Welcome to the InTouch podcast with Charles Stanley for Tuesday, July 7th. Are you confident in what you believe about God? Join us as we explore the motivation to know, believe, and stand firm in the truth in part two of Does It Matter What You Believe? Does it make a difference what you believe? Yes, it does.
Now, think about this from two lights. Number one, just plain old human reasoning says it does make a difference what I believe. Why? Because every single facet of your life and mind is affected by what we believe. There's no part of our life that's not affected by what we believe.
Now, that doesn't mean that you and I can't counteract what we believe or do something that we know is certainly a contradiction to what we believe in. But the truth is, for the most part, Primarily, 99% of the time, what we believe governs and guides and dictates and determines our decision-making process and our conduct, conversation, our character, every facet of our life. And so the question is: does it matter what you and I believe? Plain old human reasoning says, yes. Anything that affects my decisions in life and affects every facet of my life certainly is important.
It does matter what you believe. But not only just plain human reasoning, but also, for example, the warnings of the scripture concerning false doctrine and error. Turn to John chapter 8 for a moment. John chapter 8. And if you will look at the 24th verse.
And listen to what he says in this 24th verse. Jesus is talking to the Pharisees, and they're doubting who he is, and arguing with him, and so forth, and denying who he is. And so he says in verse 24. He said I said therefore to you that you shall die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am He, who I say I am, he says you shall die in your sins. Does it make any difference what you believe?
Jesus says, Yes, it does. If you don't believe that he is who he says he is, he says a person will die in their sins. And the Bible says the wages of sin is death. The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. It is upon unto man once to die, and after this, the judgment.
If a person dies in their sins, that means they die without Christ and are absolutely, hopelessly, and helplessly lost. Does it make any difference what you believe? Yes, it does.
With that in mind, what I'd like to do is to give you. Five very basic reasons why you and I should be able to make a defense, that is to declare to someone else what we believe.
Now What's the first one?
So they all start with P. You've got a P for each finger. There are five of them. Very importantly, jot these down. First of all, By knowing what I believe, it prevents us from being misled by error and false doctrine.
Be careful. that what you believe is not based. On what you heard from somebody who's very charismatic. I'm not talking about denominations in their personality.
someone who is very eloquent.
someone who is very persuasive and someone who's smooth. Be careful. In other words, what you and I believe is not based on what somebody said, but what does God teach? And so therefore, when he said to Timothy, watch out. Be careful, over and over and over again.
He's telling young Timothy, whom he's taught. And Timothy and Peter are saying to others also, watch out for false doctrine, error, those who are teaching those things that satisfy them. But not only them, I want you to look at another couple of passages here because. If you'll notice what he says also, look in Ephesians chapter 4 for a moment. Ephesians chapter 4, Paul in this fourth chapter talking about the church and talking about the responsibility, for example, of pastors.
And the teachers? In fact, when he describes the gifts to the church, he calls them pastor-teachers because that's what God intended them to be: pastors and teachers, not just pastors, but pastor-teachers. And listen to what he says. He says, now it is the responsibility of the pastor and teacher to teach the people, for example, instruct them. Then he says, if we do this and do it well, verse 14, as a result, We will no longer be children tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming.
But rather, he says, speaking the truth in love, We are to grow up in all aspects unto Him who is the head, even Christ.
So, what is the responsibility of a pastor? The responsibility of a pastor is to teach the truth, instruct in the ways of God, so that people will do what? They will understand what the Bible teaches. They will develop a belief system that is based squarely on the Word of God. They will begin to formulate their own theology.
And if somebody says, well, I don't understand theology, that's just simply a study of God. Every single believer here has one. That is, you have some ideas, you have.
Some beliefs about God. The truth is, we want to be sure that there are beliefs that are doctrinally sound, that is, are biblically based.
Now, listen, here's the thing I want to say again. You must not be caught up by some charismatic personality or somebody who's eloquent or somebody who is so enthusiastic, you think, well, how could they be wrong when they're so enthusiastic? Very easily. This is a day when you and I need to know what we believe and why we believe it, lest we too be carried away by every wind of doctrine. Why do you think, for example, one particular sect.
works on The believers, people who are already members of churches, why don't they go out trying to win people who primarily don't even claim anything? Because they know that so many people who are church members know so little about what they believe, cannot defend their faith, they knock on your door and they start asking you a bunch of questions. And if you're not prepared, they throw you off course. Here's the thing you ask them every time: explain to me who is Jesus. Then ask them this question: Is he God?
When they say, No, you have identified the problem right there. They're just some questions that identify who the person is and what they're up to. Is there any way to be saved other than through the shed blood of Jesus Christ and our faith in His atoning death at Calvary plus nothing? If they say, Yes, there's something. Oh, now you've got to keep the Sabbath, you've got to do this, shut the door.
Because they're totally off base. It's very important you now know what we believe because, listen, remember, you are developing a biblical grid through which every single thing you hear goes through that grid in your mind, and you're able to identify error, false doctrine, truth. And if we had that Entrenched in our minds and our hearts, we'd be strong and firm in the things of God.
So, number one, we said the first reason is we certainly do want to protect ourselves from that kind of false doctrine. That's out there and out there so prevalent today. Everywhere you turn, you find it.
So, first of all, we want to prevent ourselves from being misled by error and false doctrine. The second thing is this. We want to be able to listen. We want to be able to not only prevent ourselves from being misled, but we also want to be able to protect ourselves, listen, from fear and intimidation. Listen to what he says.
Verse 14, 1 Peter now 3. Even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. Do not fear their intimidation. Do not be troubled. Set Christ the Lord in your life.
Be ready to make a defense.
Now, For example, people say to you, Walt, Tell me why you believe what you believe.
Now listen. How can I defend something if I don't know what I believe about it? How can I explain to someone what I believe if I don't know what I believe? That's why it's so very, very important we know what we believe and why we believe it. And so when he says, always be prepared, what does that mean?
That means I've got to study some. It means I've got to search the word. That means I've got to compare what I read with the Word of God and decide in my mind, what is it I do believe? I guarantee you that most of the people here, most of you, work around somebody who has a set of beliefs that have nothing to do with the Word of God, or maybe some who have a little mixture of the Word of God. And if they said to you, well, now, exactly tell me what you believe about.
Moral standards. Tell me what your moral standards are. More than likely, they're heading you in a different direction or heading you in a particular direction. Suppose somebody came to you and said, you know, I just feel guilty all the time. What do I do about it?
What would you say to them? You see, he says, always, always being ready, he says, to make a defense, always being ready to tell a reason why.
Now, more than likely, most of you know what you believe about some things, or at least most things, but if somebody said, well, now, Why do you believe that? Do they not have a right to ask? And to expect us to give an answer. And that's why he says it's so. Strongly here he says, always be ready.
Always be ready to give them a reason for what you believe.
Now Your kids have walked up to you and said, well now. Why should I do that? Just because I said so.
Now you know what? No kid's going to accept that. If you give them a reason why they're not to do something or why they're to do something, then you know a kid can pick that up. But if you say, just because I said so, Well, that's like me saying, well, I believe that just because that's the way I believe and that's it, no? Is what he says.
He says, Always be ready to defend, to give a reason. For what you believe.
So, first of all, I want to prevent myself from being deceived by false doctrine and error. Secondly, I certainly want to protect myself from being intimidated by somebody who's going to attack my faith, so therefore I'm going to discover what I believe and why I believe it and be able to defend it.
Well, there's the third thing I want you to jot down: that's this. And that is Preparation, listen, preparation to answer those people. who have an honest question and who honestly are seeking the truth. You think about this. We've got a whole world of people out there who are lost as they can be.
A world of people out there who are hurting over all kinds of things. People who really and truly would like to know the truth. They want to know the truth. They're searching for the truth. And evidence of that is all the letters we get from people all over the world who are searching for truth, hungering for truth.
You think about how many people who feel hopeless and helpless and insecure and health-wise, they're hurting some of them in the hospital. The doctor's already told them you don't have long to live. And you know what? A thousand things are going through their mind. Don't have long to live.
What's going to happen when I die? Where am I going? I've heard all kinds of things. I've heard that you go to purgatory. What's that?
I've heard you go to hell. What's that? I heard you go to heaven. How am I going to get there? I wonder if somebody can tell me.
Listen, we don't understand how many people out there who deeply, deep down inside, want to know the truth. Listen, we need to know what we believe. We need to know why we believe it so we can say to someone who's facing death, someone who's in a great time of difficulty and hardship and pain and trouble, tribulations, and trials and difficulties. They don't know which way to turn. They don't know what to do.
You and I should be able to say, here's what God says. We should be able to say, well, here's what the Bible says. And so there are multitudes of people out there who are desperately hungering and thirsting to know the truth because they're scared. They're afraid of life. They're afraid of death.
They're insecure about lots of things. They're looking for somebody who can give them something that's solid.
Something that they can live by, something they can die by.
So, first of all, I want to prevent myself from being deluded or being deceived by error and false doctrine. I want to protect myself, want to protect you from being intimidated. And fearful of those people who will attack what you believe. And thirdly, we certainly want to be prepared for those people who genuinely want to know the truth. The fourth reason is this.
So that you and I may be persuasive. In our expression. or our presentation of what we believe.
So we can be persuasive. It isn't just to protect myself from intimidation and fear. And prepare myself to speak to those people who really want to know the truth, and to prevent myself from being. deceived by error and false doctrine, but listen. To be persuasive.
Now, suppose, for example, You walked up to me and you said, Tell me the truth. What do you believe about heaven? And I suppose I said, well, Um Here's what I think heaven's probably well The last book of the Bible, one of those, a couple of chapters of that, you know what? Nobody's persuaded by that.
Now listen carefully so you'll misunderstand. It is not that you and I save anybody or persuade anybody to be a Christian. It is the work of the Holy Spirit in you and in me that makes the difference. It is Christ in us in the presence of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God speaking through us. It may be man or woman's voice, but it is the work and the ministry and the power of God.
Anybody who takes credit for it is a fool. It's the work of God. But on the other hand, God chooses people like you and myself and others. He chooses our voice. He chooses our mind to do what?
To instruct them in the way of truth.
Now He says Always be ready. to make, listen, to make a declaration of what you believe, to defend it, to speak it. They tell the reason why. Why? Because if I'm ready and I'm prepared, I can say it with authority.
I can say it with conviction. I can say it sincerely. I can say it persuasively.
Now You will not convince anybody of much if you don't have any conviction by it. If I'm convicted about it, then I'm going to speak with authority about it.
Now, I don't mean you have to be eloquent. I'm simply saying this: you know, with all the sincerity of your heart, if you have a deep, abiding conviction about something, When you say it, it's going to have a ring to it that it will not have otherwise. We are living in a day when it is absolutely essential to know the truth. You and I have, listen, we have a responsibility to speak, listen, with authority and conviction. Listen, that conviction is based on two things.
Number one, it is what the Word of God teaches, and secondly, it is what is going on in our life.
Now, you can't just say, Well, here's what I believe: hallelujah, praise God, glory to God, hallelujah.
Well, glory to God, hallelujah, is fine if you can give me a biblical basis for telling me what you believe. If I'm going to be persuasive, I've got to know the truth. I've got to believe the truth, and I have to have a conviction about it. It means, man, I'm not, listen, I'm not deviating from this. You see, If you're not convicted and you're not persuaded and you're not settled, when you start talking to somebody else and you're a little bit foggy and a little bit hazy and a little bit wobbly and you're trying to sweeten it up so they'll feel good, I'm here to tell you, you know what?
They're not persuaded about that, they're not convicted of that, and not much is going to happen. That's the reason I want to give you. why you and I should absolutely know what we believe and why we believe it and be able to defend it. our personal relationship with God. You know what?
The more I study the Word of God, the more I understand, listen, what the Bible teaches about Him, the more excited I get. because our strength of faith toward God. Our belief in Him. Our trust in him. Is primarily based on what the Word of God says about Him and what we believe the Word of God says about Him.
Because listen, What I believe is not the authority. The authority is this book. And if what I believe does not match this, Then I need to give up what I believe and change my beliefs.
Now Here's what I want you to see. Think about this one aspect of your Christian life alone. Think about your prayer life. You get on your knees and you talk to God. You have lots of questions about lots of things.
But suppose you know God is not only creator, but the one who loved you so much, He had this awesome plan of redemption. And he loved you so much, he sent his only begotten son to the world who died on the cross to pay your sin debt in full. And that God chose, listen, God chose to crucify His Son. That's the reason He loves you the way He does, and the way He expresses it in that whole encounter at the crucifixion. Suppose you begin to understand that God is living on the inside of you in the presence of the Holy Spirit.
Suppose you begin to understand what unconditional love is all about. And suppose you begin to understand and you begin to think about all the promises that He's made in His Word concerning answered prayer. And suppose you begin to understand that He's immutable, that He's absolutely unchangeable, that He is absolutely faithful, that every single attribute of God is the epitome of all that it possibly could be. Here's what happens: every time you and I learn something new about Almighty God, you know what happens? Our faith in Him, our strength in our faith, everything gets stronger and stronger.
Our convictions become stronger and stronger because we get deeper, more wonderful insights into who God is like. Does it make a difference what I believe? Yes, it does.
So, what are you going to do? Get so busy? And guess so. Full of other things and Allow yourself to be so materialistic. that the most important thing that your kids need Is they need an explanation in this book.
You say, Well, I'm leaving up to the pastors. You can't do that. You know why? It doesn't make any difference what a pastor teaches. Your children watch you.
And because they love you more than they love the pastor, which is the right thing, more than likely they're going to do what you do rather than what somebody else says. I cannot tell you, please listen to me, I cannot tell you how extremely important it is. You give your children. a belief system. that is based upon the Word of God.
Something they live by. and something they can die by.
Now here's what happens.
Now, I look at this passage of scripture, and I think about all that Peter said here in this one verse. Always being prepared. Here's what I know. If I understand what I believe, And I'm able to defend it. It will help me in my walk with Him.
It will help me in my prayer to him. It will help me in my service for Him. and it will certainly help me in my worship of him. Very important. You know what you believe.
Father, we love you and praise you. Thank you for your precious word. Thank you that what we believe does make a difference. We can face all kinds of difficulties with assurance and confidence. We can face death with absolute assurance.
that absent from the body, present with the Lord, nothing to intimidate us or to cause us to fear. Thank you for saying I'll never leave you nor forsake you. And all of us who've lived with you a pretty good while know that you've never left us nor forsaken us, not one single time. Thy word is truth, and our life becomes an expression of that truth as we follow you. We just say, bless your holy name today in Jesus' name.
Amen. Thank you for listening to part two of Does It Matter What You Believe. For more inspirational messages like this one, visit our online 24-7 station. And if you'd like to know more about Charles Stanley or InTouch Ministries, stop by intouch.org. This podcast is a presentation of In Touch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia.
