“Faith Versus Belief”

Scripture – James 2:1-10, 14-18

Sermon preached by the Rev. Dr. Gregory Knox Jones

Sunday, September 1, 2024

 

Jim phoned and said he wanted to come in and talk. He did not specify his concern, so I was left guessing. I wondered: had he received a frightening diagnosis? Was one of his daughters struggling? Maybe he was having financial problems.

It turned out to be none of the above. He was struggling with his faith. He said that when people recite the Apostles’ Creed, he remains silent. He said, “I don’t believe in the virgin birth and I’m skeptical about some of the other claims of the creed.” He paused to see if I would attempt to convince him otherwise.

He continued. “I don’t believe the Bible is inerrant or that Christianity is the only true religion.” He leaned back in his chair; then he went on. “I’m not sure if I should come to church anymore. I love the people here and I’m proud of our mission work, but I no longer believe some of the doctrines that Christians are supposed to espouse.”

While Jim is a real person, he also represents millions across our nation. Over the past 40 years, people have been drifting away from the church in large numbers. Many stopped attending because their calendars became overcrowded, and they allowed church to get squeezed out. However, many wandered away because their ideas about God and faith changed, and they felt they were out of step with church teachings. So, they made a quiet exit.

I assured Jim that he wasn’t the only person who questioned some of the traditional beliefs proclaimed in the creeds. Some of the ideas – like the virgin birth – grew out of a pre-scientific worldview that no longer makes sense with our current understanding of the universe. Thankfully, at Westminster, we have fostered an open, non-judgmental space for all of us to explore our faith.

There is room to question and for our thinking to evolve.

For centuries, being a Christian meant believing certain doctrines about God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Faith became a matter of holding the official church-certified beliefs. However, as most of us know, you can hold all of the right ideas about God, but not be a faithful follower.

Being out of step with traditional teachings may stem from the way we use the words “faith” and “belief.” Beliefs are certain ideas we hold to be true. In the church, we hold certain beliefs about God, Jesus, sin, and so on.

Theologian Marcus Borg pointed out that most people think “Believing is what you turn to when knowledge runs out…believing reflects uncertainty…believing is what you do when you think (specific) statements are true…the probability is good”1 but there is a degree of uncertainty. If there were no uncertainty, we would not use the verb believe, we would use the verb know.2 We would say, “I know it’s true” rather than “I believe it’s true.”

Many of us were taught that having faith means to believe certain church doctrines. Since the Nicene Creed was adopted in the year 325, the church has specified what its members are supposed to believe. Diana Butler Bass reminds us that over the past couple of hundred years, some denominations “even insisted that true Christians must further believe particular ideas about drinking, the role of women, science, the end times or politics. Layers of beliefs kept stacking up through the centuries.”3

With the rise of science and the modern worldview, many doctrines the church has said we must believe have become increasingly incredible. So, in our time, for many, having faith has meant trying to force your brain to accept certain beliefs that seem unbelievable. Is that really what it means to have faith?

If you have read Christianity After Religion, you may remember that Butler Bass says that part of our problem is a result of the shift in how the word belief is used in English today. To describe religious “believing” Latin used the word credo which meant “I set my heart upon” or “I give my loyalty to.”

“In medieval English, the concept of credo was translated as ‘believe’ (and at that time) to ‘believe’ was to ‘belove’ something or someone as an act of trust or loyalty. Belief was not an intellectual opinion (about whether or not something was true). The affirmation ‘I believe in God’ used to mean ‘I hereby pledge to God my heart and soul’…belief had nothing to do with one’s weighing of evidence…belief was more life a marriage vow – a pledge of faithfulness.”4

Today, when someone says, “I believe in God,” it generally means, “After weighing the arguments for and against the existence of God, I’ve chosen to believe in God.” But where does that get you? You can salute every line in the Apostles’ Creed, but never experience God by following the way of Jesus.

A fellow pastor named Shawn wrote about his recent experience preparing a meal with a friend. Shawn said, “I love to follow a recipe. I have cookbooks piled high on my shelves, and before beginning, I read the instructions twice. When I embark, I follow the author’s methods assiduously. (He confessed): I’ve even googled, ‘How did Julia Child define a pinch of salt?’ For him, precision is key. It’s the comfort of knowing that if he follows the rules, he will be rewarded with the expected result.”

He writes: “Imagine my horror when I recently cooked with a friend who considers recipes a mere suggestion. I clutched my apron like a drowning man gripping a life raft as he flung spices with the abandon of a confetti cannon. No timers beeped, no scales balanced ingredients, no comforting instructions guided our path. He simply trusted that we would feast on a delicious meal. And he was right. The meal was wonderful – even if the process took years off my life.”

By the way, I’m totally in sync with Shawn. I scrupulously follow every step in a recipe. If it calls for a teaspoon of something, I take time to measure it precisely. Camilla, on the other hand, rarely measures, tosses in this ingredient and that ingredient – even if the recipe doesn’t mention that ingredient! – but I’ve learned to trust that when she cooks the meal will turn out fantastic.

Shawn confesses that his experience in the kitchen mirrors his approach to faith. He realizes that it wasn’t what Abraham believed about God that put him in harmony with God. It was his trust in God. Some crave a clear set of instructions. Just tell me what I’m supposed to believe. But perhaps like Shawn’s friend in the kitchen, God doesn’t demand that we adhere to certain ideas, but rather a deep trust. Abraham did not merely believe that God existed, rather he trusted God.5

Faith that emerges from trust can produce a life far more enriching than one focused on a list of incredible ideas to affirm. You can profess a long list of traditional church doctrines, but never follow the way of Jesus.

That’s the point of today’s passage from the “Letter of James.” In the first verse, the writer asks the members of the congregation, “Do you with your acts of favoritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ?” In the following verses, it becomes clear that James is scolding them for showing favoritism to the wealthy. If he meant by the word believe, that they could affirm that Jesus is the Christ and their Lord, then his audience could simply say, “Yes, that’s what we believe.” But if believe means – as it did at that time – “to belove Jesus, to trust him and to follow him” they cannot say, “Yes” and still show favoritism, because that would be acting in a way that is at odds with the way of Christ.

James goes on to say, “What good is it if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you?” In our day, most people would answer “Yes, faith is what saves you.” But James says, “Faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.”

In other words, faith without Christ-like action is not faith. Faith comes from somewhere deep within us. It’s trusting, loving, and serving.

Do you remember what Jesus said about the great commandment? He did not say, “You shall believe the following statements about God are true.” Rather, he said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.” It is a passionate response to stake our life on the one who was and is and is to come.

In the gospels, the Sermon on the Mount is the longest single set of teachings by Jesus. He begins with the Beatitudes, then tells his followers that they are the salt of the earth, and they are the light of the world and so they need to let others see the good they do. He then goes on to teach them about anger, adultery, divorce, revenge, loving enemies, extending charity, praying, fasting, not judging others and to follow the Golden Rule. Nowhere in that extended sermon will you find the word believe. It’s all about a way of being and living.

Later, when a lawyer inquired of Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life, Jesus did not respond by telling the man to affirm certain ideas about himself or God. Instead, he told the Parable of the Good Samaritan.

Jesus was constantly telling his followers to show their love for God by loving their neighbor. He didn’t present his followers with a list of things to believe, but rather with a certain orientation toward life.

For eight years, Todd Weir “managed a homeless shelter and transitional housing program. He constantly evaluated their effectiveness at moving people from being homeless into permanent housing or treatment programs. No matter how hard they tried, they could not get their success rate above 70 percent. As he wrestled with ways to improve, he came to this conclusion. You can give people a room to live in, provide three meals a day, offer job training and education, have supportive social workers and therapeutic programs, but you cannot give people meaning or purpose or hope. These things come from the realm of the spirit. The people who were successful in their programs found a purpose for living and the hope that things could get better. A man just getting out of prison decided to be a better husband and find a job to support his family. A woman out of rehab decided to become a better mother. An alcoholic found her higher power in a 12 Step group, and the love of God healed her empty heart so she could love again. Certainly, basic needs for food and shelter are essential. It is extremely challenging to find meaning and purpose when life is in chaos and basic needs are unmet. But life is not meaningful simply because our first level of basic human need is met. Once our stomach is full, we need love, community, purpose and hope to be truly fulfilled.”6

Being a Christian is not about right belief, it’s a way of life. It’s about letting go of your ego and being transformed. It’s about seeing the world with new eyes and developing a generous spirit. It’s about letting your heart be broken by the same things that break the heart of God. It’s about loving Jesus and committing your life to him.

 

NOTES

  1. Marcus Borg, Speaking Christian: Why Christian Words Have Lost Their Meaning and Power – And How They Can Be Restored, (New York: HarperOne, 2011), p.116.
  2. , p.118.
  3. Diana Butler Bass, Christianity After Religion, (New York: HarperOne, 2012), p. 108.
  4. , p.117.
  5. Shawn Fielder, “Nor Rigid Adherence to Rules,” Daily Devotion of Fourth Presbyterian Church, June 24, 2024.
  6. Todd Weir, “The Bead of Life,” org, August

 

Labor Day Prayer

Greg Jones

 

Eternal energy of the universe, and lover of creation, you work tirelessly bringing order out of chaos and good out of evil. On this Labor Day weekend, we pause to give thanks for the work you call each of us to do. We give thanks for the blessings of meaningful work, steady employment, supportive coworkers, just labor laws, positive work environments, and, after years of work, well-earned retirement. We are grateful for healthy bodies and good minds that enable us to labor so that we can provide ourselves with the necessities of life and share with those who lack what they need.

Loving God, in addition to giving thanks for the ability and the opportunity to work, for satisfying work and the benefits of work, we also remember those for whom work is a struggle. We pray for those who are eager to work, but are unemployed or underemployed; for those who have been the victims of downsizing and cannot find sustainable work; for those who must work under harsh conditions and abusive bosses; for those who care for children without receiving adequate support; for those who miss their childhood because they must begin work at an early age; for those in low-income jobs who are not respected for the work they perform; and for those who face discrimination or unfair treatment in the workplace.

Mighty God, we pray that all who are without work and all who are working in difficult situations may find in you: strength to persevere, guidance to know what steps to take, and hope for a better tomorrow. We pray that wrongs may be righted, that justice may prevail, and opportunities will open to enable them to thrive.

Gracious God, we know that when we follow the way of Jesus, our lives become rich and full. We pray that all of us will commit ourselves to the work you call us to do regardless of our jobs: extending hospitality, healing wounds, reconciling broken relationships, striving for justice, and pursuing peace. God, you always make room for one more at your table. May we live in such a way that each person gathered here today knows that they are welcome.

Now, we join our voices together and pray as Jesus taught us to pray saying,

“Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen.”