Fifth Sunday of Easter April 27-28, 2024
“I Don’t Believe Anymore” I John 4:1-11
Rev. John R. Larson Ascension Lutheran Church Littleton, Colorado
There are some tough words that we never want to hear from another. How about this one? “We won’t need your services here anymore.” “You’re fired.” “Clean out your desk.” Unless you’re an NFL quarterback who gets 35 million dollars whether you play or not, those words of being canned are harsh.
How about these? “We’re not friends anymore.” “Don’t call me ever again.” “I don’t love you anymore.” Those words have just opened up your chest and pulled out your heart. Life is fractured from that very moment.
This is the one that pains me deeply. A person will say to me, “I don’t believe anymore.” A person who once sat in these pews, attended confirmation class, spoke words on their confirmation day that they would suffer all, even death, rather than fall away from faith in Christ, changes their mind and says, “Pastor, I don’t believe anymore.” That’s a tough one. I believe the words in Scripture that says, “He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” (I John 5:12)
I know that those words haven’t just been spoken to me. They have been spoken to you. Though you brought up kids in church and brought them to Sunday School and youth group they have told you, “I don’t believe that anymore.” “Those are just Sunday School stories – I don’t think they are true.” Or a spouse tells you that you can go to church, but they won’t be joining you.
Oh, my. Tough words. “I don’t believe anymore.”
But there is a time when a person should not believe. Did you know that some people lie in God’s name? It has been happening since the very first days of creation. So I am going to change my opening phrase. Instead of saying, “I don’t believe anymore” – the confession of unbelief for many in our world, I’m going to change that phrase to say, “I don’t believe you anymore.” That word, actually, may be the confession of a wise and mature believer.
Our reading from I John 4 says, “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” (Verse 1) “I am not going to believe you anymore”, can be a good criteria for helping us form our faith. Jesus gave this warning, “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them.” (Matthew 7:15)
A couple of months ago the morning show on KOA radio was talking about a ‘pastor’ who was on the run from his “on-line” congregation. He had cheated them out of millions of dollars, telling them to invest their money in some type of scheme. And that scheme made that so called pastor into a wealthy man. What an evil man!! He had earned their trust so he could steal their money.
As a Christian whom should you not believe? In John’s epistle he says that you don’t believe anyone who denies that Jesus came in the flesh, that Jesus is fully human, and you don’t trust anyone who denies that Jesus is fully God. He calls both of them “antichrist”. “Anti” – “against” – Christ. I’ll read a section from chapter 4 first and then one from chapter 2. “This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.” (I John 4:2-3) “Dear children, this is the last hour, and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come…Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist – he denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.” (I John 2:18, 22-23)
Paul was furious with some false teachers in the area of Galatia who were robbing new Christians of their faith. They took them from a solid hope in the death and resurrection of Jesus for their eternal salvation to a belief that their works and their holiness and their attempt to keep the strict Jewish laws was going to bring them eternal life. They dumped Jesus and thought they can live life without Him. Paul becomes as mad as he could be. “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel – which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel other than the one you accepted, let him be eternally condemned.” (Galatians 1:6-9)
If someone is teaching or preaching or confessing what is not in the Scriptures, which does not lead you to the great love of Jesus shown by His atoning and saving death, who does not point you to the resurrection of Jesus as the one way to heaven – start running. Away. Fast. As John says, “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” You can say to something who is taking you away from the truth of God, “I don’t believe you anymore.” Paul would say, “Test everything. Hold on to the good.” (I Thessalonians 5:21) In the Book of Acts the example of knowing what you should believe and what you should reject is mentioned in this way, “Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” (Acts 17:11)
There must be something more than simply not believing those who misrepresent God, or who tell lies in God’s name, there must be someone or something that one runs to, to find the truth. In our reading John continues, “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. (I John 4:4)
If you are at the place in your life where you say, “I don’t believe anymore” and you have forsaken the Christian faith, or if you have been burned by following the wrong leaders or some weird religious thought, and now you’re wise enough to say, “I don’t believe you anymore”, there is something and someone you can believe. You can’t stay empty. You need to be full.
Believe God’s word, believe God’s Son. God wants to develop stability in your faith and in your life. In Ephesians the building of faith and hope are spoken of like this, “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.” (Ephesians 2:19-21)
Belief in the truth of God’s promises, and the security you have because of God’s Spirit, makes you strong and confident. Believe with a humble confidence knowing that “the one that is in you is greater than the one that is in the world.” The one in the world? The devil and his lies. You are strong because you trust in Jesus for your salvation and strength, and you are strong because you are guided by His word. Paul writes, “I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.” (I Timothy 1:12) With conviction and confidence, grounded in God’s truth, Paul would say in Romans 8, “I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else is all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39)
John begins his word with a warning, “Believe not every spirit…” and he concludes with a word of strength, “Greater in He that is in you than he that is in the world.” May the One who is greater dwell in you, fully. Amen!!
