There's so much confusion surrounding 'faith' as it is used in common speech. People talk of different 'faiths' to refer to different religions, we have 'faith' healers, there is 'your faith' and 'my faith', and 'inter-faith', 'multi-faith', 'faith-to-faith'...
In this post I want to address what the Bible means by faith. I won't pretend I've got it perfectly right, but I want to put it out on the table for comments and corrections. It's a definition which is constructed through and through with God's truth from the Bible, and so I hope it helps breathe fresh meaning into a word which can lose its sharpness, even for Bible-believing Christians.
Faith is:
acting in line with the unseen reality that God will entirely fulfil all his promises, based on the seen reality of what God has done in the past.Faith is, more than anything else, a life attitude which combines belief and knowledge in the head with real, resultant action. The two are inseparable - where there is real faith in Jesus, a life that imitates Jesus must follow.
Hebrews 11 is the great faith passage in the Bible. The writer takes us through a whole heap of characters from Bible history, culminating in Jesus himself at the start of chapter 12. For each character he lays out specific actions which demonstrated their faith in God. In each case, the outcome is beyond their control, but the reason they act as they do is because they believe with their head, heart and actions, that God is very much in control, and will do what he has promised.
Whilst not always the case, faith is predominantly future-focused. For us now as Christians, we have a vast mountain of past 'proof cases' of God's faithfulness in fulfilling his promises, on which to base our faith.
At the pinnacle of these is the death and resurrection of Jesus. Jesus really died, and really came to life again - there's enough evidence to convince anyone with an open mind of that (see the excellent
bethinking.org for starters). But believing those things does not equal true faith. True faith is taking that monumental death and miraculous resurrection as a foundation, and living with the certainty that, when Jesus returns, because of those past certainties, we too will be raised up for joy, as the fulfilment of all God's promises to us.
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart
Hebrews 12:2-3 (NIV)Hebrews throws down the challenge - the path has been trodden before me, by Noah, and Abraham, and Moses, and ultimately and perfectly Jesus. Will I take their examples as a pattern for my life, and rest all my hopes and ambitions in the reality of life forever delighting in God?
True faith is rooted from start to finish in God's promises. It's no clumsy 'suspension of reason', or 'wishful thinking', or even a 'crutch' to get you through a tough spot. It's the life-transforming realisation, brought about by God, of how things really stand, and the life-consuming passion of turning every action, conversation, thought and decision into something which points boldly to him.
Hallo Andrew! i like this one! i have been a born again believer for quite some time. for me it was as easy as falling off mi bike! NO PROBLEEM! faith to me just came w/ the pakage. if God said it in His written word, i believed it! i say a prayer everytime i read, that the Holy Spirt of God will let mi heart be open to the message, & reveal Himself to me even more! Sometimes He will point out something different, that i never really grasped before. like the milk before meat thing..it is gradual, but if you keep on keeping on, in faith & thanksgiving, you Will see the meaning.. i had advantage because of mi young age when i meet Him..& i have sat in places when ppl start to pick the whole thing apart, .. i go out the back door poof.. it is not ment to be done like they do, you have to trust to believe something you never actually saw, yes? Try to position yourself as a child just for a day, look outside..what do you see..what do you want? now take that same feeling & go to your prayer closet.. go sit on His lap, His warm embrace, He just might tell you something you Never knew before..i hope you are not mad w/ me..out of the mouth of babes... :) 16f~
Excellent read!