sermon: Faith versus Doubtful Things

Martin G. Collins
Given 25-Jan-20; Sermon #1526; 67 minutes

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Around the world, more than 260 million Christians live in places where they experience high levels of persecution just for professing to following Christ. That is one in eight believers worldwide according to the Open Doors watchlist and we know that religious persecution will continue to increase.

As persecution increases, doubts about our calling will begin to show in some who have not overcome their doubtfulness ahead of time. Now is the time to rid ourselves of any doubts about our religious convictions—before our faith is tested by persecution and other severe trials. The real problem is not the object doubted, but in the person who doubts. The crux of the problem is within us, not in some shortcoming of God or His promises.

Please turn with me to Romans 14, verse 23. Now, doubt is a lack of confidence in God's power and will to accomplish what He says He will do. It is considering God's promises unlikely to be carried out. It is uncertainty about what His plans and purposes are for us. It is no less than distrusting what God tells us through His Word. Doubt is uncertainty about what we believe, which makes our supposed convictions no more than weak preferences. It is a deliberate suspension of good judgment. Doubt is no less than a lack of faith in God's goodness. Romans 14, verse 23 shows us the essence of doubt.

Romans 14:23 He who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not of faith is sin.

Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

And when we are doubtful of God's promises, we say that God's Word is dubious, problematic, and questionable. Of course, we do not use those terms, but that is what we mean by the thoughts that we are having of being doubtful.

Let us expand our perception of doubtful with these three synonyms just for a moment.

The synonym: dubious. What does that mean? It stresses suspicion, mistrust, or hesitation with what we perceive God's will to be in our lives. Not a pretty picture.

The synonym: problematic. This applies especially to things whose existence, meaning, and fulfillment or realization is highly uncertain.

The synonym: questionable. This may imply no more than the existence of doubt, but usually suggests that the suspicions are well grounded.

So if we think God's Word is dubious or problematic or questionable, we are calling God a liar and that is how doubt destroys our relationship with God. It puts us at odds with Him and that is extremely serious.

Please turn over to Philippians 4, verse 8. Satan would love to have us calling God a liar. Our decisions and actions provide a witness for God's way of life. What type of witness are we if we are doubtful, lacking conviction. And now let us look at a statement of one of God's rules for doubtful things revealed through the apostle Paul here. You are very familiar with this passage. We go over it often and it is extremely meaningful to us because it gives us the solution.

Philippians 4:8-9 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. [Think them through, spend time on them, consider them, apply them in their lives.] The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.

These verses introduce to us the problems of regulating our conduct in the areas of life where the Bible is not entirely explicit or does not spell out exactly whether something is a sin or not.

To what degree has an authentic Christian continued to be of the world even after his calling? To what extent can a true believer continue to adopt the standards of his life, of his times and society? The answers to such questions fall under broad spiritual principles accordingly.

Let us look at some biblical standards, some spiritual guidelines for living God's way of life when things might be unclear and cause us to be doubtful. Sometimes we call these gray areas. Although some of the issues that we doubt whether we should do or refrain from doing may not be seen to deserve much attention, we must not make the mistake of avoiding all serious thought about such matters because everything matters.

Is there a certain type of clothing that is right for a Christian to wear? What is modest? Is anything inherently Christian or non-Christian in the way we dress in America? Another problem which seems to have an uncertain answer in the church is alcohol. How much alcohol should a Christian drink? Do social norms justify a Christian's similar behavior.

Now, let us apply three principles that will help any Christian in 90% of his or her difficulties. All these are found throughout Scripture, but they are summarized in three important verses. Here are the three verses: Romans 6:12-16; I Corinthians 6:12 and also 10: 23; and then Philippians 4:8.

Turn over with me please to the first scripture there, Romans 6, verse 12. They tell us that we are to live as instruments of righteousness by grace, that we are to think first, last, and always of others and that we are to pursue the most excellent things. Now, the first principle then is do not obey human nature in its lust because your body is an instrument of righteousness to God.

Romans 6:12-14 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

Verse 14 becomes perfectly clear with the wording, "You are not under the penalty of the law but under grace." I do not know why the apostle did not include that small phrase in there. God inspired it to be without that. But it really clarifies that when you add that penalty of the law, but under grace. And he says, "Certainly not!" He is asking a question

Romans 6:15-16 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under [let us call it the penalty of the] law but under grace? Certainly not! Do you not know that to whom you present yourself slaves to obey, you are that one slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?

So the answer to the problem of doubtful practices is to not become a slave to sin because of your human emotions and desires. And you can extend that out to asking yourself if you are a slave to anything. Are you a slave to your phone, are you a slave to alcohol, are you a slave to modern dress? Or are you a slave to whatever it might be? Because that pushes you over the edge possibly into leading to sin.

Furthermore, the solution will never be found by pharisaically declaring specific actions and activities that are not mentioned in Scripture as sin, whether it is clothing or alcohol or movies or whatever it may be. Righteous judgment must be based on righteous principles.

Historically, this problem was fought to a decisive conclusion in the first generation of the church because of the wide dispersion of Jews throughout the Roman world in the centuries before Christ, there was hardly a congregation of believers during the first Christian century that did not consist of a mixture of Jews and Gentiles, even in the most Gentile cities of the empire.

Now please turn with me to Acts 15, verse 10. Because of their own religious and social training, the Jewish Christians got the idea that the Gentile believers should submit to the ceremonial laws of Israel, and the result was a tremendous conflict in which, for a time, the apostle Paul struggled with little or no support against them. For a time, even Peter was carried away with the error. But Paul's letter to the Galatians tells us that he resisted Peter and later defended the case for Gentile and Jewish liberty before the other apostles in Jerusalem. On this occasion, Peter sided with Paul and said to the other apostles and the elders in,

Acts 15:10-11 Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we are able to bear? But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they.

So the same verse that speaks against extreme things such as Pharisaism (but in this case, it was not extreme, but it was something that the Jews felt comfortable doing), also speaks against another error that is likewise a wrong approach to the problem. And this is the error of license, the false teaching that, because we are not under the law but under grace, Christians can therefore go on doing as they please.

Again, Romans 6:14 becomes perfectly clear with the words, "and you are not under the penalty of the law but under grace." So the error of license pretends to be logical but it is not and Paul does not hesitate to say so. In the next very next verse,

Romans 6:15-16 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the penalty of the law but under grace? Certainly not! Do you not know that to whom you present yourself slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether a sin leading to death, or obedience leading to righteousness?

And then Paul adds,

Romans 6:22 But now having been set free from sin, and having been become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.

Paul's argument is that by life by grace leads to holiness and hence should not be hindered by becoming Pharisaical as an answer to the problems of Christian conduct. This is just an example of an incident where it was right for the Jews to do, but it was such a hindrance to the Gentiles that it was harmful to their growth in the righteousness.

Turn now, if you will please, to I Corinthians 6. Now, the second principle for determining God's will in doubtful matters is that although something may be lawful for the Christian, all things are not helpful. It is interesting because this word helpful is translated in different words and different translations of the Bible. In the New King James, it is "helpful" and it is "expedient" in the King James version. Another version "beneficial," "profitable," "wise," "good for you," "spiritually appropriate." Other synonyms are the words "practical" and "useful." That is true for two reasons:

First, because the thing itself may gain a harmful control over you spiritually or have a harmful effect on you physically. And second, because through you, it may hurt other Christians spiritually or physically.

Now, the first reason is given in I Corinthians 6:12, "All things are helpful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any." So Paul knew here that God had not set him free from sin and the penalty of the law for him to become captive to mere things or have to make things his idol.

A guiding principle here is whether you, as a Christian, are using things or whether things are using you. Now take food for an example. Nothing can be as obviously good for a person as food. It is necessary for bodily strength as well as mental health. But it is possible for a person to become so addicted to overeating that the good end is thwarted and the person's health is endangered.

I Corinthians 6:13 Foods for the stomach and the stomach for foods, but God will destroy both it and them.

So certain eating habits should be avoided.

A second example is sex in marriage. This too is good. It is a gift of God

I Corinthians 6:13-20 Foods for the stomach and the stomach for foods, but God will destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And God both raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by His power. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For "the two," He says, "shall become one flesh." But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.

So within the bonds of marriage, it is a force for strength in the home as well as an expression of close union. But it too can be destructive. It can control the person instead of the person controlling it. And in this form, sex can destroy the values it was created to maintain. So sex outside of marriage is sin and as long as a person is committing such a thing, they will not be in the Kingdom of God.

The Bible teaches that we must never use things, food, sex, drugs, alcohol, cars, homes, stocks, or whatever it may be, in such a way that we fall under their power. In some of these cases, such as the case of habit-forming drugs, I Corinthians 6:12 is an unequivocal warning to avoid them.

Please turn over to I Corinthians 10, verse 23. Later here in Corinthians, Paul gives another reason why something may not be appropriate or helpful. The freedom of one believer may hurt the spiritual growth of another. Paul says,

I Corinthians 10:23 All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me but not all things edify [or build up].

The word edify has the same root as our word edifice, which is another word for building. So edify means building up.

Now, Paul means everything may be permissible but not everything is beneficial, everything may be permissible but not everything is constructive. The verses that follow show that he is thinking of the edification and growth of fellow Christians. So the question is, what witness and what example are you making and giving for others in God's church? Are you setting the right example? Or are you setting a poor example?

I Corinthians 10:24 Let no one seek his own, but each one the other's well being.

So this is part of the description of love.

I Corinthians 10:31 Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

This is the solution to gluttony and alcoholism and sexual immorality. to follow this instruction.

Verse 24 does not mean you have to take your standards of conduct entirely from what other Christians say or think. If you do that, you are either going to become hypocritical, schizophrenic, or insane. We learn through experience that you cannot take all your standards of conduct from other Christians. And the verse does not mean that you are to allow the prejudices and viewpoints of others to dictate your pattern of righteous behavior.

Yet these verses do mean that there are situations in which we must avoid certain things, even if they are right in themselves, unless they are detrimental to others. And alcoholism is certainly an example. We are not to serve alcohol to anyone for whom it may be a problem. For that person's sake, we are to avoid it. Also, we should not drink in his presence because he may be harmed by our freedom, by influencing, by wearing him down or putting the temptation in front of him. Besides, we are to be consistent in our abstinence because we must not appear two-faced or hypocritical. We must sometimes be consistent over a long period of time. So Paul wrote in,

I Corinthians 8:13 Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never again eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.

Now let us jump back to Philippians 4:8 once again. Now we must remember that it will be costly to our freedom if we are to be careful of the effect of our conduct upon others. It means there may be things lawful for us to do, but if it is going to offend another brother or sister in God's church, then we should refrain from doing it. Now, of course, this takes wisdom because there is some people who are very self-righteous and judgmental about everything. So we have to go to Scripture and see what the biblical principles are that are involved.

The principle of the three that best helps to direct our conduct in doubtful areas is in,

Philippians 4:8 Finally, brethren [as we read earlier], whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.

So according to this verse, we must decide between doubtful things by choosing the very best, the very excellent things of life. This does not exclude the best things of our culture, even whether explicitly Christian or not. Although the pursuit of the best things by Christians will certainly mean the pursuit of fellowship with God, the will of God, and other spiritual things also, it will not mean the exclusion of the best values the world has to offer.

The things that are acknowledged to be honorable by the best people everywhere, so to speak, are also sometimes worthy to be developed by Christians. Consequently, we can love all that is true, noble, bright, pure, lovely, and admirable wherever we find it. We can rejoice in the best art and good literature. We can be thrilled to great music. We can thrive on beautiful architecture. We can thank God for giving us the ability to create such beauty.

Likewise, as we use this principle for determining God's will in doubtful things, we can also take confidence in the promise of God's Spirit that accomplishes it. All these things that are good in the world are thanks to God. Either they were made of something God has made or God has put it in the mind of individuals to make the very best. And His temple in Jerusalem is one example of that. There is not a finer building that it has ever built in the history of the world.

In Philippians 4:8, Paul summarizes our duties as a conclusion to his letter and he lists godly virtues that are acts of moral excellence on which we must meditate, think on, and appreciate and develop ourselves with God's help.

Now, Paul writes, Finally, brethren, whatever things are true. True has the sense of being reliable and honest. Truth characterizes God and must also characterize us—truth in word, in action, and in thought. Now Jesus Christ is the truth and we must be a true witness for Him.

Next, Paul writes, "whatever things are noble." Noble is used in the New Testament only by Paul, here and in I Timothy 3:8 and 11 and Titus 2:2 where it refers to church officers. It is a quality that makes them worthy of respect. The Greek word is honorable, whatever is worthy of honor, it is associated with dignity.

Continuing in Philippians 4:8, "whatever things are just." Just refers to what is upright, fairness in all dealings, not partial. We must demonstrate pure integrity in all our relations with believers and unbelievers alike.

Next, "whatever things are pure." Pure emphasizes moral purity and includes some in some contexts the more strict sense of chaste. Moral lives and clean minds and thoughts, innocent in thought, in feeling, and in conversation between the sexes.

Then, "whatever things are lovely." This is a word that has been perverted in our language. Whatever things are lovely relates to what is pleasing, agreeable, amiable. It is one of those concepts that is difficult to define because it deals directly with how a person is perceived. Lovely has the sense of being agreeable to others in a way that is the opposite attitude of sour, crabby, and irritable. It is the opposite of the annoyed, contrary mindset. A lovely person used to be someone who was a joy and pleasure to be with. But now, in this narcissistic society, it is thought of as a physically attractive person or beautiful person. Lovely has been totally perverted in this society.

Subsequently, "whatever things are of good report." Good report is literally "sounding well" in the Greek. It means admirable and refers to what is praiseworthy, attractive, what rings true to the highest standards. It refers to whatever is truly and universally reputable. We must live a life of which no evil can be truly said about us.

And finally, "if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things." Suddenly, Paul changes the sentence structure here. The conditional clause, "if there is any" is a rhetorical statement that forces us to exercise our own discernment and to choose what is virtuous and praiseworthy according to God's righteous standard. If excellence and honor have any meaning, meditate on these things. When we pursue the excellent things in life, both spiritually and physically, the God of peace will enable us and we will have the confidence that He will bless and guide us as we seek to please Him.

Now, please turn over to Matthew 14. We just went through some biblical principles relating to our decisions about doubtful things. Now, let us shift gears here. Next, we are going to look at why we doubt and fear, which results in little faith.

There are times when we are up against it and life is a desperate struggle with ourselves, with our circumstances, with our weaknesses, with our worries, and with our decisions. At such a time, nobody needs struggle alone because God is intervening on our behalf according to His will even during these difficult times. Matthew wrote about an incident that is a sign and a symbol of what Jesus always does for His people when life is contrary and we are in danger of being overwhelmed by life's emotional storms.

We are going to read the incident of Peter walking in the water. This is actually more importantly that Jesus walks on the sea rather than Peter, but it is going to cover both of them.

Matthew 14:22-33 Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away. And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there. But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary. Now in the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid."

And Peter answered Him and said, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water." [The rest of them must have been thinking he was crazy. But Peter had some faith, did he not?] So He said, "Come." And when Peter had come had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!" And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, "Truly You are the Son of God."

So what are the high points here? The disciples cried out in fear because they saw what they thought was a ghost, but it was Jesus. And then Jesus said to them, "Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid."

Shortly after that, Peter got down out of the boat, walking on the water and came toward Jesus. And when he saw a wind, he was afraid and beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord save me!" And immediately Jesus reached out His hand and caught him saying, "O you have little faith. Why did you doubt?"

And finally, when everyone was in the boat together, the disciples worshipped Him saying, "Truly You are the Son of God."

Next, when they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret. And when the men of that place recognized Jesus, they sent word to all the surrounding country. People brought all their sick to Him and begged Him to let the sick just touch the edge of His cloak, and all who touched Him were healed.

Looking back, Matthew 14—16 is characterized by three important themes. The first is Jesus' private teaching of the 12 disciples. The second important theme is repeated failures on the disciples' part to understand or respond to Jesus' teaching. And the third are some small glimmerings of true faith and growth.

So the first step in Jesus' teaching was when He taught the disciples in the account of the feeding of the 5,000. And when He told the disciples to feed the people, He was obviously impressing on them that they could do nothing on their own. Keep that in mind: that they could do nothing on their own. When He then fed the masses from five small loaves of bread and two fish, He was imparting a lesson about His own utter sufficiency. And when Jesus used disciples to distribute the food to the people, He was teaching them about their role as messengers. They had nothing to offer, but they would become bearers of the bread of life to those who were starving spiritually.

The next step in Jesus' teaching was when He walks on the Sea of Galilee and allows Peter to walk on the water too. This is a story about the disciples' slow growth in faith. Peter began in faith, but his faith wavered and he began to sink. Now, the story teaches that we will only grow strong in faith when we keep our eyes on Jesus Christ, the source of our faith, and do not turn aside to fret over threatening circumstances. They will come in our lives and they already have at times.

The story of Peter walking on water is unique to Matthew. Mark and John tell about Jesus walking on the water but their stories do not include the incident with Peter. The story does not begin with Jesus walking on the water. However, it begins with Jesus sending the disciples away in the boat while He dismisses the crowds and goes up a mountain by Himself to pray.

Taken together the gospels give three reasons why Jesus stayed behind and dismissed His disciples.

1. He wanted to be alone to pray. You find that in Matthew 14:23 and also Mark 6:46.

2. He wanted to escape the crowds and get some rest. We find that in Mark 6:31-32.

3. He wanted to diffuse the popular movement that would have made him a king by force. You find that in John 6:15.

These fit together nicely and are obviously all part of one picture. If the people were beginning to talk about making Jesus a king, which is what John specifically reports, it was likely that the disciples would have been swayed by the grassroots movement because they were still new in their understanding.

Turn with me to Matthew 4, verse 8. So Jesus sent them off to isolate them from these popular sentiments and at the same time, dismissed the crowds to keep this demand from growing. Now, it was a critical moment in His ministry and Jesus must also have felt a need for serious prayer. The people were offering a small version of what Satan had offered in the wilderness: to make Jesus king. He could not let that happen and He could not let the people decide the direction of His ministry.

Matthew 4:8-10 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain to show Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, "All these things I will give You if You fall down and worship me." And then Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.'"

Keep in mind this idea of worship because it is important throughout the sermon.

All Jesus had to do was bow to popular opinion, as earlier He had been asked to worship Satan. In the first case, Jesus had spent 40 days in prayer before Satan came to Him. Here, He needed to spend at least a few hours in prayer.

There is another solution that we can use and look at when we are doubtful about things or doubtful about what to do in our lives. In Matthew 14:25 Jesus sent the disciples away and dismissed the crowds before it got dark. And Jesus prayed from that hour until He came to the disciples during the fourth watch of the night.

Earlier in their history, the Jews had divided the night into three watches. At this point in history, however, they were following the Roman system which included four watches and assigned the fourth the hours between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. This suggests that Jesus had been praying for six or seven hours and that the disciples had been rowing for the same length of time or close to it. Crossing the lake would normally not have taken that long, but a storm had come up suddenly and the boat was being pounded by the wind and working against them.

Let us look at something Mark adds in his account of this event. Turn to Mark 6. Now, Jesus must have seen all this from the mountain. He did not need some supernatural insight at this time. Anyway, knowing what was happening, He could see it relatively clearly that something was going on down there. Now, to see any details in the boat, He might have and probably did think supernaturally about it. But he was viewing the situation.

Mark 6:47-48 Now when evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea; and He was alone on the land [speaking of Jesus]. Then He saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them.

But Jesus did exercise His divine power when He went to them walking on the waves and disciples were terrified when they saw Him. And although they thought they were seeing a ghost, that was probably not their only reason for being afraid. Most likely they took the apparition for an omen warning them that they were doomed men and were going to drown.

Mark 6:48 [picking it up again] Then he saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them. Now about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by.

That is something that Mark adds that the others do not, that Jesus would have passed them by. That reminds us of Job 9, verse 11 where Job used a similar terminology that it is God who walks on the sea. Now, this Greek Septuagint translation uses the exact same Greek phrasing in both Mark 6 and Job 9. In Mark 6:48 he writes, "He came to them walking on the sea." In Job 9:8 it says, "He alone spreads out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea." When Jesus came walking on the water, He was filling a role that in the Old Testament was reserved for God alone.

Well, it is interesting that in Mark's parallel account, he says that Jesus seemed to be about to pass by them.

Mark 6:48 Now about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by.

He meant to pass them by not so that they would fail to see Him, in which case He would have strayed farther from them, but so that they would see Him pass by. The Greek term there is parechomai. So that they would see him pass by, walking on the water, giving visible evidence of His deity, and answering the question they asked after He stilled the sea in Mark 4:41: "Who then is this?"

Mark 6:48 reminds us of the incident where God passed before Moses. The same Greek verb that I just spelled to you occurs in the Septuagint in chapters 33 and 34 of Exodus giving a glimpse of His glory. Also Job 9:11 says, "If He goes by me, I do not see Him. If He moves past, I do not perceive Him." So "He goes by me" here in Job 9:11 is basically the same phrase as Mark 6: 48 and Exodus 33:19 and verse 22, and also Exodus 34:6.

It is amazing how many things in the New Testament tie back to the Old Testament.

Let us go back to Matthew's account.

Matthew 14:27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them saying, "Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid."

When Jesus calms the disciples' fear using the words, "It is I," He is using the personal name of God, "I Am." I Am is the literal rendering of Matthew's quotation. As God in the Old Testament, Jesus calms the disciples fears by identifying Himself. "It is I," of course, witnesses that He is the I Am of Exodus 3:14.

Now as soon as the disciples understood that the figure they saw walking on the water was Jesus, Peter asked to come to Him. So continuing in verse 28,

Matthew 14:28 And Peter answered Him and said, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water."

Matthew 14:31 And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"

So, Jesus' reprimand in verse 31 is not for Peter's impetuous faith, but it is for his vacillating faith once he had started out. Most people see Peter's request as brave and faithful. I think we all do as well. And they are probably right to understand the story that way. Whatever the case, we are sometimes too presumptuous. We do sometimes ask to do what we are not called to do and often flounder in our attempts. It is like us thinking God has opened a door, we walk through it and fall flat on our face because we realize, "Well, God didn't open that door." It is not that we should not go through doors, it should we expect God's will to be done and it could go either way.

The most important thing in this story is what it teaches about the nature of true faith, which is certainly why Matthew included it. These chapters record the disciples first feeble attempts to understand and trust Jesus.

What is faith? It is not merely knowing that Jesus is the Son of God and believing that He can save us from sin, but it is committing ourselves entirely to Him. Faith also involves confidence, which is an actual trust in Jesus as the Son of God and Savior.

Now Peter's action demonstrates this well. He believed that the figure he saw in the water was Jesus and that Jesus had power to call him and hold him up as he walked toward Him. It is as if Peter had said, using the words of the apostle Paul to the Philippians in Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." And I am sure we all use that for that scripture to remind us that God is all-powerful and He can solve any of our problems.

And he could! As long as Jesus told him to come, and as long as he kept his eyes on the Savior. It was only when he turned his eyes away from Jesus that he began to sink. And when Peter looked around and became aware of the fierce wind and saw the rolling waves, he became afraid and started to sink. His faith faltered at this point.

But it is important to recognize that Peter's faith did not fail entirely. We have all probably experienced that same thing where we know we have had faith that God could solve anything, but we do not lose faith entirely. It is just that our faith is weak or that it has faltered and we bounce right back up from it, realizing it.

Now he had lost faith in Jesus' ability to keep him above the water, but he still trusted Jesus at some level since he immediately called out to Him for help. Back in verse 30, "But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and began be beginning to sink, he cried out saying, "Lord, save me!" That was an element of faith. Jesus called it "little faith."

This incident is a good illustration of the trusting nature of true faith, but it is also a good illustration of true but faltering faith, which is what the faith of most of us is like at times.

If Peter had no true faith at all, his act of getting out of the boat would have been mere foolishness or bravado. And when he began to sink, he would have started to flail his arms about desperately. I do not know if you have ever felt like you were drowning or if you ever got a cramp while you were swimming and all of a sudden, you started to panic and your arms were just going wild. That is what Peter would have been doing as he sank. If he did not have any faith at all in Jesus Christ, he would have been desperately trying to get back into the boat. Now, he would not have cried out to Jesus. So the fact that he cried out is proof that he really did trust Jesus at some level.

On the other hand, his faith was weakened by the waves just as our faith is often undermined by difficult circumstances and by the tragedies of life. And it is always because we have taken our eyes off of Jesus and God the Father and Their power to be able to solve our problems. We take our eyes off them.

When Jesus rebuked him, it was not for having no faith at all but for having little faith. "O you have little faith, why did you doubt?" At this point, Peter must have felt conflicting emotions of thankfulness that he could trust Jesus and disappointment in himself for doubting. But it was when Peter was in trouble that he was driven to Jesus and was the closest to him. So, failures and mistakes do work for good when we realize them and repent.

It is the same with us and it is why Jesus allows storms to come into our lives too. As long as life is going along smoothly, we might be genuinely trusting Jesus for our salvation as true Christians. But our faith can be somewhat distant, abstract, and even peripheral. We may trust Jesus. But very often we trust ourselves and our abilities more. It is our own human nature that trusts ourselves more than we trust Jesus.

Trouble comes, and suddenly we are confronted with our own lack of ability and weakness, and we are driven to Jesus simply because we have nowhere else to turn. It is in times such as these that faith in Jesus Christ and God the Father grows strong.

Turn with me to Jonah 2. The Jews were not seafaring people so there are not many stories in the Bible about peril on the sea. But one comes to mind, and that is the story of Jonah with relation to this, who tried to run away from God by taking a ship from Joppa to Tarshish on the far side of the Mediterranean. Jonah was not acting in faith as Peter was, he was defiantly disobedient. But when God sent the storm that threatened to sink the ship in which he was sailing, and the sailors finally threw him overboard to drown, which he had told them to do, Jonah found himself inside the belly of a great fish and turned to God again in prayer and found salvation.

Jonah 2:2-3 And he said: "I cried out to the Lord because of my affliction, and He answered me. Out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and You heard my voice. For You cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the floods surrounded me; all Your billows and Your waves passed over me.

Jonah 2:7 When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord; and my prayer went up to You, into Your holy temple.

So God heard Jonah from inside the great fish and saved him, just as Jesus saved Peter when he was sinking in the waves.

It often takes such things to turn us from disobedience to obedience and change our failing faith into strong faith in the Savior.

Turn over to Psalm 73. Now Asaph, one of the great psalm writers, was almost thrown off balance by the apparent ease of life of the wicked. And he knew God had been good to Israel.

Psalm 73:2-5 But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; my steps had nearly slipped. For I was envious of the boastful, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For there are no pangs in their death, but their strength is firm. They are not in trouble as other men, nor are they plagued like other men.

He goes on like that for several stanzas until he explains how his faltering faith was at last restored.

Psalm 73:17 Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I understood their end.

That is, the end of the wicked.

So it was not until he went to God in prayer, or as we do, when we go into the holy place where God's people gather for worship here at Sabbath services, the light of understanding finally dawns on us that the wise thing to do is to consider and compare the end, that is, the outcome of the lies of the arrogant and the faithful.

The rest of the psalm says that God held him by his right hand, just as Jesus must have reached out to save Peter. The psalmist ends by claiming that from that time on, he made the sovereign God his refuge.

Psalm 73:28 But it is good for me to draw near to God; I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may be that I may declare all Your works.

That is what he felt was his next move. After trusting God, putting all his cares in Him, and making God his refuge, was ready to go out and witness for God. Not witness as in standing on the street corner, but witness as in living his life on those things that we are told to meditate on and of the Ten Commandments and of the statutes and precepts. So if you have been sinking in life because of troubles or because you doubt the wisdom and power of God, stop looking at the waves and look to God. He is the God of all circumstances and He will be there to see you through all of them.

Please turn back to Matthew 8, verse 23. Now, after Jesus rescued Peter, the two of them climbed into the boat and the wind died down. That was an impressive situation for them. A similar effect had caused the disciples to react with awe on an earlier occasion.

Matthew 8:23-27 Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him. And suddenly a great tempest arose in the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep. Then His disciples came to Him and I awoke Him, saying, "Lord, save us! We are perishing!" But He said to them, "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?" Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. So the men marveled, saying, "Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?"

Now flip back over a few pages to Matthew 14. But this is not the climax of the story in Matthew 14 there in Matthew 8. The climax here is not the stilling of the waves or even Jesus' earlier words to Peter, "O, you of little faith. Why did you doubt?" The climax is the disciples' confession of faith in Jesus and their worship of Jesus.

Matthew 14:33 Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, "Truly, You are the Son of God."

This is the first time Jesus is called the Son of God by the disciples. And the words build on what they had said earlier in Matthew 8:27 where they had asked, "So the men marveled saying, 'Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?'" And that the realization of who He really was came in Matthew 14:33 where they say, "Truly, You are the Son of God." They still have a long way to go but it was a step in the right direction and they were growing in their faith and understanding—and let us not forget, their worship.

This is also the first time the disciples are said to have worshipped Jesus. In Matthew 2:11, it was the magi from the East who worshipped Jesus. Later, a leper is said to have worshipped Jesus.

Matthew 8:2 And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, "Lord, if You are willing, you can make me clean."

A synagogue ruler does the same thing.

Matthew 9:18 While He spoke these things to them, behold, a ruler came and worshiped Him, saying, "My daughter has just died, but come and lay Your hand on her and she will live."

But here in Matthew 14:33 is the first time the disciples worshipped. And it is important to note that their worship here in verse 33 is joined also by their confession. That is basically what worship is. Of course, it is acknowledging who God is and praising Him both for who He is and for what He has done. In this case, the disciples took the first step and worshipped God Jesus as God's Son. The disciples focused on Jesus entirely in their worship.

Peter had experienced a great deliverance, but they did not ask Peter to give his testimony about it or his version of it. The wind had died down, but they did not hold a discussion about miracles. They worshipped Jesus and they worshipped only Him because they were entirely taken up with Him.

Now, let us change our focus from worship back to faith and another antidote for doubtfulness. People look around today and see progress in the fields of science and technology and they see the advancement in outward things. They discuss social problems, but they judge by outward appearance. Now turn with me to Hebrews 11, verse 5. But those who are divinely instructed by the Word of God do not judge all things that are seen. So we know what is to be the end of it all by what we receive by way of His spirit through His word. What a privilege to be divinely instructed, concerning things not yet seen how blessed we are to believe God. And as a result, be well pleasing to Him. Hebrews 11 and verses five and six by faith. Enoch was taken away so that He did not see death and was not found because God had taken him away for before he was taken. He had this testimony that He pleased God. But without faith, it is impossible to please Him for He who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. So if like Enoch, we walk with God, we walk by faith and not by sight, we must not judge the course of events as they appear outwardly in the eyes of the natural man. We must not be deceived by things that people see and call progress. We must not be misled into fellowship with people in what they miss call good works. Because we know that the only things that are good works are those things in which God has prepared us to walk. Continuing, continuing on in Hebrews 11 and verse seven by faith, Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with Godly fear prepared an ark for the saving of his household by which he condemned the world and became heir to, to the righteousness, which is according to faith. So if we follow God's instructions, especially regarding things not yet seen, and if we believe what his teachings or what he teaches us, concerning them, we will be moved with Godly fear as Noah was and will and will obey him as Noah did. Noah's faith led to obedience. Therefore, true obedience is the obedience of faith. He prepared an ark and saved his household. His faith was evidenced by his obedience. And that's why his preaching is mentioned as being very special. He is the only one of all the heroes of faith who is singled out in Second Peter two and verse five as a preacher of righteousness. Li literally, it means a herald of righteousness. Second Peter two verses 45 and nine. For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness to be pre re reserved for judgment and did not spare the ancient world but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness bringing in the flood on the world of the Ungodly in verse nine. Then the Lord knows how to deliver the Godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment. The God saved Noah, because of his faithfulness demonstrated by his obedience, which is an example for us that He knows how to deliver us and to guide us in our doubtful moments. I go back one chapter to chapter 10 of Hebrews. In the section of Hebrews. It makes the point that the just live by faith, we are told to maintain our confidence by joyfully enduring all the unpleasantries. The world throws at us Hebrews 10 verses 32 to 38 verse 32. But recall the former days in which after you were illuminated, you endured a great struggle with sufferings, partly while you were made a spectacle both by reproaches and tribulations and partly while you became companions of those who were so treated, verse 34 for you had compassion on me and my chains and joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods. Boy, that would be a hard thing to do. Somebody took everything you had your food, everything your house and joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods, knowing that you have a better and an enduring possession for yourselves in heaven. Verse 35. Therefore, do not cast away your confidence which has great reward for you have need of endurance. So that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise for yet a little while and he who is coming will come and will not tarry in verse 38. Now, the just shall live by faith. But if one draws back, my soul has no pleasure in Him. In verse 35 the word confidence is literally boldness in Greek, your boldness, referring to our confident hope in God. We are not to throw it away and become timid, disheartened and discouraged. We're to bear up unwaveringly under all our trials and to maintain a steadfast faithfulness to God's will. Abel believed God and did His will and received divine acceptance with God. Enoch believed God and be and he believed that God would come to execute judgment but would before that deliver Him from his enemies, Noah believed God and being divinely instructed by Him. He was a witness against all the sinners who persecuted Him for seemed like in what seemed like insanity to them. But Noah had was pers preserved while the flood came and took the wicked. All away. The one common thing to all these great faithful witnesses was that was that each one stood alone with God and for God and that nothing but believing what God has said will enable anyone to stand alone here on earth and live again with Him in his kingdom. Abel enoch and Noah suffered loss of all things but were all delivered. And now await the resurrection, they stood alone, but God was with them to instruct them as the things not yet seen. And that's why God's faithful saints were not in darkness as to the future. They did not judge eternal realities by outward appearances. In all our service to God. Faithfulness is essential. Faithfulness requires submission and reverence to our creator. And we must be a faithful witness of his way of life.