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

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

The Shepherd!

                 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep . (John 10:14) God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” (Genesis 3:14) The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths     for his name’s sake. Even though I walk     through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil,     for you are with me; your rod and your staff,     they comfort me. (Psalm 23:1-4) For the Jews, it was politically incorrect to make claims about yourself as a teacher (or possibly as anything else.) Teachers were expected to take pride in the...
Post a Comment
Read more

Meditations of the Heart

  May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm19:14)           As I started writing this post, I noted that the meditations of my heart are all over the mental landscape, from a hub where eight superhighways come together to a lunar or nuclear landscape. Do you see my error? The moment I read the word meditation , I think about thoughts. But what’s described here is the meditations of our hearts ; our wills.           While the meditations of our minds may be all over the place, the meditations of our wills tend to be a little more stable by the time we are adults. We no longer tend to want to pursue the ten separate careers we did in any given day as children. Part of this is humble acceptance of reality. We come to understand that we can’t do it all. I think another part of it is disappointmen...
Post a Comment
Read more