The Lutheran Hour
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"Unconditional Faith"
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Text: John 20:24-29
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Is it hard to believe in Jesus? It can be. Many people say they would trust God if He would meet certain conditions. If only we could see Him. If only He made sense. If only it felt right to believe. But, as we will see in the case of a disciple named Thomas, there is a faith that does not need to be propped up by conditions. Jesus gives us an unconditional faith! Let me read from John, chapter 20:
“Now Thomas, called the twin, one of the 12, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said to him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ So he said to them, ‘Unless I see the nail marks in His hands, and put my finger where the nail marks were, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.’ After eight days, His disciples were again inside and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and He stood in the midst and said, ‘Peace to you!’ Then He said to Thomas, ‘Reach your finger here and look at My hands. Reach your hand here and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.’ And Thomas answered and said to Him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed'” (John 20:24-27).
Four times a year I teach a series of Bible classes for new Christians. Of course, one of the most important parts of this class is the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. I know sometimes we’re tempted to think this is all some kind of fairy tale and that the events recorded in the Bible, especially the resurrection of Jesus, didn’t really happen. To bring us back to reality I always pass around to the class a copy of a famous painting by an Italian artist named Carravaggio. Before I show the picture, I brace the class for what they are about to see. The painting portrays in shocking detail the disciple Thomas examining the wound in the side of Jesus with his finger. Thomas had a hard time believing in the resurrection of Jesus. He made believing difficult because of the conditions that he wanted to be met first. “Unless I see…” Thomas said.
Do you find it difficult to trust in God for your salvation? Could the conditions you place before believing have anything to do with it? Quite often, we see television programs and magazine articles about the life of Jesus. TV executives and magazine publishers know that the life of Jesus will always draw interest. Unfortunately, the writers often downplay or present a doubtful or ambiguous account of the resurrection of Jesus. Because it is not scientifically testable, we just can’t be sure, so the explanation goes. But if Jesus appeared raised from the dead five times, or 50 or 500 times, would that be enough? No, it wouldn’t be enough–not if I really didn’t know and believe in who Jesus is.
Sometimes people place another condition before believing in God. Several months ago one of my younger students brought a friend to our catechism class. This friend raised an age-old question: “Who made God?” All the students responded, “No one made God. That’s what it means to be God.” The young man who raised the question answered back with a cynical, “That’s impossible.” Must the truth of God’s existence, of His love and His salvation, first pass the test of your reason? Could we be assuming that our thinking is as good or better than God’s thinking? Must faith be propped up with reason?
A few years ago I went to the hospital to visit one of my members who was dying. The family had been called and they were all gathered around. I comforted them with God’s Word and we turned to Him in prayer. Before I left the room, I took the opportunity to greet the family members. One man in particular was very uncomfortable with me. As I approached him, he stiffened and became obviously nervous. I asked him his name and he tried to humor me by saying, “I’m the one who’s going down there” as he pointed to the floor. This was his way of saying he didn’t believe in Jesus and was going to hell. I later found out that he didn’t agree with one of the Ten Commandments that cramped his lifestyle. Jesus made him uncomfortable. Does everything have to feel right before we believe in Jesus? Could some of our mixed emotions about Jesus have something to do with pet sins from which we don’t want to be saved?
I really don’t think Thomas came to faith in Jesus because he examined His wounds. After all, there were many other things about God that Thomas would believe but that he would also not be able to see. For example, Jesus promised to be with them always. He said He was coming again. There were even some disciples who saw Jesus raised from the dead, but they still doubted (Matthew 28:17). What brought Thomas to faith in Christ? There is a story in the Old Testament that helps us understand.
I’m thinking of the story of a lady named Ruth. She had come to know about God through some people who came to live in her country. She had known and probably believed in other gods, but the God these people told her about was different. Some very sad things happened to Ruth. There was a famine. Her husband and other relatives died. She needed God’s help. Her mother-in-law decided to go back home to Israel, and to her surprise, Ruth wanted to go with her. The God of Israel had no image to worship. Against all reason and emotion that would have kept her with her own people and their gods, Ruth wanted the God of Israel. She said to her mother-in-law: “Your people shall be my people, and your God my God” (Ruth 1:16). Thomas said something very similar to Jesus. He said, You are “my Lord and my God.” Both Ruth and Thomas saw the God of the Bible as the only one who could be “their God.” There are all sorts of potential “gods.” There are all kinds of things and ideas upon which we could stake our life. But these two people saw in God, in Jesus, the one who could be their God, the only one who could save them. Faith like that goes beyond the conditions of seeing, reason, and emotion. That kind of faith rests on the words God has given us about Himself. We believe in Him not just because of what we can see or understand or feel. Believing goes beyond all that because of who He is, what He has done, and what He promises to do. The Bible says, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for. . .” (Hebrews 11:1). Faith is recognizing that Jesus is the only one who could be God. The very nature and character of God and of Jesus draws us to Him. That is why there will be no end to the TV specials and magazine articles about Him.
A couple of years ago I was talking to a young medical student who had grown up in India. He had been reading the New Testament and was also drawn to Jesus. In his own words he simply said, “I am impressed with the love of Jesus… It just rings true.”
My friend, if you are struggling with faith in Jesus, my best advice is simply to keep learning about Him as the Bible clearly reveals Him to us. Sooner or later, you will recognize that He is the only one who can really be your Lord and God. That recognition won’t be based on what you can see or what makes sense or even on feelings. It is simply the reality of truth and love that rises above everything.
Jesus gives us an unconditional faith to save us, and by the same unconditional faith He guides our lives. Recognizing Jesus as “my Lord and my God” who forgives our sin is the beginning. That same faith is what enables us to battle sin and doubt that continually try to make their way back into our lives.
Oftentimes, we want to put conditions before God when we need His help to live by faith. A man quit attending worship for eight years. He knew it was wrong and he needed to change his habits. A problem came into his life that caused him great stress. He prayed to God and promised that he would start worshiping again if God would take care of his problem. Does our daily walk with God depend on the deals we make with Him? Must I always see God doing something for me in my life before I will depend on Him?
I know a man who was a chief financial officer for a Fortune 500 company. Unfortunately, he couldn’t stomach the unethical practices that were commonplace in this company. He had a difficult choice to make. Do I do what is reasonable and play along with the game? Do I lie to investors and to the government? Or, do I act out of an unconditional faith in God. Is Jesus “my Lord and my God” who will take care of me if I quit? He did leave a very lucrative position, but he is at peace with an even more loving God, who he knows will get him through this trying time.
A woman struggling with the sin of adultery came to the pastor’s office. She knew what she was doing was wrong, but she just couldn’t break away from it. The relationship filled an emotional need for her. “You’ve got to believe me pastor,” she said, “I pray about this every day.” The pastor wisely responded by asking, “Are you listening?” An unconditional faith founded on the word and the character of God has to challenge the passing emotions that seem so important to us. Can Jesus, “my Lord and my God,” help me through the emotions of an unhappy marriage?
After telling us about the episode with Thomas, St. John goes on to tell us that “Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples that are not written in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:30-31). Jesus did many signs and if He wanted, He could perform the same signs for you to see right now. But it’s not just the signs and wonders that are important. It is the purpose. Jesus didn’t perform miracles for their own sake, to be popular or to make money. He did them for one reason only–to save you from sin and to give you a new life in which sin is no longer in control (Romans 6:14). He did everything to save you, out of His love.
Jesus told a parable about a man named Lazarus. He was so poor he begged for crumbs outside the house of a rich man. Dogs licked his sores. Both men died and went to their judgment. Lazarus went to God and the rich man to an eternity of torment without God. The rich man begged that Lazarus would be sent back to warn his brothers. He thought they would surely live by faith if they saw a man rise from the dead. But he was told “No.” “They have Moses and the prophets” (that is, they have the Word of God). “If they won’t listen to [the Word of God] neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead” (Luke 16:31). Again, we see it is the character of God, the purpose and the plan of God that makes all the difference when it comes to an unconditional faith.
Is your life full of temptation, trials, and difficulties? Are you finding it hard to trust in God? Again, I only have one answer. Consider who Jesus is. Think about not only what He has done, but consider why. Is there anyone who loves you more? Is there anyone who has given up more for you? There is no one who can truly be your Lord and God except Jesus. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved…” (Acts 16:31). Amen.
LUTHERAN HOUR MAILBOX (Questions & Answers) for April 27, 2003
ANNOUNCER: We are talking with Pastor Ken Klaus. I’m Mark Eischer. Pastor Klaus, I recently saw an ad produced by a local church and it gave the impression that things will really pick up once we have Jesus in our lives. So, that’s prompting today’s topic which we are calling “Christianity–What’s in it for Me?” Is that even the sort of question a person should ask–What’s in it for me?
KLAUS: Mark, I don’t know if they should ask it, but they do. And the answers are so numerous, I’m almost afraid of tackling the topic.
ANNOUNCER: Well, let’s give it a shot.
KLAUS: OK, first we need to make a distinction between the Christianity of Scripture and what the world often perceives Christianity to be.
ANNOUNCER: What’s the difference?
KLAUS: People who aren’t Christian often think of Christianity as boring. When Jesus walked this earth, He was called many things. He was called the devil, a heretic, a liar. But one thing Jesus’ contemporaries never called Him was boring. A boring Savior couldn’t create the loyalty Jesus had among His followers. That’s why I think it’s so sad when people think of Christianity only as a compilation of stories from long ago which have no practical application today. That’s not Christianity. Some people think of following Jesus as a system of “do’s” and “don’ts.” Give up this–don’t do that. But none of that is Christianity as the Bible explains it.
ANNOUNCER: And how do Christians think of it?
KLAUS: I’m afraid some Christians think of their faith as being something completely comfortable, totally traditional, and ultimately irrelevant to their lives. You might see such people trying to be good on Sunday, but doing whatever they want on Monday through Saturday. Such folks think if they push the right buttons, God is obligated and compelled to do what they want.
ANNOUNCER: But I would have to think Christianity is much more than that.
KLAUS: Far more. First (and I’m paraphrasing Martin Luther from his lectures on Galatians), Christianity does not begin at the top as all other religions do. It begins at the bottom. You must run directly to the manger and the mother’s womb; embrace this infant and the virgin’s child in your arms and look at Him–born, being nursed, growing up, going about in human society, teaching, dying, rising again, ascending above all the heavens and having authority over all things. That’s the beginning of Christianity. If the Babe of Bethlehem, the Christ of the cross, is false, Christianity is unimportant. If it’s true, Christianity takes on infinite importance for our lives. The one thing Christianity cannot be is moderately important.
ANNOUNCER: And what happens when Jesus is important to you?
KLAUS: Well, quite a few things. I can only hit the highlights. First, a Christian is surprised to find he’s in a saving relationship with the Savior, not just a member of a religion. Secondly, a Christian doesn’t expect to find the Savior taking him out of the world. The Savior gives him the ability to live in the world. Thirdly, a Christian has his eyes open. When a person becomes a Christian, he sooner or later sees the falseness of his old way of thinking. He no longer is a spectator in the battle between good and evil. He is part of God’s army of saints and, of course, by the Spirit’s power, a Christian becomes devoted to the Lord Jesus Christ.
ANNOUNCER: And I have a feeling you are just beginning.
KLAUS: Absolutely. Billy Graham said, “Jesus invited us not to a picnic but to a pilgrimage; not to a frolic but to a fight. He offered us not an excursion but an execution.” Our Savior said we would have to be ready to die to self, sin and the world–that’s Christianity. It isn’t giving up our reason, our intelligence, our knowledge, our ability to judge, or our aspirations. Christianity is placing all these things in God’s hands.
ANNOUNCER: Could you sum it up for us?
KLAUS: I’ll try. Have you ever seen the outside of a great Cathedral–the stained glass windows? How did they look?
ANNOUNCER: From the outside, they look dark and indistinct.
KLAUS: Did you then go into that Cathedral and see the same stained glass windows?
ANNOUNCER: I did.
KLAUS: How did it look from the inside?
ANNOUNCER: Well, from the inside, with the light streaming through, the darkness was gone and the image was beautiful, powerful, and magnificent.
KLAUS: That’s the difference between seeing Jesus from the outside and having the light of His salvation inside. Through faith, it comes to us.
ANNOUNCER: Thank you, Pastor Klaus. We’ll continue this discussion next week. The next Lutheran Hour message is titled, “Your Jerusalem.”