FAITH
Faith is a word one frequently hears when any form of religious discussion is taking place. But what really is faith and do we all have it? In reality; yes, because we all exhibit faith every hour of each day even though we may not consider it as such. When one sits in a chair faith is expressed that it will support the weight of the person sitting. Likewise when you turn on a light, start your car, use a lock, etc., you show faith by believing that the device will work the way it should. So faith, in itself, is not uncommon.
Faith in the sense it is used in the Bible is really no different. If you can have faith in man’s works, why not in God’s works? If we can have faith in what man has made, why do we have trouble having faith in what God has said? And He has said quite a bit. Faith is defined as “…the substance (reality) of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen,”(Hebrews 11:1). We are told that “…without faith it is impossible to please him (God)…” (Hebrews 11:6) because “…the just shall live by faith…” (Hebrews 10:38).
The same words are used in Galatians 3:11 where it states that “…no one is justified by the law in the sight of God…” because “…by grace you have been saved through faith…not of works, lest anyone should boast,” (Ephesians 2:8-9). From this it is apparent that no amount of works or deeds will result in salvation. Instead, it is salvation which causes one to do the works and deeds; or as James puts it “…faith without works is dead” (2:20) as “…is the body without the spirit,” (2:26)
The point of this is that “…he who comes to God must believe (have faith) that He is…” (Hebrews 11:6). If that is true, then we, by the same faith, must be willing to receive the grace offered to us by said faith because we can’t save ourselves and neither can we be saved by the law.
What really does it mean to be saved? Although we talk a lot about the grace of God, we talk little about the sin that requires us to need the grace that God provides. The Bible is clear; in addition to the mercy, grace, and love that is talked about, the Bible also tells of the wrath of God that is coming. “Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience,” (Colossians 3:6) but by grace and faith we “…wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, (because it is) Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come,” (1 Thessalonians 1:10).
We can see from the events around us the evidence of profound changes possible in the coming years. We are also told by the Bible that there are only two possible outcomes for us in the ultimate future: having the faith to be given God’s grace or lacking faith which will lead us to God’s wrath. If you read the Book, the latter is not the place one would wish to be. It’s really a little thing; when we can trust so much in what man can do, then to place as much trust in what God has promised to provide should not be too difficult. So, if we have faith in man’s accomplishments, we should be able, as well, to trust in God’s covenants. After all, what man can do will only benefit us until our time here is over. What God has promised will last forever. Where’s your faith? It’s certainly something to think about.
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