Why I Believe

 

Why I Believe

 

In 1993 Rich Mullins released a song called Creed. The first few lines of the song say:

I believe in God the Father

Almighty Maker of heaven and Maker of earth

And Jesus Christ His only begotten Son, our Lord

He was conceived by the Holy Spirit.

 

Rich Mullins is testifying to his belief that there is a God & that He is the Creator of all & that Jesus is the Christ & God the Son & that the Holy Spirit is God the Spirit.

 

The chorus says:

And I believe what I believe is what makes what I am

I did not make it, no it is making me

It is the very truth of God not the invention of any man

 

He is saying in the chorus that what he believes was not invented by him or any human & that it is not what he or anyone has made up about God. It is what God has revealed to him about who God is & it is this truth that makes him the person he is.

 

I love this song. I love it because it is truth, but also because I relate to it as to how I have come to know & believe God.

 

My life verse has been for many years Philippians 3:10. It says, “That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and may share His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death.” Lately I find more & more the culture questioning my faith in Jesus as God & as my Savior & Lord. So, I have asked myself two questions.

 

Raise the Roof & Removing the Walls is about knowing Jesus & experiencing His presence in our lives.

 

Question #1: Why do I believe that Jesus is God & is my Savior & Lord?

 

The answer is that I know Jesus.

 

Question #2: Why do I believe that the Bible is God’s word & it true?

 

The answer is that I know Jesus.

 

Now, when I say I know Jesus I mean I know Jesus as a person. I don’t know Him as a theological truth or a theological concept. And I don’t mean I know about Him like some historical figure. I mean I know Jesus like I know my wife or my son. I know Jesus as a real person, up close & intimately.

 

The word know that is used in Philippians 3:10 means to experience. It is knowing based on having personally experienced someone. In this case I have personally come to experience Jesus.

 

In John 17:3 Jesus defines eternal life as knowing the only true God & Jesus Christ whom the only true God sent. Jesus defines eternal life not as something God gives but as a relationship with God where we know Him. The same word for know is used in this verse. Eternal life is experiencing the personal reality of Jesus in our lives.

 

Raise the Roof & Remove the Walls is about knowing that eternal life is about experiencing the reality of Jesus in our lives.  

 

I believe the Bible because I know Jesus. I have experienced Jesus personally in my life & I know His words when He speaks to my spirit. It is like I recognize my wife’s voice or my son’s voice because I have experienced the reality of them in my life.

 

I am not basing believing that Jesus is God & that the Bible is true on historical or archaeologically or scientific evidence, though there is plenty to justify believing. I am basing my faith in Jesus as God & the Bible as true & the word of God on my personal experience of Jesus as a real person in my life.

 

Raise the Roof & Remove the Walls is about basing faith in Jesus on a personal relationship with Jesus as Lord.

 

Hebrews 11:6 says, “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists, and He rewards those who seek Him.”

 

A relationship with Jesus is based on faith. Faith in Jesus that He is who He claims to be in the Bible. The reward for having that kind of faith is we get to experience Jesus in our daily lives as our Savior, Lord, & friend.

 

Raise the Roof & Remove the Walls is about relating to Jesus based on faith in Him as God the Son, our Lord.

 

Raise the Roof & Remove the Walls,

                         Joe