A CHURCH'S FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITY

 A CHURCH'S FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITY

In Writers’ School they teach you to catch your reader’s attention with an eye-catching, enticing, interesting title that leads him or her to want to read what you have written. My Creative Writing professor would have rolled his eyes at the title of this post just before giving me an “F”. And probably deservedly so. After all, who even knows what the word fiduciary means let alone uses it in a title? Not only do I need to use this precise word in the title – I also need to help you understand why I needed to use it. And if you love Christ and His Church I hope that you too will come to recognise why a local church has a sacred fiduciary responsibility.

There may be some who come from a banking or accounting background who will already be familiar with one aspect of how this mysterious word fiduciary is used. But when used of a local church, it has a much broader application than its application to banking or accounting. For those who have a slight grasp of Latin it will be obvious to them that this word’s first syllable, fid, comes from the Latin fidere which means ‘to trust’. Technically, it is a Latin word – fiduciarius, from fiducia ‘trust’ which has been anglicised (translated into English) as fiduciary. For a banker or an accountant it means that someone is trusting them with their finances. But for a church it means much, much more because it involves being trusted with things worth much more than finances. 

He [Jesus] charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belts—but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics. And He said to them, “Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there. And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.”
Mark 6:8-11

 

WHAT FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITY MEANS FOR A CHURCH

In my previous post on the topic of the Church, I wrote how Christ has entrusted to His Church a sacred mission with eternal ramifications. Just as in the Parable of the Good Samaritan, if Christ was depicted as the ‘Good Samaritan’ and with wounded and beaten man left to die on the side of the road was depicted as those trying to live outside of God’s Kingdom who end up being hurt and broken by the way the world treats its own, then we, the Church, were depicted as the inn-keeper – the ones that Christ has entrusted to look after those He has rescued and redeemed.

And just as the Good Shepherd in this parable entrusted to the Inn-Keeper all the resources he needed to care for the one who had been rescued, Christ entrusts to His Church the resources that we need to fulfil our sacred mission – and it is much more valuable than silver or gold or money.

And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying,
‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’
Luke 10:35

WE HAVE BEEN ENTRUSTED WITH THE WEALTH AND RICHES OF CHRIST IN ORDER TO FULFIL OUR SACRED MISSION FROM HIM

In Him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses,
according to the riches of His grace, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened,
that you may know what is the hope to which He has called you,
what are the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints
Ephesians 1:7-8

While it is certainly true that Christ provides financially for His Church (for which we in particular have greatly experienced) there are riches that He possesses which are far more valuable than coin to which He has primarily entrusted us. He has entrusted to us His Word (Jn. 17:14). The Bibles that we have (and often take for granted) have been delivered to under the supervision and preservation of the Holy Spirit working through our forefathers who guarded their copies of the Bible at the risk and sacrifice of their lives. We should never underestimate the inestimable value of the riches of God’s Word. There are many churches around the world where no one in those churches has even seen a Bible. Secondly, something else also of inestimable worth has also been entrusted to us by Christ for the accomplishment of our sacred mission: those Christ has redeemed!

Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn,
and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!
Luke 12:24

THE ENTRUSTING OF MONEY TO A CHURCH

Money is an emblem of a person’s life. Most of us work a job in which we exchange time for money. The time we give our employer is a portion of our life. Thus, as an act of worship, God calls people to honour Him with the first of their wealth (Prov. 3:9). Jesus warned His followers against thinking their money was their true treasure – and instead, regard worship of and obedient service to God as developing the kind of heart that would store up true treasure for eternity. Thus, He was saying, how we gave of our money in service of His Word revealed what was really in our heart (Matt. 6:19-21). Similarly, how a church would then entrust the finances that God’s people would give it was also an act of worship of God by that Church. Jesus said that how we treated and valued our money was an indication of how we would treat and value His true riches (Luke 16:11).

If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth,
who will entrust to you the true riches?
Luke 16:11

The true riches that Christ has entrusted to us includes (i) His Word, and (ii) those He has redeemed. In addition to these true riches He supplements a church with less valuable things like money, property and possessions to steward (manage) so that their sacred mission can be fulfilled. We see this almost from the outset of the Church’s birth where people generously gave to the Church. But even then as the Church grew and expanded it required greater care and diligence on the part of the Church’s leadership to steward Christ’s provisions more wisely which included the appointment of the seven deacons.

 

THE USE OF MONEY BY A CHURCH

The early Church’s first organisational change was linked to how they managed their finances. As the Church grew rather rapidly the need to restructure the church became necessary. We have seen that there were many Hellenists who were in Jerusalem at this time who had become dependant upon the Church for their relief (Act 6:1-2). What I did not discuss in a previous post was that many people gave very generously as the Church was being established. In a typical biblical writing style, characters are introduced and then who will reappear later more prominently in the narrative. Joseph the Levite, nicknamed Barnabas by the apostles (Acts 4:36), is such a character. He sold land and gave the proceeds to the apostles (Acts 4:37). We see from the record in Acts that the money was used to supply relief to those in need. In case anyone could think that this money which was given to the apostles and was used for the personal benefit of the apostles, we read in Acts 3:6-7 an admission by Peter:

But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you.
In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!”
Acts 3:6-7

We have seen that the Church grew and spread as a result of the persecution it experienced. Believers were scattered and led by the Holy Spirit to go where Christ had instructed (Acts 1: 6). This included Phillip, the deacon, going to Samaria. After his successful mission there, he called for Peter and John to come and assist. When Simon the sorcerer witnessed the importation of the Holy Spirit through the ministry of the apostles he offered money to Peter to also be able to do the same. Peter strongly rebuked the sorcerer for thinking that the gifts and the offices of the Holy Spirit could be bought.

Even Simon himself believed, and after being baptized he continued with Philip. And seeing signs and great miracles performed, he was amazed. ¶ Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, for he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit. Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, saying, “Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.”
Acts 8:13-23

This episode later gave rise to the name of a sin which unfortunately became prevalent during the Medieval period known as Simony (paying money to buy a leadership role within the church – such as “Bishop” or “Archbishop”). This practice was condemned by the reformers as the sought to restore the Biblical standard for leadership (which included “not be greedy for [financial] gain” Titus 1:7). 

 

WHY WE REGARD STEWARDING CHRIST’S PROVISIONS THROUGH HIS PEOPLE AS A SACRED RESPONSIBILITY

When people give to a church, that church appoints certain people to steward that money on their behalf. This stewardship is used to: (i) support those who “labour in teaching the Word” and those staff who serve in the church (1Tim. 5:17); (ii) pay the bills that are incurred by the church (Rom. 13:7); (iii) support missionary efforts largely unreached parts of the world; (iv) evangelistic efforts. Just as those who teach the Word will be subject to “stricter judgment” (James 3:1) by the Lord, also those who misuse the finances given to a church will also be subject to the Lord’s judgment (1Cor. 3:17). This is why we regard the handling and expenditure of monies given faithfully by the church family to be a sacred trust and thus a fiduciary responsibility because it is actually God’s money after all. We pray two things regarding it: (i) that those who have given will be especially blessed, and (ii) that what is given will be used wisely for both immediate and long-term benefit to God’s kingdom.

 

WE ARE ALL STEWARDS AND SERVANTS OF CHRIST’S CHURCH

Some see their position within a church as giving them power or status. Certainly Church history bears out that many false shepherds (Christ called them “hirelings” – people who are only there because they are paid, John 10:12-13) had snuck into what was once Christ’s Church and abused their positions for their own glory, comfort, and enrichment. In the darkest days of the Medieval period many (not all) of the Church’s leaders were ungodly, greedy, and highly political scoundrels who wore the robes priests – but did not even know the Lord! As I have also noted in another post within this series, God then set about to reform the Church by once again illuminating His Word to those who would become known as reformers. These reformers were actually mostly unsuccessful at reforming the established Church – but highly successful at reforming many within it to realise what Christ had called His Church to be. This realisation led to the establishment of the original denominations – Lutheran, Anglican, Presbyterian, and Baptist (then later, Methodist, Congregational, Brethren, and Pentecostal). These reformers have bequeathed to us a legacy of understanding that Christ’s Church is not merely about grand buildings, elaborate artwork, a professional clergy class, or a bureaucracy. But a church that is to be served by Christ-worshiping leaders who have a shepherd’s heart for God’s people. These leaders were to accept their call to shepherd – not because they were to be paid – but because they willingly desired to be obedient to Christ’s call to do so. Thus true shepherds don’t run when it gets “hot in the kitchen” but they take their stand to shepherd Christ’s flock and accept that one of His greatest gifts to them is their responsibility to care for and lovingly steward God’s people.  

 

CHRIST’S CHURCH EXISTS TO KNOW HIM AND MAKE HIM KNOWN

I am not after a position, a title, or an accolade. I am a nobody. I am not anyone special. I have not done anything extraordinary. But I know Somebody who is really, really, special. He continually does the extraordinary and the remarkable. While I have no claim to fame, He is the most famous person in the world. What is outstanding about Him is that He is simultaneously the most loving person in the world yet the most hated by it (Jn. 7:7). While I can’t speak more highly of Him, especially after what He has done for me, there are many who deride and denounce Him, and speak of Him with scorn. It is my hope that such people will meet Christ in a God-honour local church that exalts Jesus and reveals to them who He really is and what He is really like.

Christ is often misrepresented, misquoted, and misunderstood. Despite all this. He still cares deeply for even for those who treat Him so poorly. One other thing about Him that I need to tell you: He knows more about everything than literally anyone else. But His infinite knowledge is not merely a bottomless reservoir of data – no! – His knowledge is soaked in wisdom. He not only knows most, He knows best. In any circumstance He not only knows what could be done – He knows what should be done. In the vastness of this knowledge and wisdom, the has decreed that He should be represented by two things: (1) His written Word, and (ii)  His body of loyal followers (whom the often refers to as disciples, servants, and lately as friends).

And it is to His body of believers/followers/worshipers that He has commanded that they gather at least once a week to do sacred things together. In doing so they can know Him better and also be better empowered to make Him known. The local church is therefore, as has been said many times, the hope of the world – not because we are its hope, but because we make known to the world its True Hope – Jesus. While we deliver this life-giving water of the gospel to our hurting world for free, someone has to pay for the plumbing. And when that someone does we as a church have a fiduciary responsibility to faithfully oversee it.

Pastor at Large,

Andrew

Let me know what you think below in the comment section and feel free to share this someone who might benefit from this Pastor’s Desk.

I AM NOT ALONE

As Jesus prepared to approach the Cross, He gathered His disciples in Jerusalem and addressed them over a sacred meal in a private, secluded, upstairs room. As He began to address them an enemy entered that room which only Jesus could see. This enemy whispered into the invisible ear of the one he had already lured into a love for money. Jesus recognised this dark voice. He had previously heard it in a wilderness exchange that He refused to succumb to. In a matter of minutes Jesus would dismiss His traitor and betrayer and talk only to His remaining terrified disciples. “You will all leave Me” He told them. Peter, who was always quick to speak, spoke up in response, “I will lay down my life for You.” Eventually he would. But not this night. This night, all but one would indeed flee from Jesus and leave Him friendless. Alone? No. Jesus said, “Yet I am not alone!” And even though you might feel alone, you too, are not. Here’s why.

 I have been finding great solace from my study of John’s Gospel over these past two years or so. In this last Gospel I am discovering fresh insights into the magnificence of Christ Jesus.The outstanding thing for me has been the fresh realisation of His closeness to His Father. Over and over again throughout John’s retelling of the redemptive work of Christ the Gospel-writer tells us that Jesus was on a mission from His Father, that He was in constant communication with the Father, that He often spent time alone (often at night) with His Father, and that He longed to introduce His disciples (followers) into the same kind of intimacy with His Father.

¶ And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us,
and we have seen His glory,
glory as of the only Son from the Father,
full of grace and truth.
John 1:14

In fact, in John’s introductory chapter he tells his readers that what Jesus achieved in His mission was to make the Father known.

No one has ever seen God;
the only God, who is at the Father’s side,
He has made Him known.
John 1:18

 While the other Gospel writers only chose to refer to the second time that Jesus cleansed the Temple by driving out the money-changers, and those merchants who sold pigeons (Jn. 2:16), John describes the first time Jesus did this as one of His foundational acts of His public ministry – because of His zeal for His Father and the house that was supposed to be in honour of Him.

And He told those who sold the pigeons,
“Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.”
John 2:16

His disciples remembered that it was written,
“Zeal for your house will consume Me.”
John 2:17

The intimacy that Jesus had with His Father was an offence to the religious leaders of Israel who knew nothing of the Father (Jn. 16:3). This intimacy with God was more than the religious leaders could fathom especially when Jesus declare that He was equal to the Father. 

¶ This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him,
because not only was He breaking the Sabbath,
but He was even calling God His own Father,
making Himself equal with God.
John 5:18

Hours before Jesus was taken by force on the mountain-top garden of Gethsemane, where He would go to confront the evil one (a scene reminiscent of the serpent’s original temptation of the first man and woman), Jesus gave his last instructions to His disciples. John tells us that Jesus was already greatly troubled (Jn. 13:21) and that this deep anguish was compounded by His knowledge that all but one of His disciples would soon abandon Him and leave Him utterly friendless (Jn 16:31). “The hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and you will leave Me alone” Jesus sullenly declared.

But, what He was about to go through, He announced again to His disciples, was that His death on the cross would make a way for each of them to have the same kind of relationship that He enjoyed with His Father – because the Father loved them!

In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf;
for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came from God.
I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.”
John 16:26-28

Jesus concluded His Farewell Discourse with His disciples with the greatest prayer recorded in the Bible. In this prayer we hear Christ’s heart for His Church and how He longed for each His followers to relate to the Father — include His followers who were yet to be born!

¶ “I do not ask for these only,
but also for those who will believe in Me through their word,
that they may all be one, just as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You,
that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You have sent Me.
John 17:20-21

 Thus, even though Jesus felt the deep pain of rejection and the grief that comes from being abandoned, He was confident that because of His relationship with the Father, He was not alone!

 Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come,
when you will be scattered, each to his own home,
and will leave Me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with Me.
John 16:32

John tells his readers why Jesus chose to say this. This was said, Jesus revealed, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart, I have overcome the world (Jn. 16:33). In other words, there will be times in your life that you will experience rejection, abandonment, being misunderstood, all because you follow Me—and in those times, even though it might feel like it—you are not alone! In forecasting this glorious New Covenant provided relationship with God, the Old Testament announced that Christ would be to the New Covenant believer a Friend who will stick by you closer than a brother (Prov. 18:24). As you follow Christ and continue to seek to know Him and to make Him known, you and I can enjoy an intimacy with the Father that is surely greatest promise that Jesus guaranteed for all who followed, and would one day follow, Him. Surely then, the essence of what it means to be saved and to embark on the Christian journey was summed up in Christ’s prayer-  

And this is eternal life, that they know You,
the only true God,
and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.
John 17:3

You are not alone! You have an audience of One!

Your Pastor,

Andrew

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WHY SOME BELIEVE

Why is it that two people can look at exactly the same evidence and can come to completely different conclusions about it? Even more puzzling is how two equally qualified scientific experts can look at the same data and utterly disagree about what it means. This happens many times in court cases where the prosecution will call their “expert witness” to give his or her professional opinion to verify that the defendant is guilty only to have the defence to present their “expert witness” who gives his or her professional opinion as to why the prosecution’s expert witness was wrong and to prove that defendant is innocent! This at least illustrates why it is not always the quality of the evidence that leads a person to accept or reject a claim. This especially apply to the claims that Jesus Christ made. Of the four accounts in the New Testament written about His life, three of them were written by eye-witnesses and the other one (Luke’s) was written by someone who interviewed many eye-witnesses. It is with interest that we turn to the last one to be John’s Gospel, where he describes dramatic proofs that Jesus was who He claimed to be. Yet despite these otherwise inexplicable proofs that at times thousands of people witnessed, many still wouldn’t believe. But it seems among those who did believe they all had one thing in common.

So they said to Him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe You?
What work do You perform?”…
But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe.
John 6:30, 36

 

THE EVIDENCES FOR THE CHRISTIAN MESSAGE

What does it take for someone to believe the Christian message? Miracles? God visibly appearing to them? Hearing directly from God? When Jesus the Christ appeared and did many extraordinary things – including each of the things just mentioned – many people did indeed believe. But, even despite many of these evidences being demonstrated before their eyes, some still would not believe. What was it that people were either accepting or rejecting, or believing or refusing to believe? The Christian message is what Jesus taught. It might be summed up as: all people are alienated from God by their sin; Jesus Christ had come to be the sacrificial Lamb of God who would die to atone for the sins of all mankind; His death would be the means by which God forgive each person of their sins; but this forgiveness could only be enacted if each person turned to the Christ as their Saviour by putting their trust in Him and what He taught. Jesus supported His claims by performing many miracles, which the apostle John described as “signs”. In fact, when he eventually wrote his gospel account of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, John chose seven of Christ’s signs to demonstrate that He was who He claimed to be: God in the flesh. 

¶ And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us,
and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father,
full of grace and truth.
John 1:14

JOHN’S SEVEN SIGN-PROOFS LEADING TO BELIEF IN JESUS

The apostle John carefully selected seven profound miracles performed by Jesus that revealed His claim to be the eternal God. Each of these miraculous signs revealed that Jesus was the eternal God who was Lord over creation, the weather, time, the laws of nature, and even death.

Sign:	Scripture:	Revealed:
1. The Changing of Water into Wine	John 2:1-11	Master of quality
2. Healing of the Official’s son	John 4:46-54	Master over distance and space
3. Healing of the 38years of being a lame invalid	John 5:1-9	Master over (the ravages of) time
4. The Feeding of The Five Thousand	John 6:1-14	Master over quantity
5. Walking on water	John 6:16-21	Mastery over natural law
6. Healing of the man born blind	John 9:1-12	Master of misfortune
7. Raising of the four-days-dead Lazarus	John 11:1-46	Master of death

Any one of these miraculous signs would have convinced any reasonable person that Jesus of Nazareth was no mere mortal. But despite these extraordinary evidences, some people still refused to believe in Jesus.

Though He had done so many signs before them,
they still did not believe in Him.
John 12:37

Quite possibly the most dramatic, and otherwise inexplicable, miracle that Jesus did before His own physical resurrection, was the raising of Lazarus from dead. Lazarus had been dead and entombed for four days. People had witnessed him die and more people had witnessed his dead body being placed in the tomb. The absolutely startling thing to me is the extent to which some people will choose to remain closed to the evidentially-based truth! Not only did some not believe in Jesus after witnessing this astounding miracle, they sought to oppress those who did become believers — and even made plans to kill Jesus so that people would stop believing in Him! 

When He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.”
The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth.
Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”
¶ Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what He did,
believed in Him, but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.
So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, “What are we to do?
For this man performs many signs. If we let Him go on like this, everyone will believe in Him,
and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”
John 11:43-48

 

WHY SOME REFUSE TO BELIEVE IN JESUS

Every time I read this story I am deeply struck by the hardness of heart among the Jewish Council comprised of chief priests and the Pharisees. John gives us an insight into why these religious leaders were not prepared to accept the evidence that Jesus was Immanuel (“God with us”, Matt. 1:23). They feared their loss of power if they turned to Jesus and accepted that what He was saying was true – “the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation” they said.

LOSS OF POWER: Power comes in many forms. It comes from an appointed position. It comes from a popular vote. It comes from prosperity. It comes from their place in a family. It’s true that turning to Jesus could lead to a person losing their position, their popularity, their prosperity, or their place in their family. Jesus acknowledged that this could be the cost of following Him.

How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and
do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?
John 5:44

Some people refuse to believe in Jesus because they fear a loss of power or prestige – but in the process they may put their immortal souls in risk of eternal peril!

Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear His voice and come out,
those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.
John 5:28-29

For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?
Mark 8:36

LOVE OF SIN: Sin is what alienates all mankind from God for eternity unless it is judiciously removed. Mankind is completely unable to remove our own sin. Its power over us utterly enticing. The Bible describes sin as being able to deliver “fleeting pleasures” (Heb. 11:25). This is especially the case with sexual sin. The ancient sage described sexual sin being sweet to the taste that then becomes bitterness once swallowed which causes pangs of pain similar to being stabbed by a two-edged sword (Prov. 5:3-4). It is true that turning to Jesus necessarily involves repentance (turning from sin) which would mean renouncing sexual sin (sex without, or beyond the bounds of, marriage). By the way, all sin is in some way a distortion of something that God made and designed to be good in some way. This is true of sex which God had designed as something very good which was meant to unite a husband and a wife, have the potential to pro-create children, bring comfort and acceptance to a spouse, provide a pleasurable means to tame otherwise wild sexual passions/desires — and most importantly as a shadow of the type of love that God has for the Church (Eph. 5:22-30).

For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.
These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.”
Matthew 15:19-20

He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female,
and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife,
and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh.
What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”
Matthew 19:4-6

God had designed for us to flourish without ever having to sin. Yet the Evil one has deceived mankind into thinking that their Creator is against them and wants to keep them from pleasures. This is lie. Our Creator is for us. He created us to share His love and good pleasures with us. He has created all things for us to enjoy (1Tim. 6:17). The Enemy of our souls whispers into our minds that there is no good evidence for believing in Jesus – when he, above all people, knows that there is actually ample evidence for believing in Jesus.

The first 11 chapters of John’s Gospel describes the seven signs that Jesus gave. The last ten chapters of his Gospel culminates Christ’s signs with the Ultimate sign: His resurrection from the dead. John concludes his Gospel by writing – 

¶ Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples,
which are not written in this book; but these are written so that
you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,
and that by believing you may have life in His name.
John 20:30-31

 

WHY SOME PEOPLE BELIEVE

Confronted with the same evidence, why is it that some people believe and others do not? There seems to be one consistent similarity among everyone who becomes a believer. They are open to accepting the evidence. This openness nearly always (if not always) results in them prayerfully affirming their openness to God with a prayer that sounds like a desire to know the truth about God.

“God, if You’re real, reveal Yourself to me.”

Jesus actually promised that if someone would just be open to the evidence, and seek the truth, they would find it (Luke 11:9-10). I recently heard the story of a French atheist, Guillaume Bignon, who thought that Christianity was equivalent to fairy-tales and that anyone who believed it was “below par”. But then he met a reasonable Christian. He set out to prove to them that they were wrong, but in the process he encountered evidence that he was not aware of, and eventually prayed an openness prayer. It was from that point, that his life dramatically changed. You can view his testimony here.

Perhaps you are reading this and have either thought that there was no supporting evidences for Christianity; or, possibly, you think it is all irrelevant. But if what Jesus Christ said was true, then as the apostle John wrote, the Christian message is actually the most relevant message any person anywhere on the planet could ever give their open consideration to. Therefore, if I may, I would like to invite you to begin a journey of openness to the claims of Christ by praying the openness prayer and see what happens. And maybe, just maybe, you too will discover that all people who transition from unbelief or non-belief to belief have all commenced their journey to believing in Jesus by praying a variation of the openness prayer.

Let me know what happens if you do.

Your Pastor,

Andrew

Let me know what you think below in the comment section and feel free to share this someone who might benefit from this Pastor’s Desk.