The Farmville herald. (Farmville, Va.) 1957-current, 1962-10-05
Do Beliefs Matter?
Lesson for October I, 1862

don't. What two historians think
about an obscure Egyptian gen
eral about 1900 years before
Christ, makes mighty little diff
ference really, even if they
fought a duel over it. Nobody
likes to be disagreed with; but
those who have listened to fami-
| ly Quarrels will testify that the
quarrel is often over something
very trifling. The one who is
fright" could much better keep
his Cor herr mouth shut and let
the other one think what he or
she pleases; the truth in this ar
gument may be so unimportant
that it could be proved twice
over and still make no differ
ence.
Some beliefs do matter
All the same, some beliefs do
matter. BY "beiief" we mean
(for the moment) believing that
something or other is true. BY
matter" we mean make some
important difference to some
body, either the believer himself
or other persons. Still even this
is not exactly definite. What
does important difference"
mean? What is a difference"
and when does it begin to be
important? This can perhaps be
illustrated. Take the sentence:
God is love. Suppse you woke up
woke up some morning and
found that this sentence is not
true? Suppose you had always
believed it was true and now
discovered you were wrong? It
would mean that it no longer
made sense for you to try to
love your neighbor or to love
any one. If God is love, then
human love is $50 to speak, 60
ing with the current of the uni
verse, it is being in harmony
with God the Creator. If God is
not love, then human love works
against the universe, and must
eventually be crushed by it.
Henceforth it would be more
god-like to live a life controlled
by hate. So it does make all the
difference in the world not only
whether you believe in God but
what kind Of God you believe in.
Saving faith"
More about that next week. For
now, the point is that some be-
liefs do matter, a great deal.
The kind of belief which is vital
ly important is called Saving"
faith. BY this is meant faith that
sets the believer over on the
side of God, and not on the side
against Him. God as a friend or
God as an enemy, which? The
question answers itself. God as
friend or God as a stranger?
There's no argument as to
which any sane person would
prefer.
But there is one meaning of
"belief" we have not mentioned
yet. That is, believing in some
one. This is the kind Of belief
that is closely kin to trust, con-
fidence, reliance, commitment. l
may believe about a certain bus
that it is going to St. Louis and
that the ticket I have in my
pocket is good for the trip. !
may believe any number Of true
facts about that bus but not all
that believing is going to move
me an inch nearer where I want
to go. I have to trust myself to
the bus, get on, take a seat and
relax. That is believing in the
bus.
So I may believe many true
things about God, but unless l
believe in God enough to trust
myself to Him, l have not taken
the step that sets me actually
on the side of God, I have not
yet had saving faith.
Results
Some of the results of faith
that matters. or saving faith,
cannot be observed by outsiders.
not even by intimate friends.
What you feel like deep down in
side is something in and for
yourself alone. But the Christian
religion does not operate with
invisible virtues and shadowy
jobs. People sometimes ask: So
and so made a profession Of
faith long ago, but still he is one
of the meanest men in town. It
looks like not even belief in God
makes much difference to him.
Is this saving faith? The an
swer, of course, is that in such
a case the profession Of faith
was only that a profession, a
matter Of words. A man can say
he believes. or even think he be-
lieves, without really doing SO.
Really and truly to believe in
the true God as Christ has
shown Him to us, is bound to
make a difference in the way
we live. and not only in the way
We think.
BASED on outlines copyrighted
by the Division Of Christian Edu-