Things I Still Believe

It’s less than two weeks until Christmas, and the holiday buzz is unmistakable! Kristina and I have enjoyed making new holiday memories with our new friends and family here in North Carolina, seeing the lights and hearing the sounds of Christmas!

But beneath the festive cheer, the season often prompts us to reflect on deeper truths and what we truly believe. There’s definitely a “spirit” about this time of year that is infectious yet fleeting. When I hear the familiar tunes of “Joy to the World” or “Here Comes Santa Claus,” I find they can either lift my spirits into the season of Christmas, or ring hollow against the sadness of disappointment or loss. I find myself subconsciously answering a very fundamental question: “Do I still believe?” In the case of Santa Claus, that answer is “no,” yet the cheerful music calls me to set aside my skepticism and imagine the reindeer and elves in the night sky. 

In reality, this is the spirit of Christmas that is promoted in our post-modern culture. I may know the dark realities of this world; I know that Santa is make-believe, but to lift my spirits, to enter the spirit of Christmas, I choose to believe that which I know is unreal. In this spirit of embracing the false reality, we have come to accept that my belief and your belief are both equally valid, so long as our beliefs serve to enhance our own personal well-being. Belief is no longer our objective understanding of realities that we do not see–belief describes our chosen intellectual entanglement with the mythological and the unreal. While post-modern culture has taught us to be more accepting of other’s beliefs, we must reject the conclusion that everything is relative or that objective truth is non-existent or un-knowable.

Our beliefs inherently affect our view and understanding of the world, and shape our interactions with it. Beliefs that aren’t founded in an objective reality may be pleasant or comforting. False beliefs may serve to distract us from difficult realities, to deflect blame or to excuse our own poor choices. But distorted beliefs also have real consequences in the world we live in. Do you recall the story of “Pizzagate” eight years ago–how a wild conspiracy theory promoted on social media led a man to open fire in a DC-area restaurant? Do our personal beliefs ever cause similar harm to those around us?

In church, it’s common to use the term “a crisis of faith” to describe someone who is doubting or questioning their belief as they face difficult circumstances. We may pray and do everything in our power to persuade that person not to give up their old beliefs. Yet I fear that the greater crisis in our culture today, and yes even in our church, is not a crisis of faith so much as a crisis of truth. In our communities of faith, we all believe something. It’s not the lack of faith that threatens to divide our communities, but the clashing of deeply rooted yet irreconcilable beliefs.

Perhaps it may be beneficial for all of us to face a small crisis of faith. Deconstruction of our faith isn’t always bad, as it helps us to objectively examine our beliefs to discover whether these beliefs are consistent with the available evidence. I was asked recently, “Does our church believe in science?” Of course, we have deeply held beliefs in our church that contradict the consensus of the scientific community in regards to the origin of the earth, yet neither the Bible nor our church founders ever disparage the study of science. Rather than being in conflict, faith and science can illuminate different aspects of truth. Science is a disciplined and ordered process for understanding the reality of our world. When the findings of science seem to contradict the revelations of God’s word, rather than a crisis of faith, we can find an opportunity to re-evaluate our understanding of both and align our beliefs more closely with the consensus of both. 

Almost two years ago, I had the opportunity to visit Israel with a group of fellow pastors. While there, we visited the little town of Bethlehem, where the Scripture records that Jesus Christ was born. Often at Christmas time, we imagine the wooden stable with the wooden manger, full of hay, sitting alone high on a hill with the star shining brightly in the sky above. But as we visited the real place of Bethlehem, my conceptions of the manger scene were forever shattered. Wood is scarce in the Holy Land, and animals were commonly sheltered in small caves, or even on the ground floor of a simple, stone-built family dwelling. Today a historic church stands on the traditional site of Jesus’ birth, and below the church one can enter a grotto which tradition records was the cave where Jesus was born, and laid in a stone animal feeding trough. As we walked through the church and learned the history of the place, my imagination of the Christmas story was forever altered–but Christmas is still no less wondrous! 

You see, I still believe in the wonderful story of Christmas–of the Christ-child who was born in the humblest of places, who came from heaven to earth to save us! My belief was not diminished by the facts, but enhanced. In the same way, it’s healthy for us to wrestle with our beliefs in light of observable evidence, whether through history, through science, or most importantly from the Word of God. 

As I’ve learned and grown through life, some beliefs have had to be discarded. I no longer believe in Santa Clause, or the tooth fairy. (I never really did, actually.) But I’ve discovered so much wonderful truth that the make-believe of Santa Clause is no longer appealing to me. It’s wonderful to picture a child coming into this world with purpose and hope, but John tells us that this Child was the One from the beginning, the Word of Life. The Christ of Christmas says “I am the resurrection and the life.” Yet He died on a cross–a martyr, murdered by those whose false Messianic beliefs He had failed to fulfill, by those whose lives of selfish delusions He had exposed. More than a martyr, He died a sacrifice for sin–God’s chosen means for the salvation of mankind!

He promises to come again soon in the clouds of glory, to take us to the home he has prepared for us. This hope and assurance of His second coming is not just a pleasant make-believe–it’s a promise that He Himself established after having conquered death and the grave! It’s the foundation of our faith–the true spirit, not of Christmas, but of Christians 365 days of the year!

I used to believe that it was me who was holding up this promise–that Jesus was waiting in heaven until we, His believers, would get our act together and perfect our characters so that He could finally come back. I used to believe in some ways that I had to work my way, with God’s help, into His kingdom. That somehow my good behavior would vindicate the righteousness of God and would ultimately help secure the universe against sin. That to live through the last days, I needed to be so perfect that I could live through the time of trouble without making any mistakes. But I’ve come to realize that this, too, is a myth. Yes, God gives us victory over sin, but His kingdom is not about me and my behavior–it’s all about Jesus and His gift of love! “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit.” (Titus 3:5)

I used to believe that the best thing about Christmas was the gifts. I’d sneak over to the Christmas tree alone, late at night, and examine the presents, looking to see which ones had my name on them. But I’ve learned that the best thing about Christmas is not the presents, but the quality time with family and friends. I’ve learned too late, the importance of spending that time before they are gone. In the same way, I used to think that the Christian life was all about getting a ticket to heaven. That was the ultimate “present.” Whatever it took, the harder I worked, the more people I went against, the better–so long as I did what was right. My guide was just “me, my Bible, and Jesus.” The church was there as an accessory, a resource, but something to be skeptical of.

But lately I’m learning that the Christian walk is far more about the relationships we build. It’s not about knowing everything, but about experiencing the love of Christ as He teaches us, and having a heart of acceptance for our brother and sister who are still in that journey with us. I’m learning that accepting and loving another person isn’t the same as condoning their belief. Iron sharpens iron, and there is a place for examining and sharing our faith, but it must be in the context of Christ’s love and acceptance. Heaven isn’t just about mansions and streets of gold–heaven is a place where we can continue to experience that love in the relationships we’ve built with our brothers and sisters here, as well as most importantly our relationships with Christ. 

In this view, the church, the “ekklasia” or community of believers, isn’t just an accessory. This community of faith is essential to my development as a Christian, and it’s the one thing besides our own character and relationship with Christ that we will take with us into eternity. Revelation describes this end-time community of believers: 144,000 who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. (Revelation 14:4) The passage adds that “ in their mouth was found no deceit.” In other words, their beliefs and message are grounded, not in pleasant fables, but in objective truth. “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” (Revelation 7:14)

There are those today who promote the idea that, in the last days, God’s visible and organized church will dissolve in persecution or apostasy, and that His last day church will be composed of an invisible and disconnected group of only those whose hearts are pure. I used to embrace such ideas myself, but as I’ve studied Scripture, I must say that I still believe His visible and organized church will be present and active in the end of time. Revelation 14 describes a powerful last-day message, calling the world to true worship and warning against the mark of the beast. This message is given by God’s end-time people, symbolized by three angels flying in the midst of heaven. In the end of time, the Scripture can point to this visible group of people and say, “Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.”

That’s why I’m still a member and pastor of the Seventh-day Adventist Church–because this I still believe. I’m not perfect–I’m still learning and growing in my faith. I’m still open to examining my beliefs, because I want my beliefs to be founded in reality. But the more I study, and despite the challenges we face, the more I see this church as the fulfillment of these last-day prophecies, and the less I feel the need to look for another. 

As the apostle Paul languished in prison after having preached the gospel of Jesus to the world, he had much time to think and to reflect on his belief. He could have deconstructed his belief, as he had done before on the road to Damascus, or after preaching in Athens. But as he considered His faith and communed with the Lord, he wrote to Timothy a glorious description of his Lord, “who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.” Paul adds, “For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.” (2 Timothy 1:9-10, 12)

So, this Christmas, I’ll ask you the age-old question: Do you still believe? Do you know what you believe in? Let us enter into His spirit, not in make-believe, but in the confidence and assurance of His love and His soon return!

Joy to the world; the Lord is come;
Let Earth receive her King;
Let ev’ry Heart prepare him room,
And Heav’n and nature sing.

Joy to the Earth, the Savior reigns,
Let men their Songs employ,
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains,
Repeat the sounding joy.

No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make his blessings flow
Far as the curse is found.

He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of his righteousness,
And wonders of his love.

Isaac Watts

My faith has found a resting place,
Not in device nor creed;
I trust the Ever-living One,
His wounds for me shall plead.

I need no other argument,
I need no other plea;
It is enough that Jesus died,
And that He died for me.

E. E. Hewitt

I know not why God’s wondrous grace
to me is daily shown,
nor why, with mercy, Christ in love
redeemed me for his own.

But “I know whom I have believed,
and am persuaded that he is able
to keep that which I’ve committed
unto him against that day.”

I know not how this saving faith
to me he did impart,
nor how believing in his word
wrought peace within my heart. 

But “I know whom I have believed,
and am persuaded that he is able
to keep that which I’ve committed
unto him against that day.”

D. W. Whittle

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