Faith
“Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:9-13
I grew up watching and going to more than my fair share of baseball games. My dad was almost always coaching a team and my brother played baseball from Kindergarten to College. One thing I learned is that baseball is a very superstitious sport.
Players and fans rely upon all kinds of crazy beliefs in order to secure a positive outcome. Have you ever been to a baseball game and seen fans or players wear their caps inside out or in some other unconventional manner? It’s called a rally cap. The point of the rally cap is to will your team to a come-from-behind victory.
Turk Wendell was one of the most superstitious baseball players ever. He was drafted by the Atlanta Braves and pitched for a number of different major league clubs over the course of his career. Turk would chew four pieces of black licorice while pitching. At the end of each inning, he’d spit them out, return to the dugout, and brush his teeth. He would always leap high in the air over the baseline as he returned to the dugout. He was extra careful not to touch the baseline because he believed it was bad luck and could negatively affect his performance and the outcome of the game.
Turk was also big into hunting. He would wear necklaces with trophies from the animals he had harvested whenever he pitched. His necklaces were known to be made up of mountain lion claws, wild pigs teeth, and wild buffalo teeth. That’s not all but hopefully it’s enough for you to get the picture. Turk Wendell had a long list of things he relied upon in order to get a victory. How about you?
We all rely upon something for safety and security in life. To rely upon something means to trust in it—to place your confidence in it. That’s what faith is all about. Faith is a word that we see over and over again in the Bible. To have faith in something means to rely upon, believe in, trust in, rest in something for salvation and security.
Everyone trusts in something. Though most people would acknowledge that Turk Wendell’s faith regarding baseball is kind of strange, most people would also commend him for having faith. It’s popular to hear people commend others for having faith. Many people (perhaps most) believe that the most important thing is to have “a faith of your own.” People are not so concerned about whether a belief is true but with how sincerely a person believes—how passionately you hold your beliefs. What do you think about that?
The Bible paints and entirely different picture. Whatever you rely upon, trust in, believe in—that is your Savior. Your faith is not your savior or sustainer. The object of your faith is!
Jesus said that saving faith could be the size of a mustard seed as long as that faith was placed in Him alone as Savior. Faith is the instrument by which we take hold of Christ and all that He has done on our behalf. Faith is grabbing hold of Christ with our hearts and minds and then responding to Him by the way we live our lives.
What matters at the end of the day is whom you trust in and rely upon for salvation. In John 14 Jesus says, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Friend, run to Jesus and rest in Him.
“It’s not the strength of your faith but the object of your faith that actually saves you.” Tim Keller
“Faith is a living, daring confidence in God’s grace, so sure and certain that a man could stake his life on it a thousand times.” Martin Luther