FAITH KNOWS, ASSENTS, AND
TRUSTS.
GENESIS 12:1-8
In
the name + of Jesus.
You’ve probably seen it on a poster or
some other decoration. It especially
comes out during Christmas time. It is a
simple, one-word motivational slogan: “Believe.” It’s supposed to be uplifting, but the
message fails spectacularly on one point: Believe what? Believe the Tigers will get to the World
Series? Believe that we are done with
snow for the year? Believe that you can
win a contest, make new friends, or discover a secret for weight loss that
doesn’t restrict your diet? If that one-word
motivational slogan is to mean anything, there should be an answer to the
question, “Believe what?”
The Christian faith is not reduced to a
vague, open-ended slogan, “Believe.”
Faith that just floats in the air is a dream or a wish. The Christian faith rests on something
solid. In fact, faith has three
components: Faith knows. Faith
asserts. And faith trusts.
In the case of Abraham, his move was not
prompted by an itch for a better life. “The LORD said
to Abram, ‘Get out of your country and away from your relatives and from your
father’s house and go to the land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name
great. You will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will
curse anyone who dishonors you. All of
the families of the earth will be blessed in you’” (Genesis 12:1-3). Abraham moved because
of a specific word from the Lord. Faith
knows what it believes.
So it is for you and me. Faith rests on knowledge. We know God’s Commandments, so we know what
is good and what is evil. Because we
know them, we also know the truth about ourselves. We are sinners. God’s Commandments expose us. We confess, with the Psalms, “I admit my
rebellious acts. My sin is always in
front of me. Against you, you only, have
I sinned, and I have done this evil in your eyes. So you are justified when you sentence
me. You are blameless when you judge”
(Psalm 51:3,4). God’s word exposes
our iniquities so that we can know them, confess them, repent of them, and flee
from them.
We also know the Savior whom God sent for
us. Faith knows. The Gospels proclaim what Jesus taught, what
miracles he performed, and how he suffered, died, and rose from the dead. The words and promises of God are repeated
and pondered by us week after week, year after year. And we stand to make confession of what we know
every week as well. Faith knows what it
believes.
Faith also assents to what it knows. That means we agree it is true. Abraham assented to God’s command to him. Now, how did Abraham know that he had
received a word from the Lord? What
convinced him that it was true? Our best
answer comes from what Moses wrote in our reading: “The LORD
appeared to Abram and said, ‘I will give
this land to your descendants’” (Genesis 12:7, emphasis added). Whenever the Lord
appeared to people, there was a dread sense of awe. The message regularly began, “Fear not,”
because the presence of the Lord or one of his angels produced such fear. It seems likely that Abraham experienced that
fear so that he could attest that it was God who spoke to him. So, Abraham did not have some strange feeling
or a weird dream. He had a specific
word. His faith was based on knowledge,
and he assented to what he knew. It was
the word of God; it must be true.
So it is with the Christian faith. It is not enough just to know facts. That is not faith. Atheists know the facts about Jesus. They know what Christians say about Christmas
and Easter. But they deny that Jesus is
God. They deny that Jesus rose from the
dead. They deny that there is a judgment
or a hell. They may know what the Bible
teaches, but they do not assent. They
will not confess that the Bible is true.
Faith assents to what it knows. We not only know the Commandments of God, we
assent that they are right. We not only
know the Bible’s claim that Jesus lived a perfect and holy life, we assent that
it is true. We not only know that Jesus
died by crucifixion, was buried, and on the third day rose from the grave with
a glorified body; we assent that it is true.
Our assent is not based on what we wish to be true. You might wish that Jesus promised that you
will never know sorrow or pain. You
might wish that Jesus promised you will always have lots of money and
friends. But you don’t have promises
about those things. To believe them is
only a wish. But we have evidence of
Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. Jesus
suffered under the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate. Jesus died by crucifixion which Pontius
Pilate confirmed before he handed Jesus’ body over to Joseph of Arimathea. Jesus rose bodily from the grave, and
eyewitnesses testified to it. In fact,
those eyewitnesses chose to be persecuted, imprisoned, and killed rather than
renounce their message. We even have
testimony from non-Christian historians about Jesus. The facts come with overwhelming evidence. Faith knows these facts, and faith assents
that they are true.
But there is an important, third component
to the Christian faith. Faith trusts. Just knowing the facts is not saving
faith. Even knowing they are true is not
saving faith. The devil knows the
facts. St. James wrote, “You believe
that God is one. Good for you! Even the demons believe that—and shudder”
(James 2:19)! Oh, yes, the demons
know Jesus! St. Mark wrote, “Whenever
the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down in front of him, crying out, ‘You
are the Son of God’” (Mark 3:11)!
They knew Jesus. They assented that
Jesus is the Son of God. But they did
not believe in him.
So, we not only know the facts about Jesus. We not only assent that the facts are
true. We also know why they matter. The Lord has told us the “why.” “God so loved the world.” How did he demonstrate that love? “He gave his only-begotten Son.” Why?
So “that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal
life.” (John 3:16).
We have specific promises from God. So, we know and assent not only to the “what”
of the Bible’s message, but we know the “why.”
The prophet Isaiah declared, “It was because of our rebellion that he
was pierced. He was crushed for the
guilt our sins deserved. The punishment
that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. … The LORD has
charged all our guilt to him” (Isaiah 53:5-6). Therefore, we don’t
just hope that God loves us. We don’t
just wish for forgiveness of our sins.
We don’t just dream of eternal life.
Faith knows these things. Faith
assents that they are true. Faith trusts
in them and receives the benefit of them.
God had revealed his word to Abraham. He extended promises to Abraham. He worked faith in the heart of Abraham. This means that Abraham knew God’s word,
assented to God’s word, and trusted that word.
That is what moved Abraham to leave his father’s home with its idols and
false worship. Abraham, at age 75!, traveled
hundreds of miles. His destination? “The LORD said
to Abram, ‘…Go to the land that I will show you’” (Genesis 12:1). It seems that
Abraham did not even know the destination when he left. Perhaps Abraham had never left his home
before, which means that every step of this hundreds-mile-long journey was
foreign to him. Why would he go to an
unknown destination and settle in a land that was utterly unfamiliar to
him? Abraham trusted the word of the
Lord. He did not know what he would
face, but he trusted God who told him to go.
What’s more, God promised, “I will give this land to your
descendants” (Genesis 12:7). Abraham never saw this promise
fulfilled. It was not realized for more
than four centuries after Abraham.
Nevertheless, Abraham trusted God’s promise. Faith knows.
Faith assents. And faith
trusts.
You and I have been given many promises
from our Lord. And since we know God’s
promises and assent that they are true, we can trust them at all times. We can trust that our Father in heaven will
hear and answer when we pray to him. We
can trust that a place in heaven awaits us when we die. We can even trust in promises that seem to
defy what we see and feel.
Consider this promise: “We know that
all things work together for the good of those who love God, for those who are
called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). This promise does not say that we will know
how the difficulties we suffer will work out for our good. It does not say why we should have to endure
them, or that we will like them. Just as
Abraham did not see the fulfillment that the land of Canaan would belong to his
descendants, so also you may not see how God worked a tragedy out for your good
in this lifetime. But remember what
God’s goal is for you—that you be delivered from a world of sorrow to the
heavenly kingdom. And if it means that
you must bear a cross, then God will use that for your ultimate good to bring
you to the kingdom of glory. Faith knows
the promise. Faith assents that is
true. And faith trusts that God’s word
will not fail you.
Abraham not only received God’s
promises. Once he knew them, assented to
them, and trusted in them, he began to proclaim them. “He moved on from there to the hill
country east of Bethel… There he built
an altar to the LORD and proclaimed the name of the LORD”
(Genesis 12:8). Abraham proclaimed what he knew to be true. All the families of the earth would be
blessed through Abraham. Therefore,
Abraham proclaimed the Lord’s promises so that all the families of the earth
could know them, assent to them, and trust in them for their eternal good.
This is also why you and I gather in God’s
house. We hear the promises and ponder
them so that our faith is informed, corrected, fed, and strengthened. Those who do not hear God’s word will
probably not forget the stories or the promises, but eventually, they no longer
assent or trust in them. “Faith comes
through hearing the message, and the message is word through the word of
Christ” (Romans 10:17). Faith comes,
that is, it continues to be sustained as God’s word is heard. That’s why we keep on
listening.
Once that word is heard, known to be true,
and trusted, it is to be proclaimed. God’s
salvation is meant for all. Just as
Abraham proclaimed it, so do we. No one
can know God’s promises, assent to them, trust in them, and benefit from them
unless those who have the promises proclaim them. This is how saving faith came to you. It is how it comes to others. The Lord works faith in us; then he rewards
us for the faith he gives and sustains in us.
We know it. We assent to it. We trust in it. And we are saved by it.
In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy
Spirit. Amen.
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