What Jesus Says About True
Faith
He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
I John 5:12
Who is the true Christian? It is astonishing to discover how much confusion there is on this subject, even among people who have been reared in the atmosphere of the Christian church. Some are very broad and very generous in their definition. A true Christian to them is anyone who is living in the general traditions of society — one, let us say, who cooks his food and does not tear it raw from the bone; one who wears clothes according to the accepted custom, and who has only one wife at a time. But opinions appear to be broadening. The term "Christian" is often loosely applied to anyone who has the veneer and polish of our modern western civilization, regardless of the condition of the heart or personal relationship to the living God.
On the other hand, others are not so liberal in their classification. They feel that a true Christian is a very rare, saintly individual. To make the grade, he must be a paragon of flaw-
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less virtue with an angelic disposition. He must live somewhere far from ordinary behavior, suspended between heaven and earth, unrelated to realistic living and unsuited for the workaday world we know. These individuals insist that "...many are called, but few are chosen." As the little boy returning from Sunday School said: "Mother, today they talked about cold Christians." "Cold Christians!" the mother exclaimed. "What did they say?" "Well," replied the boy, "they talked on the verse 'many are cold and a few are frozen!' " In this view Christianity is limited to just a very, very few — to "me and thee, and I am not so sure of thee!"
Who is right? Where does the truth lie and how may we define genuine Christianity? Some may feel that they are true Christians when, really, they are not. Others may fear they are not when, really, they are. So we turn to the Bible and particularly to the New Testament for our definition of the nature of a true Christian. I think the simplest and in many ways the most profound definition is given in I John 5:12: "He that hath the Son (Christ) hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." Thus Christianity is described in terms of life. It is described as a living relationship with the source of life, Jesus Christ. I like to define it this way: "Christianity is the life of God in the soul of man through personal trust in Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord." In order to make this truth clear, let us consider it first in the negative — what a Christian is not; and thus sharpening our understanding, let us turn later to the positive truth of the subject.
A true Christian is not merely a decent fellow who is kind and good, who is substantial and sober, who is a solid citizen and a good husband and father. Christ certainly ought to make a man like that, but this is not the heart or the substance of
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Christianity. Rather, these virtues are the fruit of Christianity. The true Christian is not merely a church member who has been baptized, catechized, and processed through an ecclesiastical organization. Often, we consider Christianity as a process. We think of it somewhat like an orange, picked, washed, wrapped, packed, and then shipped up to the Pearly Gates, regardless of the condition of the fruit. But this is not Christianity. There is no such routine process, no mechanical procedure whereby an individual may be wrapped, packaged, and delivered above by a church, apart from a personal relationship with God.
Judas Iscariot, I suppose would have passed the membership committee of almost any church. He was to all outward appearances sincere. He made an affirmation of faith. He observed religious services. But to attend services, to give generously to a cause, and to put one's hand to work, laudable as these things may be, is not the essence of Christianity. It is rather the outcome of a relationship and a life. Of course, the true Christian will seek the church and its causes, the way a child seeks a father and the father's house. But seeking the church does not establish in itself this relationship with the living God.
A true Christian is not merely one who does not do things. Strangely enough, there is a point of view that persists in thinking, "The more things I do not do, the more truly a Christian I am. I do not lie, or cheat, or steal. I do not swear or drink. I do not carouse. I do not do this; I do not do that. Therefore, I am a Christian." No accumulation of negatives can ever bring man into the positive life of Christ. A house cannot be built out of rejected material. The gospel is "good news," "glad tidings," and certainly it is not glad tidings to be
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told that salvation is found by barricading oneself from life and loading oneself with all kinds of restrictions. The early Christians were out in the streets and thoroughfares singing their joy. They had been delivered. They had entered into a new life and were in the fellowship of God. It was positive. It broke the patterns of the old by the power of a new impulse. It was not barricading life and barring it from certain evils. It was setting life free.
Let it be said also that a Christian is not merely one who affirms a doctrinal belief. One may subscribe to all the points of the catechism and still not be a true Christian. The Bible says, "...the devils also believe, and tremble" (James 2:19). In fact, the most orthodox statements about Jesus in the days of His flesh were from people possessed with demons. Whenever they were confronted by Jesus of Nazareth, they cried out and said, "What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God?" Long before the disciples had come to that position of faith, the demons were crying it. They believed all right, but their belief was not the kind that submitted to the authority of Christ or entrusted their lives to Him. Christianity is more than believing certain doctrines. It is good to believe truth. Truth is absolutely essential to the knowledge of God, but truth may be used somewhat like the rails on a railroad track; they are necessary to keep the train going in the right direction, but the rails in themselves do not provide the power nor move the passengers. Doctrine and the truths of Christ in the Bible are there to keep us on the way of life with God, but in themselves they are not life-giving.
Finally, a Christian is not one who is doing the best he can, trying to work his way or pay his way to God. So many times people have said to me, "Well, I'm doing the best I can." I
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commend their sincerity, but to do the best you can and to live up to what light you have is not Christianity.
One summer during a college vacation, I shipped out as a deck hand on one of the old Matson liners. I was not long on that cruise when I discovered that there were three categories of people on board. There was the crew, from the captain down to me — and that was very far down! We were working our way. We were there because we had a job to do. We could not have stayed on board if we had ceased to work. There was another class, the passengers. They were not working. They were enjoying themselves on the cruise, sunning themselves in deck chairs, enjoying the good food in the dining room, walking the decks. They were there because they had paid their way. They had bought passage on that ship and for that reason had the right to enjoy all its privileges. But there was still another class; the children of the passengers. They were not working, neither did they pay their way, but they were welcomed nevertheless. In fact, they had the best time of all, clambering and playing all over the ship. They were there because of a relationship. They were the children of parents who had paid for them and were taking them along with them on the voyage.
On this cruise with God into real salvation and life, there is only one class on board. No one can get on the ship because he pays his way. He is on board only because he is in relationship to the One who runs and operates the vessel. He is there only because he is a child of God through Jesus Christ. "Not by works of righteousness which we have done," writes the Apostle in Titus 3:5, "but according to his mercy he has saved us..." Or again in Ephesians 2:8, "By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift
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of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." We take our position in Christ because of His work for us — His righteousness, His merit, His redeeming power, His grace, His marvelous gift of salvation. It is not through our sacrifice, but through His sacrifice; not through our efforts, but through His efforts; not through that we are, but through what He is. Eternal life is given to us freely and accepted by a simple act of faith.
What would I do without my physical existence? Yet, I did not earn it or work for it. It was given to me. Of course, I recognize with gratitude those who gave my life to me, and I want to respond to them in love. But I cannot earn it, I cannot work for it, or pay for it.
Love, also, may only be received one way: as a gift. You can't buy love. You can't make a contract for love to be delivered on the basis of certain demands. Love is graciously, freely offered. Anything less than that ceases to be real love. You may respond to it and seek to be worthy of it, but real love comes as a free gift of the heart. In the same manner, we enter into a relationship with the living God in Christ Jesus by a believing, grateful response to what He has already done for us.
It is not thy repentance, sorrow or tearsThat brings to thee salvation
Or drives away thy fears.
It is the cross of Jesus,
The death He there did die
That wrought out full salvation
For such as you and I.
It is not what thou doest,
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Or what is left undone,
Or giving up a habit,
By which salvation's won.
James H. Gray
Now let's turn to the positive aspect of who is the true Christian. What are the characteristics of the real child of God? I think, first of all, that a true Christian is one who agrees with Christ. Certainly we must begin here. Our Lord had many things to say about the meaning of life, about the Heavenly Father, and relationships between man and God. We accept Christ's Word as final. We believe Him to be the supreme teacher and authority on matters of faith and life. We agree with Jesus Christ. This agreement is at the heart of Christianity. When Jesus Christ tells us that man needs a Saviour, that he has lost his way and needs a shepherd to find him and restore him, that the heart of man is evil and needs forgiveness, that all the strivings of man cannot attain to God, but man must needs be lifted there on the arms of grace, then we believe what Jesus says. We start here. In this day of confusion, with humanity battered and blasted with two ruinous wars, and in this hour of bitter disillusionment and anxiety, people still cling to their self-sufficiency. It is hard for a man to admit that by his own strength and wisdom he cannot find God. For him to submit himself as a recipient, rather than a builder of salvation by his own efforts, is not easy. But here we must begin. A true Christian starts with the understanding that he cannot save himself, that he needs One to save him. He turns to Jesus Christ as the answer to his need.
There are many things that prompt us to turn to Jesus Christ like this. It may be the search for reality, a deep hunger
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to know the truth. We may be driven by a dissatisfaction with the transitory and the changing aspects of man's knowledge, a longing for that which is solid and sure and steadfast, a desire to ground the soul upon eternal things that will abide and never pass way. In this mood, many have turned to Christ and found Him to be the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
Another may have a desire for fellowship, an inner loneliness that recognizes that all the human companionship in the world will not answer the cry of the heart for fellowship with God. Seeking that kind of a relationship, he turns to Christ, who gives it.
Yet another is prompted to consider Christ out of a quest for certainty about eternal things. In this sophisticated day, a good many people pride themselves that they are not "other worldly," dismissing the eternal aspect of existence and considering only today. But I have seen enough people in time of sorrow and counseled enough of the so-called "self-sufficient" to know that at the graveside there is always a wistfulness to know a life that will never end. Love continues after separation and asks profound questions: "Where is my loved one?" "Will we be together again? Does life simply go out like a flickering candle, extinguished in a gust of wind to leave nothing but darkness?" So the quest for things that will abide, and certainty about tomorrow has brought many to Him who said, "I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die..." (John 11:25, 26). They have found in Christ Jesus a positive knowledge of eternal things.
I think some people recognize the need for direction in life. There are so many conflicting drives that if we are not care-
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ful, we become subject to frustration and futility. They ask, "What does it all add up to? What am I doing with my life? Am I really getting anywhere or doing anything that really counts?"
It was this that first caused me to seek God. I could not find the formula for life, why I was here, what was really important, what gave value and meaning to existence. The key was eluding my grasp. Life was losing its significance, its flavor and zest. I thought, "Certainly if there is within me the desire to live a meaningful life and if there is a Creator in the universe, He must have an answer!" I turned to Him who has said, "...he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." I found He makes good these words.
Our basic need is for forgiveness and peace with God. To be convinced that there is a God and to suspect that He is holy, righteous, and just, throws into contrast the opposite condition that we know in our own lives. To face realistically our jealousies, our hypocrisies, our inconsistencies, our evil thoughts, our unforgiving attitudes — really to see the kind of people we are — is to be convinced of a fundamental need which no one of us in ourselves can meet. The point of reconciliation between us and the living God of Truth is His forgiveness.
David was a good man, a man after God's own heart. But there came a day when David realized that he had one urgent, pressing need, "...my sin," he said, "is ever before me." He needed forgiveness.
Peter was willing to forsake all and follow Christ. He was ready to do much for the Master, yet there came a time after his denial of Christ when he flung himself, weeping, out into
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the darkness. Then Peter knew he had one fundamental need. He needed forgiveness and restoration to fellowship with Jesus Christ.
Saul of Tarsus was brilliant and well educated. He felt secure in his self-righteousness and his work of religion, until he was confronted by the truth and holiness of the risen Lord. Then he knew that all his religiousness and righteousness were as nothing. He needed forgiveness and he needed to be reconciled to his God.
William Wilberforce was one of the guiding spirits of the Reform Movement in England during the nineteenth century. This youth, hunchbacked and deformed physically, was gifted with a brilliant mind and a very gracious, winsome personality. By the time he was in his early twenties, he had become the close companion of the younger Pitt. These two men were destined to go far in the service of their country and to have great influence among men. One summer, as they were traveling on the Continent together, Wilberforce had in his bag a copy of Doddridge's book, The Rise and Progress of the Soul, a very penetrating analysis of the human heart and its need. While reading that book, he became aware of his need of divine forgiveness. It was as though an arrow pierced his heart. He had always believed there was a God, but now he saw the holiness of God, and against it the black stain of his sinful heart. In the white light of living truth, he realized that unless he was a forgiven man, he was a lost man. He wrote in his diary of his anguish, "Oh, God, my sin! My sin! My awful sin! Roll the burden of it from my heart." There was but one place to go with his burdened soul — to the cross of Calvary and the sinner's Friend. Before long he found in Christ the matchless grace of God, forgiveness and a new life — a new life
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which was used to uplift humanity as few lives have ever been used.
These are some of the many impulses that bring us to Jesus Christ. Essentially, they come back to the recognition that we have certain basic needs that we cannot satisfy but that Christ can. In this we agree with Christ. We also agree that the purpose of our living is to do the will of God.
A true Christian not only agrees with Christ but believes in Him; that is, he has an essential confidence that Jesus Christ is who He Himself says He is and that He will do what He promises to do. "As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name" (John 1:12). His name represents His character and the nature of His person. To trust Jesus Christ with your very soul is vital to being a real Christian.
This does not necessitate knowing all the truths about Christ or believing them all. It does not mean that we have to know that Bible from cover to cover or to consent to all that is contained in the creeds of the church. It is not faith in a theology that saves us. It is not faith in a creed that redeems us. It is personal confidence and commitment to Jesus Christ Himself.
The bride, for example, may not know all about the young man she has chosen to be her husband. She will learn many things about him in the years to come. But she knows about him and believes in him enough to give herself to him. So, real faith in Jesus Christ is to know enough about Him and to have enough confidence in Him to entrust yourself to Him. The heart of Christian belief is very simple. It is personal — I believe that in His great love the Son of God dwelt among men to show me the way, to reveal the Father's will, and to lead
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me home. I believe that Christ died for me, that He took my place and suffered for my sins, that He is my Saviour. I believe that Christ lives for me, that He was victorious over sin, death, and hell, and now He sits at the right hand of the Father, my all-sufficient Lord. He is my Guide, my Friend, my Redeemer. I trust myself to Him. I respond by committing my life to Him.
John G. Paton of the New Hebrides was translating the Gospel of St. John into an aboriginal language. In his translation he came to the twelfth verse in the first chapter: "As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name...." He could not find the native word for "belief" or "trust." He inquired here and there as he went about and listened attentively for clues. No such word came to his attention. One day, as he was working at his desk, a native boy entered on an errand and stood respectfully by the missionary's desk. Mr. Paton, occupied for the moment and seeing the boy standing there, pointed to a chair and said, "Sit down." Now a chair was a rather new object to this boy who was used to sitting on the floor. It was a common wicker chair, but he had had no experience with such an article of furniture. He looked at it suspiciously for a moment and asked the missionary what he meant. He replied, "Sit down in it and rest yourself!" The boy carefully walked over to the seat and very gingerly eased himself down into it, waited a moment, and then relaxed with an expression of relief. "Well," he said, "I can trust this chair, it will hold me up!" "Say that word again," said the missionary excitedly, "It is the very one I've been looking for." He was right. To trust Christ means to put your weight upon Him, to let Him hold you up. You can walk around and around a chair,
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analyzing it, investigating it, hearing lecturers on it, discussing it, but it will do you no good until you sit on it, and relax. We are not only to consider Christ; we are to put our weight on Him and trust Him.
Recently, I took a flight in a new type of plane. I had never been in this particular type of plane before. I had read something of it; I liked its looks, and had to take it to meet an engagement. So I got on board and it took me safely there. Suppose that I had had some doubts or reservations about the plane. I could have read volumes on the theory of aerodynamics and studied the structure of the plane. I could have checked all the instruments on the panel. They might have allowed me to walk out on the wings and to test the fuselage to see that it was sound. I could have listened to the motors as they were being tuned up. By these means and others, I might have been convinced beyond a doubt that the plane was reliable and would take me where I wanted to go. But if I did not get on board, it would have done me no good.
Often, we wait to further investigate this matter of Christ and Christianity. We hear arguments for Him. We listen to testimony of what He has done for others. We come to the point where we say, "Certainly, I am convinced in my mind that Jesus Christ is Lord and Saviour." But that is not enough. There must be an act of commitment that gets the whole life on board and trusts Him to do for us what He has said He would do. This is the kind of faith that unites us to Christ.
Our text emphasizes the action aspect of faith. "As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God...." To receive may be understood as "to reach out and take," or "to appropriate." The faith that unites us to the Saviour is a positive, intelligent understanding faith, an ap-
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propriation of Jesus Christ. He has made certain promises and provisions. He has demonstrated His sincerity by giving His life for us on the cross. He has demonstrated His faithfulness in thousands of lives. He has given us His inviolate word in the Scriptures. The moment we take Him seriously and believe that He will do for us what He said He would do, in that moment we are true Christians.
Let us return to the illustration of the bride and groom. Their desire to be united in marriage is the result of some knowledge of each other and a mutual attraction. But still more is needed to be married. They need to stand before the altar and solemnly give themselves to one another. It is this covenant of confidence, this self-giving and receiving, this contract grounded upon the other's sincerity and backed by the sharing of all of life that is at the heart of the marriage ceremony. Marriage is not based upon feelings and emotion, though these may attend it. It is not determined by ability, experience, or will power. Marriage is valid the moment two people give themselves to one another forever.
In the same way, the soul is united to Jesus Christ. He has given Himself to us in infinite love through His life, death, and resurrection. He has spoken to us an everlasting "Yes." The moment we respond to Him, yield Him our hearts, and trust Him, we are His forever.
