Faith (1)

(From devotionals at work)

"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." -Hebrews 11:1

"Q: Why do you say that by faith alone you are right with God? A: It is not because of any value my faith has that God is pleased with me. Only Christ's satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness make me right with God. And I receive this righteousness and make it mine in no other way than by faith alone." -Heidelberg Catechism

In 2 Peter 1:5, the apostle begins his list of Christian virtues with "faith." Faith is foundational to Christianity, and yet is difficult to define. Any definition that is less than relational falls short. For instance, Christians sometimes say that "Christ is the answer," a term that implies that there is a question of some sort, and our minds need to be satisfied. Or we say, "Christ will meet your needs," implying that we lack something in our lives that He can supply. But the Bible does not speak of Christ as either answer or need meeter. It speaks of Him as Savior, a term that tells me right away that I am in deep trouble--that my worst enemy is not the devil, or cosmic evil, or the world around me, but myself. I do not need intellectual satisfaction or a lack made up primarily; I need to be rescued.

Faith, therefore, is much more akin to our English word "trust." It means that I rely both on the finished work of Christ to save me, and on His capacity to manage my life to change me. It is not rooted in an idea, or a set of moral values, but in a Person. Faith throws itself totally on the work and good intentions of another.

There is debate among Christians as to whether faith is something resident in us that responds to God, or is itself a gift of God. I hold the latter view because I don't believe we have anything within us to offer God before He works His own change in us. If that is true, conversion follows this sequence:

1) An outward calling. This is a summons from God that brings a response, usually through the preaching of the Word or some form of individual evangelism or, in some cases, personal reading. A good example of outward calling is Lydia. Acts 16:14 says, "The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul."

2) Regeneration. We know this term better as the "new birth." Regeneration is a secret work of the Holy Spirit in the heart that makes a dead man or woman alive. It allows the believer to repent and believe. Often believers are not aware of the time of regeneration; its existence is proven by subsequent awareness. Others remember the time of regeneration as a dramatic and obvious change. Either way, it is the point in the stages of conversion when a human soul crosses from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light.

3) Repentance. There is confusion about this word today because it is often confused with its manifestations: sorrow, weeping, relief, etc. The word in Greek means simply, "to change your mind," in the sense of admitting that what God says about sin applies to us, and we quit making excuses. It is essentially negative. It is the result of seeing the horror of rebellion against God, and His judgment against it. Frankly, it is the weak point in a lot of evangelical preaching today. It is easier to preach Christ as our buddy, our healer, our therapist, or even as the poor weak Christ who needs to get into our hearts to get warm, instead of our only hope against the inevitable judgment of God.

4) Faith. Faith is the positive turning to Christ following repentance. Next time we will look at faith in more detail.