Believing & Doubting NOTES

Transcription

1 NOTES Believing & Doubting 12 This study prepared by Rev d Steve Webster for use at St Michaels Anglican Church North Carlton About This Series These studies are designed to help people rediscover the usefulness of the classic Christian spiritual disciplines in a contemporary way. The accompanying document entitled Spiritual Disciplines Diagnostic Chart can be downloaded at Each session will help participants identify a spiritual need or condition and help to identify spiritual practices that may assist in strengthening faith and growing in maturity. The study is adapted from Beyond the Quiet Time by Alister McGrath. 1. Introduction In the last study we explored what it means to know how the God who rescues. We were encouraged to use our minds to reflect on the concepts involved and to gain a deeper understanding of the Bible s message about our situation. We were also encouraged to use our imaginations to explore the extent to which God goes to search for and save the lost, the enslaved, the sinner. Lastly, we were challenged to take up appropriate spiritual disciplines to help us to grow in this understanding. Now we turn to the great Biblical theme of faith and God s faithfulness. 2. Belief vs. Faith How might we define and distinguish between these two English words? 1. Belief 2. Faith View a clip from the film Apollo 13 (approx. 02:03:40 to 02:09:06) where Houston Control must wait an agonizing three minutes of re-entry to see if the ill-fated craft will regain radio contact after it is pessimistically expected to burn up and be destroyed.

2 OR... View a clip from the feature film Contact (approx. 02:09:00 to 02:18:00) where Jodie Foster s character is transported back to earth from an encounter with an alien on an imagined beach and recounts to her superiors the fact of the experience that she cannot prove by rational evidence. OR View a clip from the feature film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (approx. 01:46:50 to 01:48:45) where Indi, the daring archeologist adventurer is in search of the Holy Grail. His father is mortally wounded and so the need for the grail with its apparent healing powers becomes all the more intense. Indi must follow the clues from an ancient text to guide him through a maze of obstacles. As he faces a chasm he must cross he at first is downcast at the impossible challenge. However, the leap of faith he must take is realized in taking a step upon which the first stone of a bridge appears before him. Step by step he is carried across. His father utters the words, You must believe, boy, you must believe. OR View a clip from the feature film Red Planet (approx. 01:02:30 to 01:03:40) for the argument trusting a scientist with a PhD is compared to trusting God. Summary Belief in spiritual matters might be distinguished as assenting to an idea as being true. Faith might better describe the act of trusting; trusting someone or a declaration of truth that you believe to be entirely reliable and worthy of acting upon. The two ideas are no more tested than when a Christian prays. We trust that the God we believe in hears us on the basis of what the Bible has revealed of God s faithfulness down the ages and Jesus teaching about God s faithful love and attentiveness to us. The letter to the Hebrews defines faith thus: Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1 (NIV) B. Journal You are Abraham. Write down you hopes and fears for the future, basing yourself on what you know of his background. Now explain how these hopes and fears are transformed by the encounter with God, described in Gen. 15:1-6. Alternatively, do this exercise through the eyes of Sarah, Abraham s childless wife. C. Study Read 2 Corinthians 1:20. Now read the first two chapters of Matthew s Gospel. Notes how many times a great Old Testament expectation is fulfilled in the birth and life of Jesus Christ. D. Journal You are Doubting Thomas, writing a letter to a friend about the remarkable things that have happened in Jerusalem after the death of Jesus. Focus on the central facts of John chapter 20. Describe your reaction to the reports of the resurrection. Then describe your change of belief when confronted later with the risen Lord. E. Study Read chapter 11 of Hebrews. Use a concordance to trace the history of each of the ancestors of faith recorded in the chapter. Write a paragraph for each character in relation to what impressed you about their trust in God, despite their circumstances. 3. God s Faithfulness a key Consider 1 Thess. 5:24: The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it. Note: The it is not present in the original Greek. The sense is more he will act or will achieve. It therefore indicates that God will not do the particular, but will do whatever is needed, and do it well. What sort of things do we mortals need God to act on? 2 11

3 1 As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? 3 My tears have been my food day and night, while men say to me all day long, "Where is your God?" 4 These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go with the multitude, leading the procession to the house of God, with shouts of joy and thanksgiving among the festive throng. 5 Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and 6 my God. My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights of Hermon-- from Mount Mizar. 7 Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me. 8 By day the LORD directs his love, at night his song is with me-- a prayer to the God of my life. 9 I say to God my Rock, "Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?" 10 My bones suffer mortal agony as my foes taunt me, saying to me all day long, "Where is your God?" 11 Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. (NIV) The Psalmist s problem He is conscious of the absence of any experience of God. He longs for God; He is hungry and thirsty for an experience of God s presence. He feels God has forgotten him. His enemies taunt him regarding his state. 10 The Psalmist s faith He remembers his experience of God in the past. He recalls that God is a rock ; changless and remaining faithful and constant. He looks forward with eager anticipation to the restoration of his experience of God s presence. He realizes that his loss of experience (feelings) is only temporary and finds hope. Consider 2 Corinthians 1: The Apostle Paul writes For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God. 21 Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, 22 set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. (NIV) (Note: deposit is a metaphor based on financial practices) Discuss what this passage says to you about God s trustworthiness. Note the following commentary from the great reformer Martin Luther: For where there is the Word of the God who makes promises, there must necessarily be the faith of the person who accepts them. So it is clear that the beginning of our salvation is a faith which clings to the Word of the God who makes the promises, who, without any effort on our part, in free and unmerited mercy goes before us and offers us the word of his promise. He sent forth his word, and thus healed them, (Psalm ) not: He accepted our work, and thus healed us. The Word of God comes first of all. After it follows faith; after faith, love. Then love does every good work, for it does no wrong, indeed, it is the fulfilling of the law (Romans 13.10). We can only come to God or deal with him through faith. 4. Abraham s Example Abraham is an extremely important example of our topic of faith. Read Genesis 15:1-6: 1 After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward." 2 But Abram said, "O Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?" 3 And Abram said, "You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir." 3

4 4 Then the word of the LORD came to him: "This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir." 5 He took him outside and said, "Look up at the heavens and count the stars-- if indeed you can count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be." 6 Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness. (NIV) Despite the preference to rely on facts, feelings do play their part in helping us to trust in God. The key is not to allow the feelings to rule faith. Consider the seldom sung 5 th verse of Charles Wesley s great hymn Free Grace (or And Can It Be): Imagine yourself in Abraham s shoes (sandals!). Imagine the hopeless and miserable thoughts that must have prevailed. Named Abram (meaning exalted father ) yet still childless, and had already named Eliezer, his servant, as his legal heir. Sarai, his wife, was getting very old and it would seem impossible that they could have children of their own. How would God s words have been received in such a situation? Note the two promises of God to Abram. How trustworthy would he have considered God to be? How difficult must the second promise have been to believe? Note how Abram takes the step; decides to trust God (vs. 6). Faith/trust in God s promise counts as righteousness in the sight of God. As we read on we discover such trust transforms Abe s life. No doubt many Christians will find that Wesley s references to feeling the life of Christ will resonate with their own experience. There is a benefit from the heart being warmed by God s love and mercy. Discuss these feelings with another and explore how such feelings might assists one s faith in God. Exercise: In 25 words or less, write a definition of biblical faith that would help someone who isn t a Christian understand it. 8. Practical Excercises Extra Study- John Calvin s definition of faith Think about the following statement before moving on to the notes that follow: Faith is a steady and certain knowledge of the divine benevolence towards us, which is founded upon the truth of the gracious promise of God in Christ, and is both revealed to our minds and sealed in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. (John Calvin) 4 A. Meditation on Scripture What happens if your faith is always based on dry facts? What if you never experience the comfort of God with you? How can one persevere in faith when the feelings flag? After all, the Scriptures tell us that: hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. Romans 5:5 Read and reflect upon Psalm 42. Read it slowly and carefully. Try to identify with the Psalmist. Ask the Holy Spirit to fill you with knowledge and understanding; of both the anxiety and hope that is expressed in the Psalm: 9

5 John Calvin, whose definition of faith we studied earlier, went on to write: When we stress that faith ought to be certain and secure, we do not have in mind a certainty without doubt, or a security without anxiety. Rather, we affirm that believers have a perpetual struggle with their own lack of faith, and are far from possessing a peaceful conscience, never interrupted by any disturbance. On the other hand, we want to deny that they may fall out of, or depart from, their confidence in the divine mercy, no matter how much they may be troubled. Q. What implications do Calvin s comments have for those who experience times of doubt after having once believed in Christ? 7. Faith and Feelings One major contributor to chronic doubt is our ready reliance on our feelings when making judgments. Many a Christian will say how strong their faith is when they feel the presence of God is with them. However, often when circumstances turn one s feelings to despair or loneliness or distress, faith can falter. One helpful illustration as to the peril of relying on feelings rather than the facts of God s revealed faithfulness is found in the diagram below: Imagine you are walking along the top of a brick wall and you represent faith (the middle character in the diagram above). When relying upon the facts (in this case the testimony of Scripture about God) faith is easier. One can remain balanced and proceed along the narrow pathway. However, if one is to rely on feelings by looking backwards an unbalanced state is more likely and so is disaster for faith. 8 Notes: For Calvin faith is about knowing certain things about God. It focuses on the benevolence of God. Faith is grounded in the promises of God, which he argues are made known and made secure through Jesus Christ. Calvin involves both the head and heart in faith. Both are influenced by the Holy Spirit. Note the Trinitarian structure to the definition. 5

6 5. Weak Faith or Great God The Bible majors on the faithfulness of the God we trust, not on the competence or strength of one s faith. It is the trustworthiness of the person in whom one trusts that really matters. Again, two pieces from Martin Luther help us understand: 1. Guldens Even if my faith is weak, I still have exactly the same treasure and the same Christ as others. There is no difference It is like two people, each of whom owns a hundred guldens (old German coins). One may carry them around in a paper bag, the other in an iron chest. But despite these differences, they both own the same treasure. Thus the Christ who you and I own is one and the same, irrespective of the strength or weakness of your faith or mine. 2. Wedding Ring Faith unites the soul with Christ as a bride is united with her bridegroom. As Paul teaches us, Christ and the soul become one flesh by this mystery (Eph. 5:31-32). And if they are one flesh, and if the marriage is for real- indeed, it is the most perfect of all marriages, and human marriages are poor examples of this one true marriage- then it follows that everything that they have is held in common, whether good or evil. So the believer can boast of and glory in whatever Christ possesses, as though it were his or her own; and whatever the believer has, Christ claims as his own. Let us see how this works out, and see how it benefits us. Christ is full of grace, life and salvation. The human soul is full of sin, death and damnation. Now let faith come between them. Sin, death and damnation will be Christ s. And grace, life and salvation will be the believer s. Draw a diagram which shows how the belongings of the man in a marriage are shared by the woman and vice versa. Now draw a diagram showing how that which Christ owns is shared by the believer and vice versa. 6. The Problem of Doubt Doubt is a natural part of the Christian experience since so often we are called to trust in promises and take someone at their word. Note the following testimony about doubt and faith by Sheldon Vanauken, an American writer converted by C.S. Lewis at Oxford University: List some of the classic doubts Christians experience in their life of faith: Note the experiences of doubt in these New Testament examples: Matt 28:16-20 (Note: vs 17 doubted means held back or hesitated. Despite the physical presence of Christ they still needed reassurance before believing.) John 20:19-29 (Imagine yourself in the shoes of Thomas. What would be required for your faith to be sufficient when told that Jesus had been raised from the dead? Would it be nothing short of his physical presence? A trustworthy testimony? Something else? 6 7