What do we believe 2?

What do we believe about God and The Bible . . . What do we believe about sin and righteousness . . . What do we believe about

heaven and hell . . . what do we believe about religion and proper worship . . . What do we believe about the concept of being rewarded

for faithfulness and being punished for unfaithfulness . . . For what purpose do we believe that has God revealed Himself to

mankind . . . for what purpose do we believe that “mankind” has been created . . . and what do we believe the purpose of our life is

what do we believe that are we supposed to do with our lives . . . what do we believe that God requires of us . . .

As we consider what we believe about these different things . . . I want to ask each of you a very basic question – and that question is

whether or not “what you believe” has any effect upon the reality (or the real truth) regarding each of these issues . . . in other

words do you believe that you can make something come true – just because you believe it to BE true . . .

When I was really young – I believed that the moon was made of cheese . . . I also had what I believed was a pet mouse that lived in a tree

out in the front yard . . . and I genuinely believed that my “pet mouse” talked to me . . . there was a point in my life when I honestly believed these things to be the absolute truth.

My point is . . . the degree of assurance which I had regarding these things that I believe so completely had no effect at all upon “reality”

If it is raining outside . . . the fact that we believe that it is NOT raining or regardless of how bad we want it not to be raining – these

Thoughts and beliefs will not force the clouds away and bring out the sun . . .

So what we believe is certainly important . . . it is important to us because of how we spend our lives preparing for what we believe . . .

but it is not important at all regarding “the genuine reality” of the object of our belief.  If we believe the wrong thing . . . then  

“reality” is not going to somehow change in order to accommodate our misconceptions . .

Ps 14:1  <<To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.>> The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.

 To believe that there is no God in heaven . . . to believe that there is no hell beneath nor a day of judgment after death . . . this type of belief will not shorten your stay in hell by a single hour . . . nor 
will such a denial lower the temperature of hell when you arrive there - even one degree . . .

You see “what we believe” or what do NOT believe – is simply not capable of “changing” the reality of death – hell and judgment which many of spend our lives trying to avoid.

What we believe literally defines who we are as a person . . . What we believe controls the direction of our individual lives – as well as the direction of “society” in general . . .

So what do we “really” believe about God and The Bible . . . is “what we believe” based upon sight (what we are able to understand in our mind) or is what we believe based only upon

Faith (which refers to what we accept in our heart in spite of our lack of understanding)

Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

This verse tells us that “without faith” it is impossible to please God . . . we should also understand that without faith it is likewise impossible to “know” or to recognize God.

Gen 1: 1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

God never argues the point of His eternal existence . . . He simply reveals to us (without any proof to back up His claim) that there has

never been a point in history when He did not exist . . . this is the meaning of the phrase “in the beginning God . . .”

God also reveals to us (to mankind) that He is the creator or the originator of all things . . . John 1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.

Once again – throughout The Bible – God NEVER attempts to argue His existence or to offer any type of proof regarding The Truth

that He declares in His Word . . . God simply states “the fact” that He existed “in the beginning” and the He is the creator of everything . . .

Romans 1: 20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

The point here is that man who denies the existence of God has no excuse . . . the invisible things of him refer to the physical

laws of nature that God put into place for the purpose of maintaining order in His creation . . . gravity always works . . . water always runs down hill . . . the compass always points to the North . . . Summer always follows Winter . . .

John 1:3 tells us plainly – that ALL things were made (created) by God . . . and that nothing has been created without God.

And Romans 1:20 simply tells us that the concept of a divine creator is totally obvious to anyone with eyes to see the wonders of universe . . .

So when we consider “what we believe” . . . Is God real and did He literally “speak” creation into existence . . . is the very first “test” of our faith.

1Jo 4:1 Beloved, believe not EVERY spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

As we approach this concept of “what we believe” about things we will find that we must choose between one of two different

points of view . . . And these opposing points of view are determined by one of the following: 

“What we believe” about God is either determined by things that we can perceive – grasp and comprehend . . . or “what we believe” is guided by things which are beyond our sight – and outside of our ability to understand.

Matt 6: 24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

What this scripture is telling us – is that it is not possible to walk by faith while we are walking by sight . . . this is actually telling us the

obvious . . . it is not possible to walk with a blindfold covering our eyes – while we are walking without a blindfold to cover our eyes.

To have only one eye closed does not mean that we cannot see . . . we have no need of faith when we see with only one eye . . . but we

only need faith when we can see with NEITHER eye . . . it is not possible to accept the concept of God based upon the power of  human reasoning . . . while at the same time

“believing” in God purely by faith . . . often times we want to close only one eye and then make the claim that we are walking by faith . .

When in fact the only reason that we believe in God at all . . . is because of what we are able to understand about Him in our mind rather than because we have chosen to accept Him in our heart.