Pisteuo - Audio
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You may remember from, I think, maybe it's still on, I have no idea, but in the early 2000s on MTV there was a show called Total Request Live, T-R-L. It's a real big deal. I never watched it because I thought that the music that they played was at best on wholesome and at worst just talentless drivel. But it was a real important thing because all the people in the United States of America would get together and they would, all the kids I guess, and decide what the most important thing, the most important song would be and then they would request it and I think it was Carson Daly, maybe one of those guys, was the one who would tell us what the most important and best songs were. Well, this summer, now that we finished the Gospel of Luke, we're doing Total Request Live here at Coase Bible Church. Yeah, if you have something that you are desperate to hear, I guess my opinion about, or Niels, from the pulpit, now's your chance. This week we're starting it. We've had a request to talk about the Greek word "pestuo" which I know a lot of you are spending a lot of time thinking about on a day-to-day basis. Nevertheless, it is important to a number of people and it is important to our understanding of specifically the New Testament but the Scriptures as a whole. So I've been tasked with talking a little bit about that. But, but, if you have something that's important to you, something that you would like to hear about, now's your chance to email me or Niels or talk to me after the sermon and we'll try our best to hit all of the various topics that are of meaning, of importance to the people in the church. If you're wondering what the Greek word "pestuo" is, it's the verb in Greek that gets translated "believe." Sometimes it gets translated "have faith." Sometimes it gets translated "trust." "Have confidence." But it's really the word of faith in the New Testament and in the Greek translation of the Old Testament. And there's a lot of questions about what this word means, how we should understand it. And because, because, because we all know John 3, 16, you know, whoever believes in him has everlasting life. There's a big question about our eternal state, our ability, well, not our ability, but our future with God that somehow hinges or somehow is impinged by belief. And so this is not, this is not just a throwaway word, this is right at the core of Christian faith as we think about what it means to believe in Jesus and then ultimately to receive eternal life in his name. And so to begin, I would like you to think about when you, you know, go back and assuming that you have, when did you come to faith in Christ? What happens in your life where you would say you believed, right? I can tell you my story. Normally I tell stories about my dad. But these are usually really sad and he gets really embarrassed because I'm telling all the terrible things he's done. So today I wanted to tell something my parents did right, so I have to talk about my mom. She told me a story, I remember this, I was, well, yeah, so I was, it was mom, it was mom and Tom time. And she told me a story about Jesus and about God. And she said, she said, "Tom, Jesus died for your sins. You've been naughty and we could both agree on that. That happened pretty frequently in my house. I was a little rascal." And so I could agree. I'd say, yep, I have been naughty. A number of times in my life I've been pretty naughty. And she says, you know something, Tom, God is a good God. He's a loving and good God. He's a holy God. He's not just, he's not just everything's cool with God. No, God has some standards. And when you're naughty, when you sin, when you, when you stray off the path, God gets upset. That is not okay with God. And God wants you to live with Him forever. God wants you to be in His presence forever, but, but, but, this thing inside of you, this sin, just putting a barrier between you. And if you want to be able to be with God forever, if you want to have eternal life with Him in heaven, you must believe in His Son. Believe that Jesus died for your sins. All this naughty stuff you've done that He rose again. And that He gives you eternal life. We then digressed into a really technical discussion of justification and sanctification at Romans. And once my mother was really certain that I fully understood, no, that's, I'm just kidding. I was four years old when this happened. I was four. And I said, yes, Mommy, I believe I want Jesus to be in
Transcription truncated.
In this message, Pastor Tom discusses the meaning of the Greek word "pisteuo" and how we should understand it as a natural progression of our Christian faith.