2 Corinthians is one of Paul’s most personal and self-reflective letters. From the outset of this letter, he was writing about his near-death experiences and how God had rescued him. And this theme is woven throughout the whole book and certainly evident in what he writes here in chapter 5. But he mentions something in verse 7 that I want to focus on today which teaches about faith. And faith is foundational to the hope that Paul is writing about in this chapter, even the hope of a glorified body after this earthly body ends.
When we talk about faith it raises many different thoughts primarily because there are different aspects of faith. I want to talk about some of them in the sermon. I will call the first aspect of faith…
Superficial Faith (Intellectual Assent)
We may not think about it much, but we could not live or function well without faith. For instance, you operated on a certain level of faith by driving here today. You had faith that the other drivers would stay on their side of the road. We almost take this for granted because there is a history that reinforces your faith. So, we get in our cars and drive, even though terrible accidents happen.
Some of you may be going to a restaurant to eat lunch today. This means you have a certain level of faith that the chef will be using the right ingredients and not spoiled ingredients. We have all had experiences of food poisoning. But again, there is a history that gives us a level of faith in eating the food wherever we may eat, even though there are bad experiences of spoiled food that can occur. One more example.
Most of us have been on airplane flights. This may require a greater level of faith because of all the variables involved. We have faith that the mechanical aspects of the aircraft will work properly. And we must trust the pilot to navigate the aircraft correctly from take-off to flight to landing. So, we take flights, even though we know planes have crashed!
All these examples require a certain level of faith. But since there is a history of positive experiences, we regard them as safe or safe enough for us to drive our cars, eat at the restaurant or board an airplane! All these life events require a superficial level of faith. But what about our Christian faith?
I looked at some research on polling about faith matters. Approximately 81% of Americans believe in God. This is down from 87% in 2017 but still represents a strong majority. Other polls indicate that roughly 72% of people globally say there is a God.
In our country especially belief in God and spiritual realities is still held by the vast majority of people. But…if you were to ask people, “Are you living your life according to God’s instruction in the bible or are you following God obediently in your life?” I think the response would be quite different. This indicates that many people have a nominal or superficial faith. They believe in God, but their faith has no real application for how they live. It is only an intellectual assent or head knowledge as we might commonly call it today. The book of James gives further insight about this kind of faith,
You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. James 2:19
That is a rather extreme example. But it does remind us that intellectual or superficial faith is just that, superficial. It has no real value because it is not impactful to our personal lives and gives no direction in this life and preparation for eternity.
I love the old story of the high wire act and the man going across the wire over a huge canyon. He went across by himself… then he took a wheel barrel across. The people were amazed and applauded him. Then he asked, “How many of you believe I can take someone across the wire in this wheel barrel?” All the hands went up showing they believed he could. Then he asked… “Who will be the first person to get in the wheel barrel?” And no one stepped up. Many say they believe…but it is only a mental and intellectual exercise.
But we know there is a deeper aspect of faith. And I hope all of us here have this faith. It is not superficial faith, but we call it: Saving Faith
We see many examples of this faith from the scripture. I want to give 2 or three examples. We can say them together if you can see the screen.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world He gave His only Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
Ephesians 2:8-9 It is by grace you have been saved through faith, not of works lest any many should boast.
Act 16: 31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.”
Romans 10:9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
All these scriptures connect faith with salvation. And the scriptures relay the truth that salvation is not possible without faith. However, this last scripture contains a key phrase…believe in your heart. This gives a greater and deeper understanding of faith. One person has said…the longest distance to travel is the 18 inches between your head and your heart. This is where saving faith happens. Perhaps one of the greatest personal examples of this is from our church’s history with John Wesley and his Aldersgate Experience. Wesley had a great amount of head knowledge, but he lacked the assurance of true saving faith before this event. Here is how he describes it:
In the evening, I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street, where one was reading [Martin] Luther’s preface to the Epistle to the Romans. About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.
In this statement, Wesley moves from a mental assent and superficial faith to a sure trust and confidence that he was saved…his sins forgiven. And he was put in right relationship with God. This testimony is powerful because it matches most of our own experiences of saving faith. And moving from a superficial faith to saving faith! From superficial faith to saving faith.
There is a huge difference between superficial faith and saving faith. Saving faith involves a relational aspect of trust. You are not just believing in God, or that God exists or that God is present. But you are trusting God and living your life in relationship with God through Christ to direct you and carry you through the places and experiences that are yet unseen or unknown. And saving faith carries us into an even DEEPER dimension of faith!
So, when Paul talks about walking by faith, not by sight, he is talking about another aspect or dimension of faith. Faith is like the glue that holds us together when things are unraveling. Faith in Christ is the Rock that is the foundation that will hold us up when the winds and rains and floods come into our lives. Faith can see us through the darkest period to behold the light of Christ’s Presence. Faith is the fortitude to preserve when you are running empty and have no resources. Faith is stepping out of the boat to walk on the water! I like what Albert Eistein said, There are only two ways to live…one is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as if everything is. Albert Einstein
I want us to look at Hebrews 11 because it is one of the most prominent biblical passages about faith. It is often called the “Hall of Fame of Faith”. The chapter begins by giving us a definition of faith which is almost the same as in 2 Corinthians 5:7. Here is the definition:
KJV Faith is the Substance of things HOPED FOR…Evidence of Things NOT SEEN. Heb 11:1
Now this chapter gives many examples of this kind of faith, but I want to focus on Abraham. And there are 3 qualities of this faith that I would note today. So, the first quality is:
FAITH GIVES US DETERMINATION
Some may call it conviction. In a similar passage from Romans, Paul puts it like this still using Abraham as a model of faith:
20 Yet he did not waver through disbelief in the promise of God but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21 being fully persuaded that God was able to do what He had promised. 22 That is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.” Romans 4:20-22
This passage talks about Abraham being 100 years old and becoming a father. The promise that they would have a child which caused Sara to laugh and thinking, “Like you’ve got to be kidding me!” But no, this was really going to happen. This means that real faith involves real trust/conviction which brings about a DETERMINATION to carry out God’s call and plan for our lives. It will help us to endure times of trouble and hardship.
There is a story of a Catholic nun who was serving the physically challenged in her town. She had an older model station wagon she drove everywhere. The car was so old the fuel gauge no longer worked. She tried to keep up with the gas level, but one day she ran out of gas. It was a couple of blocks to get to a gas station. She looked throughout the car but only found a bed pan. She shook her head and said to herself, “This will have to do”. She walked to the gas station and people were looking at her and laughing as she filled the bed pan with gasoline. She went back to her old station wagon and twisted off the tank lid and started to pour the gasoline into the tank from the bed pan! At the same time a truck driver was driving by and saw her. He immediately stopped and jammed his brakes, utterly amazed at what he was seeing. He rolled down his window and chuckled as he spoke out with a loud voice, “Sister, I don’t think that is going to work, but I will say that I greatly admire your faith!”. The Sister had a determination to complete her work! She was not going to stop or quit no matter what obstacles she faced. Faith will give us determination to carry out God’s work or calling in our lives, even in the most challenging times. (If time permits tell the story of the 40 Brave Soldiers of Sebaste. They persevered on a frozen lake and never recanted their faith to worship the Emperor Licinius 320 AD.)
Second aspect of faith is: FAITH GIVES US DIRECTION
Again, Hebrews 11 details the lives of OT saints who lived by faith and what they accomplished through faith. This text was written to encourage faith in people going through some very difficult circumstances. They were saved but in danger of drifting.
I saw a church sign which read: With faith all things are possible, but not necessarily easy. But our expectations seem to be just the opposite right? We want things to go smoothly. We want things to fall into place easily and comfortably and even quickly. And when that does not happen, we can lose our sanctification very quickly.
But when you look at the examples of Hebrews 11 given here, you find anything but an easy road. Once again, we look at Abraham being the father of many nations… I was thinking we would all stand up and sing “Father Abraham had many sons”. But that would create a lot of confusion! Maybe even need for medical attention! But the amazing thing is that we are children of Abraham by our faith and this promise given to Abraham about having many descendants comes all the way down to where we are at 5 Rivers today. Is that not incredible and further evidence of what faith in God can do? And we can trust God to accomplish what He promises! But notice again…the last part of this verse 8
by faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; and he set out, not knowing where he was going (Heb 11:8)
I want to emphasize the part that reads: NOT KNOWING WHERE HE WAS GOING. This is walking by faith, not by sight!
Mature Christians often tell us that God is not interested in our comfort as much as our character. We might add here that God is not so much interested in our security as He is our surrender to accomplish His will.
Abraham left his home not knowing where he was going. Think about that for a moment. His friends might be asking…Why are you leaving your home Abraham? Abraham: God is calling me…God spoke to me. Friends: So where are you going? Abraham: Well, I don’t know…. I am not sure. I am trusting God to direct me further. Well, you can’t put that in your GPS, can you? And you can’t say…Ok Siri or Alexa or whoever else…take me to the place God wants me to be… (BTW, I heard the other day a funny story that they are coming up with a new device called Alex the male counterpart to Alexa…only thing is you must ask it 12 times before it will give you an answer! Sorry men!) Back to Abraham. Interestingly, God changed Abraham’s name and changed his address all at the same time! So, this would be quite shocking and a journey that requires ultimate trust in God to direct us. He had no chart or compass or GPS! He only had FAITH that God would direct him. I was reminded again of the great Proverb 3:5-6 which speaks at the heart of faith as trust in God to direct us. Proverbs 3:5-6 New International Version (NIV)
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Again, this has to do with DIRECTION! And this is exactly the kind of faith Abraham possessed.
The key here is to acknowledge God in all the things we do. This means that we cannot be only a Sunday or one day a week Christian. We must trust and obey the Lord in all events and activities of our lives….at home…at school…at the beach…at work…with friends…everywhere we go.
Pure logic and reason would have told Abraham to stay home and not go on this trip. How did he do it? Let me say here that faith is not irrational, but it does move us to do things that are not always logical or even practical. It calls us to embrace realities that we cannot see but we trust that God will do as He promises. I think this was happening with the beginning of this church! Now look at verse 15, If they had been thinking of the land that they had left behind, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. This leads to the last quality of faith.
FAITH BRINGS US TO OUR ETERNAL DESTINY
Note v 16 they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God; indeed, he has prepared a city for them.
Way beyond what may happen in this new school year or what will happen in this new church, or in our immediate plans, God puts a longing in us for something much more, something eternal. Something this world could never satisfy. As Ecclesiastes declares, He has put eternity in our hearts. (Ecclesiastes 3:11)
Abraham was looking for a city whose builder and maker was God. And he regarded his life here as a pilgrim and stranger. As we say in the old gospel song… This world is not my home…I’m just passing through. At the heart of what Paul is teaching in this passage, walking by faith and not by sight allows us to envision a glorified body when this old body gives way. We know that God has something greater planned than this temporary home.
Over the past 2 weeks, two of our members died. As I was reading over this passage last Thursday afternoon preparing for this sermon, I received a call from Aletta Campbell that Sam had died. Over the past few years Sam had struggled with Parkinson’s and more recently a fall that had fractured his neck. He had struggled with pain and tried hard to overcome his injuries. He fought the good fight. He had a birthday this past week but now he is experiencing the most glorious birthday he could ever experience! He traded in his old worn-out body for a new and glorified body. His faith in Christ directed him to his permanent home. A place where there is no pain or sorrow or death. The day before I received a call that Elizabeth Hooton had died. Elizabeth was only able to attend 5 Rivers a couple of times since she joined our church. So, many of you may not have known Elizabeth. But she was a wonderful lady! Cheerful and always spreading joy! She had been under hospice care with multiple issues. On my last visit with her she baked some cookies. She had operated a bakery years ago and was an excellent cook. In my visits with her she struggled to breathe from COPD. But despite her limitations and struggles to breathe, she had taken the time to bake some cookies for me! And we talked and laughed and praised God. And it was evident that her body was giving way. But she was not discouraged or worried or afraid! She was trusting in the promise of Jesus. She was looking for greater and more glorious day. She was like Abraham, looking for an eternal city. Her faith in Christ has brought her to her glorious destiny in the kingdom of heaven! As it will for all of us who are trusting in Jesus. This is why our faith is so important. With the eyes of faith, the Apostle Paul would write, “The sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing to the glory that will be revealed in us! (Romans 8:18) Or as John writes, “This is the victory that overcomes the world, even our FAITH”. (I John 5:4).
And in the previous chapter Paul gives even greater insight into how our faith directs us toward our eternal destiny. I will close with this:
2 Corinthians 4:16-18
16 So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. 17 For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, 18 because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.
In simple terms, we walk by faith and not by sight. Lord, help us have this kind of faith!