Full Assurance of Faith

Posted by on May 13, 2012 under Front Page Posts, Resources, Sermons, Uncategorized

by Dr. Michael Cole

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May 13, 2012 – Sunday PM
 
“Let us draw near with a true heart in FULL ASSURANCE OF FAITH …” (Hebrews 10:22)
 
What do you have doubts about?
In what do you trust and why?
 
“You can never be sure that there is a God.”
Is this a true statement?
 

Hebrews 11:6 – Without faith it is impossible to please God. Christians must believe that He exists.

Adult Christians seem too embarrassed to say, “If there is a God, … .”  I was.
One can recite Scripture and even argue biblical principles without fully believing it.
 
Romans 10:17 – “faith comes by hearing … the Word of God.”
 

What is “faith”?

Webster’s Dictionary definition of faith:
“firm belief in something for which there is no proof”

Does God expect us to have faith in or rely upon or trust something or someone for which there is no proof? And He expects me to be willing to die for this?

Hebrews 11:1 – Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
 
Real faith must rest on solid proof, not just feelings, conjecture, or wishful thinking.
 
Ecclesiastes 3:11; Job 38-41
 
Mark 9:24 – Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”
 
  • How do I know Australia exists?
  • Was Julius Caesar assassinated?

Genesis 37:33 (NKJV) – And [Jacob] recognized it and said, “It is my son’s tunic. A wild beast has devoured him. Without doubt Joseph is torn to pieces.”

Discussion of Origins in Search of Evidence for “Things Not Seen.”

  • Origin of the Universe and Age of the Earth
  • Origin of Man
  • Origin of God (the concept)
  • Origin of the Bible

1st and 2nd Laws of Thermodynamics
Cell Theory

Science deals with HOW, not WHY

“Evidences” that God doesn’t exist:
1.  ?_____
There is no evidence that God does not exist.
 
 Evidences for the existence of God:
5.  Order and complexity of the Universe
4.  Intricate, delicately balanced nature of life
3.  Deliberate design in Genetic Code
2.  Historical record, Bible (history and prophecies) and extra-biblical
1.  THE EMPTY TOMB
 
I Corinthians 15:12-20, “… if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless …”
 
Extra-biblical Sources – Evidences for the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ
 
Even if we did not have the New Testament or anything else written by early Christians, we would be able to conclude from non-Christian writings that:
  1. Jesus was a Jewish teacher;
  2. many people believed that He healed the sick and cast out evil spirits;
  3. He was rejected by the Jewish leaders;
  4. He was crucified under Pontius Pilate during the reign of Tiberius Caesar;
  5. despite this shameful death, His followers, who believed that He was still alive, spread beyond Palestine so that there were multitudes of them in Rome by 64 A.D.;
  6. all kinds of people from the cities and countryside—men and women, slave and free—worshiped Jesus as God by the beginning of the second century.

Above list is from Yamauchi, Edwin M. (1995), “Jesus Outside the New Testament: What is the Evidence?,” Jesus Under Fire, ed. Michael J. Wilkins and J.P. Moreland (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan), p. 122.

JESUS:

  • Legend?
  • Lunatic?
  • Liar?
  • LORD
Job 42:5 (CSB), “I had heard rumors about You, but now my eyes have seen You.”

 

Fragile Faith is transformed by

  1. Believing that God exists
  2. Coming to know God through study and prayer
  3. Trusting that He will provide for you

I John 2:3

II Corinthians 4:17-18

Can I follow a God who might exist, or will I affirm allegiance to the God who undoubtedly exists and has my best interest at heart?

Shall we disobey a God who might exist, or will we rebel against the God who is known to exist and has expectations of His children?