November 20

November 20, 2010

The Foundation of Our Faith

When we lived in Chicago, we were able to visit the Sears Tower on several occasions. At that time, it was the tallest building in the world. When the Sears Tower was being built, the first year was spent making a great hole in the ground. And then they started to pour huge amounts of concrete and iron girders into that hole. You might have even questioned if they were building in the wrong direction. But there is a good reason for spending so much time on the foundation. A solid foundation is absolutely necessary to support the future structure. A doghouse or a chicken coup can be built on little more than a concrete slab. But a skyscraper, that's entirely different. It requires a deep and solid foundation.

So it is with our Christian life. Our upward potential is totally dependent on the foundation underneath. In Acts 2, we see the foundation that was built for our faith. There are five pillars in this foundation.

1. The pillar of the incarnation: Jesus’ birth, his miracles, and the signs and wonders that he performed. Remember these miracles were not doubted by his enemies; they were said to have come from Satan.

2. The pillar of his crucifixion. Peter points out that this occurred as a result of human wickedness and also as the result of a divine plan. There is no sense denying the human responsibility; we just read about it two days ago. But Peter is careful to point out that the cross was not just the result of wicked men, but it was God's eternal plan being worked out from the very beginning, “by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge.”

3. The pillar of the resurrection. The resurrection is the cornerstone of our faith. Christianity either stands or falls on the fact of the resurrection,. It is either true or false. If it is true, it is the most superlative truth of all of history. If it is false, then you have just wasted a year of your time reading this Bible. But the message from the eyewitnesses is that, "God has raised him from the dead." This was not done in some small hick town in the back woods. It was done in Jerusalem, a world class city, with over tens of thousands of inhabitants. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the Gibraltar of our Christian faith. It is also the Waterloo of every skeptic. The tomb is empty.

4. The pillar of the ascension. Jesus has now been placed in the position of final and ultimate authority. He has been taken into heaven and even as you read this blog he is seated on a magnificent throne in heaven. He is Lord right now and one day every knee will bow before him and confess this. We have willingly chosen to bow the knee in our lifetime.

5. The pillar of the Holy Spirit. Jesus has received the promised Holy Spirit, from the Father, and has poured him out on his followers. The risen Jesus now makes it possible for the Holy Spirit to live within the hearts of his followers. His work is to empower, transform, counsel, guide and change us from the inside out. .

There is no better foundation than the one already laid by God in Jesus. The foundation laid by God will withstand anything. Make sure to build your life upon him.