What Faith Isn’t, and Is
“Faith” is one of those elastic terms that can mean different things to different people:
… wishful thinking
… a feeling of confidence and hope
… a blind leap in the dark (believing without any evidence)
… intellectual agreement with a set of doctrines
None of these descriptions capture the idea of biblical faith. Biblical faith is far more reasonable in that it involves our mind as well as our will. But the fact that biblical faith is reasonable doesn’t mean that intellectual assent is all that is necessary. That too is a short-sighted, unbiblical version of genuine faith. Biblical faith calls for an all-consuming personal commitment that engages not only the heart but also the mind.
So what is genuine biblical faith?
Biblical faith is taking risks on the basis of the non-verifiable word of a reliable witness.
Because biblical faith engages the whole person, there is always risk in genuine faith. If there were no risk, there would be no need for faith. This is why someone who wants to fully understand before believing will always be frustrated. Reason can take you a long way toward knowing God, but never all the way. At some point, reason will reach its limit, and faith must take you the rest of the way.
We sometimes exercise this kind of faith in our interactions with others. If I tried to follow your directions to your house, I would be exercising faith in the sense that I would be taking a risk based on the non-verifiable word of a reliable witness.
What do I risk in following your directions? Getting lost.
Who is the “reliable witness”? You are. In following your directions, I am trusting two things about you: that you are competent (you know street names, landmarks, etc.) and that you really do want me to find your house.
Why is your word “non-verifiable”? Because I cannot know in advance that your directions are reliable, not until I take the risk of following them.
Faith in Christian experience
What do we risk when we put our trust in Christ? Everything. In fact, every worldview – Buddhism, atheism, Islam, any worldview – is a gamble of one’s whole life.
What is the reliable witness? God’s Word, which tells me that He is a promise-making, promise-keeping God who loves me and wants me to be with Him. In trusting Christ, I am taking God at His Word and staking my life on His promises.
There’s one more thing, and it is the main message of the Epistle to the Hebrews: genuine faith is persevering faith. Although their present circumstances are distressing (reproach… affliction… imprisonment… confiscation of property, Heb 10:33-34), the writer urges them to persevere in their faith. And that is where the great risk comes in. Why? Because biblical faith is not just a decision of the moment but a life-long commitment to trust in the promises of God.
When I am at my lowest, persevering in faith can seem foolhardy and naïve. But genuine faith perseveres in trusting in God’s promises, even when the prospects look bleak.
Let’s persevere and let’s encourage one another to persevere in our bedrock confidence in our promise-keeping God.
Persevere,
Paul Pyle
Pastor of Discipleship
… wishful thinking
… a feeling of confidence and hope
… a blind leap in the dark (believing without any evidence)
… intellectual agreement with a set of doctrines
None of these descriptions capture the idea of biblical faith. Biblical faith is far more reasonable in that it involves our mind as well as our will. But the fact that biblical faith is reasonable doesn’t mean that intellectual assent is all that is necessary. That too is a short-sighted, unbiblical version of genuine faith. Biblical faith calls for an all-consuming personal commitment that engages not only the heart but also the mind.
So what is genuine biblical faith?
Biblical faith is taking risks on the basis of the non-verifiable word of a reliable witness.
Because biblical faith engages the whole person, there is always risk in genuine faith. If there were no risk, there would be no need for faith. This is why someone who wants to fully understand before believing will always be frustrated. Reason can take you a long way toward knowing God, but never all the way. At some point, reason will reach its limit, and faith must take you the rest of the way.
We sometimes exercise this kind of faith in our interactions with others. If I tried to follow your directions to your house, I would be exercising faith in the sense that I would be taking a risk based on the non-verifiable word of a reliable witness.
What do I risk in following your directions? Getting lost.
Who is the “reliable witness”? You are. In following your directions, I am trusting two things about you: that you are competent (you know street names, landmarks, etc.) and that you really do want me to find your house.
Why is your word “non-verifiable”? Because I cannot know in advance that your directions are reliable, not until I take the risk of following them.
Faith in Christian experience
What do we risk when we put our trust in Christ? Everything. In fact, every worldview – Buddhism, atheism, Islam, any worldview – is a gamble of one’s whole life.
What is the reliable witness? God’s Word, which tells me that He is a promise-making, promise-keeping God who loves me and wants me to be with Him. In trusting Christ, I am taking God at His Word and staking my life on His promises.
There’s one more thing, and it is the main message of the Epistle to the Hebrews: genuine faith is persevering faith. Although their present circumstances are distressing (reproach… affliction… imprisonment… confiscation of property, Heb 10:33-34), the writer urges them to persevere in their faith. And that is where the great risk comes in. Why? Because biblical faith is not just a decision of the moment but a life-long commitment to trust in the promises of God.
When I am at my lowest, persevering in faith can seem foolhardy and naïve. But genuine faith perseveres in trusting in God’s promises, even when the prospects look bleak.
Let’s persevere and let’s encourage one another to persevere in our bedrock confidence in our promise-keeping God.
Persevere,
Paul Pyle
Pastor of Discipleship
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