Faith

Posted On September 13, 2020

“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”

Hebrews 11:1 NIV

I’ve had 1 Corinthians 13:13 on my mind lately: “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love” (NIV). So I thought maybe these virtues would be good topics to explore over the next three weeks, starting with faith. Earlier this week I gathered some of my books together, but I decided I should probably wait before committing. I like to have some confirmation or at least a good feeling about my blog topics before I start writing. So I piled some books on my desk, said a quick prayer about whether or not faith should be my topic for this week, and then walked back out into my living room where I had paused the Netflix show I was watching. The show is called Away and is about a manned mission to Mars. I had happened to pause the show on episode 6. I glanced at the television and saw this on the screen: AWAY S1:E6 “A Little Faith.” Confirmation received! So this week’s focus is faith. I’ve gathered some information from several sources, but I thought we could start with a visual representation of faith. Here’s a good example from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade:

Indiana Jones: “It’s a leap of faith.”
Henry Jones: “You must believe, boy. You must . . . believe.”

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Have you ever felt like you’re about to take a giant leap of faith off the edge of a cliff? I have. It’s terrifying! Even though we say we trust God, it’s lot harder when we have to actually do something. Henry Blackaby and Claude King in Experiencing God tell us: “Anytime God leads you to do something that has God-sized dimensions, you will face a crisis of belief. When you face a crisis of belief, what you do next reveals what you really believe about God.” I think “crisis of belief” describes it perfectly. Anytime God tells us to do something, we have to decide how much we really believe Him. We have to determine how much faith we have in Him and in His promises. We have to choose whether to take that leap of faith or to keep standing on the edge of the cliff. He won’t push us or make us jump. He waits for us to be ready. But eventually we will have to do it if we want to grow in faith and participate in His work. Blackaby and King remind us that if God gives us a job to do, it will be something we cannot do on our own. It will be an assignment that we will only be able to complete with God’s help. We can either choose to muster our courage and follow Him or choose to go our own way and miss out on God’s plan for our lives. This really does feel like a crisis! Our spiritual selves long to do God’s work and really believe He knows what’s best, but our earthly selves experience a moment (or several) of panic! We freak out and start to doubt everything, worrying that everyone we know we’ll think we’re completely crazy! Okay, so maybe that’s just me, but the point is that obeying God can be very scary sometimes. However, only by responding to God’s invitation to join Him in His work will we find our true purpose. Imagine if Indiana Jones had been afraid to take that leap of faith. He would have failed in his purpose to save his father and he would have missed out on even more wondrous adventures!

“God’s invitation for you to work with Him always leads you to a crisis of belief that requires faith and action.”

Henry T. Blackaby & Claude V. King

Faith and obedience go hand in hand. When God tells us to do something, He waits patiently for us to do it. He’ll wait years if necessary. From our perspective it may seem like God isn’t listening, but He’s just waiting for us to obey Him. Charles F. Stanley explains the consequences of disobedience:

“God does not require us to understand His will, just obey it, even if it seems unreasonable. Are things not going the way you planned? Is it difficult for you to understand what went wrong in your situation or why God isn’t blessing you? Sometimes it feels as if God is no longer working in your life because you’ve insisted on doing something your way instead of His way. Perhaps you’ve placed a condition on God — you only obey Him when you think His instructions are logical. What that really means is that you’ve failed to commit yourself to Him completely, and that’s bound to cause frustration in your life. Are you hesitant to obey God because He’s commanded you to do something that you’re not comfortable with or you think is irrational? If your prayers seem unanswered and the path ahead appears blocked, then it could be that God is waiting for you to take the step of faith that He’s commanded.”

Rev. Stanley encourages us not to lose hope. God’s perspective on our situation is infinitely more complete than ours. He can see the past, present, and future all at once, so He knows what’s best even if we don’t understand it. And the Holy Spirit will empower us to accomplish whatever He calls us to do. We don’t have to do it alone. We just have to step out in faith and let Him use us for His work. As Rev. Stanley reminds us, if we keep refusing to obey God’s instructions, we will keep struggling with the same difficulties and we will miss out on His blessings. This has been true for me. I was stuck for years praying the same prayers and not seeing anything change. But God wasn’t ignoring me. He was waiting for me to obey Him. I felt like I didn’t know what God wanted me to do, but He had already told me: read and study His Word. This is a very simple, straightforward request, but I kept making excuses and putting it off. Once I finally made the committment to do it, it’s amazing what a difference it made! Now He can finally show me the next steps in His plan for my life. I just had to take a small step of faith so that He could show me how to start maturing into a Christian who’s ready to leap! It’s definitely a learning process, and I’ve got a long way to go, but it feels wonderful not to be stuck any more.

“True obedience means doing what God says, when He says it, how He says it should be done, until what He says is accomplished — regardless of whether you understand the reasons for it or not. . . . God’s goal is to grow your trust in Him, so He will give you assignments that test your heart and mature your faith. . . . Your obedience — even though you don’t understand what He is doing — exercises your faith, making it stronger.”

Charles F. Stanley

“An act of faith is an act of a finite being who is grasped by and turned to the infinite. . . . Where there is daring and courage there is the possibility of failure. And in every act of faith this possibility is present. The risk must be taken.”

Paul Tillich

Christian Believer, a study of church doctrine, includes a discussion of faith. The author of the study guide, J. Ellsworth Kalas, reminds us that in the Bible faith is an action word, but it is also a state of mind:

“The belief in the first part of the equation — God exists — is so strong that the believer is content to leave the peculiar working out of God’s reward entirely in divine hands. . . . Obviously, then, obedience is a primary factor in faith. To say we believe God, yet disobey him, would be quite irrational. . . . Christ died for our sins, and only by faith in this sacrifice can a person be saved. A certain logic is involved. If the essence of sin as portrayed in Genesis is an act of disobedience to God — that is, of faith in other than God — then the way to counteract that pattern is by accepting God’s provision. We lost Eden by not believing in God’s character; we will gain a better Eden by believing in the divine character as revealed in Jesus’ death at Calvary.”

Dr. Kalas also explains how God’s plan of salvation unfolds throughout the Bible. In the Old Testament, the focus is on God’s kingdom as He works through the nation of Israel. In the New Testament, individual salvation is emphasized as people, through a declaration of faith in Christ, become part of the faith community, the church. Dr. Kalas clarifies how this faith should be viewed and shared:

“Thus Jesus Christ becomes the issue in any Christian discussion of faith. . . . A Christian does, of course, believe in God; but a Christian believes in God specifically as revealed in Jesus Christ, and by faith in Christ as God’s way of salvation. . . . The exclusiveness of this message is generally offensive in our broad-minded times. It was offensive in the first century also, so much so that from time to time the believers were persecuted and martyred for their conviction. To say faith must be placed in Jesus Christ seems judgmental — as it is. But it is a judgment we pass on ourselves, not on others. If we believe salvation is in Jesus Christ, we must of course accept him. Also, we must share this extraordinary knowledge. That is the judgment we pass on ourselves. As for what God will do about those who do not have saving faith in Jesus Christ, we will leave that judgment to God, for it is clearly God’s business. And just as surely, what we do about our own believing, and the sharing of that believing, is our business.”

“We cannot create our faith in God, we cannot make ourselves trust in Him. Our faith must be His gift. . . . God works faith in our hearts. He bestows on us the gift of faith, by winning us, gaining our confidence, not forcing it. His graciousness overcomes our mistrust, His grace creates our faith, so that when we come to Him, it is reallly our faith, and we come willingly.”

Donald M. Baillie

“True faith is a divine work, by which we are born anew. It kills the old self, and transforms us in heart, soul, mind, and faculties; and it brings with it the Holy Spirit. This faith is a living, busy, active, and powerful thing. It expresses itself constantly in good works.”

Martin Luther

Paul tells us in Romans 10:17 that “faith comes from hearing the message” (NIV). Dr. Kalas encourages us to “maintain an inward faith diet” by paying attention to what is “heard.” Our faith is strengthened as we spend time in prayer, study God’s Word, and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. We must reinforce these faith habits every day in everything we think, say, and do. Faith not only saves us, it helps us grow as believers.

“Faith is the belief that God is real and that God is good. . . . It is a choice to believe that the one who made it all hasn’t left it all and that he still sends light into the shadows and responds to gestures of faith. . . . Faith is the belief that God will do what is right. God says that the more hopeless your circumstances, the more likely, your salvation. The greater your cares, the more genuine your prayers. The darker the room, the greater the need for light. God’s help is near and always available, but it is only given to those who seek it.”

Max Lucado

This week’s Scripture passages focus on faith. There is a printer-friendly pdf version below the image. I have also included a video of “Trust and Obey” by Chelsea Moon with the Franz Brothers. Their beautiful version of this old hymn reminds us how sweet it is to trust in Jesus!

“Faith is believing. But it’s more than that too. It’s trusting that every word from God is true. Because every one is. It’s expecting God to keep every promise He makes. Because He will. It’s accepting that His love for you is perfectly complete and unconditional. Because it is. Faith isn’t simply believing; it’s allowing that faith to define who you are and who you will become.”

The Weekly Faith Project

References:

• Blackaby, Henry T., and Claude V. King. Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God. Lifeway Press, 1990.
• “Chelsea Moon w/ the Franz Brothers – Trust & Obey.” YouTube, uploaded by Chelsea Moon, 9 April 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrSCxfnN2B8.
• Christian Believer: Knowing God with Heart and Mind — Readings. Abingdon Press, 1999.
• Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Dir. Steven Spielberg. Paramount Pictures, 1989.
• “Indiana Jones – Leap of Faith.” YouTube, uploaded by Jay Kennedy, 13 April 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-JIfjNnnMA.
• Kalas, J. Ellsworth. Christian Believer: Knowing God with Heart and Mind — Study Manual. Abingdon Press, 1999.
• Lucado, Max. Grace for the Moment: Inspirational Thoughts for Each Day of the Year. J. Countryman, 2000.
• Stanley, Charles F. 30 Life Principles Study Guide: A Study for Growing in Knowledge and Understanding of God. Thomas Nelson, 2008.
• The Weekly Faith Project: A Challenge to Journal, Reflect, and Cultivate a Genuine Faith. Zondervan, 2019.

Images:

• Shadow Cross featured image by Holger Schué from Pixabay
• Paper Cross image by congerdesign from Pixabay
• Cross on the Beach image by cajaberner from Pixabay
• Wooden Cross image by congerdesign from Pixabay