“CONFIRMATION!”
I want to speak to you about confirmation—not the Roman Catholic Church variety. I want to address the tendency of so many people to think that faith is some blind or baseless conviction.
Perhaps you have heard the phrase “blind faith,” or you have heard of Søren Kierkegaard’s notion of “the leap of faith.”[1] “A leap of faith, in its most commonly used meaning, is the act of believing in or accepting something intangible or unprovable, or without empirical evidence.”[2] I’m here to tell you that notion of faith is foreign to the Bible and Biblical Christianity. From Hebrews 11.1, we read,
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
Considering the Greek words translated as “substance” and “evidence,” the former refers to a “title deed” (which is proof of ownership). The latter refers to “proof” valid in a court of law. The writer of the letter to the Hebrews would consider the notion that faith is blind or the result of some leap to be utterly foreign to his understanding of the term.[3]
Differing wildly from what unsaved people think is our view of faith, we recognize that faith, as it is referred to in the Bible, has historical facts as its basis. This recognition of the true nature of faith is verifiable once it is understood what the Greek words translated “evidence” and “substance” actually mean. Of interest to those who want to discover and know the truth (and useful to us later in this sermon) is a quote from Simon Greenleaf, a Christian and one of the founders of the Harvard School of Law:
“A proposition of fact is proved, when its truth is established by competent and satisfactory evidence.”[4]
That is the basis for every real Christian’s faith. Additionally, the well-established but almost completely ignored biblical principle of two or three witnesses is also included. This means that from the Pentateuch to Revelation and throughout the Bible in between, truth is authenticated, matters of fact are verified, and the rules of evidence used by courts descended from English Common Law that were themselves influenced by the Bible require fact to be established by two or three independent testimonies.
Legal expert Greenleaf also wrote, “According to Hebrew text, one (emphasis in the original) witness is no witness; there must be at least two or three who know the fact.”[5] How quickly would gossip evaporate if men and women with integrity applied the rules of evidence?
Allow me to convince you by reading and quickly commenting on thirty passages in the Old and New Testaments that this principle of two or three witnesses is foundational to Biblical truth. I will read very quickly, so please do not attempt to turn to the passages, which can be found on the Church website, when I upload the sermon later today.
Numbers 35.30:
“Whoso killeth any person, the murderer shall be put to death by the mouth of witnesses: but one witness shall not testify against any person to cause him to die.”
Establishing by only one witness the guilt of those accused of murder was forbidden.
Deuteronomy 17.6-7:
6 At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death.
7 The hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So thou shalt put the evil away from among you.
Verification of the fact of guilt requires at least two witnesses.
Joshua 24.22:
“And Joshua said unto the people, Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you the LORD, to serve him. And they said, We are witnesses.”
Here we see that Joshua employed multiple corroboration of fact.
Ruth 4.9-11:
9 And Boaz said unto the elders, and unto all the people, Ye are witnesses this day, that I have bought all that was Elimelech’s, and all that was Chilion’s and Mahlon’s, of the hand of Naomi.
10 Moreover Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, have I purchased to be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance, that the name of the dead be not cut off from among his brethren, and from the gate of his place: ye are witnesses this day.
11 And all the people that were in the gate, and the elders, said, We are witnesses. The LORD make the woman that is come into thine house like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build the house of Israel: and do thou worthily in Ephratah, and be famous in Bethlehem.
Boaz used multiple witnesses to establish his performance as a kinsman-redeemer in accordance with the Law of Moses.
Job 10.17:
“Thou renewest thy witnesses against me, and increasest thine indignation upon me; changes and war are against me.”
The patriarch Job acknowledged, even among Gentiles, the principle of multiple witnesses to establish a basis of fact.
Isaiah 8.2:
“And I took unto me faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.”
The prophet Isaiah took two faithful witnesses to verify his obedience to the LORD.
Isaiah 43.9-12:
9 Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the people be assembled: who among them can declare this, and shew us former things? let them bring forth their witnesses, that they may be justified: or let them hear, and say, It is truth.
10 Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.
11 I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.
12 I have declared, and have saved, and I have shewed, when there was no strange god among you: therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, that I am God.
Even God employs witnesses to verify to the Gentile nations that He is the one true and living God.
Isaiah 44.8-9:
8 Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.
9 They that make a graven image are all of them vanity; and their delectable things shall not profit; and they are their own witnesses; they see not, nor know; that they may be ashamed.
The Jewish people attest to God’s uniqueness, and the pagans attest to the fact that their gods are not real. In both instances, multiple witnesses were verifying the facts.
Jeremiah 32.10, 12, 25, 44:
10 And I subscribed the evidence, and sealed it, and took witnesses, and weighed him the money in the balances.
12 And I gave the evidence of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriah, the son of Maaseiah, in the sight of Hanameel mine uncle’s son, and in the presence of the witnesses that subscribed the book of the purchase, before all the Jews that sat in the court of the prison.
25 And thou hast said unto me, O Lord GOD, Buy thee the field for money, and take witnesses; for the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.
44 Men shall buy fields for money, and subscribe evidences, and seal them, and take witnesses in the land of Benjamin, and in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, and in the cities of the mountains, and in the cities of the valley, and in the cities of the south: for I will cause their captivity to return, saith the LORD.
Though the prophetical implications here are profound, my purpose is to show that real estate transactions were verified by written evidence and witnesses to establish the authenticity of the real estate transfers. In our day, this role is often performed by a Notary Public and witnesses who affix their signatures to the appropriate document and escrow companies.
Matthew 18.15-20:
15 Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.
16 But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.
17 And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.
18 Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
19 Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.
20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
This passage is familiar to us just as the principle contained in it was very familiar to the Lord’s apostles. Multiple witnesses are required to establish matters of fact related to Church discipline and reconciliation.
Luke 24.46-48:
46 And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:
47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
48 And ye are witnesses of these things.
He identified the two men the risen Savior was speaking to as witnesses to the fact that He stood before them, having been raised from the dead as was predicted.
John 5.31:
“If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true.”
The Lord Jesus pointed out that His uncorroborated testimony about Him would not be accepted as true.
John 8.17-18:
17 It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true.
18 I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me.
The Lord Jesus Christ relied on God the Father’s corroboration to substantiate His own witness, meeting the minimum requirement of two witnesses.
John 10.25:
“Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father’s name, they bear witness of me.”
This statement made by the Savior implies without explicitly stating the requirement of corroboration to His testimony.
Acts 1.8:
“But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”
How many people were our risen Lord then speaking to? About 120 men and women are identified as witnesses of His resurrection and ascension.
Acts 2.32:
“This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.”
Speaking to thousands on the Day of Pentecost, Peter refers to 120 (including himself) who stood as witnesses to Christ’s resurrection from the dead.
Acts 3.15:
“And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.”
On this occasion, Simon Peter referred to himself and the Apostle John as witnesses.
Acts 5.32:
“And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.”
Verses 26-27 reveal that Simon Peter and some other apostles had been arrested for preaching. Peter and the others were the witnesses he referred to in verse 32, including the Holy Spirit, who brings conviction to the sinner’s hearts that what these men spoke was true.
Acts 10.39-40:
39 And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree:
40 Him God raised up the third day, and shewed him openly.
The witnesses Peter referred to in verse 39 were the companions (plural) he brought with him from Joppa, who were mentioned in verse 23.
Acts 13.31:
“And he was seen many days of them which came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses unto the people.”
The Apostle Paul referred to our Lord’s disciples during His earthly ministry who were the witnesses to His resurrection.
First Corinthians 15.4-8:
4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:
6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.
7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.
8 And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.
Is this not corroboration? Hundreds bearing witness to the truth.
Second Corinthians 13.1:
“This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.”
Here, the Apostle Paul again referred to the Old Testament principle of two or three witnesses.[6] Clearly, Paul showed the Old Testament principle applicable even after Christ’s crucifixion.
First Thessalonians 2.10:
“Ye are witnesses, and God also, how holily and justly and unblameably we behaved ourselves among you that believe.”
The congregation, as well as God, were witnesses to the facts Paul addressed.
First Timothy 5.19:
“Against an elder receive not an accusation, but before two or three witnesses.”
Multiple attestations by witnesses to events were required in the Old Testament, were shown by the Savior to be required in the New Testament congregation and were shown in this verse. One person alone is not authorized to make a public accusation against a Church leader, not even when the accusers are family members.
First Timothy 6.12:
“Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.”
Paul observed that many people could be called on to verify Timothy’s lifestyle and fidelity to the truth.
Hebrews 10.28:
“He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses.”
No comment is needed at this point.
First John 4.1: “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.”
Do not take the say-so of any spirit but try (or test) the spirits to see if they are of God. How can the truth from the false be discerned but by multiple witnesses of fact?
First John 5.7-9:
7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
8 And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.[7]
9 If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son.
Even in heaven, the principle of multiple witnesses of fact is appropriate. Even the Triune Godhead conducts His affairs following this principle.
Revelation 1.1:
“The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John.”
All of the commentators I have consulted have overlooked the indication that the revelation of Jesus Christ was “signified” to John by the angel who delivered it to him. The angel engaged in some activity or provided some evidentiary proof to John that the message he conveyed was authentic.
This establishes what the other passages I have read so far show: that verification of truth or fact is absolutely required to ascertain that truth. Being a Jewish believer, well-schooled in Scripture, and having sat at the feet of the Savior, John would not have received any message from anyone as being true unless it was in some profoundly convincing way verified, attested to by two or three witnesses to the fact.
Had Mohammed sought such verification from the demon posing as the angel Gabriel when the text of the Quran was given to him, he might not have been led astray or led so many other people astray.[8]
Revelation 2.2:
“I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars.”
Here the Savior commends the Church in Ephesus for trying them which say they are apostles, but were not. Of course, they did this by refusing to act upon any information they could not independently verify by means of multiple trustworthy witnesses.
Would to God those of Pentecostal or Charismatic persuasion would do likewise concerning those who claim to be prophets, or to have the word of knowledge, and whatever other gibberish they pretend is true. However, before you overthink those of us who are Baptists, we are just as guilty as the word of faith people and the gift of tongues Arminians, though concerning different topics than the gift of tongues, losing one’s salvation, and a radical misunderstanding of what constitutes an authentic worship of God.
We tend to believe unverified gossip, which happens whenever you abandon the principle of two or three witnesses. I cannot number the occasions when one person has reported to me as true that our Church is not friendly, that our Church is engaged in a conspiracy, or some other unverified or unverifiable report that should not be accepted, much less repeated, by anyone. And never can I recall any person with such a bad report seeking my advice or counsel for securing verification or corroboration. My only legitimate response, and your only legitimate response, to accusations without witnesses of fact, is to assume the allegations are untrue and unworthy of repeating.
What I propose to quickly pass by you and to provide proof of with abundant footnotes in this sermon’s manuscript online for later additional study is an assertion that not only is faith not blind but that faith, real faith, saving faith, Bible faith, must have real confirmation for its proper underlying basis. I am not suggesting the Holy Spirit is absent in this confirmation, but honestly believe that sinful humanity is so depraved, and newly converted Christians are so ignorant, that the Spirit of God produces confidence in the truth found in God’s Word even before confirmation of the truth is known by reliable means.
Just know this. Confirmation of the truth has always been the basis for genuine faith like a strong foundation settled on solid bedrock. We, who are Christians, should not be inclined to accept as true or to believe anything for which there is not, or at least at one point in time, there was confirmation.
Thus, it is not a lack of faith that demands evidence but a presence of faith that requires evidence because real faith is built on evidence. Three points to convince you of this assertion:
First, THE PRINCIPLE
The principle is that two or three witnesses have always been required by God in heaven and on earth in His dealings with men and even in men’s dealings with other men.
This does not mean that one must treat every individual who speaks to you as a potential liar, but it does mean that human beings are profoundly flawed and fallible creatures, capable of not only sinful misconstruing of the facts in the form of lies and deception, but also capable of mistakes being made by the most honest and sincere of individuals, be they speaking what they think is the truth, or observing what they think is taking place, or receiving the testimony of another fallible person.
This is why, when you are doing business with your friends when you are doing business with strangers, when you are engaged with your children, or whatever you are doing that involves exchanging information or in any way relies upon facts, history, or the truth, make sure you seek corroboration of the facts. Truthful people are not offended by those who seek corroboration but are comforted by those who seek verification.
You might think, “But faith requires a willingness to fly in the face of facts!” Not really. Faith in God, in God’s Word, and faith in Christ may very well require a willingness to fly in the face of what appear to be facts or in the face only of facts that reflect what can be seen. Still, when the situation is understood correctly, or when there is consideration of things not seen, it is another thing altogether.
Real faith involves a willingness to accept God’s sure testimony of truth over against what may initially seem to be well-attested facts held to be true by men. However, faith clings to the certainty that God is always true and has always shown Himself to be true, while man has frequently shown himself to be mistaken about almost everything. This is the reality that lies back of Romans 3.4, where Paul wrote, “let God be true, but every man a liar.”
Next, THE PARTICULARS
I assert that God does not, as a general rule, demand or expect His creatures to accept as true anything that He is not willing to corroborate by some means. Here are some examples:
Abraham
God called Abraham from Ur of the Chaldees to journey to a place he did not know. If you were like me as a young Christian, you probably surmised that God spoke, Abraham listened, and then Abraham acted solely on what he heard. Wrong. To be sure, God spoke. However, God also showed His glory to corroborate what He said to Abram, Acts 7.2-4.
Moses
Remember Moses and the burning bush? The burning bush that was not consumed while it burned and the spoken Word of God provided two pieces of evidence upon which Moses was authorized to act (Exodus 3.2-6). Over time, many additional corroborations were provided.
Pharaoh
Why should Pharaoh have listened to Moses’s words to let the Israelites go? Based on Moses’s testimony, Pharaoh had no obligation to comply. However, Moses's testimony was confirmed by ten plagues that authenticated his claim to be speaking for the LORD. Thus, Pharaoh and his people suffered the consequences of lost lives for not heeding Moses's corroborated words.[9]
Belshazzar
Remember the drunken Babylonian king who saw the terrifying handwriting on the wall? What did he do but verify both the source and the message of that miracle by seeking the aged prophet Daniel to confirm and interpret God’s message of judgment and condemnation to him. Belshazzar did not respond to this authenticated message from God demanding repentance, and that very night, he was slain by the invading Medes and Persians.[10]
The Virgin Mary
Remember reading about the angel Gabriel’s visit to her, informing her that God had chosen her to bear the Christ child? Consider the attestations Mary had to work with:
Those were not coincidences, people. They were divine verifications of fact.
The Shepherds near Bethlehem when the Lord Jesus Christ was born
We cannot ignore those who were watching their flocks by night. There were three corroborations available to them: First, the angel’s appearance and the glory of the Lord that shined all around them. Second, a multitude of the “heavenly host appeared praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.” Finally, when they went to Bethlehem, they discovered everything was as they had been told.[12]
How about the wise men from the East?
The magi from Babylon (where the Jewish people had been during their captivity) had the Hebrew Scriptures containing the prophet Daniel’s prediction of Christ’s arrival on the scene and the prophet Isaiah’s identification of Him as being born of a virgin. Then they had the supernaturally appearing and reappearing star that guided them to their final destination.[13] Two witnesses of fact were found in God’s Word, and then there was that star, totaling three.
The apostles of Jesus Christ
What kind of verification was available to those men?
Too many things to keep track of, really.[15]
Finally, what about you?
To be sure, we have recorded in God’s Word these and many other multiple attestations of fact upon which to provide a foundation for faith. I mentioned eight examples, and could have rehearsed many more, but the pattern in their lives only illustrates the principle already rehearsed to you; that two or three witnesses are essential, and that many more than two or three witnesses are provided for you by God, as a foundation for faith.
Just a reminder. Cain obviously had a foundation for faith though he was a rejecter, Belshazzar had a foundation for belief but he was a refuser, Herod had witnesses to facts for faith in the persons of the wise men but he refused to believe, so there is ample evidence of those who rejected ample evidence.
Will you be such a person? You might ask, “What witnesses to facts for faith do I have access to?” First, you have the universal testimony of nature, Psalm 19.1-3:
1 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.
2 Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.
3 There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.
You also have the testimony of God’s Word. In John 17.17 the Lord Jesus Christ declared to His heavenly Father,
“Thy word is truth.”
Third, you have the testimony of credible Christians. Thus, you have all the necessary ingredients to establish a foundation for faith to rest upon. There is no justifiable reason for claiming that you cannot believe the Gospel. You can ... if you will, but follow established rules of evidence.
Finally, THE POINT
The point is you have a sinful nature that stands in open rebellion against God, sometimes rebelling against even the very thought of God. There are multiple witnesses to that fact in your conduct.
The point is also that God saw your need and sent His only begotten Son, Who suffered, bled, and died on the cross for your sins and then rose from the dead. There are multiple witnesses to that fact, as well.
The great majority of people, even so many who are Christians, imagine their faith has no basis; in fact, there is nothing to really hang your faith on. Oh, how very wrong such thinking is. Faith is not wishful thinking. Faith is not sentimentalism. Faith is not clinging to unsubstantiated convictions.
Everywhere in the Bible and throughout the Christian faith that rests upon the bedrock certainty of God’s Word, faith is shown to be the correct conclusions about God and His Son that are drawn from evidence, and from proof, and from performance.
Sadly, the sinner’s mind is so darkened that apart from the Holy Spirit’s intervention, no one will actually believe the truth, even when it stares them in the face.[16] We have great reasons to believe God, to trust the reliability of God’s Word, and to believe that His future dealings with us will be just as trustworthy and beneficial as all His past deeds have been.
The point then of this sermon? We, which is to say you, have confirmation. We have confirmation that God is real, good, true, and true, and Jesus Christ saves those who trust Him, and that our lives should be intelligent and reasoned responses to events that we can prove happened.
The Christian faith is substantiated by real history, by credible witnesses to fact, and God always challenges human beings to believe Him to trust Him based upon verified and verifiable facts. That, my friends, is confirmation.
Therefore, it is you, the unbeliever, who has nothing to stand on, whose beliefs are unverified and whimsical, and whose future is problematic. What are you going to do about it? Will you be as reasonable, rational, and responsible as you would like to think you are?
I hope so, for then you will consider the claims of Christ in light of your present damnation and flee to Christ for salvation full and free.
__________
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leap_of_faith 12/18/14
[2] Dictionary.com definition of leap of faith
[3] Bauer, Danker, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature, (Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 2000), pages 1040-1041 and 315.
[4] Simon Greenleaf, The Testimony Of The Evangelists: The Gospels Examined by the Rules of Evidence Administered in Courts of Justice, (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Classics, 1995 reprint), page 28. Greenleaf’s three-volume work, A Treatise on the Law of Evidence, is considered a classic of American jurisprudence and forms the basis for his study of the Gospels.
[5] Ibid., page 90.
[6] G. K. Beale and D. A. Carson, Commentary On The New Testament Use Of The Old Testament, (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2007), pages 780-782.
[7] The most thorough discussion of First John 5.7-8 I have ever seen is found in Alan J. Macgregor, 400 Years On: How does the Authorized Version stand up in the 21st Century? (UK: Vision Solutionsni, 2010), pages 147-182.
[8] Galatians 1.8-9
[9] Exodus 5.1-2; 6.1; 7.8-13, 20; 8.6, 17, 24; 9.6, 10, 14, 23; 10.13, 22; 12.12; 13.15
[10] Daniel 5.1-31
[11] Luke 1.26-38, 39-44; Matthew 1.18-24; Luke 2.8-19; Matthew 2.1-11
[12] Luke 2.8-16
[13] Isaiah 7.14; Daniel 9.24-27; Matthew 2.1-11
[14] Matthew 3.17; 8.1-13; 12.1-13; 14.21, 25; 15.38; Mark 9.1-7; Luke 8.26-36; 51-56; John 11.1-44; 1 Corinthians 15.4-9
[15] John 21.25
[16] 1 Corinthians 2.14; 2 Corinthians 4.13
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