Theme: Faith
is Christ, not Control
A young man
enters that phase of life where it is time to choose a career. He gravitates
toward something in the medical realm, but can’t stomach the work. His father
persuades him to pursue the ministry, but not because he believes in it. He’s
an atheist. But the young man likes the idea and at least his mother is a
Christian who supports him. This young believes the words of the Bible, he
trusts in God, yet he is still apprehensive about declaring allegiance to a
particular Christian Church. He is unsure. He gains some new friends, more
liberal thinking friends, those who are more fast and loose with the
Scriptures. The young man begins to be particularly fascinated with God’s
creation, as he still understands and confesses it. He studies it more and more;
he gains notoriety and popularity for his work.
The ministry
fades to the background, no need to be concerned with that anymore; he has made
a career for himself. God is still in his life, at least for the moment, barely
hanging on. Finally, the man gets married, and begins a family. When his first-born
becomes ill at age 10, her life is seriously threatened. The young man waits
upon her patiently; gives her the best care he can. But in the end it is no
help, his young daughter Annie dies a painful and unfair death. That was the
end of God for that young man, who at that time was an old man. He would later
write about his faith in God, “It never struck me how illogical it was to say
that I believed in what I could not understand and what is in fact unintelligible.”
Who is this
man you ask? None other than Charles Darwin, the father of the modern idea of
evolution and strong proponent of naturalism and atheism. Few have had greater
impact on our current culture than Charles Darwin, yet few know of his prior
faith in God, his desire to be a minister, and his very personal struggle with
evil and wickedness in the world. Darwin was no different than us. His
experiences in life had a profound impact in shaping what he would do in life
and who he would become. His biographers would later remark, “Annie’s cruel
death destroyed Charles’s tatters of beliefs in a moral, just universe. Later
he would say that this period chimed the final death-knell for his Christianity
. . . . Charles now took his stand as an unbeliever (Darwin: The Life of a Tormented Evolutionist. Adrian Desmond and
James Moore).” For Darwin, his faith in God was about control. He believed so
long as things in life lined up with his thinking and what he felt about truth.
Throughout his life he continually doubted God’s Word and it softened his faith
little by little until Annie’s death, according to his own admission,
extinguished his faith entirely. Consider this sad account as we read our text
for today, where God gives us his definition of faith:
Hebrews 11:1-3 Now faith is the substance of things
hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2 For by it the elders obtained a
good testimony. 3 By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the
word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which
are visible.
Hebrews 11:8-16 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was
called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he
went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he dwelt in the land of
promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the
heirs with him of the same promise; 10 for he waited for the city which has
foundations, whose builder and maker is God. 11 By faith Sarah herself also
received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the
age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised. 12 Therefore from one
man, and him as good as dead, were born as many as the stars of the sky in
multitude-- innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore. 13 These all died
in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were
assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and
pilgrims on the earth. 14 For those who say such things declare plainly that they
seek a homeland. 15 And truly if they had called to mind that country from
which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But now
they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed
to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.
The point of
our lesson this morning, and any discussion of faith and its effect in our
lives, is not to diminish to sorrows we go through in life. Our hearts ache
with Darwin’s when we think about what he, his daughter, and his family
endured. Some of us may have experienced very similar circumstances. For
others, we know our own share of pain and struggle in life, no one is immune.
Our point is
not to diminish anyone’s personal experience. It is simply this, the foundation
of our faith determines the reliability of that faith in times of testing and
trouble. That’s precisely what God says as He defines faith in our text.
Christian faith, which finds its center and source in Jesus Christ alone, is
not flimsy. It is not blind. Faith is substance,
Faith is evidence. But substance that
we may not always recognize and evidence that we may not always see, at least
with these eyes. Faith in one’s own ability to control and handle life is much
different, and a lot less powerful.
Take another
example, like Darwin’s, but one with a very different result:
Author,
Marshall Shelley, who suffered the deaths of two of his children, wrote about
it in this way:
Even as a
child, I loved to read, and I quickly learned that I would most likely be
confused during the opening chapters of a novel. New characters were
introduced. Disparate, seemingly random events took place. Subplots were
complicated and didn’t seem to make any sense in relation to the main plot. But
I learned to keep reading. Why? Because you know that the author, if he or she
is good, will weave them all together by the end of the book. Eventually, each
element will be meaningful.
Faith in God
is the same way. Even when I can’t explain why a chromosomal abnormality
develops in my son, which prevents him from living on earth more than two
minutes…..
Even when I
can’t fathom why our daughter has to endure two years of severe and profound
retardation and continual seizures…. I trust that before the book closes, the
Author will make things clear.
Two similar
circumstances, but two very different results. It’s the same difference between
faith that is about Christ and faith that is about control.
The writer to
Hebrews gives us another Biblical example of the same. Just as we had in our
Scripture reading, we see how Abraham was called to leave his homeland and
travel to a foreign area. The only reason God gave him was that this was His
plan for Abraham. Abraham had to trust that God was in control of all the other
details; essentially he had to believe or have faith.
Abraham and
Sarah also had to trust God’s promise that they would have a child. We spoke
about this a few weeks ago. Abraham was 99 and Sarah was 90 when this promise
came true. Talk about a situation that is beyond human control! If their faith
was only in what they could imagine or handle on their own, it would have
dropped out underneath them because it would have had nothing left to stand on.
So many things in life are similar in this regard; they are beyond our control.
If faith is worth anything, it must be able to go beyond our own power. It must
be able to help us in the most difficult of circumstances. Without that quality
it really isn’t much help and furthermore it really isn’t faith as God defines
it.
This doesn’t
mean we’ll always pass God’s tests with flying colors. Both Abraham and Sarah
doubted God’s promise. Isaac was the name given to the child because it means
“laughter,” thereby reminding Sarah of her moment of doubt behind the tent
curtains when she smirked at God’s promise. And yet, even this situation, one
which Abraham and Sarah stumbled through in life, it is listed in the chapter
of the heroes of faith and held up as a Godly example for you and me.
This leads us
to our final and most important point about faith. It helps us with more than
what we go through right now. It has eternal blessings. Ultimately, faith in
Jesus is the attachment of forgiveness through the gracious words of life in
the Scriptures. This is why the writer goes on to say that all heroes of faith,
that is, all believers, ultimately hope for a home in heaven; what he calls the
“better, heavenly country” which God prepares for them. Even in Genesis, this
truth was known about Abraham’s life. The Spirit recorded this, “Abraham believed in the LORD, and the LORD
accounted it to him for righteousness (Genesis 15:6).” This is a simple,
yet profound statement, especially for an Old Testament believer. Abraham
believed, literally, had faith, and God credited righteousness to him. This was
not sentimental hope in some abstract promise from God. This was not blind
trust that was contingent on how much Abraham felt it. This was not just a feel
good moment that lasted as long as Abraham could control what was happening in
his life. This was complete reliance upon God’s promise of a Savior from sin, a
Savior that would freely give Abraham forgiveness by wiping his record clean
and inserting His own holy life in its place. This was faith that was power in
Christ, and because it was it was stronger than even the direst moments of
Abraham’s life that were out of his control. And it is only through this faith
that Abraham was given the title of a “father of many nations.” He is father of
much more than a single race of people. He is the father of that group of
“heavenly country” dwellers. He is the model and example for all believers,
those who desire a better home, one with God in heaven.
A prominent
Lutheran pastor has authored a book called, 7
“Christian” rules every Christian ought to break as often as possible. Kind
of a compelling title, don’t you think? I haven’t read the book, but if it
isn’t included, our discussion on faith should really be added as rule number
8. So many Christians are under the impression that their faith must measure up
to a certain level before it is effective. But, the sad irony is that this
level is a man-made construct, usually centering around our own control of
situations. What a sad burden for so many to carry. Faith is not only as
effective as it is strong in the person’s heart and in their convictions. Faith
is powerful no matter how strong or weak it may be in our hearts. Faith is
about Christ, not about our control.
This does not
allow us the right to neglect the nurturing and strengthening of faith.
Certainly, the stronger we are the more we can withstand in the moment without
succumbing to doubt. But, as it pertains strictly to faith’s worth and its
attachment to Christ’s righteousness; it is entirely dependent on God and not
ourselves. To preach or believe anything more or less than Christ alone in the
place of sinners, is a tragedy and a falsehood.
Life is full
of uncontrollable moments. Faith gets us through those moments; strong or weak.
Sometimes it takes longer than it should. Sometimes we drag along the way.
Sometimes we resist God’s power and influence. But faith is Jesus is the same
from beginning to end, from weak to strong, from the first day of conversion to
the last day of confession. Anything other than that is a product of man-made
efforts at control.
Thinking about
Charles Darwin again, one researcher concluded his study of his life with this
thought: “Charles Darwin is honored by the world because he thought like the
world. The tragedy was that this godless search for truth left him unable to
understand the world in which he lived. What a lesson for our culture today
(“Darwin’s Sad Legacy” Dr. Tommy Mitchell).” Such is the path of all who
replace Christ with their own control. They seek for answers. They desire
truth. But they fall further from it. A desire for more control and
understanding of our world with a result of total loss of meaning and truth.
You have gone through similar trials and be aware that you will continue so
long as you serve God in this life. Keep your faith in Christ and remember what
that means. It’s not a flimsy, sentimental thought without any substance. It’s
doesn’t mean you’ll have all the answers right when you want them. It certainly
doesn’t mean you’ll have a carefree life without pain or struggle. It means
this one thing: You have a better home waiting for you: heaven. To gain this
was beyond your control. It was out of your reach. You couldn’t grasp this on
your own. But Jesus came for you and controlled what you could not. He is with
you forevermore now, today and into eternity. Amen.
The peace of
God which surpasses all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ
Jesus. Amen.
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