Actiones Secundum Fidei

John 1:6-9

Actiones Secundum Fidei


The Gospel of John is the fourth section of what some call the four-fold gospel, with four voices giving different perspectives on the life of Jesus of Nazareth. Christian writers as early as Origen (a.d. 185-254) understood that there are not really four gospels, but there is one four-fold gospel.

The Gospel of John was probably the last of the four written, and written in view of what the previous three had already said. This is one reason why John’s account of the life of Jesus is in many ways different from Matthew, Mark, and Luke.


There are significant events in the ministry of Jesus that Matthew, Mark, and Luke all include yet John leaves out, including:


· Jesus’ birth, baptism, temptation in the wilderness, · Confrontations with demons, · Jesus teaching in parables, · The Last Supper, and The Ascension.

John is a Gospel written for a specific purpose: that we might believe. 


Tonight we continue to dig into the gospel of John with a message entitled Actiones Secundum Fidei, which is a Latin phrase that states we act according to what we believe or believe (ourselves to be). 


 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. ⁷ This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. ⁸ He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. ⁹ That^[b] was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.


What do we believe? Why do we believe it? And most importantly how does that belief play out in our day to day lives? These are important questions. I submit to you that the actions we make and take on a daily basis derive directly from what we believe and what we believe ourselves to be.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. Now this is specifically referring to John the Baptist not John the Apostle and Gospel author. John typically refers to himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved. We will spend many a Wednesday discussing that particular title, but not tonight. These verses here are specifically about John the Baptist.


What do we know about John the Baptist? His background and motivation is covered in more detail in Luke and Matthew. We see John The Baptist as the herald of Jesus the King. We see miraculous circumstances regarding his birth.


John was no "crowd pleaser." He willingly confronted the hypocrisy of the religious establishment ( Matt 3:7 ; Luke 3:7 ). He did not hesitate to expose the immorality of Herod and chose to die a martyr's death rather than compromise his convictions. Yet, what do know most about him? He baptized people! Most importantly Jesus. Interesting that’s not the focus her in verse 6. Who was he? A man. Where did he come from? He was sent from God.


Sent here is ap-os-tel'-lo. Sent to an appointed place, on a mission. Who is the sender? This is of vital importance here! Who is the sender? God! The sender is always of much greater importance than who is being sent or where. I spent 16 years doing IT. When I was still at my manufacturing job the CEO would come to visit about once a month. I would let the people I worked with know “Hey the CEO will be down next week. My availability will be limited.” True Story: I once got a call from the team lead of the QA Lab. He was down and couldn’t do his job and the call went like this: No, I’m at the lake. I’m doing something for the CEO. I’m setting up WIFI on his boat. Yes, you heard me correctly.  No, I’m as serious as Gary Oldman. Sorry, That’s a Harry Potter joke.  I’ll come by when I’m done.


Now beloved in my five years in manufacturing IT how many times did I tell the CEO that what he wanted me to do had to wait because I was busy with other things? How many times? Zero times! Why is that? Because I wanted to stay employed. Now, next question. How many of co-workers went and complained directly to the CEO that I wasn’t available to them because I was to busy working on His stuff? Zero! Why? Because they too wished to stay employed! He was the boss! He outranked everyone there! You did what he said, or you got another job, bottom line.


Why is it that we pay so much respect to earthly bosses whom the majority of could care less for us, but when it comes to the almighty creator who died on our behalf we constantly tell Him that we are to busy, too tired, or that He’s got the wrong person and to send someone else? The unmitigated gall we possess as sinful human beings!


This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe


What did God send John to do? To be? A witness! Not John The Baptist but John The Witness! What does it mean to be a witness? We talk about being a witness and witnessing but what does it really mean? It means we share the gospel of Jesus Christ with people in word. It also means that our actions match those words. Does that mean we are perfect in all things? No! It’s impossible. It does mean that when we fall short though we confess, we repent and reconcile whenever possible.

The Greek here for witness is mär-tü-rē'-ä. It actually has three meanings. In a legal sense it’s a witness giving testimony to a judge. In a historical sense, it refers to a historian giving testimony to the past. In an ethical sense, it refers to giving testimony to someone’s moral character.

Here in Person County, in the year 2020. If you belong to the Lord you also are sent as a witness. You are sent to work, you are sent to school, you sent to family and friends. You are sent all over the county, state, country and even the world! As a witness!


In a legal sense, we tell people for Jesus the righteous judge that will one day hold us accountable for our sin.


What do we tell people? We talk about Jesus in the ethical sense as the one who lived that perfect moral life! That everything He does is good and how much He knows us and loves us!


In a historical sense we tell them that this is the Word of God and these things really happened! That there is hope for us because of what Jesus did.  What about Genesis and creation and evolution and the flood etc. etc. We’ve been covering some of these questions in Sunday School and my dear friend and brother, Chad Hayes said the following  “Either way I think it clearly explains at the end of the day it not so much how it started but who started it. God created it, and more importantly how it was finished on the cross at Calvary.”


Also, there’s a 4th key element to being a witness that we often overlook, listening. If you’ve ever been to or in a trial as a witness you know the amount of time you spoke was minor in comparison to the amount of time you spent listening. For the longest time I’ve heard that the reason people aren’t in church is due to hypocrisy. There’s actually a new complaint arising in those studies now and it says that the main reason our evangelism fails is not hypocrisy but our unwillingness to listen. Lost people feel that you were only nice to them to give them a sales pitch and move on.


Barna research group validates what this theory. Listening without judgment is the number one thing not-yet Christians want but very rarely experience when talking to Christians. In an increasingly polarized culture, the great need of the times is found in  James 1:19 to be “quick to listen and slow to speak.” If we truly want to be witnesses to Jesus Christ we need to use our ears as much, if not more, than we use our mouths. In a society where discourse consists of yelling at people louder and louder until they agree or go away, this is going to be a challenge. It’s also going to be a wonderful witness that God will use and bless.  


John’s witness was not of himself, as frequently we get caught up in want to lift up our leaders on high instead of letting them point to the One on high.


That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world


Verse 8 gets overlooked sometimes. Yet it’s a key element to the whole John the Witness narrative. Who is he to witness to? Everyone! He is a witness, testifying about Jesus as the light of the world and that light is for anyone and everyone who seeks it.


Daniel Harrell with Christianity Today says “As Christians, we hang crosses on our walls and around our necks to remind ourselves how mercy is nonnegotiable. Jesus died on a cross for our sins and we didn’t deserve it. Theology labels the cross the passion of Jesus, a righteous anger that’s righteous because it bends toward the reconciliation of all things, a fierce power that taps into long-suffering, motherlike mercy for the cause of new birth”


In 2016 I counselled many people struggling with outrage over the election and all the divisiveness it brought with it. I heard on more than one occasion, “I don’t see how anyone could vote for “blank” or the “blank party” and be a Christian. Do you realize the essence of that statement? Vote for the right person or your going to hell. I have something very important to tell you, Jesus is neither a registered democrat, nor republican, He’s not even American! We tend to live our lives as if God was created in our own image, not vice versa. We are all on equal footing at the cross. 


Galatians 3:26-28 “²⁶ For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. ²⁷ For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. ²⁸ There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. ²⁹ And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”


Those of us that believe that, it is well beyond time to put that into Action.

Back to the garden

John 1:1-5


Back to the garden.


Quick caveat, as you turn to John 1:1-5. I want you to think of tonight’s message as prologue.

1969 is notable for a lot of things. However, I feel that three standout more so than the others. July 20^th 1969 was when Apollo 11 landed on the moon. Sept 23^rd 1969 was when our fearless leader the Reverend Doctor M. David Chambers was born. About a month before that momentous day, was August 15^th-18^th 1969. Any guesses to what that was? Woodstock!


Popular Singer and Song Writer Joni Mitchell was unable to attend Woodstock. She was going to appear on the Dick Caveatt show later that week and would have been unable to attend both events. Her agents talked her into doing the TV show vs. Woodstock. There in her hotel room in NY as she watched the televised coverage of the festival she penned the following lyrics which became the official theme song for the festival.


We are stardust
Billion year old carbon
We are golden
Caught in the devil's bargain
And we've got to get ourselves
back to the garden


The garden referenced in the song is the garden of Eden. Woodstock was about advocating for peace and love, and the way things were before the fall of man. Even it they couldn’t admit that or even realize it.


That song also serves as the inspiration for tonights message. Turn to John 1:1-5 as go into a sermon entitled “Back to the Garden”


 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was in the beginning with God. ³ All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. ⁴ In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. ⁵ And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not ^[a]comprehend it.


It’s been almost 2 months so lets get right to it shall we? It is 2020. The times in which we live are in flux. There is no shortage of voices whether they be personal, private, professional or public suggesting that if certain politicians are elected to office (or not), or certain industries are allowed to survive (or not), or certain ideas are given airtime (or not), the world as we know it will come to an end. Some of this is simply clickbait, engineered by people who make money off of or find enjoyment in fear. But some of it is based in reality.

Wars are raging. Ecological disasters are increasingly frequent and devastating. The threat of mass shootings hovers over our schools, our public gatherings, and our places of worship.

The world, it would seem, is on fire. Fear and uncertainty have set it ablaze.

Historically speaking, this is nothing new, so we shouldn’t make too much of how chaotic the world appears in comparison to past eras. Since the Garden of Eden, our core human failure isn’t disobedience or pride or the absence of faith (although those are certainly reflections of our fallen state). Rather, it’s our tendency to point our sincerely held beliefs in the wrong direction (Rom. 1:21–23). Another word for it is idolatry—devoting ourselves ultimately to that which isn’t ultimate.

Every generation repeats this same cycle. Devoting ourselves ultimately to that which isn’t ultimate. We know things are wrong, we know life isn’t the way it should be. We want to get back to the way life was before the fall, we want to get back to the garden.

A generation tried this with Woodstock and for a moment or so people had hope. Yet, it wouldn’t last. Then when I was elementary school as the oh so popular All-Star Charity single! For those that are to young to remember that it’s when a bunch of popular artists of the day would all get together to sing a song about world peace and the proceeds from the single would go towards a charity. The more popular ones were Do they know it’s Christmas? Give peace a chance, hands across America and we are the world. For a moment there was hope then same ol same ol. When I was in high school in the mid to late 90’s the big thing was saving the environment! Reduce, reuse, recycle! There was even a wide variety environmental cartoons where the hero stopped the villain whose typical goal wasn’t world domination but to pollute the oceans and kill sea turtles. I remember when the city first started collecting recycling and I was all gung ho about it as a 7^th grader. Just ask my dad. I really felt like I was making a difference with each empty Pepsi bottle I recycled. Then I would see people toss whole bags of trash just out the window going down 501.

Despite our best efforts, humanity suffers most fundamentally not from a lack of faith, but from a misplaced faith. The whole of human history we can see humanity at least to some degree recognizing it’s sin problem, but then attempting to cover it up themselves. Adam and Eve tried fig leaves. Able tried bringing his own offering instead of what God requested of him. People tried to build the tower of babel. While it’s not recorded in the biblical flood account, I’m willing to bet you at least one person tried building their own boat after listening to Noah preach.

All throughout the Old Testament you see the never ending tragedy of God’s people trusting in things other than God himself. They trust in themselves, in their kings, in their political leaders, in their technology, in their history, in their wealth, yet it is only when they trust in God do they have any hope or peace. There is a world desperate to place its faith onto to anyone or anything that promises peace, safety and prosperity. That desperation is only going to grow in 2020.

I know many of you feel sad, confused, or even laugh a little as missionaries speak here and tell of the assorted idols in whatever foreign country they are serving in. How ridiculous we think! That they worship god’s made of wood or stone. Yet, the human heart, is an idol factory.

We make them anytime we pledge our loyalty to religious, business, or political leaders and believe them when they say they alone can fix what ails us, they hold the truth, or they are worthy of our devotion. We make them anytime we “betray and hate each other” (Matt. 24:10) over differing ideologies. And we make them whenever we abandon our primary calling to love God and our neighbor and replace that calling with another passion, project or cause.

When we do this. We are no different then those hippies at Woodstock saying “Drop Acid not bombs man!” We can’t expect different results.

This is where we are in 2020 and this is where we are at 2000 years ago when the Apostle John wrote “ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was in the beginning with God. ³ All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. ⁴ In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. ⁵ And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not ^[a]comprehend it.

There are many of you that have lost focus on Jesus in the last year or so and have been trying to find your back to the garden without him. There are many of you that will lose your way in 2020 distracted by social media, the presidential election, or just your day to day living. There sadly, will be significant number of you, 100% certain that the world will end based on the results of Tuesday, November 3^rd 2020.

“The end is still to come,” Jesus told his disciples. “All these are the beginning of birth pains” (Matt. 24:6, 8). This doesn’t mean is our present experiences are somehow insignificant or less painful than what’s to come. It simply means that, in order to live as “faithful and wise servants” (v. 45), we have to operate with an accurate picture of reality, and this starts by acknowledging that the end has not yet come. That God is still on the throne. 

Our study in the gospel of John will point us the way back, the way back to the garden, the way back to God. And it is in this time—not some other time—that God has called us to demonstrate a faithful presence. Our time is best spent, not in quibbling over which politician,  organization or technological innovation, will or won’t save us, but in remaining faithful to the God has called us to stand as witness in the here and now. With a society so eager to believe in something, we must point them to something to believe in.

John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me