Believe in What?

This is something I came across in our study of John..... I cut it up a bit and added a thought or two. But the original thoughts from John Macarthur stand....

There's a whole theological school now that's developing and their thesis is "faith in faith." Isn't that good? They have faith in faith. They believe in believing. And you'll say to people well, you know, this and that ... and they'll say, "Oh, I believe ... I believe." What do you believe? "Oh, I believe ... I'm a believer." A believer in what? "Well, I just believe. I believe that God is in control ... I believe." Oh, that's real good.

You know something? Faith in nothing is nothing. It's zero, zilch, nothing. It doesn't mean anything to believe in believing. You know, I like it ... you've heard the song, "I believe for every drop of rain that falls a flower grows." Oh, in the first place, that's a lie. "I believe that somewhere in the darkest night a candle glows." Tremendous. "Every time I hear a newborn baby cry, or touch a leaf or see the sky, then I know why I believe." (Gee didnt we sing this in youth choir?) You believe what? Don't push me. "I believe." Well, goody-goody. You see, that's the kind of attitude that a lot of people have ... I believe. You believe what? Usually when somebody comes to you and you ask them a question they say, "Well, I believe that's it's over there." That means they don't know. If you can't believe in something and on something, you're believing is ridiculous. Who cares whether you believe a candle glows? Who cares whether you believe a flower grows? That's irrelevant. God's not going to say to you someday, "Well, enter into My Kingdom because you believed the candle glowed." No, no ... that's so ludicrous it's inane.

No, no, no that's not the point. The point is at the end of verse 45 "they believed ... what? ... on Him." You see, faith is nothing unless it's placed in Jesus Christ. That's the whole point. Peter said, 'Neither is there salvation in any other, there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved." If a man does not put his faith in Jesus Christ his faith is meaningless. And what cuts the ice is faith in Him. John 1:12, "But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on ... what? ... His name." Christ is definitive. There aren't options. You can't just believe any ole thing you want, that's ridiculous.