I KNOW WHOM I HAVE BELIEVED
2 Tim. 1:12

A. The philosophy of Humanism deplores our tendency to put our faith in something or
someone other than ourselves. But whether we like it or can explain it the fact remains
there is nothing any more characteristic of the human being than to try to find something
outside of himself that can be counted on something that is completely dependable.
Nearly everything has been tried as a source of ultimate security. Other people, Money, power, pleasure, science, aberrant forms of immorality, every philosophy imaginable. But, nothing has ever proved to be 100% trustworthy. The Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul says, in 2 Tim 1:12, “I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.” Here is to the only source of true security.
What is the meaning of Faith? Understand, first of all, The faith it is possible to have in God is not blind faith. Faith is confidence in the reality of something “unseen.” Faith is confidence based on that which either we, or some credible witness has experienced firsthand. We talked about “The Certainty Of Faith” three Sunday nights ago. And we saw that this kind of faith is absolutely credible and trustworthy.
(A) Heb. 11:1, says, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of
things not seen.” “Unseen” does not equal “unreal.” There is a significant
difference between believing in the existence of England and in the Land of Oz
Believing in the trustworthiness of your father and mother and that of a total stranger.
(1) God has never asked anyone to trust His word without having furnished
more than ample evidence of His credibility. Matt. 9:1-8. Ultimately, God
is asking us to trust what He tells us about things that we are not yet in a position
to verify —because He has shown us that His character is perfectly
dependable. Everything we have seen teaches us to trust what God says about
anything we have not seen!
We need to have a faith in God that is both real and active. We need to put our confidence in God Himself. We need to believe everything God says to us and believe it enough to obey it and take whatever risks may be involved it’s simply described as Trust and Obey.
Many Bible examples. Heb. 11:7. “By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.” Abraham, Heb. 11:8-10,17-19. Gen. 15:6, says, “Abraham believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.” Speaking about that, Paul tells us in Gal.3:6-9, “Just as Abraham ‘believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.’ Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the nations by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, ‘In you all the nations shall be blessed.’ So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.”
We need to commit ourselves to God in the same way. As Christians, we know better than to put our faith in the undependable things people of this world trusts. Their trust is in the temporary physical things of life.

But do we do any better when we put our faith in the church, tradition, the absolute rule of elders, preachers, brethren? The only thing we can safely put our ultimate trust in is God Himself. Our faith needs to be in the Creator, and not in anything created by Him.
Paul warns about the fickleness of mankind in Rom. 1:25, They are the ones “Who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever.”“ We need to
“commit” ourselves to Him Not to humans who can lead us astray. Heed
the Spirit’s warning. 2 Tim. 1:12, “For this reason I also suffer these
things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and
am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that
Day.” 1 Pet 4:19; 5:7, “Therefore let those who suffer according to the
will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator
....“Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” We need to learn to
trust God for how things are going to work out in the future if we obey Him in
the present.
(2) Since the beginning of time, God has been giving evidence that tells us, He can be counted on. The most powerful of that evidence was given at the Cross: That’s what Paul is referring to in Rom. 8:31-32, “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?”
(1) The evidence of God’s dependability is so strong that there ought to be nothing that could shake our confidence, no matter how contradictory it appears.
(1) We need to have the faith Job had in God, Job 13:15, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.” True faith like that always brings the courage that enables us to stand victorious in God’s presence.
(2) One of the greatest evidences of that is seen in the faith of Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abed-Nego, Dan. 3:16-18, when they courageously answered
the king.’”
(2) What God desires on our part is the obedience of faith. “Through whom (Paul says) we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name.” Rom. 1:5.
(1) Do we know whom we have believed — and are we persuaded that He is able to keep what we have committed to Him until that Day?
(2) Acts 20:32.

Spur - 05/12/2002 pm