『Sermon: Three Myths About Faith』のカバーアート

Sermon: Three Myths About Faith

Sermon: Three Myths About Faith

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 Text: Hebrews 11:1-16 | Liturgical Date: Pentecost 9, Proper 14 C | Calendar Date: August 10., 2025 | Location: Saint Peter’s Lutheran Church in Door County | Preacher: Rev. Dr. Christopher D. Jackson Saint Peter’s Lutheran Church in Door County316 W. Main St.Forestville, WI 54213920-856-6420https://doorcounty.church I had the great privilege this last week of going to Fort Benning in western Georgia, right on the border of Alabama. My son, Thomas, graduated from Airborne School on Friday. Airborne School is where you learn how to deploy from an airplane via parachute to defend the nation. Twenty-one years ago, believe it or not, your pastor was a lean, mean fighting machine. My weapon was the word of God as a chaplain candidate. I went through Airborne School as well and graduated 21 years ago. It was a great honor to earn the paratrooper wings and to pin those on Thomas on Friday. However, Mary and I witnessed probably one of the more terrible things I’ve seen in my life. On Thursday night, as they were making some of their final jumps and the sun was setting, I was looking off to the right when Mary said, “Chris, what’s going on over there?” A Sobering Incident I looked over and saw a terrible sight. One of the paratroopers’ parachute and cord got tangled with another paratrooper’s gear. His own parachute had no air in it whatsoever; it was just flopping, doing nothing for him. The other paratrooper’s parachute was compromised, so it wasn’t as full as it should have been. They were coming down at a very fast rate of descent. The paratrooper who was lower, dangling from the other’s gear, was swinging back and forth. As soon as they hit the ground, medics rushed to them, and eventually, a full ambulance arrived. I’m not sure what happened to those two paratroopers. We certainly pray that the Lord blesses them. But here’s the thing: that could have been me 21 years ago, or it could have been Thomas just a couple of days ago. It could have been the son of a kind Korean Presbyterian family we met there on the field, fellow parents of another West Point cadet. They were very reserved people, but in their few words, they made sure we knew they were Christians and that their son was a Christian. The first words out of their son’s mouth after his first jump, when he hit the ground, were, “Thank you, Jesus.” Faith in the Face of Danger I can tell you that 21 years ago, as I was going up into the plane and taking off, I was reciting the Apostles’ Creed and the Lord’s Prayer. I was doing my best to keep the faith, should the very worst happen. If the worst had happened—if that had been the young Korean Presbyterian cadet, or Thomas, or me 21 years ago, dangling beneath another paratrooper, coming down at about 25 or 30 miles an hour—would that have meant I had less faith or didn’t believe in God enough? Three Myths About Christian Faith This brings us to the first point of what we’re discussing today: three myths about Christian faith. Some believe faith is optimism, but faith is not necessarily worldly optimism; rather, it is confidence in the goodness of God. Others believe faith is power over God, whereas we will compare it to saying, “God, thy will be done.” Finally, some believe faith is a work that merits salvation, but instead, faith receives the work of salvation that Christ earned for us on the cross. Faith Is Not Worldly Optimism Some believe faith is bold optimism—that things will work out, things will go well, and it’ll be all right in the end, at least in this world. As Christians, we believe it will be truly well in the end of ends when Christ Jesus returns in power, might, and glory. But until then, we have no guarantees. I once read an account of a Lutheran woman in labor who uttered an oral prayer. Her nurse said, “That’s right, honey, you just have to believe.” The nurse, while meaning well, conveyed that faith is mere optimism. The plain fact is that, from a worldly perspective, God has made no promises about how things will go for us. It could have been me or Thomas dangling from another’s gear. We could face any kind of fate in this world. One of my favorite passages that conveys this is Romans chapter 8, verses 31 and following: “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” Confidence in God’s Sovereignty Listen to this, brothers and sisters: “Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?” That sounds bad enough, right? But then Paul adds ...
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