“Crime is a disease – I’m the cure.”
That statement, uttered by Lieutenant Marion ‘Cobra’ Cobretti played by Sylvester Stallone, was THE line from his 1986 film “Cobra”. Cobra would probably be considered one of the low lights in Stallone’s filmography.
In Cobra, Stallone plays a take-no-prisoners, free spirited cop who does whatever is necessary to rid the streets of crime. It is a violent mash up of cheesy one liners, over-acting and innumerable rounds of bullets to blow away the bad guys.
Back in 1986 I saw this movie in the theater. It was not memorable in any particular way, except for a line that has stood out to me from the movie for over 30 years now.
At one point in the film Stallone has rescued a beautiful young lady, played by Brigitte Nielsen, from a horrendous crime. In her traumatized state ‘Cobra’ is taking her to a hidden location to keep her safe so she can testify against the bad guys – who turn out to far bigger and badder than either had realized.
On the way to their secret destination, while conversing in the car, the woman’s terror begins to resurface. The young woman’s primary concern is her safety. How is she going to live through this? What’s going to stop the bad guys from finding her? Who will protect her? Who can she trust?
As she begins to tear up with fear Stallone slowly turns to her. He focuses his steely gaze at her from behind his silver reflector aviator sun glasses. He dramatically removes the ever present match stick from his mouth, then utters this phrase,
“You gotta have faith.”
Sounds like something Jesus said doesn’t it?
The thing is, faith isn’t the answer. The object of our faith is the answer.
Everybody in the world has faith. But faith in what? Millions of people have faith in money. Many have faith in their own skills and abilities. Countless numbers have faith in everything from hard work to education, institutions of all kinds to family or friends, intelligence and logic to mythology and idols.
What really matters is what you have put your faith in. Or perhaps more accurately stated, what really matters is who you have put your faith in.
The only faith that truly saves and transforms us is faith in God. Faith in anything other than Jesus will ultimately falter.
So what does it mean to have faith in Jesus?
Put very simply, faith in Jesus means we believe He is who He said He is. As C.S. Lewis said, we can only come to 3 conclusions about Jesus: He is either a lunatic, a liar or Lord. Faith in Jesus is believing He is Lord – just like He said He is.
Having faith in Jesus also means we believe what He said is true. Our compass, our Truth, is the Word of God.
Having Faith in Jesus and the Word of God also means we believe in things we haven’t seen yet. As Hebrews 11:1 tells us, “Faith is confidence in what we hope for, and assurance about what we do not see.”
How can we have faith in something that hasn’t happened yet? How can we have faith in something, or someone, we cannot see? Well, it’s because we believe what God said is true. Someone once said to me, “I don’t really think of faith as belief without proof, but trust without reservation.”
Our faith, a faith that is living and active, is really based in a relationship with Jesus. When we know Jesus, when we have experienced the reality of His love and life, we trust Him. The deeper our relationship with Him, the deeper our trust is, and, therefore, the deeper our faith is.
However, without faith we cannot have a relationship with Christ. As Hebrews 11:6 says, “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
Faith in Jesus is our only hope. Faith in anything apart from Christ is like building a house on the sand.
Yes, you gotta have faith – in Christ alone.
Galatians 2:16
“know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.”
2 Corinthians 5:7
“For we live by faith, not by sight.”
Romans 5:1, 2
“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.”
Mark 11:22
“’Have faith in God,’ Jesus answered.”