What Do You Choose to Believe?

By Pastor Paul Wolff

Proverbs 23:23

Buy the truth, and do not sell it.

---

John 20:26-29

A week later (Jesus’) disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

---

Jesus Walks on the Sea

Issues Etc. frequently plays a sound clip of President Obama describing a person’s faith as “What one chooses to believe.” This is a politician’s way of describing religion, but it is a strange way of describing one’s faith.

What is it that you believe? There are only two categories of things that you can believe: Truth or Lies. Which do you believe?

Let’s first assume that you believe the truth. I trust that is a good assumption, but do you have to decide to believe the truth?: “Hmmmm, Am I going to believe the truth... or a lie?” If you have to decide to believe the truth then you are doing it wrong, and it is most likely an accident that you chose the truth. If you have to decide to believe the truth then sooner or later you will be seduced by the lie. It will happen. The devil works hard to make the lies seem more attractive than the truth, so if you have to decide to believe the truth, then eventually you will find the lie much more appealing and lose the truth for a lie.

Now, if you decide to believe a lie, then you are just a fool. Little more needs to be said about that except to note that this is different than people who mistakenly believe a lie. Sometimes people who don’t know the difference between the truth and a lie will believe the truth once they learn the truth, but people who choose to believe a lie will find it difficult to choose the truth.

It is hard to get through to people who choose to believe a lie because one can’t easily reason with them. They have rationalized and justified their choice, and they feel they must embrace the lies out of fear that the truth is somehow worse (though it never is). One can try to help people like this, but they don’t want to be helped and they resent the effort.

The Risen Christ appears to two men on the road  to Emmaeus. Window from Zion Lutheran Church, Columbus, Ohio

Christ’s apostle, Thomas, knew the truth. At the time of Christ’s resurrection he had been a Disciple of Jesus for about three years. Thomas had heard Jesus teaching. He had seen many miracles such as: Jesus walking on the water; Jesus feeding 5,000 people with five loaves of bread and two small fish; and Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead.

Thomas had heard Jesus say plainly, “We are going up to Jerusalem … and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise.” (Mk. 10:33-34)

When all this came to pass, the other ten apostles came to Thomas and told him, “We have seen the Lord!” Yet, Thomas did not believe.

It wasn’t that Thomas doubted. He willfully refused to believe. He said, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.” This was not doubt. This was stubborn unbelief.

Thomas thought he knew what life was and what death was, and this didn’t fit. He thought: You live – you die – then … No, that is all. That is what experience taught him. You have surely had the same experience. You may have heard some people claim to have come back from the dead in the hospital, but those people weren’t really dead. They were nearly dead. There is a big difference between nearly dead and dead. Nearly dead – you might be revived. Dead – and you cannot be revived.

Jesus was dead. Pontius Pilate’s soldiers made sure of that. After Jesus died they stuck a spear in His side to make sure that He really was dead. If Jesus had shown signs of life, then they would have broken His legs as they did to the other two. The spear pierced His lungs and water poured out, then it pierced His heart and blood poured out. He was dead. He was mutilated. He wasn’t coming back. At least, that is what Thomas thought. He was wrong.

When Jesus is involved – Life and Death don’t work as we expect them to, and honestly, when is Jesus NOT involved? Jesus is the Lord of Life and the Conqueror of death. Jesus didn’t have to appear to Thomas. He had appeared to the ten Apostles, and others. But Jesus had important work for Thomas to do and He didn’t want Him to have any doubts, nor to be a stubborn unbeliever.

Jesus knew that others would have the same concerns as Thomas: “How can I believe Jesus is raised from the dead when I haven’t seen Him?” Jesus would send Thomas into the world to preach the Gospel with authority, and ultimately, Jesus would ask Thomas to give his life in witness to the truth of the Gospel. So Jesus appeared to Thomas as He had with the other Apostles.

Jesus turns water into wine. Window from Zion Lutheran Church, Columbus, Ohio

You should note that Jesus didn’t appear to Thomas right away. Remember that in His glorified state, Jesus – even in His physical body – is omnipresent (present everywhere). When Thomas was telling the Ten, “... unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were …” Jesus could have tapped him on the shoulder then and said, “Thomas, see my hands and side. Stop doubting and believe.” But Jesus made Thomas wait one whole week. This gave the other Apostles time to try to convince him that they had seen Jesus alive. Though the Scriptures do not tell us all the conversations that went on between the Apostles, I don’t doubt that the phrase, “Doubting Thomas” was first used by the other apostles to tease Thomas about his stubborn unbelief.

Jesus didn’t tease Thomas. He just appeared in the locked room, as before, and said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” Then Thomas believed and said to Jesus, “My Lord and my God!”

Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Why did Jesus appear to Doubting Thomas? First it was out of love for Thomas. Jesus wanted Thomas to be certain that he trusted in a living savior – a flesh and blood savior who is also God! Second, Jesus appeared to the Apostles so that you also may believe through the eyewitness testimony of many people.

Jesus sent the Apostles to testify to the truth of Jesus’ resurrection and the forgiveness which He won for us on the cross. The Apostles, and many others, got to see Jesus alive, but we have to wait a little while before we see Him as they did. We have their eyewitness testimony written in the Holy Scriptures to know that Jesus is alive, and Jesus calls us blessed for believing before we have seen Him with our own eyes.

We also have pastors and teachers to teach us the Truth of God’s Word that we might receive the blessings of Christ’s forgiveness and salvation through faith. Jesus said, “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” In his letter to the Romans (10:13-15) St. Paul tells us how and why Jesus has sent us men like these Apostles: “‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’”

What is the message the Apostles were sent to give? Jesus tells us in John 20:23, “If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” We call this the Office of the Keys. It is not that the church (or the pastor) forgives anyone they want to, but that they forgive according to Christ’s command. Faithful pastors forgive the sins of penitent sinners, and withhold forgiveness from sinners who do not repent.

Like Thomas, not everyone believes the message. Unlike Thomas, some wish to hold on to their sins, but we must not forgive them until they repent, lest they remain in their sins and perish through them. But to all who trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins they are completely forgiven, and shall receive eternal life — even as Jesus has risen from the dead to everlasting life.

Window from Zion Lutheran Church, Columbus, Ohio

The Apostle, Thomas, did not choose to be one of Christ’s disciples. Jesus chose him to be a disciple. It is possible that you believe that you chose to be a Christian, but that is not correct. Jesus chose you, too. Jesus said, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.” (John 15:16)

There is great comfort in not having to choose what to believe, but in simply believing the truth. If we had to choose, then we could choose the lie;  or we could choose the truth, but do it in the wrong way; or we could choose the truth and later change our mind and choose something else. The comfort of Christ doing it all for you is that there is no doubt. Christ has done all that is needed for your salvation, and simply asks you to believe the truth. “(Jesus) is the way and the truth and the life.” (John 14:6)

There are times when we all may doubt, or even be an unbeliever like Thomas was. Take comfort. The Christian faith is not a blind faith. Thomas saw Jesus alive after His death and touched Him, as did John and many more people. We have their eyewitness testimony. More than that, we have the testimony of the Holy Spirit in the Scriptures. We also have the testimony of Jesus Himself who gives His body and blood to us in the Sacrament of The Lord’s Supper. As Martin Luther taught, “(Jesus’) words, ‘Given and shed for you’ require all hearts to believe.” Blessed are you who have not seen, and yet believe.

Modern Molechianism

by Paul Wolff

The Holy Scriptures are clear and consistent in their condemnation of abortion and similar infanticide. One of the strongest condemnations of abortion is found in Jeremiah 32:35, “They built high places for Baal in the Valley of Ben Hinnom to sacrifice their sons and daughters to Molech, though I never commanded, nor did it enter my mind, that they should do such a detestable thing and so make Judah sin.” 

God is not capricious, nor uncaring when it comes to dealing with sinful humans. For example, divorce occurs as a result of sin, but God allows divorce in recognition of the sinful hearts of people and in order to minimize further sin. However, when it comes to child killing God says that it never even entered His mind. This shows how far people had gone away from God that they would do something so completely foreign to God that it is never even the lesser of two evils as divorce may sometimes be.

Some people may object to using the condemnations of Molechianism as an argument against abortion by saying that absolutely none of the one million (!!) abortions done in the United States every year are done to seek the favor of Molech. This is true, as far as it goes, but is does not negate the Biblical condemnation of Molechianism for at least two reasons that I can think of off the top of my head. First, God knows that Molech is nothing, but He is just as angry that the people are murdering their children as He is angry that they are doing it in honor of a god who can’t save them or help them in any way. At other times (2 Kings 16:3 & 21;6; Psalm 106:37-39; Isaiah 57:5; Ezekiel 16:20-21; and others), God condemns infanticide without mentioning Molech. 

Another reason we should not dismiss the Biblical condemnations of Molechianism is that although the method and technology of infanticide has changed, the result (the death of children) is exactly the same, and the wicked motivations are exactly the same today as in ancient times. People want to have their pleasure and avoid the consequences, even if it takes murder to do it.

We like to believe that ancient people were primitive and superstitious, and that we are sophisticated and advanced. This feeds our pride and makes us feel superior. However, this is another one of the many lies of Darwinism. A close reading of history shows that although technology and culture differs through time and place, people have been the same since the very beginning. 

Darwinists have a fascination with primitive cultures, but they don’t recognize that modern primitive people have long since removed themselves from the greater society. Primitivism is a dead end. Civilization doesn’t spring from primitivism, instead primitivism comes from a breakdown of civilization. Whatever civilization the ancestors of modern primitive people brought with them was lost through war, or false theology, or other disaster. Yet, even the most primitive people on earth are still human and still retain some cultural practices that no animals have. 

So when we read the Biblical condemnations of Molechianism we shouldn’t dismiss that as the actions of primitive superstitious people who didn’t know any better. Ancient people loved their children as much (and as little) as modern people do. They also knew that Molech wasn’t a real god. 

I suspect that ancient Molechianism started in a time of famine when parents felt they had to choose between their survival and their children’s, and someone invented Molech to ease the murderous parents’ guilty consciences. However they may have justified it, it was still an evil practice, but once the practice was established in extreme cases sinful people surely found new uses for Molech. Prostitutes and other adulterers could call on Molech to dispose of the fruits of their wickedness and so the evil expanded. Once this happened it was easy to call on Molech to discard children for any reason. Children have always been the most vulnerable members of society because they must rely on their parents or guardians to protect them and provide for their needs. When parents are unwilling to care for their children then those children are in great danger. 

I see ancient Molechianism as the same pathological narcissism that causes modern women to abort their babies for reasons of personal convenience. 

The most compelling (though still false) argument for abortion is in a case where the life of the mother is in danger. Yet those who propose abortion as a solution still seek to murder the baby rather than try to deliver the child and save both mother and child. These situations are exceedingly rare. There are probably only a couple hundred such cases (or less) each year in the U.S. which is a microscopic fraction of over one million babies killed each year by abortion. 

One case in the news recently was a mother who was diagnosed with cancer and chose to forgo chemotherapy until her baby could be delivered safely. That mother chose to risk (and ultimately sacrifice) her life in favor of her child’s life. That mother demonstrated the true love and self-sacrifice that we only find in Christ. Now, I know that although we hope that all people would come to faith in Christ and obey His Word gladly it is unrealistic to expect that to happen. Nevertheless, we still ought to encourage people not to murder their children even through making and enforcing laws against such things.

Remember the story in Genesis 22 where God asked Abraham to sacrifice his beloved son, Isaac. Abraham went and was going to do as God had asked, even though it seemed out of character for God to ask such a thing, but God stopped Abraham before he harmed Isaac. Instead, “God did not spare His own son, but gave Him up for us all.” (Romans 8:32) It would have been much more convenient and comfortable for Jesus to let us suffer the consequences of our sin, but He chose the path of self-sacrifice and suffered and died on the cross in order to redeem us from our wickedness and save us from sin and death. 

Because of Jesus there is certainly forgiveness even for those who murder their children. However there is still great pain and guilt and consequences for this great wickedness. We should work hard to end the terrible slaughter of modern Molechianism out of love for our neighbor, but we should also be there to offer Christ’s forgiveness to those who have succumbed to the spirit of the age but who repent of their sins and seek healing.

Conversion by the Holy Spirit

John 11:43-44

Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.

---

There is much misunderstanding about just what exactly the Holy Spirit does when He converts a sinner. It is popular these days to believe that the Holy Spirit simply changes a person’s mind to make him favorably disposed toward God. Some don’t even give God credit for this miraculous work, instead some say that a man must change his own heart and make some sort of a decision that would cause God to come into his wicked heart. Neither of these are taught by Holy Scripture.

Scripture describes conversion to faith in Christ as something like a birth or a resurrection. Remember that because of our inherited sin we are by nature “dead in (our) transgressions and sins” (Ephesians 2:1). Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.” (John 3:5-6) Since we are spiritually dead by nature then the new life that is begun in us through the power of the Holy Spirit in the sacrament of Holy Baptism is like a resurrection. God creates life where before there is only death.

The raising of Lazarus both gives a great example how this works, and it shows that Jesus has the divine power to accomplish this miracle. Lazarus was four days dead when Jesus came to visit his home in Bethany. Lazarus had no power to walk out of the grave on his own to meet Jesus halfway. Lazarus had no will to make a decision that would cause Jesus to act favorably on his behalf. Even Lazarus’ sisters did not presume to encourage Jesus to raise their brother (see John 11:23-26) even when Jesus told them what He was going to do. Lazarus was as dead as dead can be and his body was beginning to decay (John 11:39). Lazarus had no active role in his resurrection, no will, decision, cooperation, nor any help whatsoever.

Jesus didn’t need any help from Lazarus or anyone else. Jesus displayed the same power that He used in the beginning of time when He created all things visible and invisible. He simply spoke the words, “Lazarus, come out” and Lazarus came out of the tomb alive and well.

The same thing happens when a baby (or anyone) is baptized in the name of God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. “We were, by nature, objects of wrath” (Eph. 2:3) but when God’s Word is spoken and the water is applied, then a new child of God is born as Jesus says in John 3. It is a true miracle what God does in Holy Baptism. It is equal to what happened to Lazarus in Bethany four days after he died. It doesn’t seem to us to be a great miracle, especially when the person baptized is still an infant, and many would deny the miracle, but it is a great miracle nonetheless. “The Spirit gives birth to spirit,” is how Jesus describes the miracle of Holy Baptism.

Our sinful nature does not like to give Christ credit for even the miraculous things that He does in our lives, especially when that miracle includes killing our sinful nature. That is why people make up stories about the supposed power of a personal “decision” to follow Jesus. Martin Luther’s Small Catechism says that Baptism “indicates that the Old Adam in us should by daily contrition and repentance be drowned and die with all sins and evil desires…” Luther writes this based on the words of Jesus in Luke 9:23, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me,” and the words of St. Paul in Galatians 5:24, “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.”

There is great comfort in the miracle of new birth by the Holy Spirit in Holy Baptism. It takes away any question or doubt regarding the sincerity and effectiveness of one’s own decision or self-driven conversion. It gives us the assurance that what Christ says is done, and it is very good, as are all things that God creates by His holy Word. It is also as wonderful as a dead man walking out of his grave alive after Jesus calls him by name. Jesus does that to all of us who believe and are baptized.