Sermon for Sunday Evening, March 1st, 2025 at First Presbyterian Church at Unionville, NY (BPC)
Sermon Text:
[Jhn 20:30-31 ESV] 30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
Introduction
I hope soon to start a new series in for evening sermons. But I have at least one more topical sermon which is for this evening. I reached in my grab-bag folder of “unfinished sermons” to find this subject. And I think it is quite important of a subject.
I. Faith, not a leap.
It might be surprising to hear that faith is not a leap. That is a popular conception.
You often hear of a “leap of faith.” And this is passed off as a Christian idea.
But, of course, it is not a Biblical concept. Nowhere in the Bible is faith spoken of as “leaping” or “jumping” or any sort of such “diving into the unknown” or “leaping into the darkness.”
Historically this idea of a “leap of faith” into the darkness comes up in Philosophy. The Danish philosophy Soren Kierkegaard denied that we can known anything through reason. He believed that the doctrines of Christianity were absurd and contradictory, and that we can never know if there is a god who gives purpose and meaning to life. Still, with a “blind leap of faith” he chose in God to believe against all reason, arguing that it is better to live as if there is a god. That is basically pragmatism, not a confident faith in Christ.
Where St. Augustine had said “I believe in order to understand (or to understand better),” it is as if Kierkegaard said “I believe though I never will understand.”
What starts among the philosophers often finds it way down to popular opinion. The idea eventually filtered down into many Christian minds that faith is a leap.
You might hear it said “I cannot prove that God exists, but I’m going to take a leap of faith.”
This ignores the fact that we don’t need to prove the existence of God; everyone is born with an innate knowledge of his existence, and Atheists merely suppress that knowledge rather than starting without it.
And the Scriptures in fact give many reasons for us to believe in Jesus Christ; the primary one being, as Peter says regarding “being prepared to give a reason for the hope that is within you” is the fact that Jesus was raised from the dead. That is a powerful argument. The fulfillment of prophecy is a powerful argument. And the changed lives of those who believe in Christ is a powerful argument. So we go forward with powerful arguments in mind and great confidence in the Lord, not ignorantly jumping an unknown abyss, but having been given the very mind of Christ in that His truths are conveyed to us in the Scriptures.
Nowhere in the Bible is faith spoken of as a leap into the unknown. In fact, interestingly the only blind leaping in the Bible is that requested by the Devil when he wanted Jesus to take a leap of faith off the pinnacle of the temple. And Christ refused. Satan was testing God. Jesus knew God better than that.
II. Faith in the Revealed Word
Fortunately, we have something much better in the Scriptures.
Faith is not about the unknown, but the known. REPEAT
When Jesus appeared to his disciples in the book of Acts he did so “by many convincing proofs.” Faith is not by lack of evidence, but by overwhelming proof.
Biblically, faith is belief. And you can only believe something that you can understand.
To believe in God, you have to know something about God.
To believe in Jesus, you have to know something about Jesus.
Faith has content.
There are a number of verses just in John’s Gospel that evidence that fact, that faith is FAITH IN SOMETHING OR SOMEONE.
[Jhn 6:29 ESV] 29 Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”
[Jhn 11:27 ESV] 27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”
Faith is “in him whom he has sent.” It is not a blind faith, but a faith IN Christ who has made himself known. Hence why the woman gave positive content to her faith saying “I believe that you are the Christ, the son of God, who is coming into the world.”
Ultimately, the entire Gospel of John (and really the whole Bible) was written so that we might KNOW Christ; that we might believe in Him who has made himself known, and so not leap into the darkness blindly, but have the light of Christ shining upon the truth.
Our scripture verse says:
[Jhn 20:31 ESV] 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
“so that you may believe.”
See, faith is the result of something. The result of the Word of God and of the Spirit in us.
The faith is not blind, but is based on something; the truths of God.
And these truths of God are conveyed to us in the Scriptures.
These verses in John’s Gospel are rightly said to be the book’s purpose statement.
Why did John write? So that you may know about Jesus and believe in him, and have LIFE I his name.
So we preach the Gospel. LIFE IN HIS NAME. Faith is “faith IN SOMETHING.” And saving faith is belief in the Gospel of Jesus Christ; that He is the Lord and was raised from the dead.
In a recent sermon I mentioned a disagreement I have with the late R. C. Sproul on another subject (that of divorce). But on this subject (of faith), we fully agree. He once gave a sermon titled “Faith is Not a Leap into the Darkness.” In that sermon he said “Faith, though it is the substance of things unseen, is NOT A LEAP INTO THE DARKNESS. God never calls people to make a blind leap into the darkness as an exercise in faith. In fact, the New Testament always and everywhere calls us to leap OUT OF the darkness and into the light.” REPEAT: OUT OF THE DARKNESS AND INTO THE LIGHT. We leave darkness behind as the light of Christ illuminates our minds.
And, I would add, that it is a light that has shone on to us from outside of us; from Christ to us.
To sum up this sermons so far:
This is what we don’t teach: “you can’t really know anything, but it is probably best for you if you believe in God, so just take a leap and have faith.”
And this is what we do teach: “Jesus Christ has been revealed in the Scriptures which also command you have faith in Christ who is Lord of All.”
III. Working Confidently for the Lord
So we go forward in life CONFIDENTLY. We are not called to believe that which we cannot know; we are called to believe, to have faith in Jesus Christ whom we can trust, as He is trustworthy.
This is not to deny that there are risks in the Christians life. We take risks no doubt. Opposition to the phrase “leap of faith” doesn’t entail that there are not risks in life. But as the same time we understand that God is in control. We trust in His plan.
In that sense you might in a sense agree with that phrse “take a leap of faith” when starting a new business or going ice skating for the first time. But you are leaping with faith in the God whom you know, and not without hope or reason.
So what should we say to others? And what should we say to ourselves if not you/I/we need to take a leap of faith?
Let us say rather, and simply, “Trust in the Lord.” Trust in He who is trustworthy. He who was, who is, and is to come. In his arms we are held and protected.
And know that WE CAN KNOW THE TRUTH.
God has given us the Truth in His word.
All which is necessary unto salvation.
So we do not leap.
But, as the Scriptures say:
We WALK in faith.
Walking, like “leaping” is a metaphor. But a better one, and a biblical one.
WALKING in faith emphasizes that it is a continuous action.
Humans walk every day.
We are constantly walking.
It, until modern times, was often the only means of locomotion/transportation.
In walking in faith, we are trusting in God with each step; going forward toward his heavenly kingdom, and “walking in His ways” which means obeying his commandments.
We WALK in faith.
It says this in two places. Romans 4:12 and 2 Corinthians 5:7.
The latter is more well known.
[2Co 5:7 ESV] 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight.
When you read that in the context of the chapter you see that this faith in steady and “in knowledge.”
[2Co 5:1-7 ESV] 1 For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, 3 if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. 4 For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened–not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5 He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. 6 So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight.
We know.
We have a guarantee.
So are of good courage.
None of that is of darkness, but of light.
So let us praise the Lord that He has given us the light of the Gospel and of Jesus Christ that we might live confidently for Him.
Let us pray.