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Faith

            Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. (Hebrews 11:1 NIV)

 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. (Romans 10:17 NSAB)

I’ve complained before that while others see this as a definition of faith, I don’t. Faith = confidence. But what’s confidence? Faith. I’m not suggesting the verse isn’t true, just that the extra-Biblical claim that it is the definition of faith doesn’t help anyone. I’m not going to address it farther than that.

I will, however, point out that ten chapters precede this statement, and the author covers the period from creation (or earlier) to the First Century, drawing on passages and stories that would have been familiar to those to whom the letter was addressed. After he makes this statement, he goes on to name-drop a few of those who would be considered heroes in their history to finish his argument. The argument in question is the persistence of faith when what had been promised has not been manifested. Yes, Jesus came, died, resurrected, and ascended, but all is still not well. Not all of the promises have been fulfilled.

This verse is both a conclusion and a starting point, just as faith is both a conclusion and a starting point. But how are we to go about getting or having faith? Paul told us that faith comes by hearing the Word of (or concerning) Christ. But hearing doesn’t just involve sounds hitting the eardrums. It requires understanding and wise obedience. We must act on what we hear because otherwise, we are not believing or having faith. This sort of thinking, while right as far as it goes, can lead us in a wrong direction. We can begin to believe that we need to work ourselves up to believe more or have more faith. If we just had enough faith, we would be acceptable.

Recently, I’ve heard that we can’t will ourselves to have faith. It comes by experience, which is very like hearing in that it involves more than the thing happening to us. It requires understanding and wise obedience. And we can put ourselves in places and situations that will facilitate our hearing, understanding, and obedience.

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