Faith is in many ways the real starting point of our Christian walk. But lately I have found myself wondering "what does 'faith' really mean?"
When people discuss faith, sooner or later someone is bound to quote Hebrews 11:1. The NIV translation of Hebrews 11:1 reads: "Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see." The King James version is probably more frequently quoted. It says: "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."
Hebrews 11:1 is a beautiful verse. But to me it speaks more to the quality of faith than the substance of faith. What I mean by that is Hebrews 11:1 is speaking about, for lack of a better word, the strength of the faith that God desires from those who believe -- that is the confidence we have in what we believe in. Hebrews 11:2 continues "[t]his is what the ancients were commended for." The author then goes on to discuss the quality of faith that caused Cain to offer the better sacrifice, that allowed Enoch to be taken without experiencing death, that allowed Noah to build an ark, and ultimately the faith of Abraham that changed the world forever.
As I was writing this blog my second son, Christian, came into my office to see what I was up to, and I took the occasion to ask him what faith means. Christian is a really smart kid and he knows the Bible well. I don't remember the exact answer he gave, but it sounded a whole lot like Hebrews 11:1. So, I pressed him a little, and he quickly acknowledged that Christian faith is not just believing in something you can't always see -- even if that something is Jesus. As we continued to talk, Christian suggested that faith means believing in God and submitting to His will. Now, we were getting somewhere.
The Bible says that "faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ." Romans 10:17. So, faith obviously requires some knowledge of who Jesus is. Fortunately or unfortunately, the new believer often has pretty limited knowledge of who Jesus really is. And, of course, knowledge is not enough. Faith also requires that the new believer believe.
John 3:16 seems to be a favorite Bible verse of a lot of Christians. It says: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." But, of course, we need to keep in mind that there is belief and then there is BELIEF. And, John 3:16 is talking about BELIEF.
In fact, the Greek word for belief used in John 3:16 is "pisteuo" (transliterated). And, here is the definition:
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You have probably heard it said that even Satan believes in God. But belief in the sense of faith is an entirely different thing. I think Christian had it pretty close to right when he said that faith requires both a belief in God and submission to His will. Maybe another way to put it is that faith requires that we hear the Word, that we believe the Word, and that we submit to the Word. Or better yet, saving faith means both that we "believe" Jesus is who he says he is and we put our "trust" in Him.
If this is starting to sound too academic let me bring it back down to earth. I think that grappling with the meaning of faith is important for a number of reasons. Let me give you a couple.
First, at times I think that when we speak about faith to people who are seeking to know God we make it sound too easy. In Luke, Jesus admonishes us to count the cost of being His disciple. Luke 14:28- 30. While salvation is a free gift, real faith changes us. As Paul says in Second Corinthians, "if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" 2 Corinthians 5:17.
For most of us, the change that comes with living our life for Christ requires sacrifice. Most of us need to give up some things we don't really want to give up; and most of us need to take on some burdens that we don't really want to take on. Again, I agree with my son Christian that "faith" requires submission to God's will. To submit to God's will, though, we have to understand His will. And, that in turn requires our commitment to get to know Him better. I guess the way I look at it is that the gift is free, but the burden of carrying the gift is not always easy.
Second, I think we need to try to understand faith so that we may have confidence in our own salvation. We cannot be the witnesses for Christ that we need to be without that confidence. Again, this is where I really think Hebrews 11 comes in. This is "what the ancients were commended for" -- an unwavering faith; the kind of faith that can move mountains.
When Pam and I first started attending Heartland Church I was really struck by people like C.R. Hamill, Mark Behrens, Ben Anderson, John Ferris and many others who just seemed to have an incredible trust in God. These names may or may not mean much to you (particularly if you don't attend Heartland) but they mean a great deal to me. Their faith inspired me and helped me to see God differently than I had before.
Be confident in your faith. But remember that belief and BELIEF are two different things!
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