Redefining our Christian Terms - Part 6: Faith
Jun 7th, 2009 by Steve Highlander
The Disciples came to Jesus on occasion and said, “Lord, increase our faith.” (One notable time was when He was talking about forgiving others 70 times 7.) What is real faith and how can it be increased? I believe the first step is to define Biblical faith.
In the past 40 years the subject of FAITH has permeated large segments of Christianity. Going back even further, faith is at the heart of every Christian church. Today we have “faith” churches; “faith” teachers, “faith” ministries and even “The Faith Message.” We refer to our doctrinal system as “faith,” i.e. “What faith are you?” Meaning, are you Catholic, Baptist, Lutheren or Pentecostal? We encourage people to “keep the faith.” However, for all of this I find that many Christians really do not have a Biblical grasp of faith.
Too often, in its modern form, faith has been reduced to “believing God for something.” More often than not it is something material. Too many times it is about pleasure and comfort and prosperity. It is strange that I have never heard one ”faith teacher” talk about believing God for 100 souls to be saved. Perhaps they do, but I can not remember one modern faith message that talks about using faith to believe God for spiritual things.
What is the nature of Faith? Is it simply believing God for something? Some would have us believe that you can “name it and claim it,” to use an old worn out cliche. But is faith much more significant that telling God what we want and then believing He will come through for us? I think it is.
Genuine Biblical faith starts in Romans 4:3, “Abraham BELIEVED God and it was counted to him for righteousness.” You should read all of Romans 4 to get the entire impact, but I will only mention two important thoughts here.
The first key thought that defines faith is found in the statement,”Abraham BELIEVED God.” It did not say Abraham believed IN God. Here is the tricky point for many people. They believe that faith is basically believing IN God. You might ask someone if they have faith and they would respond, “I believe in God.” Well that is not quite what God had in mind when He said, “without faith it is impossible to please Him.” (Hebrews 11:6) God-pleasing faith not only believes He IS, it believes He acts on our behalf according to this scripture.
In discussing the issue of faith, James seems a bit sarcastic when he says, “You believe in one God, you do well, but will you know that the demons also believe and tremble.” (James 2:19) Remember that when James wrote this they were not living in the midst of an atheistic society, but a very religious society that believed in multiple gods. For a person to refine their faith to a single god was serious business. But James reminds them they believe no more than the demons. And, at least the demons have the reverence to tremble at that knowledge. Perhaps they have more “faith” then some of us. As the Word says elsewhere, “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”
Real faith then, as defined by Abraham’s experience, is believing what God has SAID. You can believe IN God all day long and never really believe what He has said. This is the quagmire that many church-goers find themselves in. They obviously believe in God or they would not be going to church. However if you ask them if they believe the Bible is the word of God they will say “no!” How is it possible to “believe God,” if you do not believe He has spoken?” You can’t! Faith deals directly with the issue of the integrety of God’s Word and what you believe about it,
This then is the primary attack of satan on faith. Discredit the Bible in a person’s mind and there can be no genuine faith. Without the integrity of the Bible, faith is reduced to adherence to a creed, doctrinal system or ecclesiastical method. When this happens religious rite, activity and discipline is substituted for relationship with the living God and our “faith” is reduced to nothing more than religious self-effort.
Another problem occurs with many of those people that would claim the Bible is, in general, the inspired Word of God. That is not enough either. Real faith requires that specifics of God’s Word be acted upon. Paul, who wrote Romans, and James once again point to Abraham as an example. Both point put that Abraham OBEYED or acted on what He believed. He stepped out and based his life and future on God’s Word, even though He didn’t know all the details about how things were going to work out. The following scriptures show both his attitude of faith and his action of faith.
Romans 4:20-21 says, “He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.”
Heb 11:8 “By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.”
The second characteristic of Faith is acting on, or perhaps we should say, obedience to, the spoken word or promise. When God gives a directive, faith obeys it. When God gives a promise, faith appropriates it through acting upon it. In other words, genuine faith requires corresponding action. The fact of the matter is you WILL act on what you believe. If I told you there was $10,000 buried in a field you WOULD go look for it if you genuinely believed it was there. Deep down we act on our beliefs, real or imagined. Lack of action proves the lie of our confessed faith
Two last considerations concerning faith: The purpose of faith and the result of faith.
The purpose of faith is NOT to just “get something from God.” God purposed that man would relate to Him based on faith because genuine faith requires relationship. Many religions in the world have their “religious disciplines” that do not require actual relationship with God or others. The major difference in genuine Christianity is the relationship factor, both with God and with other believers.
From a faith standpoint, overcoming issues and obtaining the things we need require us to relate to God; to believe Him; to trust Him. And it is this dependence that brings us into a loving, humble, submissive and worship-filled relationship with Him. Our faith, acted up on, brings glory to God. Read again Romans 4:20, “He did not stagger at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving glory to God….” .
And finally there is the result of faith. One major result (and we could say purpose) of faith is to glorify God. A secondary result of faith is the spiritual strengthening that takes place in our own lives and the third result of faith is the answer that results as a resposne to faith.
The heart of the matter is this: faith does not start with you or me. It starts with God and His word. Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 1:20, “For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.” (EVS)
I encourage you to ask God to increase your faith and be ready to step out into an incredible journey. God is looking for those who will believe Him, not just believe in Him.
Blessings,
Steve
