The Heart of Christianity

I had two titles picked out for the message this morning and went with “The Heart of Christianity”. The other title would have been “The Fundamentals of our Faith”…

Fundamentals are important for anything that we do in life… one of the fundamentals in baking is, time and temperature… to hot and whatever you are baking, will not bake evenly… keep it in for too long and you may get a first hand look at the response time of the fire department…

Jonathen and Isaiah took a class a couple of weeks ago and learned the fundamentals of hunter safety… The fundamentals that they learned are ones that can save their lives or the lives of others as they look to hunt in the future.

If you join a sports team, you are going to learn the “fundamentals” of that particular sport… and as long as you stick to those fundamentals, your ability to play the game should improve over time.

There are fundamentals for driving a vehicle… and if you are unsure of what they are, maybe you either need a refresher course, or you shouldn’t be driving… One good fundamental is, making sure there is nothing behind you when you are backing up…

When it comes to the subject of Christianity there is no shortage of debate. When discussing the Bible you will hear many different views and opinions. There are questions that you may ask that there is just no answer to. There are certain subjects that are very difficult to understand.

There are some very deep and often controversial subjects such as Calvinism, Dispensationalism, and Eschatology. But when it comes to what really matters...when it comes to the fundamentals of the faith, they are plain, clear and simple to understand! And we will see those fundamentals in our passage this morning...

The fundamentals that we are going to look at are essential for us as believers… they are the fundamentals of our faith… and when broken down, they are what we find, at the very Heart of Christianity.

Read 1 Peter 1:6-9 ...

Fundamentals of Faith:

Meat:

We looked at vv. 6-7 last week and this week we will focus in on vv. 8-9.

The first fundamental of our Faith is…

1. Our Love for Christ

vv. 6-7, as we looked at last week, talk about the various trials that we face as Christians and that they are necessary to prove the genuineness of our faith… “though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,” and then v.8 starts out by saying… “whom having not seen (Pause) you love.”

Peter loved Christ, he knew that he was going to die because he kept spreading the Gospel of Christ and even knowing that, he was still willing to spread that gospel because of his love for Christ....

Peter was one of the original 12 Disciples, he walked with Christ on a daily basis, he knew Christ’s voice, sat under His teaching… all the while, his love for Christ was growing...

But Peter saw something in these believers. He saw that they possessed a love for the Savior who they had not seen in the flesh. Peter had walked and talked with the Lord. He had physically touched him… But these early Christians had only seen Jesus with eyes of faith. But their faith was so real that they possessed the same love as those who had spent time with Jesus while He was present upon the Earth.

When Jesus was present upon the Earth there were multitudes who saw Him. But they didn't see Him for Who He was! The people that we read about in the Bible did not know Jesus the way that we do. They did not have all of the information that we have.

1) The Wise Men, the Shepherds, Simeon and Anna got a glimpse of Christ as a baby.

2) The scribes in the Temple spent a brief amount of time with Him as a young child.

3) Peter's mother in law got to see Him shortly when He healed her.

4) Lazarus, Mary and Martha were close and special to Jesus but they did not see it all.

5) The deaf, the dumb, the blind, the lame, the demon possessed and the lepers only saw certain aspects of His ministry.

There are many accounts in the scriptures that describe the great miracles that Jesus performed in people's lives. But all of those people only had brief encounters with Jesus. Even the Apostles didn't see everything that we have seen…

There were 3 occasions where Peter, James and John saw things that the other disciples did not see 1. Jesus raising Jairus' daughter from the dead. 2. The transfiguration 3. The prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane… When Jesus appeared after His resurrection Thomas missed out on that first appearance completely.

Through the Gospels we have as much information (if not more) than the Apostles possessed as these things took place. We are privileged to see things that even the closest of Jesus' followers did not see.

Even though we may not have been able to see Him physically with our own eyes… every aspect of His life is revealed to us through Scripture… and it is because of this revelation that we love our Savior so much!

Through the Word of God we are told that: He was born of a virgin, Lived a sinless life, Taught with authority, Performed countless miracles, Went to the cross, Laid down His life, Paid the ultimate sacrifice, Rose from the grave on the 3rd day!!

Through the Word of God we are told that: He defeated Sin, Satan, Death, Hell and The Grave. After this He then ascended to Heaven, Sat down at the right hand of the Father, He has provided atonement for our sins, He is making intercession on our behalf. He has forgiven our sins, Saved our souls from Hell, Changed our lives, Provided eternal life and He has promised to come again to receive us.

Because of the scriptures we know that He did all of this for us!! and even though we have not physically seen Him… we love Him! Because of what He has done for us ...we love Him. Because of our personal relationship with Him...We love Him!!!

That my friend is the heart of Christianity! That is why Peter could proclaim that though these early Christians had not seen Him, they loved Him! That is why we can declare that though we have not seen Him, we love Him as well!!!… and we could not love Him if it were not for our faith in Him.

That is the second fundamental that I want you to see…

2. Our Faith in Christ

v.8b “Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory”

The phrase "yet believing" literally means to trust in or to put your faith in… Faith is defined in...

Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

Warren Wiersbe said that “True Biblical faith is confident obedience to God’s Word in spite of circumstances and consequences.”

Examples of people with true biblical faith can also be found in Hebrews 11… Several of the ones listed in “The Great Chapter of Faith”, had never seen Christ… and yet, We are told of the amazing acts of faith in the lives of Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Rahab Gideon, Samson, David and others.

These Old Testament Saints were saved by faith… by faith, they were looking forward to the future work of Christ!… We are also saved by faith… but we are looking back at the finished work of Christ!

Our Faith in Christ is…

2.1 The Foundation We Stand On

The first thing that we had to do with the parsonage addition, was make sure that we put in a good foundation for the addition to stand on. With out that foundation, everything would move, heave and probably sink into the ground…

Let me remind you of some of the foundational truths that we stand on as Christ followers and believers of Scripture…

We believe that we were created by a God that we have never seen with our eyes.

We believe that we were born in sin and destined for an eternity of torment in a place we have never seen.

We believe that this God that we have never seen sent His Son that we have never seen to save us from the torture of the place that we have never seen.

The Christian believes that God took on human flesh and was born of a virgin in a stable almost 2,000 years ago.

We believe that this child grew up and lived a perfect life.

We believe that He: gave blind their sight, made the deaf to hear, healed the sick & the lame, cast demons from possessed people.

We believe that He raised the dead.

We believe that He Himself, by His own power rose from the grave after physically being dead for 3 days.

We believe that this same Jesus ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of God.

We believe through the sacrifice of this Son of God who we have never seen, we can be saved from the torture of the place that we have never seen and spend eternity in a Heaven that we have never seen.

We also believe that along with The Father we have never seen and The Son we have never seen, that there is a third entity called the Holy Spirit (who we have never seen) who abides within us and guides us through this life.

Is it any wonder that the outside world thinks we are crazy??… Let me tell you… I don’t mind if they think I am crazy… let’s face it… they’re right! … I am crazy about Jesus Christ and I believe that everything I just listed is 100% true.

Because of our faith in Christ we are saved from our sins.

Because of our faith in Christ we have assurance of our deliverance from hell.

Because of our faith in Christ we have hope in eternal life.

Because of our faith in Christ we look forward to a home in Heaven.

And because of all of these things that our faith in Christ gives us access to, we have great joy… In fact, Peter says that it is inexpressible joy and it is full of glory!

That is our third fundamental…

3. Our Joy Through Christ

Peter says… “you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory”

I don’t want you to forget the context of this chapter. Think for a moment about their current circumstances… Remember, Peter just got done talking about their “Various Trials”… The reason that they could rejoice even in the midst of trials and suffering was because of their hope in Jesus Christ.

It is not possible to fully describe or define the joy that we possess in Christ. But this joy in Christ motivates us to rejoice regardless of our circumstances… No matter what circumstances we find ourselves in, here on earth, we can always find Joy in knowing that…

“Soon and very soon, we are going to see the King!

No more crying there… No more dying there…

Hallelujah… We are going to see the King!”

There was a guest on a Christian Radio Program that said…

“Men have pursued joy in every avenue imaginable. Some have successfully found it while others have not. Perhaps it would be easier to describe where joy cannot be found:

Not in Unbelief -- Voltaire was an infidel of the most pronounced type. He wrote: "I wish I had never been born."

Not in Pleasure -- Lord Byron lived a life of pleasure if anyone did. He wrote: "The worm, the canker, and grief are mine alone."

Not in Money -- Jay Gould, the American millionaire, had plenty of that. When dying, he said: "I suppose I am the most miserable man on earth."

Not in Position and Fame -- Lord Beaconsfield enjoyed more than his share of both. He wrote: "Youth is a mistake; manhood a struggle; old age a regret."

Not in Military Glory -- Alexander the Great conquered the known world in his day. Having done so, he wept in his tent, before he said, "There are no more worlds to conquer."

Where then is real joy found? -- the answer is simple, in Christ alone.”

Charles Spurgeon said…

“Surface joy is for those who live where the Saviour is preached; but the great depths, the great fathomless depths of solemn joy which glisten and sparkle with delight, are for such that know the Saviour, obey the Anointed One, and have communion with the Lord Himself...you will never know the fullness of the joy which Jesus brings to the soul, unless under the power of the Holy Spirit you take the Lord your Master to be your All in all, and make Him the fountain of your most intense delight.”

It is only through a relationship with Jesus Christ that we are able to have inexpressible joy.

Our Final Fundamental this morning is…

4. Our Rewards From Christ

1 Peter 1:9 “receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.”

..The word translated “receiving” means to get something that is promised.

Peter declares that the salvation promised to us, is the outcome of our faith and our suffering. The reward for trusting Christ (having our faith in Him) is the salvation of our souls. This is a promise from God…

Jesus has done all the work that is required for our Salvation… He has paid the bill, He has covered the debt… and we are the ones who receive the Reward… We are rewarded for the work that He did!

We were rewarded at the time of our salvation, we continue to be rewarded as we live out what we say we believe, and when our life on this earth is done (the end of our faith), we will receive our ultimate reward, which is spending eternity with our Lord and Savior, Our Living Hope, Jesus Christ.

Closing:

We love Him though we have never seen Him. Though we do not see Him presently we trust Him. We can and should rejoice with a glorious inexpressible joy. The reward of this faith that we possess is the salvation of our souls.

This message is important for each person that is here today.... These verses show us that the Christian can and should rejoice even in the midst of suffering. And these verses also show the lost person just how simple salvation really is.

If you are trying to earn your way to Heaven, you are wasting your time. But Jesus paid the great debt and has made a way of salvation for you. Perhaps He is drawing you to Him today. Right now He is offering you access to this great salvation. If you will accept that offer, you too will love Him even though you have never seen Him.

He has been revealed in the scriptures and you can trust Him, through faith. When you come to know Him in the free pardon of sin, you can possess "joy that is inexpressible and full of glory"

And your faith will be rewarded with salvation… and That, my beloved brother’s and sisters... is "The Heart of Christianity"…