Losing Faith on Good Friday

By Scott Wetzel

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” - Heb. 11:1(NIV)

About a year and a half ago, my wife and I thought we had a promise from God.  One day, that promise died.  What we thought was a promise wasn’t.  We both went through a grieving process though at different speeds .It wasn’t easy.  It took time.  It still hurts sometimes.

Thank God we had Him and each other.  We were able to hold on to our faith because we knew that God works all things for good for those that love Him (Rom. 8:28).  We didn’t understand it, but we understood our faith.  We understood that we don’t always understand.

Contrast that with a friend of mine.  He’s been a strong believer since I’ve known him, but we lost track of each other over the years.  Recently he spoke to me from an inpatient rehab center for drug and alcohol use.  I couldn’t believe that he’d ended up there, but he went through a similar situation as my wife and I.  It drove him to drinking.  He had hinged his faith on his work, hobbies and his family.  He had held them to the same standards as Christ.  When things didn’t work out the way he thought they would, it took him to a dark place.

I’m not saying this because I’m better than him.  I’m not better than anyone.  I’ve wandered into dark places over and over and over again.  Most times I’ve camped out there for years.  I guess the reason I contrast these two stories is because there are two ways we can react to the way OUR plans change.  We can believe that the Holy Spirit will lead us through or we can step away from Him. 

Can you imagine watching your only hope for a Savior mocked, beaten and killed?  What would run through your mind?  The One that had said He was the hope for the world.  The One that said He was the Son of God.  The One that said He was the only way to the Father.  He’s hanging dead in front of your eyes.  How could any of Jesus’ followers believed after that?  What was left to follow?  No one really knows who wrote the book of Hebrews, but I kind of hope that it was one of the apostles that was present when Jesus was nailed to the cross.  Hebrews 11:1 tells us that ”…faith is being certain of what we do not see.”   I’ll wager that no one understands that statement better than the apostles and friends of Christ present at His execution.  When Jesus was dying in front of Roman soldiers, former followers and His closest friends, none of them saw Him as hope.  But we learn three days later, that faith is being sure of what we hope for.  Hope is confident expectation and Christ provided that when He defeated death.

When you are struggling with life, just remember that you can walk away feeling as though God isn’t there anymore or you can walk forward in the promise that is the risen Christ.  Whatever you are going through can’t weigh nearly as heavily as the sin and shame of everyone who has ever lived.  Rejoice that Christ will take on our anxiety because He cares for us (1^st Pet. 5:7).

SourPuss

by Scott Wetzel

He has enabled us to be ministers of his new covenant. This is a covenant not of written laws, but of the Spirit. The old written covenant ends in death; but under the new covenant, the Spirit gives life.  - 2 Corinthians 3:6 (NLT)

I went to a Christian Liberal Arts university in South Dakota.  The first year I was there, we had a “no alcohol on campus” policy.  This did not apply to drinking off campus, and coming back to the dorm.  Occasionally a cab would show up late at night and someone would stumble out of it and crawl down the hall to their dorm room.  It wasn’t right.  It wasn’t good  It wasn’t Godly.  Now that I have THAT out of the way (because I know there is some head-shaking happening right now), I’ll continue on with the story.  The next year, we had a new campus policy.  The “No Alcohol on Campus” policy became the “No Alcohol on Campus, Including Alcohol in Your Bloodstream” policy.  It was punishable by expulsion.  This might have seemed like a good idea, and there were a lot of happy students that were tired of seeing the occasional drunk person in their dorms.  Something else happened, though.  The people that would generally leave on a Saturday night and come back drunk, would leave on a Saturday night and not come back until Sunday evening.  The people that would generally be a designated driver started staying with them.  The party crowd began to party harder.  If they did come back, they would sneak in without anyone knowing how close they were to alcohol poisoning.  Alcohol consumption on campus began to rise, hidden in dorm rooms.  The Christian students that would enjoy an occasional beer off campus legally (and responsibly), would still have a beer, but now it was with an air of rebellion.

I’m not sharing this with you to debate whether a believer should drink alcohol.  It’s an illustration of how enforcing the letter of the law can kill the spirit of the law.  The original intent of the rule was to protect people, but it allowed for grace.  The new interpretation of the rule stifled grace and it blew up.  No one was happy with the results.  The same thing happens with us in our walks with Christ.  It’s the same reason that all the laughter, smiling or any other indication of joy is gone the moment a worship service starts.  We don’t have joy, because we don’t have freedom.  We don’t have freedom because we don’t trust in the redeeming power of the blood of Jesus Christ.  Instead, we place our trust in moral code.  Moral code is a lot easier to follow than the Holy Spirit.  It’s a list rather than a relationship.  It’s distant rather than personal.  It means we can outwardly change, but we don’t have to deal with the internal.  It gives us a feeling of superiority rather than humility.   It’s also idolatry.  Anytime we follow a list of rules rather than Jesus, we are saying Jesus is not our God.

If we are truly trusting in God with ALL of our hearts, there should be freedom.  If we are bogged down with agendas, guilt, or the responsibility of moral superiority, then we still are holding onto pieces of our hearts.  2 Corinthians 6:17 tells us that where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom, so it stands to reason that if our desires and burdens aren’t accompanied by Holy freedom, then our desires and burdens are not in the hands of God.  I’m not disregarding the Law.  The law and morality are two completely different (and often, contrary) things.  I don’t want to be bogged down by earthly morality, I want to be completely changed by the power of the Holy Spirit.