How’s your faith? It does not matter if you are an atheist, theist, new age mystic. Doesn’t matter if you’re religious, a church-going person, or a Christian; yes, there’s a difference. You have placed faith in something or someone. You may say, “Well, I don’t have faith, I have my self-reasoning and confidence in where I place my trust and hope.” This would make for a longer conversation, but since this is an article, might I ask, “How can you trust your reasoning?” I would also say that the word confidence comes from the Latin words, con fide…’with faith’. So, friends, we all have faith, the question is whether it is set upon solid ground or shifting sands.
First, let’s define “faith.” The Oxford dictionary defines faith as “complete trust or confidence in someone or something.” I would add details needed for those who claim to be Christian that our faith is complete trust in the Son of God, Jesus Christ, for our salvation, adoption, and future hope. Simply put, the biblical definition of faith is “trusting in something you cannot explicitly prove” (Hebrews 11:1). This definition of faith contains two aspects: intellectual assent and trust. Intellectual assent is believing something to be true. Trust is relying on the fact that the something is true. A chair is often used to help illustrate this. Intellectual assent is recognizing that a chair is a chair and agreeing that it is designed to support a person who sits on it. Trust is sitting in the chair. Understanding these two aspects of faith is crucial. Many people believe certain facts and intellectually agree with biblical facts about Jesus Christ. But knowing those facts to be true is not what the Bible means by “faith.” The biblical definition of faith requires intellectual assent to the facts and trust in the facts. Honestly, we can believe certain things to be true, yet they are not, no matter how hard we believe in them. Hence, the truth of those facts and acting on that truth us crucial. Simply believing the facts that Jesus is God incarnate who died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins and was resurrected is not enough to be saved. We must personally and fully rely on the death of Christ as the atoning sacrifice for our sins. The faith God asks of us for salvation is belief in what the Bible says about who Jesus is and what He accomplished and fully trusting in Jesus for that salvation (Acts 16:31). Biblical faith is always accompanied by repentance, a turning away from your sin towards Jesus (Matthew 21:32; Mark 1:15). In addition, we are to believe what the Bible says, and we are to obey it. We are to agree with the truth of God’s Word, all of it, and we are to seek transformation by it (Romans 12:2). Without faith, it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). Without faith, we cannot be saved (John 3:16). Without faith, life cannot be what God intends it to be, abundant and full of joy (John 10).
I will simply say here that if your faith in grounded in anything or any person other than Jesus Christ for your hope, happiness, significance, or security, you are in trouble deep, both today and into eternity. Placing your faith, complete trust, in Jesus is the only solid ground to be assured of your needed salvation, but also to navigate through life in this broken world and into heaven (Matthew 7:24-27).
So What?
Faith matters. The question is: Does it matter to you and where is it placed? We live in an age where faith has a place, for it does in the life of every human on earth. Yet, how you answer the question above indicates whether your faith is built on something solid or whether it teeters on the wavering sands of self, culture, or ever-changing worldly ideologies, which are as secure as Jell-o hammered to the wall.
Friends, place your faith in the one place where it will make a difference, Jesus Christ as He has been revealed in scripture, and you will have life. Do not adjust Jesus to fit your life, but transform your life to follow Jesus. Just as the first disciples dropped everything, counted the cost, and followed Him, so must you consider and decide. God has revealed enough about Himself through His creation (Romans 1:18-21), through His written Word, the Bible (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:16-21), and through His Son (John 14:9), that we can enter into a meaningful and saving relationship with Him. Once you have placed your faith in Jesus, you are saved (John 10:7-16; Acts 4:12; Romans 10:5-13). Once saved, you live your life to the glory of the God who saved you (1 Cor. 10:31). This means attending and becoming a member of a Bible preaching/believing church, setting your love upon God’s people in word, deed, and prayer, and sharing the gospel (good news of Jesus) with others around you. Lastly, this means that you live your life, with all the trials, temptations, joys, and hope, looking to Jesus who is the author and perfecter of your faith (Hebrews 12:2). It is good to “examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves” (2 Corinthians 13:5). If you question whether you are a Christian, then self-examination is in order. Doubts about our salvation can be troubling, but false assurances are worse. You are not saved by church attendance, being baptized, being ‘good’, or ‘being one with nature.” Thankfully, we have Scripture as our guide. There are specific things we can look for when determining the validity of our profession of faith: trust in Christ, obedience to His Word, love for God’s people, and continued spiritual growth. We don’t need to live in doubt about tomorrow. We can navigate our life with living hope (1 Peter 1:3-9), even as we endure wounds from those who might call themselves Christians, navigate rejection by family and friends when we proclaim that Jesus is the only way to be saved from God’s wrath (John 14:6), and when your hopes for this life fall short. When you trust Jesus by faith and live to please and honor Him, you can know beyond a doubt that you are a Christian and that you have a glorious future in the life to come (John 14:15-17; Revelation 21:22-27, 22:1-5).
As always, if you have questions, need prayer, a word of encouragement, or a cup of coffee, please contact me via my personal email: niloc1214@gmail.com
