What exactly is 'faith?'
"Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." -Heb. 11:1
Hebrews 11:1, and actually the entire chapter, is probably the strongest section of Scripture on the subject of saving faith and what exactly it looks like. It is almost certain that you have heard or read faith defined using Hebrews 11:1. This verse defines what faith is so clearly yet, do we in the Church genuinely understand and believe what biblical, saving faith truly is as defined in Hebrews 11?
I remember talking one time with an unsaved coworker who had determined that Christians, and religious people in general, maintained a "blind faith" because no one today will ever meet Jesus in person, no one today was there when the Bible was written, and no one today can physically see God - therefore, his conclusion and definition of faith is simply a blind belief. Many Christians may roll their eyes at this and then give a "churchy" answer as to what faith is to them, but is this not what many in the Church believe faith is?
It seems to me, especially in my nearly 11 years in ministry, that what people believe faith is may not necessarily be blind, but it is some feeling within or some mental belief in Jesus or in God the Father that comes from the person instead of from God. In many Baptist circles especially, we like to say that salvation is all of God, and I believe we genuinely believe that, but when it comes to faith we believe its something that we must do on our own. Is this the right view of what saving faith is?
In 2 Peter 1:1, Peter writes "to those who have obtained faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ..." - this term "obtained" in the Greek is "lagchano" which is "to obtain by a lot; to receive by divine allotment." Clearly, Peter and the apostles understood that even their saving faith was first given to them and then maintained by the grace of God through the Spirit, and that this faith was common among all who were redeemed.
If this weren't enough evidence of the nature of saving faith, Paul writes to the Philippians in 1:29, "For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in Him but also suffer for His sake..." - Again, this faith is "granted" to believers so that they could "believe."
Some of you may have your ears perked up at this point thinking this smells awfully like Calvinism. Whether we are Calvinists, Armenians, Traditionalists, or nothing, these terms don't matter, because the text itself makes it plain - Faith, true, biblical, saving faith is of God and not of us which is why it can be stated that salvation is of the grace of God, not of any works that we do, even faith (Eph. 2:8-9).
Let's bring this full circle.
Since faith is a free gift, all of God's grace, re-read Hebrews 11:1 - "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." The fact that faith is the substance and evidence (Gk. word for 'proof') of the things we can't see at this time, coupled with the fact that this faith is a gift given by God alone, shows us what saving faith truly is - it is the daily, continual proof graciously given to us in our hearts and minds that Jesus is who He says He is and that God, in fact, exists. Do you see how this all ties together? Apart from the general revelation of creation and the special revelation of Jesus on earth, faith itself is another proof of the existence and trustworthiness of God!
So you see reader, faith isn't some blind hope. It's an extra, God-given proof that He's here and that Jesus is alive!
Hebrews 11:1, and actually the entire chapter, is probably the strongest section of Scripture on the subject of saving faith and what exactly it looks like. It is almost certain that you have heard or read faith defined using Hebrews 11:1. This verse defines what faith is so clearly yet, do we in the Church genuinely understand and believe what biblical, saving faith truly is as defined in Hebrews 11?
I remember talking one time with an unsaved coworker who had determined that Christians, and religious people in general, maintained a "blind faith" because no one today will ever meet Jesus in person, no one today was there when the Bible was written, and no one today can physically see God - therefore, his conclusion and definition of faith is simply a blind belief. Many Christians may roll their eyes at this and then give a "churchy" answer as to what faith is to them, but is this not what many in the Church believe faith is?
It seems to me, especially in my nearly 11 years in ministry, that what people believe faith is may not necessarily be blind, but it is some feeling within or some mental belief in Jesus or in God the Father that comes from the person instead of from God. In many Baptist circles especially, we like to say that salvation is all of God, and I believe we genuinely believe that, but when it comes to faith we believe its something that we must do on our own. Is this the right view of what saving faith is?
In 2 Peter 1:1, Peter writes "to those who have obtained faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ..." - this term "obtained" in the Greek is "lagchano" which is "to obtain by a lot; to receive by divine allotment." Clearly, Peter and the apostles understood that even their saving faith was first given to them and then maintained by the grace of God through the Spirit, and that this faith was common among all who were redeemed.
If this weren't enough evidence of the nature of saving faith, Paul writes to the Philippians in 1:29, "For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in Him but also suffer for His sake..." - Again, this faith is "granted" to believers so that they could "believe."
Some of you may have your ears perked up at this point thinking this smells awfully like Calvinism. Whether we are Calvinists, Armenians, Traditionalists, or nothing, these terms don't matter, because the text itself makes it plain - Faith, true, biblical, saving faith is of God and not of us which is why it can be stated that salvation is of the grace of God, not of any works that we do, even faith (Eph. 2:8-9).
Let's bring this full circle.
Since faith is a free gift, all of God's grace, re-read Hebrews 11:1 - "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." The fact that faith is the substance and evidence (Gk. word for 'proof') of the things we can't see at this time, coupled with the fact that this faith is a gift given by God alone, shows us what saving faith truly is - it is the daily, continual proof graciously given to us in our hearts and minds that Jesus is who He says He is and that God, in fact, exists. Do you see how this all ties together? Apart from the general revelation of creation and the special revelation of Jesus on earth, faith itself is another proof of the existence and trustworthiness of God!
So you see reader, faith isn't some blind hope. It's an extra, God-given proof that He's here and that Jesus is alive!
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