God’s faith and Man’s Unbelief

Romans 3:1-4; 11/17/2024; BCBC/IOUC; Rev. Paul Wang

Introduction

Today’s scripture brings up two important concepts, namely God’s faith and man’s unbelief.  Obviously, handling the relationship between God’s faith and man’s unbelief  is the foundation of the relationship between God and man.  Let’s look at the first point:

God’s faith comes from the oracles of God

Usually when we talk about faith, we keep it in our pocket and think of ourselves as the owners of it.  However, the root of faith comes from the word of God.  First, the entrustment of the oracles of God.  Paul explains the theme from the Jewish background.  When Paul wrote Romans, he was in Corinth.  During his missionary journey, he was often harassed by the Jews  and even persecuted to the point of life and death.  I believe the situation in the church in Rome is similar.  Therefore, Paul encouraged the brothers and sisters to put aside their hatred and look at things from God’s perspective amid persecution.  Is there anything to cherish about the arrogant and unreasonable Jews who seem to boast only of being circumcised?  Paul said, yes,  the mere fact that “the oracles of God were entrusted to them” deserves our respect.  Just as we treat pastors and ministers today, we must also respect them because of the work they do, which is to spread the word of God.  This is not what I say, but what the Bible commands.

Secondly, faith and the oracles of God.  What does faith have to do with the oracles of God and the Bible?  Paul said: “By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. (Hebrews 11:3)”  That is to say, people must receive God’s creation and salvation, as well as His message of judgment, through faith.  Without faith, we cannot understand the words of the Bible, and we cannot understand that we and the world we live in were created by God.  In the eyes of unbelievers, they cannot see, hear, or think about the heaven and earth created by God.

Finally, faith still speaks.  Faith is an indescribable spiritual experience, a wonderful feeling that cannot be separated from the courage to move forward.  The Bible says: “By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. (Hebrews 11:4)” Abel’s life was short, and he didn’t seem to do anything big.  According to the records in the Old Testament, he offered a sacrifice once and was killed by Cain.  But the New Testament brings a perfect ending to Abel’s life:  “And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks.” Dear brothers and sisters, our faith can speak!  Even if we die one day, our faith will still speak and continue to be a beautiful witness for the Lord!  Let us testify to God both before and after our lives!  Let’s look at the second point:

Their faithlessness cannot nullify the faithfulness of God

For more than two thousand years, many people have been confused: Why do the Israelites not believe in Jesus?  This was also the practical problem that Paul had to face back then.  Jesus has become flesh, so why don’t you believe it yet?  First, keep your faith boundaries. This principle is not easy to explain, and it’s not appropriate to be biased.  The basic level of faith is your own spiritual experience.  You can share your testimony, but it cannot replace the decisions of others.  When Paul went to preach the gospel, the Jews in Greece and Rome refused to believe, which inevitably made his co-workers frustrated.  At this time, Paul said:  “What if some were unfaithful?”  Paul’s point is not that it doesn’t matter, but don’t worry about it.  Paul was addressing things rather than people, people’s belief or unbelief, not believers or unbelievers.  That is, don’t be depressed or worried because of other people’s unbelief, and continue to maintain your enthusiasm for preaching the gospel without changing!

Second, face the unbelievers calmly.  In fact, since ancient times, the majority of people do not believe in God.  Why do we feel uneasy because so few people believe in God?  In 1987, when I first arrived in Norway, I heard that 95% of Norwegians were Christians.  When I believed in the Lord in 1990, I also felt very comforted.  Wow, there are so many Christians around me!  By the time I left Norway for Hong Kong in 1995, the seminaries in Norway were already discussing whether to accept gay pastors to serve in the church!  On the way back to the United States from Stockholm on the 11th of this month, there was a Swede sitting next to me.   He told me that now about 95% of people in Northern Europe no longer believe in Jesus.  At first I felt sad when I heard it, but I felt relieved after praying!

Finally, truly believe in God.  In fact, our hearts must be aligned with the Lord, and we must have the mind of Christ!  The Bible says: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.  The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. (2 Cor. 5:17)” So where is the new?  In fact, what is new is whether we can truly believe in God?  He is the omniscient, omnipresent, and almighty God, and He deserves our exclusive, first, and only attention to Him!   We truly believe that “everything comes from God” in our daily lives!  Including people’s belief or unbelief, He knows it all, He controls it all, and He judges it all!  We just need to focus on  “He reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.”  Leave the rest to the Lord!  Let’s look at the third point:

Reality reveals the truth

Reality reveals the truth, and it is not an easy life to live out.  Reality includes the occurrence of facts, the expression of facts, and the verification of facts.  First, awareness of the facts.  People usually pay more attention to their own emotions or feelings, and tend to ignore objective facts.  Why?  It may be easier to capture your feelings, but more difficult to record something.  In addition to witnesses, there must also be physical evidence.  From an absolute perspective, humans are unable to record a “pure fact.”  The reason is simple, because in the process of recording facts, it is difficult for people to separate subjective judgments and motives.   But we cannot not record the facts because of this, because recording the facts itself is a reverence for the truth.  A person who can understand this truth and carry it throughout his life is a wise man.

Secondly, the explanation of facts.  Perhaps we ourselves would not have thought that in addition to our inability to record “pure facts”, we also do not have the ability to explain the facts completely objectively.  Why?  For the heart is deceitful above all things, and who can know it?   The nature we inherited from Adam is to say that we are right and others are wrong.  Do you agree?  Because we are all sinners, we cannot believe in our ability to correct our own mistakes.  You say it is possible, but the problem is that someone must believe it!  What to do?  It requires supervision by many people, hearings, and careful thinking and judgment!  If you believe in Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit will bear witness with our hearts, and the church, the Body of Christ, will watch over our lives.  In fact, in some countries in the world that are influenced by the Bible, it would be helpful to adopt the three-power approach.

Finally, to give an account with facts.  One day, we will come before God’s throne to receive His judgment.  God will reveal everything we did in life one by one on the big screen in heaven.  Only then will we understand why today’s scripture says: “Let God be true though every one were a liar.”  It turns out that God’s standard is:  “That you may be justified in your words, and prevail when you are judged.”  This sentence is what we long for in life!  It is difficult, but it is our pursuit in life!  May God help us and give us His mercy.  In the process of learning the facts, understand the difficulties in understanding the truth and the humility we should have.

Conclusion

After I finished writing the sermon, I realized that God’s truth is so rich and profound that I really didn’t dare to cut corners, hide it, or not speak it all!  Because one day, I will have to give an account to the Lord!  Faith comes from God, and it is given to people, and becomes a vessel of grace.  Without faith, one cannot please God!

Let us pray……

 

Romans 3:1-4

1Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? 

2 Much in every way. To begin with, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God. 

3 What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? 

4 By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written, “That you may be justified in your words, and prevail when you are judged.”