Faithful not Faithless

The Rev. Joseph Winston

August 12, 2007

Sermon

Grace and peace are gifts for you from God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.1
In today’s high tech world, with all of its gadgets and gizmos that range from
iPods to iPhones, you might feel that faith has gone the way of the dodo and no
longer can be found on the face of the earth. Why, in heaven’s name, would I
need to have confidence in something that someone else has done? Or why would
anyone on earth need to have proof in something that they cannot see?
However, the idea that faith is a quaint concept that is out of date is simply
not true. For example, think of what happens when you purchase gas for your
automobile. When I go to Raceway and fill up my Suburban, I have faith that
I am putting gasoline into my car and not something else like water. If I and
everyone else had to test the gas along with its octane level, the station would grind
1
Romans 1:7, 1 Corinthians 1:3, 2 Corinthians 1:2, Galatians 1:3, Ephesians 1:2, Philippians
1:2, 2 Thessalonians 1:2, Philemon 1:3

1
to a complete halt as people sent small samples to the labs and waited for their
results. If you think about it, even this one step of testing the petroleum requires
a large amount of faith. I know nothing about the appropriate types or levels of
hydrocarbons needed to make up gasoline. All that I want to know is, “Will it
work in my car?” I must completely trust someone else to answer this question
for me. Next, I must believe that the pumps actually give me one-gallon of gas.
Can you imagine the spectacle (and the danger) of everyone pumping their own
gas into one-gallon containers and before pouring it into their tanks making sure
the pumps indicated that exactly one-gallon of gas was delivered? Then repeating
this step over and over again until the tank was finally filled. I would rather believe
that the state had done its job correctly and the pumps really give me one gallon
of gas. Finally, the one action in the transaction that requires the most faith of all
is when I agree to pay the bill electronically. The credit card company’s profits
depend on their faith in me. They believe that I have not stolen the card from
someone else and that I actually have the ability to pay for the tank of gas that
now sits in my possession inside of my Suburban. I in turn must trust them to only
charge me for the items that I actually purchased.
From the gas station illustration, it is clear that the question is not if we have
faith but what we have faith in. Do we place our ultimate trust in Raceway, the
department of weights and measures, and the credit card company or do we put
our faith in something else?
Today’s lesson from Hebrews tells us of Abraham, a man of God who placed
his faith in God’s Word. Abraham’s call from God starts out with a command to

2
go. Go into a land that I will send you and leave behind all of your family (Genesis
12:1). Abraham listen to this Word and he left. He trusted in God even though he
could not see every aspect of the promise God made to him.
On a superficial level, this action by Abraham is very similar to our trust in the
gas station and its operation. We believe that the store is selling us pure unadul-
terated gasoline and Abraham trusted that he was really hearing the real Word of
God’s. Next, we have faith that we receive a full gallon of gas and Abraham be-
lieved that he would be given everything that was promised. Finally, while we trust
the credit card company with our money, Abraham trusted God with his future.
On a deeper level, the life of faith that Abraham lived is radically different
from our trip to the gas station. In most cases, our purchases at Raceway and at
other gasoline stations are not matters of life and death. We drive to the store,
pump our gas, and leave. Our interaction is nothing more than a business trans-
action since we exchange money for fuel. Abraham’s life of faith is completely
opposite. Take for example Abraham’s involvement with God. Not only did he
take his entire household, slaves and all into a land that the Lord would show him
but Abraham also brought along his cousin Lot and their slaves. These actions
show us that Abraham risked everything because he believed God’s Word.
There are people and denominations that misinterpret the last part of today’s
lesson from Hebrews. The author tells us:

13b
They confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth,
14
for people who speak in this way make it clear that they are seeking
a homeland. 15 If they had been thinking of the land that they had left

3
 behind, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is, they
desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one.

The incorrect interpretation of this text goes something like this. We are children
of Abraham and like him we are strangers in this world. We are waiting to go to
our true home and because we are foreigners, we need to do nothing here.
Make no mistake; the problem is not that we are children of Abraham because
we have been given by all the rights and privileges of Abraham’s heirs by Jesus
(Galatians 3). Nor is the issue that we are strangers in a strange land. As Christians,
we find the world’s infatuation with sin and evil to be unsettling since we know
that true love comes from God. We also will not disagree with the statement that
we, like all believers, will go to heaven. The incorrect interpretation of this passage
is found in what needs to be done in the here and now. They say we should do
nothing. We disagree.
The Old Testament lesson from two weeks ago proves this point (Genesis 18).
After announcing to Abraham and Sara that they will have a child named Isaac,
God turns His attention onto Sodom and Gomorrah. God tells Abraham that God is
personally checking out the situation. Abraham then asks if God will destroy all of
the inhabitants of these two great cities if fifty righteous people can be found. God
agrees. If fifty righteous can be found then nothing will happen. After thinking
about it for a while, Abraham asks if the cities will be preserved if only forty-five
good people live there. God once again agrees to Abraham’s conditions. Abraham
continues this conversion with God reducing the number each time. “What about
forty?” “How about thirty?” “Would You agree to thirty?” “Is twenty acceptable?”

4
Finally, Abraham asks for the cities to be spared if ten righteous can be found.
This is our work in the world. We, like Abraham, need to argue with God to
keep the destruction of the world with all of its evil from happening this very day.
Give them, we pray to God, one more chance, one more day of grace. In this time,
we ask God, bless us with the gift of the Holy Spirit so that we can tell them of
Your love for the world so that they too may have the gifts of forgiveness and
eternal life.
Given this description of what we need to do for those people who live in
today’s Sodoms and Gomorrahs it might seem that our salvation is earned. In
other words, if we work hard enough then God will pay us in the currency of life.
This however is not what the author of Hebrews would have us believed. Just one
chapter before today’s lesson, we hear that Jesus has saved us from our sin by
His sacrifice on the cross (Hebrews 10:12). This live saving Good News is freely
given to us and the author of Hebrews reminds us that this gift provides us with
the freedom to help others (Hebrews 10:24)
In reality, our faith in the things of the world is not anything new. In every
age, people have always placed their faith in things that did not deserve their trust.
Today we believe in the unseen hand of the free market economy and trust that
through the forces of competition and regulation our best interests will be served.
Not so long ago, our ancestors believed that the king sitting on a throne guaranteed
that a prosperous country.
God’s response to our lack of faith has always been to send people into the
world so that they, by the power of the Holy Spirit, can point out to others the real

5
reality that creates, sustains, and redeems the world.
You and I are the ones that God has entrusted with this task. Go and tell people
of the hidden God fully revealed in Jesus of Nazareth.
“The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and
minds through Christ Jesus.”2

2
Philippians 4:7.