Title: Trust in the Covenant
2011.6.5 Sunday morning worship service
Bible: John 20:28-31
Title: Faith Is Trust in the Covenant
John 20:28-31 ‘28. Thomas answered and said, "My Lord and my God." 29 Jesus said to him, "Do you believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and believe."30. Jesus performed many other signs before the disciples, which are not recorded in this book,31. But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.” - Amen.
The text is the scene where the Lord appeared again to Thomas, who did not trust the words of the other disciples who had seen the resurrected Jesus. Even after seeing Jesus teaching for three years, the disciples did not believe them at first, and Thomas also distrusted the words of the other apostles who saw the risen Lord first, similar to our people today. What does it really mean to believe in God? What is the true Christian faith referred to in the Bible? As a conclusive answer, I would like to consider the sermon under the title of <Faith is trust in the covenant>.
1. The purpose of the Bible is to believe in Jesus and receive life
No matter what age we live in, we cannot become Christians beyond the purpose of the Bible. The Bible is not meant to be interpreted or used according to individual circumstances. Text John 20:31 “But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name.” Life is a comprehensive meaning of eternal life and victory on earth. Enemy life collectively. To lead this victorious life, you must believe in Christ. It's about what you believe. John 5:39 “You study the Scriptures, thinking that you have eternal life, and these Scriptures testify of me” (John 5:46).
The Old and New Testaments are written documents about Jesus, and the purpose of writing is to believe in Jesus and gain life. It is emphasized that the text's record of the meeting with Thomas is also in order to make them believe in Christ. Text John 20:29 "Jesus said to him, "Because you have seen me, do you believe? Blessed are those who have not seen and believe." (1 Peter 1:8) After all, the Word proves that the channel to faith in Christ is not confirmed by experience alone. So, we can define our beliefs like this:
2. Faith is trust in biblical covenants
Knowledge is ultimately science, and we are in a situation where we feel comfortable understanding things and events with confidence that we can objectively accept. When we say we believe in Jesus, we who have never seen Jesus on what basis believe in Jesus and His promises, And I wondered if it could even be said that I realized it. As verse 30 expresses, trusting in the Bible, which is “written in this book”, that is, God's covenant, can be defined as Christian faith.
Acknowledgment of the facts does not necessarily require experience to be believed and trusted. There are many things that we accept and trust in our inexperienced things. For example, I can't remember all the childbirth and childhood days my parents gave birth to and raised me, but I do not try to distrust myself and I believe in them.
Christians believe in Old Testament history. For example, I have not seen the creation of the heavens and the earth and the creation of man in Genesis, but I believe it. Because they trust the word of God, they reject the theory of evolution. We also believe in the afterlife, heaven and hell, the world and time of judgment. Although there is no comparison on earth, we believe in creation and the afterlife more firmly than any claims made by scientists. It is simply trusting in the promises and prophecies of the Word.
Therefore, when you try to have faith, do not try to acknowledge the Word of God through experience, but because you acknowledge the Word, I hope you will experience it. When there was no written book, Abraham, the father of our faith, also said that he followed the word in Genesis 12:4. The Gospel movement has been changing the world through the entire Bible.
If we are to trust God and gain the strength we trust, we must not try to confirm it with scientific or empirical evidence alone. It means that we do not necessarily believe and trust Jesus by thoroughly checking with our eyes like Thomas did. Recently, mysticism, positivism, and ups and downs also try to trust God through short-sighted and physical experiences because they distrust or dim the blessings of the covenant for the afterlife.
Science is going paranormal, and faith sees it lagging behind. Because people are so accustomed to lying, they are now trying to make decisions based on their experience in believing in God. However, it is a self-evident fact that in the last days, when a false prophet comes and causes fire to fall from heaven, it will be easier to be moved by visible fire than by the fire of the spiritual Spirit (Revelation 13:). No, the movement to trust God with this mystery and miracleism is already taking place within the church today, and various movement groups are taking place here and there. People say it is a movement of great faith, but it is actually a movement of disbelievers who like to believe that it is experimental and empirical like Thomas.
As a Jesuit, how much do you trust and live in God?
Do you still not believe in God because there is no clear evidence for it? What is the definition of your faith? Please confirm the definition of true Christian faith. Many of the things we already believe in, whether in the world or in the Bible, are also in the inexperienced fields. Therefore, I pray that you will become witnesses who experience the Christian faith by believing in the covenant of truth rather than trying to solve the Christian faith only through experience.