The Most Dangerous Letter

1 John 4:10, 1 Corinthians 2:10-12

Watch on YouTube

What’s the most dangerous letter in the alphabet for a Christian? I think it’s the letter I.

Sometimes in confirmation class, I will ask my students how do you know you’re right with God? How do you know? How can you be confident that you have eternal life with him? And they will say, well, I believe in him. I would say, I believe in Jesus. And then they often go on and say, and I pray, and I try to do all these things. And while saying, I believe in Jesus is in the right direction, the way they say it, and especially how they then go on to say, well, then I pray and I try to do what God wants. I start to realize there’s an issue with that letter, that one letter word I.

So quickly, even when talking about believing in Jesus, we can turn our focus to the fact that I believe. We can start to make it. About what I do. As if faith is some power I have. And so I tell them you’re in the right direction, but you know what? Just cut the “I” out of there. Just take it, take it out. How are you right with God? Jesus died for me. How do you have faith? The Holy Spirit gave it to me. Take the “I” out.

I mean, after all, 1 John 4:10 says this. It says

In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (1 John 4:10)

So Jesus is the payment. That word propitiation, I know it’s a fancy word, but it’s Jesus laid down his life to die for your sins and mine. He covers our sins so we could be at one with God, restored, redeemed. Our sins, separated us from God. There’s nothing we could do to set ourselves right with God. Jesus did it all. I had nothing to do with earning that. It’s all about Jesus.

And now even the faith that we have. First Corinthians 2:10-12 talks about these things God has revealed to us.

These are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. (1 Corinthians 2:10-12)

How do you know the things of God? How do you believe? It’s because the Holy Spirit has given you the gift of faith. He has given you a new heart and opened you up to a new mind to really believe the things of God. So now, as a Christian, yes, do I take hold of my faith now that I’m brought to faith? Yes. But why not just take the word I out of it? Because I so often turns back to depending on me and it’s really all about him. God the Father’s love. Jesus’ is death and resurrection, his life for us, the Holy Spirit’s gift of faith. Take “I” out of it.