What is Faith?
What is Faith?
Isn’t faith simply believing God?
God said it or wrote it; if we believe Him and act on on what He said, that’s faith?
I was six years old when I came to understand that God is good… that He demands perfect righteousness. I realized that I did not meet His standard and desperately needed a solution. That’s when I heard who Jesus is and what He did to purchase my pardon. Even then I had a choice about believing what I heard and placing my trust in Jesus.
There is a lot of baggage around the word “faith” these days… as if faith had a life of its own.
Some people think that if they can just believe strongly enough then they can make anything happen. It’s like “faith” is magic and using it is like manipulating the world through witchcraft. Maybe because the root of these ideas is being revealed. Perhaps the world’s concept of faith is just believing anything or anyone except the Creator God of the Bible.
Is that Good enough?
Missions is all about believing God ourselves and leading others to believe Him.
Below are some more thoughts on faith:
Object of Faith
Nebulous faith is no faith at all. It is an essence without substance; a wish or wispy hope or a dream.
When we exercise faith in assessing the strength of a chair, we are considering whether or not it will hold a person that would sit on it. Is the chair reliable? Does the chair have substance and strength? Will it survive the strain that will be put on it?
Biblical faith has an object. That object is God, the triune Creator of all things. Because God is the object, Biblical faith is not blind, even when there are things that cannot be seen while exercising faith in Him. Biblical faith has substance and evidence. (Hebrews 11:1)
There is physical evidence everywhere that God can be trusted. There is historical evidence that He is reliable. His faithfulness is seen in the physical world through the boundaries of the seas, the rising and setting of the sun, in the vegetation that grows around us, and in the gravity that keeps us on the ground. His written word, The Holy Bible, records His testimony of events in history and the testimony of the people who were there. Of course, if you do not believe the testimony of God’s written word, the Bible, that He is the Creator and sustainer of all of life, then that is the opposite of faith. Hardness of heart toward God and other people usually comes with this unbelief. (Hebrews 3:12)
Has God Said...
Believing God is fundamental to faith.
But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. – Hebrews 11:6
Imagine that… God does not like being called a liar. Do you like it when people call you a liar; especially when you are not lying? God cannot lie. (Numbers 23:19, 1 Samuel 15:29, Hebrews 6:18, Titus 1:2) Therefore, refusing to believe the testimony given to us from His book, from His creation, from His mouth, from His witnesses, and from His only begotten Son, Jesus… this just leaves us faithless.
Therein is a major obstacle to abiding with Him. There is the dividing line. It’s kind of hard to agree with God when you don’t believe Him. (Amos 3:3)
Faith is believing that what God has said has been done has really been done.Faith is believing that what God has said He will do He will really do.
Active Faith
At a young age I heard that God is perfectly good and that I am not perfect good. I understood that my imperfection, my sin, required retribution; judgement. I also heard that Jesus Christ paid the penalty for my sin when He died on the cross and that He rose again from death, proving God the Father was satisfied with the payment. That’s when faith became active. I had to decide whether or not to believe what I heard and trust in Jesus.
From a practical aspect, faith is taking action based on what God has said with the conviction that God will be glorified through that action and will reward it as He has written.
Faith is taking God at His word.
It’s a bit difficult to “love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind” if you don’t believe Him about who He is and what He has done. (Luke 10:27)
Faith is believing God’s testimony about His character, His person, purpose, plan, people, and processes.
It’s also difficult to love your neighbors enough to tell them what God has done for them in history, especially through Jesus Christ, if you don’t believe God’s testimony and His written word (The Holy Bible). (1 Corinthians 15:3-8, Luke 24:44-48)
Faith is believing God about what He is doing in the world and our role in His plan.
Essential for eternal salvation is faith in the identity, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. (John 3:18, 1 John 5:10-12) How can you receive a gift unless you believe the gift was given?
Faith on Mission
Faith in regard to God’s mission involves believing that what God has said He will do, He will do, … and then taking action in keeping with His revelation.
Matthew 28:18-20 is one of many places throughout scripture where God reveals what He is working to accomplish through those people who choose to believe Him.
God’s design for His disciples is that they should be His ambassadors to all of the ethnolinguistic people groups all over the world, preaching, baptizing, and teaching obedience to observe all that Christ commanded. (Matthew 28:18-20, Acts 1:8, 2 Corinthians chapters 3, 4, 5)
There was a point in time where I had to decide whether or not God’s word and God’s mission were relevant to my life enough for me to take action.
Faith of Discipleship
Personally engaging to take action based on God’s character and His word requires faith – believing Him.
The cost of faith for His disciples is personal. Like the parable of the pearl of great price, the disciple must make a decision about what is valuable before he can take action. The disciple discovers the treasure, assesses its value, counts the cost, and then takes action to adopt that which is the most valuable. (Luke 14:33)
Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour. — John 12:24-26
Faith for Others
If by believing God He becomes our greatest treasure, then the very best gift we can give to another person is to tell them about Him.
Faith is personal. We cannot do the believing for anyone else, but we can give them what they need to make an informed decision about whether or not God is trustworthy.
The best we can offer God is our very lives to accomplish His purpose in being His vessels to proclaim His glory, laying down our lives for others in His likeness.
Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. – John 15:8
“Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times more in this age—and in the age to comFor after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.e, eternal life.” – 1 Corinthians 1:21
Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. – 2 Corinthians 5:20
Faith for Family
How is God going to provide for me and my family if we leave everything to serve in missions?
God does not promise that we will get everything we want if we choose to serve Him as a career. In fact He promises that “all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” (2 Timothy 3:12) However, He does promise to be with us. (Matthew 28:20) He does not promise safety, fame, or wealth. His answer is “trust me.” (See Matthew 6:24-34 about , masters, money, lilies, food, drink, clothing, and kingdoms.)
Unwillingness to trust God about His provision for their families is a major reason why the Israelites who came up out of Egypt missed going into the Promised Land. (Deuteronomy 1:3) It is also a major reason why many believers reject obedience in serving God in other countries near “the ends of the earth.”
Laying up treasure in heaven will require adopting different values. After His resurrection, Jesus spent forty days with His disciples to frame their perspective and hone their values. (Acts 1:3)
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. — Matthew13:44
Faith to Engage
Knowing God’s identity, knowing His purpose, knowing His plan, knowing His people, and knowing His process, we take action by faith in His word with His promises of the future in mind.
But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: – 1 Peter 2:9
And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
– Luke 24:47
Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:
– Colossians 1:28
And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
– 2 Corinthians 5:18
For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
– 1 Corinthians 1:21
More To Explore
God’s Global Purpose
God is worthy to be worshiped by all peoples in all of the world. God is worthy of all glory. By glory, I mean that
Be A Missionary
Be A Missionary? Have you ever considered that being a career missionary might be the most rewarding and fulfilling thing you could do with your