I Really Believe This

Hebrews 11:1, Revelation 1:18

Watch on YouTube

You really believe that, don’t you? His question came out more like a statement. You see, his mother was on her deathbed, and her son had asked me to come in and visit with her. So as a pastor, I came in and shared with her the comfort that Jesus had died for all of her sins, the certainty that she had that Jesus has risen from the dead. And because Jesus has risen, she too will be in heaven. Afterwards, your son came up to me and asked. You really believe that, don’t you?

The Christian faith is all about certainty. In fact, we’re told in the book of Hebrews.

Now faith is being sure of what you hope for and certain of what you do not see. (Hebrews 11:1)

Faith is about certainty of what we don’t see. And just because you can’t see something doesn’t mean it isn’t there. So for instance, that two by four that’s in a wall. We call that a stud. You can’t see where it is, but there’s different ways you can come to be certain of exactly where that stud is. You can use a stud finder, you can use magnets. You can even do a knock test on the wall based on the echo, to find where that beam is in the wall. And I love that picture for faith, because God wants us to drive that nail of our faith home in a place that we’re certain. A place that we know will be able to hold us. To carry us.

And why that’s important is because so many people today actually live on what we call blind faith. Faith that isn’t really investigating, faith that believes things without really searching out the truth. So many people today believe in reincarnation that once we die, we come back as an animal, like a red cardinal on the windowsill. And even though it’s a very cute, touching picture, it’s not very cute after the neighborhood cat pounces. Beyond that, though. How can we be certain? How can you actually prove that someone comes back as an animal? You can’t.

Other people like to put their faith in science. What people have been able to investigate and research, and we’ve looked into the stars and we haven’t seen a god up there. So that must mean there is no God. We’ve looked at the human being and we haven’t seen a soul, so that must mean there’s nothing that happens to us after we die. We just simply blink out of existence. Well, I like to ask those people, how do you prove that? How can you be certain that that’s the case?

God wants you to be certain. He invites you as his child to investigate these things for yourself, to read His Word. And in God’s Word you’ll find Jesus who promises that

I am he who is dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. And I hold the keys of death and Hades. (Revelation 1:18)

He was dead. And he is alive again for evermore. He’s been to the other side and he’s come back. And he promises you the way is safe. I believe that. That’s where I pound my nail. How about you? Amen.