A Faith Worth Keeping
Sermon Review
27 Feb 2000
Reading: 2 Timothy 1:3-7
Christianity began with a few hesitant followers in the then obscure Roman Province of Judea. Today, nearly 2,000 years later it has an estimated following of 4,000 million. Through this time it has proven to be a vital, resilient, relevant and proven faith, for which many have been willing to be ridiculed, alienated, isolated, imprisoned, tortured, and killed. It has proven to be a faith worth keeping.
Q. Is it a faith worth keeping for ourselves?
There are 3 acid tests which will answer that question.
'Nown (Known)
The Christian faith is broken up into two parts:
- The Faith (1Tim.4:6; 2Tim.4:7)
- Our Personal Faith (e.g.: Heb.10:37-39; 11:6)
The faith is further broken up into two parts:
- The documents i.e. the Bible (2Tim.3:16; Rom.15:4) and
- The Doctrines 1Tim.6:3; 2Tim.4:2,3)
The acid test, which demonstrates how valuable the Christian Faith is to us, is to assess how much effort we put into knowing both the Documents and the Doctrines of the Christian Faith. A Christian Faith worth keeping knows what it believes for it is the particular detail which promotes conviction and determination to protect and defend it.
Nourished.
With respect to our Personal Faith, it is obvious that a faith worth keeping is one that is noticeable, observable, influential, and alive. Paul 'observed' such faith in Lois, Eunice, and then Timothy. It was obviously alive and influential. Such a faith can only be so if it is nourished (e.g.: John15:1-8). Therefore the next acid test is applied by asking oneself how much effort and time is spent on nourishing your personal faith e.g.: through prayer, fellowship, prayer, quickness to obey etc. A faith worth keeping is one that is nourished. We show how much we value our faith by what we invest in its upkeep.
Needed.
The final acid test is implemented by asking ourselves how much do we really appreciate that we need Christ in our lives eg. (Lk.18:13; 2Cor.1:8-10).
- Self-reliance works like leprosy. It kills our ability to sense our own need for God, and God's desire to support and help us. Like lepers who unknowingly break a bone in their foot and adjust their walk accordingly, we simply alter our character to suit our insensitive self-reliant condition, doing untold damage to ours, and others’, lives in the process. A Faith work keeping is one that is needed by ourselves, therefore we show how valued it is by us in the sharpness of our sense of neediness before God.
A. Conclusion
You will have a faith worth keeping if you take time to know the detail of the faith you profess, if your nourish, feed and cultivate the personal faith you have, and if you resist the trap of self-sufficiency. The bottom line is that we care for what we love and value.
Blessings