FAITH - WHAT IS IT?

If we say, "I believe there is a storm coming", we are not stating a certainty, but an assumption.

If we ask someone about his faith, he may reply, "I am Catholic. (Or Anglican, Moslim, Pentecostal, or anything!)" However, this only tells you his background, not his conviction.

Even saying "I believe in God", only voices the assumption that He exists, without revealing what one thinks of Him, or what one's relationship to Him is.

Our present concern is the one particular belief called the Christian Faith. We will consider who is a Christian, and what this means.

Christian Faith, as the name suggests, is believing in Christ. At the same time, it is believing in God. And believing in God is quite different from believing in a god.

One who truly believes in God knows more than that He exists. He knows who God is, what He is like, and what He does. He knows these things; he is not just guessing, or assuming - no, he knows. He is confident of what is an established fact.

There are different ways of gaining knowledge. One can learn by observation and study, in other words by seeing for yourself. Or one can learn by believing what someone tells you, "in good faith".

If that someone can simultaneously provide factual evidence, you accept his word as if you had seen for yourself. Without the factual evidence, of course, you will hesitate, unless you trust the speaker utterly. Only then will you have faith in him; that will give you the confidence to accept what he says.

Faith in God and in Christ is like this. We can't possibly see God, or visit Him. He is still the Unseen God. But He is not unknown. God identified Himself through His Word(s). He speaks to us in the Bible. He reveals who He is, and what He does; what He is to us, and what He wants from us.

No-one can tell you about God on his own authority. It would be fantasy, totally unreliable. But because, in the Bible, God has revealed Himself, we have firsthand knowledge of all we need to know about Him.

Faith in God presupposes a complete trust in Him and in His word. The Bible is a great treasure for believers. It is the fount of all spiritual knowledge, and the only foundation for a Christian life. From it we know God, draw comfort and strength and obtain peace and rest.

But faith is more than this. Even if you accept the Bible as God's truth, and know everything about Him; if you don't have personal faith in Christ, you can't experience it. For, knowing of God's holiness and hatred of sin, how distressed you must be by the distance between Him and you. The more you try to overcome evil in your life, the fewer results you see. you know how God sees your most intimate thoughts and desires. His disapproval frightens you and you attempt to hide; or you harden your heart and reject such a God, going your own way. Fully realising how things are between God and yourself, you vainly try to escape by pushing aside the problems in your life.

The Bible tells us that God gave us His law to save our lives. He expects us to love Him above all else, and our neighbour as ourself. (this is Christ's summary of the Ten Commandments, found in Exodus 20.) And God also shows us that our attempts are in vain, and that He is rightly angry at our sins. His wrath makes us fear the worst.

But this God, who is righteous and who does not tolerate sin, is also merciful and abounding in love for His fallen creatures. Read Psalm 103. His word doesn't only contain laws, threats, and punishments. It also has promises and encouragement. God Himself has provided our means to escape. He gave His Son, Jesus Christ, to carry the punishment of our sins by His death. And now He promises us, poor lost sinners, forgiveness, the renewal of our lives, and an eternal, glorious future.

The Bible is full of God's comforting promises. He calls and admonishes us to take note of them.

Promises demand faith.

God does not demand the impossible. He doesn't ask us to pay for our own sins, or to renew our own lives. We can do neither. The former was done for us by Christ, the second will be done in us by God's Spirit. God does demand faith. Faith in Him, in His Word, in His promises. Believing is the answer to promises. For if someone promises me something and I don't believe him, and don't follow it up, I get nothing. The same applies here: without faith, we can never obtain the promises. God cannot give them to us, as it were, because of our unbelief. Thus we remain in our misery - a perilous state.

In order to believers you must put aside your ego. Faith is forgetting yourself and your own attempts. Believing is surrendering to God, to His compassion, to His love, to His care. Faith is knowing you belong to Jesus Christ. He has paid our debt. Faith brings peace to your troubled heart. Christ transforms your life. In faith you are given happiness and new courage.

Don't think that faith comes easily. You have to seek it out. Don't think you can just grab it. It is God's gift, He gives it to those who truly desire it. It won't be a sudden storm in your life. It usually starts like a small seedling. Make sure that it is fed by the Word of God. Maintain contact with its Giver through prayer. Then it will blossom. God guarantees it.

 Bible references:

No salvation apart from Christ - John 3:16-21

The breach with God repaired by Faith - Romans 5:1

Faith is truth and grants endurance - Hebrews 11:1-40