We here are people of faith. That does not distinguish us from anyone else. The experience of faith is common in the human family. How many times have you heard someone say, "I believe in fair play;" or "I believe in the fundamental soundness of the American economy;" or "I believe in Science"? When people make statements like that, they express confidence that something is true and reliable; and their confidence leads them sooner or later to take action. They do a good turn to a perfect stranger. They invest in the stock market. They subscribe to Scientific American and insist that their children learn math and science.

Those examples, of course, do not express religious faith, but they do express the nature of all faith, religious our otherwise. I point that out, because I want us to be comfortable with the fact that we here are people of faith. It is not bizarre to have faith. It is a universal human experience.

So, I say again, we here are people of faith. That does not mean we never have doubts or questions about our faith. I wonder how many people never doubt what they believe in. Do people who believe in fair play never wonder if fair play is not in their self-interest? Do people who believe in the fundamental soundness of the American economy never wonder if their portfolio will regain the losses sustained in the last three years? Do people who believe in Science never wonder if scientific advances threaten the environment with irreparable harm?

When people have such doubts, they are asking if what they thought was true and reliable still deserves their confidence. However, few people who have such doubts lose their faith altogether. They keep their sense of fair play but realize that fair play is more complicated than they thought. Few put all their money under a mattress; they just get smarter and more patient about investing. They don't stop using the benefits of Science; they simply realize that it can be used for ill as well as for good.

Once, again, those examples do not express religious doubt, but they express the nature of all doubt, religious and otherwise. Reality is so complicated that our ideas about it are always too simple at first. As our experience grows, we begin to question what we were so sure about. If we don't lose our curiousity about life, we will probe further into reality, and our faith may be deepened even when it is chastened. I point this out, because I want us to be comfortable with the fact that people of faith have doubts. It is not bizarre for people of faith to have doubts. It is a universal human experience.

So, I say again, we here are people of faith. Having faith doesn't make us unique, and it doesn't immunize us against doubt. Helping people sort out their doubts is part of my pastoral ministry, but that plays a lesser role in today's sermon. What matters today is what makes our faith unique. The answer is simple to state.

We here are people of faith, and three realities make our faith unique. The first is the object of our faith, what we believe in. The second is how highly God almighty prizes our faith. The third is the habits we have that bind us together in a community and help us to understand and live out our faith. To help this be more memorable, we might say that what makes our faith unique is the object of faith, the power of faith, and the preservation of faith. The object of our faith emerges clearly in Romans 3:21-26. Look at verse 22.

The Object of Faith
This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. In the Bible God's righteousness does not just mean that God is right; it also means that God does what is right. He sees to it that right will triumph; good will conquer evil. He has the power to save humanity from the evil that dogs our every step. We will consider His righteousness more closely next Sunday. Here in verse 22 Paul tells us how God's righteousness comes to bear on human life. He says that it comes throught faith in Jesus Christ.

This states a direct connection between something huge (the righteousness of God) and something deeply human (faith in Jesus Christ). This is the first direct mention in Romans of the object of our faith. The object is Jesus Christ. Let's stop for a few minutes and ask what it means to believe in Jesus Christ.

"When I say, 'I believe,' I am not merely describing an inward feeling or experience: I am affirming what I believe to be true, and therefore what is true for everyone. The test of my commitment to this belief will be that I am ready to publish it, to share it with others, and to invite their judgment and - if necessary - their correction. If I refrain from this exercise, if I try to keep my belief a private matter, it is not belief in the truth." (Leslie Newbigin, The Gospel in a Pluralist Society, 22).

There is a point at which the pilot of a jet aircraft can no longer abort takeoff. He has to rotate the aircraft and ascend. He is committed. There is a point at which a person considers Jesus Christ and says, "Count me in." That commitment is a decisive act of faith in Jesus Christ, and we wish everyone on the planet had that faith.

Now, what is it about Him that inspires such faith? He is such an inspiring person. He is compasionate, devout and full of integrity. Scripture and the Church seek to ground our faith in Christ on two events of His life: His death and His resurrection.

As we saw in November, His death at first looked like a particularly cruel and unjust way to die. Because God raised Jesus from death, people took another look at His death and saw in it a new and powerful meaning. Guided by the Jewish Scriptures, the apostles came to view the death of Christ as the permanent and material sign of God's merciful intentions toward humanity.

How can matters be put right between God and His wayward, human creation? The death of Christ was an atonement for the sins that separated us from God. How can any of us have grounds for hope on the day of God's wrath, when He judges us impartially according to our actual deeds? The death of Christ was an atonement for the sins that separated us from God. How do we know that God displays His almighty power in mercy and pity? The death of Christ displays that mercy. How do we know that God loves us? The death of Christ embodies that love for all to see.

We believe that it is true and reliable. Count us in, and whoever wants to know, let them know that it is where we stand. We are people of faith in Jesus Christ. We wish everyone else would participate in this faith in Jesus Christ. That makes the faith of the Church unique.

That unique faith is also a powerful faith. We believe this faith in Christ is influential with God. We believe He prizes our faith in Christ highly. That is the power of our faith. It triggers action on the part of God that bodes well for the future of humanity. Romans is full of this. Let's now take a closer look at the power of our faith.

The Power of Faith in Jesus Christ
We begin again with verse 22. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. Righteousness means that God will see to it that right will triumph; good will conquer evil. He has the power to save humanity from the evil that dogs our every step. It is faith in Jesus Christ that connects us to that salvation.

Romans 3:25 shows us more of the power of faith in Jesus Christ. God presented him (Jesus) as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. That verse is saying that on Good Friday God met with the Representative of all humanity, Jesus Christ, and on the cross Christ offered His sacrificial blood to atone for the sins of the whole world. Our faith in Christ releases that atonement into our experience, and God's merciful offer of forgiveness becomes personal for us. I hope it has become personal for you.

Romans 3:28 points to something else. For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law. Faith in Christ rises above the distinctive religious customs of Jewish law and of any other religion. That does not mean religioius customs are bad, just secondary to faith in Jesus Christ. God prizes faith in Jesus Christ above all religious customs. Why does faith in Christ please God so much?

God prizes our faith in Christ highly for two reasons. People of faith are seeking God, and, they accept life on God's terms. Let's take the second part first.

People of faith in Christ accept life on God's terms. They accept God's assessment of the human situation. The gospel says that the human situation, life to itself, "has no efficacious answer to human destiny ... that the world is on a course that leads to death," (Wilbert Shenk, quoted in Brave New Church, 40), that humanity must look elsewhere for life and the fulfillment of its vocation. People of faith in Jesus Christ accept that remedy, even if present circumstances seem to contradict it.

Because people of faith in Jesus accept life on God's terms, they learn to seek God. We have to seek God, because present circumstances contradict life on God's terms. It is not obvious that the weakness of Christ is the way to overcome the evil of the world. People of faith in Christ seek God to show them how it will overcome. They ask Him to teach them how it will overcome. In their doubt the ask Hm to help their unbelief. They pursue God's provision for life and the fulfillment of the human vocation.

Do you remember Romans 1:18? The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness. Faith in Jesus Christ reverses that. It releases the truth in people who accept life on God's terms and seek Him.

That's the great adventure. That's the great risk. We stake our lives, we stake our immortal souls on Jesus Christ and our unseen Father in heaven. It is not blind faith. Our faith in the God of Jesus Christ that goes back at least 3500 years.

Abraham in his 76th year by faith leaves his comfort zone and his idols to follow the promise of the one true God. Jeremiah amid the death throes of his nation buys a plot of land, because he believes his nation will be reborn. The disciples of Jesus watch people in great numbers give up on Jesus, but they by faith stay with Him because, they say, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." Jesus by faith submits to the crucifixion because of His conviction that it is His Father's will.

The old man, Polycarp, in the second century goes to Rome to be martyred. He refuses escape and says by faith, "Eighty-six years has He loved me. How can I not now love Him with my life?"

The American missionary, Jim Eliot, laid down His life for Christ in the jungles of Ecuador and said by faith, "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep in order to gain what he cannot lose."

You can't tell it by looking, but look anyway at the people sitting around you. Heroes of faith in our midst, their stories largely unknown, have by faith in Christ resisted the devil, made sacrifices, endured hardships, stood for truth and borne witness to their faith. The angels await the day of their unveiling to give them a crown of life and hidden manna and a new name.

Don't be intimidated by doubt. Confess your doubt and ask God to strengthen your faith in Christ. Don't compare your faith with that of someone else. You can't possibly know the whole truth about their soul. Model your faith on Christ whose example exceeds our grasp but not our reach.

God prizes our faith in Christ highly. It pleases Him. It releases His power to put things right between Him and His wayward human creation. So, we need to answer one more question. How do we preserve and encourage faith in Jesus Christ?

The Preservation of Faith in Jesus Christ
I came across an ancient prayer that points us in the right direction. "Almighty God, by your Holy Spirit you have made us one with your people in heaven and on earth: Grant that in my earthly pilgrimage I may always be supported by this fellowship of love and prayer, and know myself to be surrounded by their witness to your power and mercy," (Tickle, Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime, 75). This fellowship of love and prayer, the Church, preserves and encourages faith in Jesus Christ.

The congregations of Christ throughout the world form an archipelago of praise. People see them as individual, even isolated, negligible groups of people. We believe that beneath the surface the indestructible life of Jesus Christ unites them and elicits from them the love and prayer that preserve faith in Christ alive and well in a faithless world.

Here on our little piece of the global archipelago of praise, our life together provides a stable framework within which every affirming flame of faith can be kept alive and joined with others so as to give off light in this corner of God's world.

Take advantage of this stable framework. Don't hold yourself aloof. Don't just find fault. Participate in our shared life of faith. Experience the gentle disciplines that build faith. Bless. Pray. Praise. Sing. Exalt. Adore. Commune. Obey. Give. Sacrifice. Submit. Forbear. Exhort. Encourage. Confeess. Forgive. Weep. Rejoice. Honor. Hope. Believe. Love.

Thus week in and week out and from generation to generation faith in Christ expresses itself. Thus week in and week out and from generation to generation faith in Christ is strengthened. Thus week in and week out and from generation to generation the global archipelago of praise holds communion with the Lord of all creation, and the redemption of all things goes on apace. All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.