Does It Really Matter?

Throughout my twenty-two years of preaching I have had occasion to hear people say, in effect, “It really does not matter what you believe.” Of course, the religious world has long held to the belief that as long as a person is sincere about his religion it does not matter what he believes.

Yet, how many lives have been devastated by, “I didn't think that the gun was loaded, but it was” or “I thought no one was listening, but they were” and “I thought no one would ever find out, but they did.” A hard lesson for some: it does matter what you believe!

The following are some biblical examples for our personal study: Eve believed Satan’s lie but God had plainly said, “...of the tree...thou shalt not eat of it.” (Gen. 3:4-6; 16-19). Jacob believed Joseph was dead (Gen. 37:32-35). Job’s friends believed that bad things happen to bad people they sought to convince Job he had sinned - they were convinced of it (Job 4:7-9; Luke 13:1-5). The young prophet believed the old prophet’s lie (1 Kgs. 13:17-19). Naaman believed Syrian rivers were better than the Jordan (2 Kgs. 5:10-12). It mattered what the disciples believed about Jesus (Mat. 16:13-15). It mattered what Saul of Tarsus believed about Jesus (Acts 23:1).

It does matter what you believe! “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith...” (2 Cor. 13:5).

Modified from sermon by Cecil Hutson