For those who teach or believe that it is not necessary to have evidence in order to have faith, I point them to John 20:25-31, where John relates the story of Thomas, who would not believe in the resurrection of Jesus without physical evidence. Jesus provided him with this evidence—evidence which was intended to cause Thomas to be not faithless, but believing. Jesus said that Thomas believed, or, had faith, because he had seen. And He then pronounced a blessing upon those who believe, or, have faith, even though they would never have the opportunity to see the same physical evidence that Thomas had seen.

Jesus was speaking to all of those, who, down through the years since, have believed in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. But was He talking about a blind faith? No, He certainly was not! And neither was John.

Why did John write his Gospel? “…but these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through His Name” John 20, and verse 31. He wrote it so that those of us who will never have the opportunity to personally see the imprint of the nails in the hands of Jesus and the hole that was caused by that spear that was thrust through His side will, nevertheless, have the opportunity to be convinced by the testimony—by the eyewitness testimony—of John; so that we may be convinced by the evidence, which John has provided through the things that he wrote; so that we, too, might become not faithless, but believing.

Because of the evidence, true Christian faith is the foundation upon which all of the other Christian graces are laid. Faith is what we must have before we can ever hope to add virtue, knowledge, self-control, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, or love to our Christian character. True Christian faith can only come when we seek God through His Word, and if we are diligent in that study, we will come to the conclusion that God is indeed the Creator of the universe, that He has indeed given us a promise of eternal reward, that He has given us a hope, which we have not yet seen, but which is real and true, nonetheless.

Before we end our lesson this morning, I would like to remind you of something we touched on earlier. Those examples of faithful men and women in the 11th chapter of Hebrews teach us the fact that true faith is DEMONSTRATED through being obedience to God, through being pleasing to Him. A true faith does, indeed, come through knowledge and understanding of God’s Word. But faith without obedience is NOT true faith. This is partly what was meant by James when he wrote in James, chapter 2, verses 19 through 24. He said these things:

“Thou believest that God is One; thou doest well: the demons also believe, and shudder.
20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith apart from works is barren? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, in that he offered up Isaac his son upon the altar? 22 Thou seest that faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect;23 and the Scripture was fulfilled which saith, And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned unto him for righteousness; and he was called the friend of God. 24 Ye see that by works a man is justified, and not only by faith.”

Have you looked into God’s Word? Have you investigated the things which are taught in His Word? Have you come to the conclusion that God exists and that He will reward those who diligently seek after Him, AND that He has made promises of eternal reward to those who believe in His Son? If this describes you this morning, then you’re to be commended, because your study of God’s Word has rewarded you with belief in God, and faith in His Word and the promises which are found therein, but you have not taken all of the necessary steps for you to be justified in the eyes of God.

You see, as James said, the demons also believe all of these things, and they shudder over them. Yet, their belief is vain, because it is not justified by works. I must tell you that in order for you to go beyond what James calls “barren faith,”—which is really not faith at all—you must add obedience to your belief. Obedience to the Gospel of Christ is what will consummate your belief, making it more than simple belief—making it true Christian faith.

It is through righteous works that one becomes God’s friend. It is by works that a man is justified. The 6th chapter of Romans tells us that we are only justified when we are dead from sin and that there is a work which must be performed in order to obtain that justification, and that this work is baptism into Christ for the forgiveness, or, the remission, of your sins.

If it’s your desire this morning to be justified through your works of obedience to God’s commands, then won’t you this very minute come in belief, repenting of your sins, confessing the Name of Jesus Christ, to be baptized into His death, burial and resurrection, arising to walk in newness of life? These are the works of righteousness which you must do if you desire to be justified in God’s sight, if you desire to be pleasing to God. If you desire to verify your faith in the evidence presented in the Word of God by your sincere obedience to His commandments, if you desire to be the friend of God—and why wouldn’t you?—you’ll have that opportunity in just a few moments.

If you’re a Christian who has, perhaps, lost your faith in God and His promises, we pray that you will return once again to a diligent study of His Word so that you might, perhaps, restore that faith that you once had—a faith that you, at one time, demonstrated through your obedience to God. If you’ve fallen away from your first love, we ask you this morning, won’t you please come back? If you do that, we’ll be here to offer our prayers on your behalf to God for your forgiveness. We’ll be here to help you to, perhaps, live a more faithful life for Christ in the future.

If it’s your desire this morning to become a Christian, or perhaps, it’s your desire to become, once more, a faithful Christian—whatever your need might be this morning, we ask you, won’t you come right now, as we stand and sing?