FAITH AND FACTS I. Scripture calls upon men to believe truth and NOT to believe error (I Jn. 4.1-6). II. A. Belief of a lie is an unsound faith whereas rejection of a lie is a healthy unbelief (II Th. 2.11-13). B. Therefore, Biblical faith requires the usage of one's reason and critical faculties to discern the truth that one is to believe. C. Reason is compatible with faith. 1. Paul reasoned out the Scriptures in an effort to persuade men to believe that Jesus is the Christ (Acts 17.2-4; 18.4). 2. Those who have no faith are UNREASONABLE (II Th. 3.2). D. Scripture requires us to prove all things (I Thess. 5.21). 1. This commandment follows an admonition to despise not prophesyings. 2. However, prophesyings are to be proved (I Jn. 4.1). 3. The Bereans were commended for proving the apostles (Acts 17.11). 4. Ephesus was commended for using their critical faculties (Rev. 2.2). 5. Truth invites verification! 6. True faith is not gullible: it does not blindly accept what it believes. E. The simple are gullible and, therefore, deceived (Pr. 14.15; Ro. 16.17-18). F. Sound faith rests upon facts, not fables (Tit. 1.13-14; I Ti. 1.3-4). 1. A fable is a fictitious narrative; a story not founded on fact. 2. That which the Christian believes is NOT a fable; it is a fact verified by eyewitnesses (II Pet. 1.16). G. Faith without facts becomes a game of circular reasoning: what I believe is true because I believe it is true. 1. This is faith in faith rather than faith in God. 2. This focuses attention on man's personal experience rather than on God. God's creation provides clear data to man's senses proving His existence (Ro. 1.19-20; Ps. 19.1-3). A. A complex creation with obvious order argues for an intelligent Creator and Designer. B. The chain of cause and effect argues for a first Cause. C. If the world is the product of a blind, impersonal force; then it has no purpose. D. Those who worship false gods are charged with folly in rejecting the obvious fact of the invisible God (Ro. 1.21-23; Is. 44.9-20).
III. E. To deny God is to deny the evidence and thus to be a fool (Ps. 14.1). Jesus Christ did not require men to believe in Him without evidence. A. Jesus' works proved His claim (Jn. 5.36; Acts 2.22). B. In fact, Jesus actually discouraged faith in Himself in the absence of proof (Jn. 10.37-38). C. Had Jesus not proved that He was the Christ, the Jews would have been without sin in rejecting Him (Jn. 15.22-25). IV. The ultimate proof that Jesus is the Christ is His resurrection from the dead (Ro. 1.3-4). A. All of Jesus' other signs hinge on the ultimate sign of His resurrection (Mat. 12.38-40; Lk. 11.29-30). B. Without the resurrection, Jesus Christ and His miracles become a lie (I Cor. 15.12-18). 1. Christ abides forever (Jn. 12.32-34 with Ps. 89.4; 110.4). 2. Therefore, Jesus cannot be the Christ if He is still dead. C. There is an abundance of evidence to support faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ (Acts 1.3). D. The possibility of the resurrection must be granted from the evidence of God's power in the creation (Jer. 32.17). 1. If God could create a living man from the dust, He can certainly raise that dust to life again (Acts 26.8). 2. Even evolutionists will grant that life came from non-living matter; hence, they accept life from the dead. E. There were numerous eyewitnesses to the risen Lord (I Cor. 15.5-8). F. The historicity of other facts mentioned by the gospel writers such as the Jewish situation, the Roman rule, and geography stand unquestioned. G. Attempts to deny the resurrection break down. 1. Some say Jesus did not actually die, He merely swooned. a. There were witnesses to His death (Jn. 19.33-35; Mk. 15.44-45). b. How did the weakened Jesus survive three days and nights in a stone sepulchre bound in one hundred pounds of spices (Jn. 19.39-40)? c. How did the weakened Jesus get past the Roman guard and roll away the stone over the door (Mat. 27.64-66)? 2. Some say His disciples stole His body (Mat. 28.13). a. The disciples neither understood nor believed the resurrection before it was proved to them (Mk. 9.31-32; Lk. 24.10-11). b. How did they get past the Roman guard to steal the body? Faith & Facts - Page 2
c. Would all of the disciples so uniformly suffer what they did for something they knew was a tale of their own devising? 3. Some say that His enemies stole the body. a. Why didn't the enemies produce the body to prove the apostolic testimony was a lie? b. Attempts to silence the resurrection were made by force, not proof! 4. Some say that a beast devoured His body. a. How did the beast get past the stone and the guard? b. A beast would have left traces of the body, which would have been advanced by enemies to deny the resurrection. c. A beast would not have left the napkin that was about Jesus' head wrapped together in a place by itself (Jn. 20.7-8). H. The impact of the resurrection attests to its reality. 1. The apostles underwent a transformation after they saw the risen Lord. 2. Time is divided at Jesus Christ; would time be divided by the impact of a deluded fanatic? 3. The perpetual existence of the Christian faith attests to the historicity of the risen Christ. V. The gospel calls for faith in facts for which there were numerous eyewitnesses. A. The law required more than one witness to establish a matter (Jn. 8.17-18). B. The apostles constantly advanced the fact that they were witnesses of Jesus Christ (Acts 2.32; 3.15; 5.32; 10.39-41; 13.31; I Jn. 1.1-3; II Pet. 1.16-18). C. The resurrection was certified by numerous eyewitnesses (I Cor. 15.5-8). D. The proof of Jesus is open for inspection (Acts 26.26). E. The record of these eyewitnesses has been written so that men might have the data upon which to base their faith (Jn. 20.30-31; Lk. 1.1-4). 1. Our belief of the events of other history is based on the records that have been left by those who experienced that history. 2. The same applies to the history of the gospel. 3. There are numerous manuscripts of the New Testament some of which date back to the second century after the events took place. 4. The oldest manuscript copy of the Roman historian Tacitus dates back to one thousand years AFTER he wrote. 5. There is a thousand years between Caesar's Gallic Wars and the oldest manuscript available! 6. Some approach the New Testament with the presupposition that all the Faith & Facts - Page 3
VI. VII. writers lied about Jesus Christ. a. Imagine approaching a study of Alexander the Great with the presupposition that all the sources lied about him. b. Such a bias makes the study of history impossible if it is consistently applied to all historical investigation. 7. The New Testament documents meet the criteria of reliable history. a. The N.T. writers were contemporaries of the times and persons of whom they wrote. b. The N.T. writers suffered for their testimony; it is unlikely they would have endured such suffering for something they knew was a lie. c. They record the doubts that they entertained and how they themselves accepted the facts only under the weight of the strongest evidence. Based upon the evidence that is available the Christian trusts in God with respect to those things of God that He cannot see (Ro. 8.24-25). A. We accept God's account of the origin of the world though we cannot personally verify it (Heb. 11.3). B. We are confident of heaven though we have never been there (II Cor. 4.18). C. We trust men in areas where we lack personal knowledge and experience. 1. We trust a doctor in recommending a remedy without ourselves learning all he knows. 2. What we do know of the doctor encourages us to trust him in areas where we lack knowledge. 3. How much more so ought we to trust God (I Jn. 5.9)! There is more to faith than merely seeing the evidence; seeing is not necessarily believing. A. The following passages show faith operating with sight: Ex. 14.31; Jn. 2.23; 6.40; 11.45; 20.8. B. However, there were those who saw the evidence of God and of Christ and yet did not believe (Jn. 6.36; 11.47; 12.37). C. The following passages show faith operating without sight: Jn. 20.29; II Cor. 5.7; Heb. 11.1; I Pet. 1.8. 1. These passages do not exclude the fact that faith is based on evidence. 2. Our faith rests on the evidence contained in the written record, the word of God (Ro. 10.14-17; Jn. 20.31). 3. We are not ourselves eyewitnesses of Biblical history, but we base our faith on the accounts of those who were eyewitnesses. Faith & Facts - Page 4
VIII. D. If God were to speak to a crowd of men, skeptics would devise a theory to explain away the occurrence. E. There must be more than the presentation of evidence to convince a man to believe! F. Unbelief of the gospel cannot be charged to its lack of proof. 1. The proof of the gospel is such that when it is preached, Jesus Christ is EVIDENTLY set forth before the eyes of the hearers (Gal. 3.1). 2. Unbelief of the gospel must rather be charged to man's rebellious nature (I Cor. 2.14; II Cor. 4.3-4). 3. The man who will not believe the testimony of Jesus Christ would not believe if he actually saw Jesus Christ himself. G. A man will not believe the facts until God gives him the ability to believe (Php. 1.29; Jn. 6.64-65). H. It is the province of the witness to present the facts; it is the province of God to give a man the ability to believe those facts (II Ti. 2.24-26). True faith is more than merely acknowledging the evidence, it is a matter of submission to God and His will. A. Devils believe yet rebel; this is hardly a godly faith (Jas. 2.19). B. Faith is not getting my way with God; it is submission to His way for me (Ro. 16.26). C. Doubts arise when we try to get God to fulfill our plans instead of submitting to His will (Ps. 78.18-24). FAITH I. What is faith? A. faith - Belief, trust, confidence. Confidence, reliance, trust (in the ability, goodness, etc. of a person; in the efficacy or worth of a thing; or in the truth of a statement or doctrine). B. HEB 11:1: "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." C. Faith is a present experience with what we hope to receive. II. The foundation of our faith is the resurrection of Jesus Christ (1PE 1:21). A. Without the resurrection, Jesus Christ is a lie (1CO 15:12-18). 1. Christ abides forever (JOH 12:32-34). 2. Therefore, Jesus cannot be the Christ if He is still dead. B. There is an abundance of evidence to support faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ (ACT 1:3). 1. The possibility of the resurrection must be granted from the evidence of God's power in creation (JER 32:17; ACT 26:8). Faith & Facts - Page 5
III. IV. 2. There were numerous eyewitnesses to the risen Christ (1CO 15:3-8). 3. The record of these eyewitnesses has been written so that we might believe (JOH 20:30-31). 4. Our belief of the events of other history is based on records that have been left by those who experienced that history. 5. The New Testament documents meet the criteria of reliable history. a. The N.T. writers were contemporaries of the times and persons of whom they wrote. b. It is unlikely they the N.T. writers would have endured the suffering they did for something they knew was a lie. c. They N.T. writers record the doubts they had and how they themselves accepted the facts only under the weight of the strongest evidence. C. Based upon the evidence that is available, we trust God with respect to those things of His that we cannot see. 1. We accept God's account of the origin of the world though we cannot personally verify it (HEB 11:3). 2. We are confident of heaven though we have never been there. 3. We trust proven men in areas where we lack personal knowledge and experience. How much more should we trust God! (1JO 5:9) There is more to faith than merely seeing the evidence; seeing is not necessarily believing. A. The following passages show faith operating with sight: EXO 14:31; JOH 2:23; 20:8. B. However, there were those who saw the evidence and did not believe (JOH 6:36; 12:37). C. The following passages show faith operating without sight: JOH 20:29; 2CO 5:7; 1PE 1:8. 1. These passages do not exclude the fact that faith is based on evidence. 2. We are not ourselves eyewitnesses of Biblical history, but we base our faith on the accounts of those who were eyewitnesses. D. There must be more than the presentation of evidence to convince a man to believe! E. Unbelief of the gospel cannot be charged to its lack of proof. F. The man who will not believe the testimony of Jesus Christ would not believe if he actually saw Jesus Christ himself. G. A man will not believe the facts until God gives him the ability to believe (JOH 6:64-65). God is the source of our faith. Faith & Facts - Page 6
A. Christ is the author of our faith (HEB 12:2). B. It comes through God's righteousness (2PE 1:1). C. Our faith is born of God (1JO 5:4). D. The ability to keep the commandment to believe is given in the new birth (EZE 11:19-20 with 1JO 3:23). E. Faith is a fruit of the Spirit (GAL 5:22). F. It is given to us to believe (PHI 1:29). V. Faith is activated by the word of God (ROM 10:13-17). A. Ministers of the word are the means through which men believe (JOH 1:6-8; 1CO 3:5). B. The word works effectually in the believer (1TH 2:13; HEB 4:2). C. The gospel is hidden to the man without faith (2CO 4:2-4). D. Faith is to the word of God as sight is to light. VI. We must distinguish between true faith and feigned faith (1TI 1:5). VII. VIII. A. True faith is proven by works (JAM 2:14-26). B. True faith is connected with love and works by love (EPH 1:15; 1JO 3:23; 1TI 1:5; GAL 5:6 with 2JO 1:6). C. True faith is more than merely acknowledging facts. It is a matter of submission to God and His will. D. Devils believe yet rebel. Theirs is hardly a godly faith. There are varying degrees of faith. A. It may be little or great (MAT 6:30; 8:26; 8:5-10). B. It may be weak or strong (ROM 4:19-20). C. Faith should increase (2TH 1:3). 1. The ministry of the word increases faith (1TH 3:10; PHI 1:25). 2. Increased faith leads to increased witness (2CO 10:15-16). D. Oh, to be full of faith (ACT 6:5)! Consider the effects and benefits of faith. A. By faith we perceive the reality of God and His works (see III.B). B. Through faith we understand (HEB 11:3; MAT 16:6-12). C. Faith evidences our election of God and our possession of eternal salvation (1TH 4:4-6; TIT 1:1; ACT 13:39, 48; JOH 3:36; HEB 11:4). 1. It is believers who may know that they have eternal life (1JO 5:13). 2. We become wise unto salvation through faith (2TI 3:15). Faith & Facts - Page 7
D. By faith Christ dwells in our heart (EPH 3:14-19). 1. There is an indwelling of Christ in regeneration that all of the elect experience (ROM 8:9-11). 2. There is an indwelling of Christ in fellowship that only the true believer experiences (JOH 15:1-11). a. Dwell - To abide or continue for a time, in a place, state, or condition. b. Abide - To wait, stay, remain. 3. According to 1JO 2:24 we will be abiding in Christ if we are abiding in that which we have heard from the beginning. a. The words "abide," "remain," and "continue" all translate the same Greek word "meno" which means to remain, abide, stay, dwell. b. We must continue in Christ's doctrine if we are to continue in Him (GAL 1:6). 4. After the example of Paul, we must pray for the strength of the Spirit to live the life of faith. 5. With Christ dwelling in our hearts, the issues of our life will be under His control (PRO 4:23). 6. The person who has Christ dwelling in his heart by faith is rooted and grounded in love. a. Rooted - Filled or covered with roots; firmly fixed or established, deeply implanted, in something. b. Grounded - Deeply or strongly founded; firmly fixed or established; resting upon a good basis. c. This contrasts with fickle devotion (HOS 6:1-4). 7. This indwelling of Christ leads to the ability to comprehend. a. The dimensions of God can only be known by divine revelation (JOB 11:7-9). b. These dimensions are comprehended by the saints since it is to them that they are made known (EPH 3:9-10; COL 1:25-27). 8. This indwelling of Christ leads to a knowledge of His love. a. Christ's love is beyond knowledge. b. We may know something of the love of Christ, yet we can never fully know it. 9. This indwelling of Christ leads to being filled with the fulness of God. a. As finite beings, we could never contain the infinite God (1KI 8:27). b. This is being filled with such a fulness as God is ready to grant and Faith & Facts - Page 8
IX. we are capable of receiving. c. Observe how being filled with God accords with doctrinal knowledge (cp. EPH 5:18-20 with COL 3:16-17). 10. This prayer of Paul describes a full, spiritual life, which results from faith. E. Faith is the means of joy and peace (PHI 1:25; ROM 15:13). F. Faith produces sanctification (ACT 26:18). 1. Sanctify - To make holy or to treat as holy. 2. This sanctification is the practice of holiness, which springs from faith (1TH 4:1-7; 1PE 1:22). 3. The faithful are called saints and saints are holy persons (EPH 1:1; COL 1:2). G. By faith we have access into God's grace (ROM 5:2; EPH 3:12; HEB 4:16). 1. GOD'S GRACE HELPS! 2. God's grace suffices for all needs (2CO 9:8; 12:9). 3. Our lack of help is not owing to a lack of its availability. It is owing to our lack of faith (HEB 11:6; JAM 1:5-6). H. Faith breeds determination (MAT 15:21-28; MAR 2:3-5; 10:46-52). I. By faith we stand and withstand Satan (2CO 1:24; EPH 6:10-13; 1PE 5:8-9). J. By faith we overcome the world (1JO 5:4-5). K. Faith gives us something to walk by (2CO 5:7; PRO 3:5-7; HEB 11:8-10). The believer has a sound sense of direction! L. The life of faith glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ in us and glorifies us in him (2TH 1:11-12). 1. The work of faith is fulfilled with power. 2. The life of faith is a manifestation of God's power in men (EPH 1:19). M. The life of faith pleases God (HEB 11:5-6). Take heed to maintain your faith. A. Continue in the faith (COL 1:23). B. Hold fast to your faith (1TI 1:18-19; HEB 3:6, 14). C. Follow after your faith (1TI 6:11). D. Keep the faith (2TI 4:7). 1. The good fight is keeping the faith (1TI 6:12; JUD 1:3). 2. One has fought a good fight if he keeps the faith he had in the beginning unto the end (COL 2:5-8). X. Beware of abandoning your faith. Faith & Facts - Page 9
XI. A. One may swerve from faith (1TI 1:5-7). 1. They who swerve from faith turn aside to vain jangling which is the action of talking excessively or noisily; chattering, babbling, prating. 2. They also fall into teaching things they do not understand. B. One may put away faith thus making shipwreck (1TI 1:19). C. One may depart from the faith (1TI 4:1). 1. Those who abandon the faith are giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils. 2. By contrast, those who are stedfast in the faith resist the devil (1PE 5:8-9). D. One may deny the faith (1TI 5:8). 1. In this case, the faith is denied by a failure to fulfill one's responsibility. 2. A lack of good works denies the faith, which produces good works. E. One may cast off his first faith (1TI 5:11-12). 1. Such a person does not hold to what he first believed. 2. Casting off the first faith causes one to have damnation. F. One may err from the faith (1TI 6:10). 1. Coveting after money will lead to erring from the faith. 2. They who err from the faith pierce themselves through with many sorrows. The following two verses are suitable prayers regarding our faith. A. LUK 17:5: "And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith." B. MAR 9:24: "And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief." Faith & Facts - Page 10