Help My Unbelief
With the advancements in technology, the speed of travel, and the constant political changes, we as humans have not changed all that much since Biblical times. Thousands of years of what we call historical advancements do not separate us from early civilizations.
We fall victims to the same fears, anxieties and desires. Styles may differ, but believers have suffered the same arrows of unbelief. Faith becomes so easily unraveled by doubt and disbelief concerning the uncertain conditions of life, the threat of death. Doubt is constantly unraveling the sleeve of faith in spite of what Paul said to young Timothy “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” Nearing the end of my life, I write a weekly meditation on the gospel for each Sunday. In all honesty I must admit that the Word of God reminds me that I cannot do one thing to influence God’s decision concerning where I will spend eternity.
It is a life-long plea, “I believe; help my unbelief” is a plea from Mark 9:24, spoken by a father seeking healing for his son. It represents a raw, honest confession of holding both faith and doubt simultaneously, acknowledging that while he believes, his faith is weak. Jesus responds to this sincerity by healing the boy.
Sin is unbelief, Bradley Gary writes in his blog. “Unbelief is what sin most certainly is.” It is not necessarily the things we do. “Sinful actions are the symptoms of an unbelieving heart, a heart that doubts God.”
It all happened one day in Eden when Satan said, “Did God really say . .? Did God really mean what He said?”
It was for that reason that Jesus encouraged His apostles and disciples to preach the Gospel proclaiming the will of God. Jesus promised His apostles and disciples that what they had seen the Holy Spirit would bring to their remembrance. What they had personally witnessed or had learned from eye-witnesses makes up the books of the New Testament. These eye-witnesses were the trouble makers that caused the people from Thessalonica to rise up against them. They dragged Jason and some other believers before the city officials, shouting: “These men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here. Acts 17:6
According to John 21: 25 niv, if every single act of Jesus were written down in detail, “even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written”.
But what was written down made up the apostolic message in all its fullness. What the eye-witnesses wrote down is the logic of God. And it was Martin Luther and others who confessed to this authority that became the pillars of our faith.
Over the centuries the logic of God has become the great heritage of faith that in spite of our unbelief, Sola Scriptura is the sole infallible rule of faith and life.
