Skip to main content

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.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Virgin?

           Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)           This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 1:18)           But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”            “How will this be,” Mary asked the...
Post a Comment
Read more

Higher Thoughts

  “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the  Lord . “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)           The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments,   for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord      so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. (I Corinthians 2:15-16) If you read about the ancient gods of the various peoples, you’ll find that they think just like people. In fact, they think just like the sort of people we really wouldn’t want to be around. They think like the most corrupt Hollywood producer or, like hormone overloaded teens with no upbringing.   It’s embarrassing to read. I have a friend who argues that because God is not just like us, He is so vastly dif...
2 comments
Read more

Saved?

  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:28-30) “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ ” (Matthew 7:21-23) Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.” (Romans 3:4)   What conclusion do you draw when someone who was raised in a Christian family and church, perhaps even playing a significant role in a chur...
Post a Comment
Read more