Scripture Hebrews 11:1-2, 12:1-2
Hebrews 11:1-2
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for.
Hebrews 12:1-2
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
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Duncan Phillips talks about the importance of standing up and saying, 'This is who we are.'
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The Newsboys band appeared in the hit film, "God's Not Dead," and their song, "We Believe," appears on the Billy Graham tribute album.
During an interview about the song We Believe, Duncan Phillips said, Christian music
is a funny thing. It is one of the only genres of music that is characterized by its lyrical content rather than its musical style. Sometimes because of that, the art of the music tends to be second rate. That is not as important as the lyrical content. I get it, but I don't necessarily agree with it.
A lot of times if you want to reach kids, the music has got to stand out. It can't be second rate. The music is the conduit to get the message into the heart of a person, into their soul and their spirit. If the music isn't as good as current secular music, there is going to be a barrier. I think we've failed at making the art as good as it could be. With this album more than ever before, we really wanted the art to be great.
I think "We Believe" says, all that aside, this is who we are. This is what we believe. We believe in God the Father, Jesus Christ, The Holy Spirit, the crucifixion, He conquered death, the Resurrection, and He's coming back again!
Which Bible verses connect to the message of the song?
1 Corinthians 15:21 (NKJV): "For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead."
2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV): "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new."
Romans 10:9 (NKJV): That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
What's the takeaway message
This is who we are as Christians. At some point, we must stand up and say this is who we are. No matter what you are going through, when you stand and sing this song and claim your faith in a very simple way, people resonate with it. They stand up and raise their hands and it is a declaration of what we believe.
Through Christ, we need to have joy and express what we stand for more than what we are against. With statements like this song, it is very positive and uplifting.
Lyrics:
In this time of desperation when all we know is doubt and fear, There is only One Foundation - We believe, We believe - In this broken generation when all is dark, You help us see, there is only One Salvation - We believe, We believe
Together we read the Nicene Creed. The shorter Apostles Creed reads like this:
THE APOSTLES CREED
1. I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth:
2. And in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord:
3. Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary:
4. Suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead and buried: He descended into hell:
5. The third day he rose again from the dead:
6. He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty:
7. From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead:
8. I believe in the Holy Ghost:
9. I believe in the holy catholic church: the communion of saints:
10. The forgiveness of sins:
1l. The resurrection of the body:
12. And the life everlasting. Amen.
As Baptist, we have no creeds. Creeds are largely a part of the Catholic Church and are somewhat ascribed to in the Episcopal and the Lutheran Church. Because we have no written authority other than the bible it does not mean the creeds are no good. They are a way of saying, in short form what we believe according to the scriptures. Instead of creeds – which in some cases are placed equal to the scriptures, we would say we have statements of faith that are altered over time due to language, culture and what is se as most important to talk about.
There have been many Baptist Confessions or statements of faith written over the years. It would be a good exercise for everyone to write their own. For example, if you were writing a statement of faith, to state plainly what you would believe, would you start by saying what you believed about the bible first, or God, or the state of man, or the church, or heaven, or salvation, etc. See, even knowing where to start is challenging.
Once you put the major theological components in a logical order – not necessarily one thing greater than another – simply an order that makes sense, what do you say about each? If you start with the nature of man, do you say that man is good, man is evil? What? How about staring with God created man in his own image and saw that it was very good (Gen 1:26). Man disobeyed God and is in a state we call fallen – as in fallen from grace. Or in a sinful state: There is no one righteous (Rom 3:10) All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23).
Then you might go on to the nature of God – that God is love, etc. Then Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the Church, Heaven, etc.
Is it enough just to believe? We know the Bible says, “Believe on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved!” Acts 16:31 or Romans 10:9 If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Part of my statement of faith would be that the bible is the sole written authority for all things pertaining to God and daily life. Now here is the rub. What does the word believe mean according to the Bible – not only according to our best translated word?
Believe in the Greek is pisteuson pisteuson = To believe or entrust.
You will be saved in the Greek is swqhsh sōthēsē = to save
There is more: Believe is the aorist imperfect followed by you will be saved which is future passive and forms a type of Hebraic conditional sentence.
The aorist is a single event in the past – you did believe – but it is also imperfect which is something continuing in the past. So, your belief started at a point in time but continues. Some people could have a single moment of belief that does not continue. That continuing belief according to the word used here is essential for being saved. (Stop arguing for once saved always saved and argue for once believed always believed)
The future passive of you will be saved – passive means something is being done to you. You are not saving your self – the saving is being done to you because of your belief that continues. It is future, meaning it has been done, is being done and will be done based on when you started to believe and that you continue believing. 11-4-74 I had my aorist moment of belief and (cause and effect) I was saved. I have (in the imperfect tense) continued to believe and have continued to be saved and yet I also look forward to that day when Christ returns, and I will be saved.
WAIT – there is more. You may have missed something very important I said in the definition of ‘believe’ according to the Greek. When we talk about belief, we simply mean an intellectual ascent. But that is not enough. It is not enough to just believe it in your mind – check this out: James 2:19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. The demons always believe – they call Jesus the son of the most high God and tremble in fear when he shows up (send us into those pigs over there). Are the demons saved? NO! The bible says believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. We conclude then that just believing as an act of intellectual ascent – is not enough. Remember the definition was not simply believe but entrust – put your trust in. Therefore, when the bible says Believe in Jesus and you will be saved it means you start with intellectually believing but also means you put your trust in the object of that belief - JESUS!
What does it mean to trust? It means to commit to another with confidence. It is not just saying Jesus is Lord (Mt 7:21-23 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one 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 in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’) You can believe with your mind – you can say I believe – but true belief is much more – you must put commit yourself to trust in Jesus.
WAIT, there is more – the one who enters his kingdom is the one who does the will of his father. That is the 3rd and final part of what the word believe in the Greek means – it implies action. Intellectual belief first – putting trust in Jesus follows – and living the belief completes it. All three parts are inherent in the word believe. Let’s go back to James who so well describes what real belief (or faith is)
James 2:14-23
What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith (belief) save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. 19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
20 You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend.
Yes We believe in God the Father / We believe in Jesus Christ
We believe in the Holy Spirit / And He's given us new life
We believe in the crucifixion / We believe that He conquered death
We believe in the resurrection / And He's comin' back again, we believe
So, let our faith be more than anthems Greater than the songs we sing
And in our weakness and temptations We believe, We believe!
Let the lost be found and the dead be raised! In the here and now, let love invade!
Let the church live loud, our God we'll say We believe, We believe!
And the gates of hell will not prevail! For the power of God, has torn the veil!
Now we know Your love will never fail! We believe, We believe!
We believe in the Holy Spirit / And He's given us new life
We believe in the crucifixion / We believe that He conquered death
We believe in the resurrection / And He's comin' back again, we believe
So, let our faith be more than anthems Greater than the songs we sing
And in our weakness and temptations We believe, We believe!
Let the lost be found and the dead be raised! In the here and now, let love invade!
Let the church live loud, our God we'll say We believe, We believe!
And the gates of hell will not prevail! For the power of God, has torn the veil!
Now we know Your love will never fail! We believe, We believe!
Intellectual Belief becomes Committed trust in Jesus becomes Action – lives lived for Christ!
That is the belief we mean when we sing the song WE BELIEVE!
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