Thoughts On Faith
People have faith in more things than they realize. We believe the chair will support our weight every time we sit down. As people enjoy a lovely evening at home, we have faith in the construction of our house that it won’t come crashing down upon us.
I know. Nobody goes through life thinking the roof may collapse upon them or the chair will buckle underneath them. If you did, you would worry too much. Hmm, a lack of faith is what brings on worry. Faith is knowing something you cannot ascertain with your senses. Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
That said, I began to think of what the Bible says about faith.
The first thing that came to mind is that justification comes by faith. Romans 5:1, “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Using a play on the word “justified,” we can see how God views us when we have saving faith. Justified = “Just as if I’d never sinned.” Jesus washes our sins away with His blood, and the same principle applies. Say, you have been working in the garden, changing a tire, or whatever. When you come in, your hands are filthy; you wash them and they are now clean. There is no evidence of the dirt. When a person is justified, it is as if they never sinned; there is no evidence: Jesus bore our guilt on the cross.
Other thoughts about faith.
Faith and God’s work are interchangeable. You cannot do one without the other. John 6:28-29, “Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.”
Faith and love should travel hand in hand. 1 John 3:23, “And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.”
In life, Satan will throw things at us to cause us to sin, cause us to question God and our faith, to divide relationships, or anything else that would ruin or stop our testimony for Christ. Faith is our shield of protection. Ephesians 6:16, “Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.”
Lastly, you cannot please God without faith. If you are a Christian, meditate on that for a while. How much of your life is an act of faith? Do we live our lives, and is God an afterthought or a forethought?
Hebrews 11:6, “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”
Preacher Tim Johnson is Pastor of Countryside Baptist Church in Parke County, Indiana. His weekly column “Preacher’s Point” may be found at: www.preacherspoint.wordpress.com