What is faith? Simply, it is trust. For the Christian, it is the trust that God’s self-revelation in Scripture is true – that He is triune, that He has sacrificed His Son Jesus for man’s sin, that God hears and answers our prayers. Faith doesn’t require proof. It is enough that God has said it. Faith is so sure of God’s Word that once He has spoken, it might has well already have happened. Your faith in Christ is not built on volumes of evidence. It is not built on convincing arguments. It is built on the absolute trustworthiness of God. It doesn’t need God to prove Himself. That is madness. The Word of God is indeed powerful, capable of accomplishing exactly what it says. The centurion in this week’s Gospel believed this. And Christ was amazed! He was amazed by the centurion’s conviction that Jesus could heal his servant by simply speaking. And that is what Jesus does. He heals you by speaking, by promising that your sins are fully taken away from you, even though you see them as clear as day. That you still know them is irrelevant. They have been taken from you. They will not condemn you. They will not stand against you on the Last Day. Why? Because Jesus has said so. He commanded and it was so. He has commanded that you become an inheritor of eternal life and it was so. Do not doubt. Only believe that the Word of Christ has the power to accomplish everything for which He sends it. Let us gather together around this Word this coming Lord’s Day that the powerful Word of God might do its work in us.
Pastor Ulmer