The Evidence of Real Faith
St. Charles | Bob Ingle
January 18, 2026
John 14:15-31
“Without faith it is impossible to please God…” Hebrews 11:6 (NIV)
“If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.” Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?” Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me. “All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. “You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe. I will not say much more to you, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold over me, but he comes so that the world may learn that I love the Father and do exactly what my Father has commanded me.” John 14:15-31 (NIV)
* Real Faith Is Evidenced By…
1. A LOVE That Obeys.
“If you love me, keep my commands.” John 14:15 (NIV)
“Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me.” John 14:21 (NIV)
“Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching…” John 14:23a (NIV)
“Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching…” John 14:24a (NIV)
If there is no submission, there is no transformation.
“If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love…” John 15:10 (NIV)
2. A HELPER That Abides.
“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you…the Spirit of truth.” John 14:16-17a (NIV)
*The Helper is:
-> Perfect
“I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you…” John 14:16 (NIV)
“My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.” 1 John 2:1 (NIV)
-> Personal
“The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” John 14:17 (NIV)
“Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.” John 14:23 (NIV)
-> Permanent
“…be with you forever…” John 14:16 (NIV)
-> Practical
“…the Spirit of truth.” John 14:17a (NIV)
“But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth.” John 16:13 (NIV)
“But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.” 1 Corinthians 2:9-10 (NKJV)
3. A LIFE That Changes
“Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live.” John 14:19 (NIV)
“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20 (NIV)
The Christian life isn’t just believing differently; it’s also living differently.
“Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?” Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.” John 14:22-24 (NIV)
4. A PEACE that Remains
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.” John 14:27a (NIV)
“I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. “You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe.” John 14:27-29 (NIV)
God’s peace doesn’t remove every storm; it anchors the heart in every storm.
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7 (NKJV)
“I will not say much more to you, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold over me, but he comes so that the world may learn that I love the Father and do exactly what my Father has commanded me.” John 14:27–31 (NIV)
Continual peace is possible not because the path is easy, but because the outcome is certain.