August 8, 2010 — Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost
“Certain of Unseen Things” — Pastor Lassman
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My Fellow Redeemed in Christ,
You don’t have to be a Christian to have faith. Whether people know it or not, like to admit it or not...everyone has faith...in something or someone. It is impossible for a human being to exist without faith in something. People can have faith in the goodness of people, faith in science, faith in government, faith in human reason, faith in a philosophical system, faith in a religion, faith in another person. Everyone has faith in something. So, when it comes to faith, it’s not whether you have faith or not. Everyone has faith in something. The question becomes whether you have the right faith or not, the most important faith. Christian faith is faith in God and his word and especially his promises about Jesus Christ. God and his word cannot be separated. There is no difference between having faith in God and faith in his word. For the only way to know God is through his word. In our text for this morning the author of Hebrews says that faith in God and his word means “Being Certain of Things that Cannot Be Seen.”
I. So then faith is being certain that God created the world. That’s what God’s word says.
A. Obviously this is something that we cannot see or prove. We were not there when the world was created. No one was. Logically there are only three basic ways to explain the existence of the universe. One explanation for the universe is that the universe created itself. At one point in time there was no universe. And then suddenly or slowly a universe came into existence. This is what many scientist want us to believe...you know...”The Big Bang Theory.” But of course this involves faith in several things including the universality of physical laws. And ultimately “The Big Bang Theory” really doesn’t explain the creation of the universe out of nothing. It only offers a theory of how the universe was fashioned and formed from pre-existing matter. The second logical way of explaining the existence of the universe is that it is eternal---in other words, the universe wasn’t created...it has always existed. This was the opinion of the great philosopher Aristotle. But of course he was present at creation either. And this too involves faith
B. Then there is the third logical explanation: someone made the universe. And that is what the Bible says. And that “someone” is God...who is eternal and who was there. From beginning to end, the Bible says that God made the universe and that he made it out of nothing. He simply spoke and it was created as we read in our lesson: “By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.”
Notice that the author of Hebrews says that we understand this “by faith.” We were not there when the universe was created. But remember that the other two explanations for the universe: that the universe created itself or that it is eternal is also based on faith. So again it’s not a matter about whether faith is involved but what our faith is based on. And our faith is based on the word of God who was the only one present at the creation of the universe...because he created it. And so we can put our faith in his word. We can trust that what he says is true. So faith is certain that God created the world...in six days. Just as God says, not once, but twice, in the book of Exodus: “For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them but he rested on the seventh day.” (20: 11; 31:17 NIV) And since God made the universe this means that life has meaning and purpose. For part of his creation was the human race, you and me. And he made us to know him, to have a relationship with him; to believe in him and his word.
II. So, then, faith is also being certain of things we cannot see and finding hope in those unseen things.
A. We see this in the example of Abraham, mentioned in our Old Testament lesson (Gen. 15: 1-6) as well as in our text. God gave Abraham three basic promises: one, he would have many descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as sand on the shore. Two, God would give his descendants there own land, the promised land. And three, from those descendants on that land God would give the Savior of the whole world...Jesus Christ. And Abraham believed. And this is why he is praised for his faith. And it was faith. For Abraham didn’t see one of those promises fulfilled in his lifetime. Not one. Abraham lived in the promised land as a nomad. It wasn’t his land. Other people owned it and possessed it. And he never saw the many descendants that God promised him. Indeed at the time recorded in our Old Testament lesson (Gen. 15:1-6) he didn’t even have a child. And he and his wife were now beyond child bearing and he never saw Jesus. Abraham died in faith never seeing any of
these promises fulfilled just as we read: “These all died in faith not having received the things promised.” (v. 13, ESV) But that’s what faith is: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for the conviction of things not seen.” Abraham believed in God’s promises...for one reason: because God said so.
B. And it’s no different with our faith. Faith trusts in God’s word as Paul says in his second letter to the Corinthians: “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” (5:7, ESV) You see faith is the opposite of seeing. You don’t need faith for something that you can see. But our faith is certain and firm. Why? Because it is based on God and his
word. God does not lie and God can do whatever he says. Faith is trust. We too have been given promises from God that we cannot see or prove. The last promise that God fulfilled for Abraham was sending Jesus Christ into the world. Born on the promised land, just as God said, born a Jew, a descendant of Abraham, just as God said. We believe that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world...because God says so. We believe that Jesus lived a holy and sinless life in the place of our sinful life...because God says so. We believe that when he died on the cross he paid for the sins of the whole world, canceling the world’s debt of sin, including ours...because God says so. We believe that three days later he was raised from the dead, ascended into heaven and now sits at the right hand of God the father almighty...because God says so. We believe that God gives this salvation and brings people to faith through the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ...because God says so. We believe that baptism washes away all our sin, unites us to Jesus Christ and gives us the Holy Spirit...because God says so. We believe that Jesus Christ gives us his body to eat and his blood to drink for the forgiveness of our sins...because God says so. We believe that because of Jesus Christ we are at peace with God who is now our father and who hears our prayers...because God says so. We believe that one day Jesus Christ will return visibly to judge the living and the dead...and will raise our bodies as immortal, glorified bodies to live eternally in a new world free of sin and death...because God says so. This is our faith which “...is the assurance of things hoped for the conviction of things not seen.”
Conclusion: every human being in the world lives by faith in something: the self; another person, human reason, science, government, philosophy, some kind of religion; and countless other things. It is impossible for human beings to live without faith in something. So then, the question becomes “Where should I put my faith?” What or whom should I trust in? We often put our faith in something or someone and we are eventually disappointed...and when death comes our way that will be clear. People can let us down; government can fail us, science is flawed and philosophies and religions are man-made. And then there is God. He gives us his word. He does not lie and he can do whatever he says. God is the creator who has revealed himself in his word. And on that first Christmas his word became flesh, Jesus Christ, and dwelt among us. He died and rose again on our behalf. And he is coming a second and last time. And in him we can have “the assurance of things hoped for the conviction of things not seen.” Amen.
