Where’s the FAITH?

Let me get right to it. If you’re a normal Christian, or among those who call themselves a Christian, you are probably living a lie. What a brazen thing to say? Unfortunately, it’s so true.

What is a Christian? From Wikipedia, we find the following:

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ as presented in the New Testament and interpreted by Christians to have been prophesied in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament.

The first known usage of the term Χριστιανός (khristianos) can be found in the New Testament, in Acts 11:26: "the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch." The term was thus first used to denote those known or perceived to be disciples of Jesus Christ. In the two other New Testament uses of the word (Acts 26:28 and 1 Peter 4:16), it refers to the public identity of those who follow Jesus.

To simplify, let’s go with this definition: "Christian-A person who adheres to Christianity, centered on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ; the public identity of those who follow Jesus". I’m no scholar but saying that works for me.

So, you are a Christian. Your life is centered on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ? You are publicly identified as one who follows Jesus? Really? One of the main characteristics of Jesus Christ was his unselfishness. Are you unselfish? Then you are a liar. Another of his teachings dealt with fear and worry, and he instructed his followers not to be concerned with fear, and not to worry. Do you worry, do you fear? Then you are a liar.

To call yourself a Christian or one who follows and adheres to the life and teachings of Jesus Christ and then to live your life contrary to his teachings makes you a liar, or at least a hypocrite. If I told you I was a vegetarian but then at dinner you saw me eat meat, what would you think? If I told you I didn’t think it was right to bet on sports games but you saw me at a casino gambling, would I not be a hypocrite? And yet this happens to Christians everyday. We are liars! Yes, I am one.

So we are selfish and we do fear and worry. But why? The answer is simple: we don’t believe God. He promises us many things if we will but take him at his word. But the truth is, we don’t believe his promises. If you still want to argue with me and defend your position you’d better get your Bible out and read it. Let me give you some examples.

Luke 22: 31 And the Lord said, "Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat.

32 "But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren."

33 But he said to Him, "Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death."

34 Then He said, "I tell you, Peter, the rooster shall not crow this day before you will deny three times that you know Me."

Jesus said to Peter, Satan asked for him, that he may "sift you as wheat." Peter’s response? "I would go with you to prison and even to death!" But we all know the rest of the story. When accused of being a follower of Jesus, he denied it, because of his fear. When it came to his personal safety he chose to lie to protect him "self". Self as in "selfish". You remember? Fear and selfishness? But that’s not the only time we find Peter stumbling. Remember this passage:

Mt 14:24 But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary.

25 Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea.

26 And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out for fear.

27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid."

28 And Peter answered Him and said, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water."

29 So He said, "Come." And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.

30 But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!"

31 And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"

32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.

How incredible that Peter, having walked with Jesus all this time and watching these great miracles from his Lord, should fail to grasp and indeed totally forget these great lessons. Look at the verses above. Peter wants to walk on the water and requests the Lord command him to, which he does. The text says he walks on the water, but…

There is always a but. I do believe, but… I would go, but… I would give, but… I do trust, but… Need I go on?

Peter walked on the water but," when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid…" Fear. Of what? That he would hurt him "self". Or that his "self" may sink and drown. Fear and selfishness.

What would have happened if Peter had not have listened to his fear and selfishness? Simple. He would have walked on the water. He would have had no concern for himself and therefore no fear of being hurt or even drowning. Cancel out the selfishness and fear and you have a Christ centered follower. A true Christian. At least for that moment.

So there you have it. Peter was a liar. He claimed he would defend Jesus even to the death; he didn’t. He claimed to believe in Jesus as he commanded him to walk on the water; he didn’t. Jesus said it: "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" What is faith? Belief. Therefore Peter was a liar.

Still not convinced? How about this passage:

Mt 16:21 ¶ From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.

22 Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!"

23 But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men."

24 ¶ Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.

25 "For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.

Jesus shared with the disciples is coming death and crucifixion, as well as the resurrection. Peter rebuked him, saying this would not happen. Jesus called Peter Satan. Satan is the father of lies. Jesus called Peter the father of lies. Argue with Him.

So again, why do we have fear and selfishness in our lives? The easy answer is that we are flesh, carnal human beings. But we also have Jesus Christ, no? Then the real answer is because we do not believe the promises of God. WE DO NOT BELIEVE THE PROMISES OF GOD.

This morning as I was thinking about this article I thought about the song "Standing on the Promises" I used to sing when I was younger. What a crock. We all sing it but we don’t mean it or do it. And then there’s another song I think from the Cantada "God with Us" with the words " I just want to be where you are, in your dwelling place for ever." Another crock! To be where God is requires one to die and most of us don’t want to die. Why do we sing these songs? Don’t get me wrong, I love them too and many times they bring a tear to my eye. But what a liar I am to sing it and not mean it. And you?

So to sum up, we are liars and hypocrites because we don’t believe what God has promised as clearly written in His Word. What a sad example to a lost world. What a sad example we are for each other. Thank goodness for Romans chapter 8:1:

Ro 8:1 ¶ There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

Christian, stop being a liar. Stop being a hypocrite. Believe the promises of God. You don’t have to be selfish or to worry or to fear. Jesus says if you want to follow him you have to take up your cross and deny your self. Lose your selfishness in Jesus. Because he also says you must give your life to him, and if you lose your life, THEN you will find your life.

You had faith to believe that God sent his son Jesus to die in your place via his crucifixion, burial and resurrection. Do you really believe that? Then what’s the difference? Stop worrying, stop being selfish and most of all, stop being afraid. I’m not telling you, Jesus is:

Mt 10:26 "Therefore do not fear them. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known.

27 "Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops.

28 "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

29 "Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will.

30 "But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

31 "Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

Do not fear. Your Father will care for you.

Coming soon: Christian, Why Do You Fear?

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 29th, 2008 at 6:47 am and is filed under Bible Study. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.