The Unauthorized Homily

By Bill Dunn

A commentary on the Scripture readings from the Sunday Lectionary

(Scripture readings for Sunday, February 1st: Deuteronomy 18:15-20; 1 Corinthians 7:32-35; Mark 1:21-28)

KNOWING ABOUT GOD NOT THE SAME AS KNOWING GOD

Have you ever tried to talk to someone about faith in Jesus? The response is often something like, “C’mon, give it a rest. I already know who Jesus is. I mean, it’s not like I’m an atheist, y’know? Stop trying to ram religion down my throat.”

What exactly is faith? Is faith the same thing as belief, or understanding, or knowledge? If we know that Jesus is the Son of God—like those people who are not atheists but who don’t really want to think about it—does that mean we have the faith required to enter into Heaven for all eternity?

Many people would answer yes. If you believe that God exists and know that Jesus is his Son, they’d explain, you will go to Heaven. It’s right in the Bible, of course.

Well, this week’s gospel reading offers some insight into the true meaning of faith, and my guess is quite a few folks will be surprised at what the Bible says.

In the synagogue at Capernaum, Jesus confronted a man possessed by an evil spirit. The evil spirit shrieked out at Jesus, “Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”

Did you catch that? The evil spirit KNEW the identity of Jesus. The evil spirit was certainly not an atheist; it knew that God exists. But knowledge of these basic facts did the evil spirit no good. It was damned for all time.

The Bible offers additional teachings on this subject. In James’ epistle, he wrote, “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder” (James 2:19).

Jesus himself explained, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” (Matthew 7:21-23).

Scary stuff, huh? Knowing that God is real and knowing that Jesus is His Son, and even referring to Jesus as, “Lord, Lord,” just doesn’t cut it. Possessing knowledge about God is not the same thing as having faith in God. Knowing about Jesus is not the same as knowing Him.

Faith in God, the kind of faith that gets us into Heaven, requires that we put our full trust in the Lord. We need to do the most difficult thing know to mankind: forget about ourselves and focus instead on God.

It’s not easy to put God at the center of our lives. It wasn’t easy a century or two ago when most citizens were Bible literate and understood that pride and selfishness were sinful. It’s even harder today when most people are ignorant of Scripture and have been trained by our modern culture to view self-centeredness and pride as the most important attitudes in life.

If you told a class of high school students that our national motto, “E pluribus Unum,” is Latin for, “What’s in it for me?” many would say, “Yeah, that makes sense. That’s the way you’re suppose to approach life, right?”

Surveys consistently show that over 90 percent of the American public believe in God, with over 80 percent claiming that Jesus is the Messiah. Despite this, we live in an era when true faith is rather scarce. We have been fooled into thinking that knowing about Jesus is the same as knowing Him; that believing God exists is the same has having faith in God.

The Bible clearly teaches that saving faith is not a one-shot, fleeting thought that drifts through your mind. It’s a life-changing reality that permeates your whole being.

Now don’t get me wrong. We can’t earn our way into Heaven. Scripture plainly states that salvation is a free gift offered to us by the grace of God. We can’t do a lot of good deeds—as if we’re building up Brownie points—and buy our way into eternal life.

God doesn’t particularly want (or need) our good deeds. He wants instead our hearts. He’s smart enough to know that if we give Him our hearts the good deeds will follow.

True faith in God through Christ has the power to transform lives. It changes people into new creations. The old sinful nature is put to death on the cross with Jesus, and a new Spirit-directed nature takes over.

Does saving faith instantly make a person perfect? No, perfection is beyond our grasp in this world. But saving faith does change people so drastically that others can’t help but notice. (Hint: if it would come as a complete surprise to your co-workers and neighbors that you claim to be a Christian, then chances are you don’t have true, saving faith.)

Please heed this week’s gospel lesson: knowing ABOUT God is not the same as knowing God. It is the difference between hearing Jesus say to us at the moment of our death, “Well done good and faithful servant,” and hearing him say, “Away from me, you evildoer. I never knew you.”

©2009