment. A silent faith
will not help us at all. How vocal is your faith? III.
A lazy faith will not overcome the world. A.
In James
2:17, James wrote, “Thus also faith by itself, if it
does not have works, is dead.” Of course, we recognize we cannot
be saved by some kind of mental assent to God as the demons have (James
2:19). We can only be saved by obeying God. Too many
people today believe they are saved simply because they believe in
Jesus. B.
We need to have a working faith as demonstrated by Abraham
in James
2:21-23. Too many Christians are willing to view this as
just a baptism passage. We got baptized so we have a working
faith. And yet, too many Christians still have a lazy faith. They
will obey some things that God says, but they do not obey
everything. Too many Christians are willing to only go so far.
They were baptized, but stop short regarding assembling, giving,
keeping their hearts and minds pure from evil communications,
getting the gospel out, etc. We need to have a working faith that
obeys every command of Jesus. How hard does your faith work? IV.
A neglected faith will not overcome the world. A.
In Matthew
23:23, Jesus rebuked the Pharisees because, while they
were very particular about keeping some aspects of the Law, they
neglected the weightier matters of the Law like justice, mercy and
faith. This is really amazing. How could this be? Religion was a
set of rituals. The most important thing to them was to make sure
they went through the rituals properly. But even their obedience
in minor rituals was not about serving God, it was just about
looking good to others. It was about maintaining a face of
spirituality that made people look up to them. B.
We need to have a faith that is real and focused as
illustrated by Jesus’ description of worship in John
4:24. He pointed out that we serve God in spirit and
truth. That is, we must do what God says, the way He says it. But
it is not just going through the motions. It is true devotion from
the heart. A neglected faith is a great danger for those who have
been brought up in the church. They learn from their parents how
we are supposed to do things. They spend their lives going through
the motions. But they never get into the book and have a real
faith based on hearing the word of God. No wonder that many of
these fall away when they leave home because they no line of
defense. They have neglected faith and simply done what they saw
at church growing up. How focused is your faith? V.
A misplaced faith will not overcome the world. A.
In I
Corinthians 2:4-5, Paul claimed that he did not come to
the Corinthians with persuasive words of human wisdom. Rather, his
preaching was a demonstration of the Spirit and of power. Why? He
did not want the Christians to misplace their faith in man’s
wisdom and reasoning. The Corinthians were well acquainted with
the ways of human philosophy. The teachers of wisdom developed
their followings based on their ability to sound good. But Paul
knew if the people’s faith was simply based on his being the
best or most persuasive speaker, it would falter when a better
orator came along. A misplaced faith would not overcome the world. B.
We need to have a faith that is properly placed in God’s
word as Paul spoke of in Romans
10:17—“Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word
of God.” Too many Christians have their faith in parents, peers
or preachers. Too many have a faith that is tossed about by every
wind of doctrine because they will accept what anyone who sounds
good says. Their faith is not anchored in God’s word. We must
not believe because we like the preacher. We must not believe
because we like what a church has to offer. We must believe
because we have found it in the word of God. Any other faith is
misplaced. Keep in mind that when Paul says he came with a
demonstration of the Spirit and power, he is not speaking only of
miraculous power. Rather, he is speaking of the power of God which
is found in Christ’s gospel, not in man’s wisdom (Romans
1:16-17). Where is your faith placed? VI.
A vain faith will not overcome the world. A.
In I
Corinthians 15:2, Paul warned the Corinthians against
believing in vain. The context is quite clear. The Corinthians
would have believed in vain, if they stopped believing. This
should forever lay to rest the notions of once saved, always saved
that claim a moment of faith causes an unending salvation. If
Christians stop believing, their belief did them absolutely no
good. B.
We need a worthwhile faith, an unending faith, as Jesus
pointed out in Luke
18:8. Jesus expressed concern that when He came in
judgment, He would not find faith on the earth. Jesus wants us to
be patient and steadfast, unmoved by what is going on around us.
Too many Christians have an impatient, vain faith. Things are not
going smoothly in their lives, so they get mad at God and turn
from Him. They find some things hard to understand (cf.
II
Peter 3:16), so they decide to give up, believing God must
not be real. The reward for serving God does not come quickly
enough, so they turn to the immediate gratification of sin. But we
need to be steadfast and grounded in our faith, continuing and
persevering, looking forward to the reward as Paul described in Philippians
3:12-14. How worthwhile is your faith? VII.
A partial faith will not overcome the world. A.
By partial, I do not mean in part as opposed to the whole
thing. Rather, I am referring to James
2:1. James wrote that we must not “hold the faith of our
Lord Jesus Christ … with partiality.” He goes on to speak
against the prejudice early Christians may have had toward those
who were wealthy. Our faith determines our relationship with
others as well as our relationship with God. A faith that produces
partiality will never overcome the world. B.
We need an impartial faith as James described in James
3:17-18. The wisdom that is from above is without
partiality. We should not be partial when it comes to dealing with
other Christians (Romans
12:16). Nor should we be partial when it comes to people
we hope to teach and convert to Christianity (I
Corinthians 9:19-22). Too many Christians are partial with
their faith. They prejudge who will listen and who will not. They
look down on people who do not look the same. Maybe they wear
different clothes or different hairstyles. Perhaps they are of a
different color. Maybe they are of a different economic class.
Perhaps they are clearly sinful, clearly alcoholics, adulterers or
even homosexuals. Whatever the case, Christians look at them and
prejudge whether or not they will listen. Some Christians are even
partial when it comes to other Christians. Face it, if you are
active in evangelism you are going to have babes in Christ. Babes
in Christ have problems. Babes in Christ present work. I have
heard stories of preachers asking where brethren come up with
these people they are converting. I have heard stories of elders
jumping on preachers for converting people who make them have to
work. This is partiality and should not be among us. Is your faith
impartial? Conclusion: As we close our look at faith, we must all examine ourselves. What kind of faith do we have? Will it overcome the world or not? Do not be afraid of this examination. It is the one that II Peter 1:5-11 encourages us to make, being diligent to make your call and election sure. You begin with faith, but that faith is to increase and abound. You are to add to that faith. Never be satisfied with where your faith is. Always examine and see how you may grow in faith and overcome the world through Christ.
Glory
to God in the church by Christ Jesus
|
||||||||||
