Faith can be a very elusive concept. One definition of faith is confidence in a person or a thing. As commonly used, the phrase “keep the faith” can apply to anything from a football game to the stock market.
For believers, faith is much more. Faith is the cornerstone of Christianity, appearing 336 times in the King James Bible. A Biblically accurate view of faith is essential to both this life and especially the one to come.
In Matthew 14, Peter walked on the water as long as his focus was on the Lord but sank when he was distracted. As the Lord Jesus caught him He said to Peter, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt Me?” It appears that Peter was accountable for both his lack of faith and his doubt, but where did he miss it? Where might we miss it?
Hebrews 11:6 is most helpful:
“But without faith it is impossible to please Him; for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”
This verse gives us three components of true Biblical faith. We are to:
- PLEASE HIM King Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, concluded the book of Ecclesiastes with the words “let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: fear God and keep His commandments for this is the whole duty of man.” (12:31) At the risk of bursting Darwin’s bubble, we are not the highest form of animal; and we did not evolve from pond scum after a big bang. We were created by God in His image to have a relationship with Him. Our sin broke that relationship, Calvary’s cross provided full substitutionary atonement, and our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ restores the relationship pleasing God. (Apparently we are here to please Him, not the other way around.)
- BELIEVE HIM A terrified Philippian jailer asked the Apostle Paul what he must do to be saved. Paul answered “believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.” (Acts 16:31). The Lord Jesus told the 5,000 people He had just fed “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.” (John 6:30.) They then asked Him for a sign that they would believe. In the natural world seeing is believing, in the spiritual world believing is seeing. Romans 10:17 tells us “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.” Faith gradually becomes sight as we believe and build our lives on the Truth of His Word.
- SEEK HIM Diligently seeking Him is hard work. Many Christians cherish the promise of Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” They cherish it without realizing it is a very conditional promise as seen in verses 12-13: “Then you will call on Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and you will find Me when you seek Me with all your heart.” (NIV) God does not reward half-hearted commitment! Psalm 1:1-3 and Proverbs 2:1-5 point us in the right direction of diligently seeking Him.
It is one thing to believe a parachute will work. It is an entirely different thing to strap one on and exit a perfectly good airplane two miles above the earth trusting that it will.
It is one thing to believe in God. It is an entirely different thing to diligently seek Him and choose to live a life of faith.
Skydiving and Christianity have some interesting similarities. Both can be quite exhilarating. One places trust in a man-made device which may have been made with materials provided by the low bidder; the other places trust in the God of all creation. One is really expensive and we pay the price, the other is priceless and He paid the price. One lasts a couple of minutes and can become boring, the other lasts throughout eternity and becomes ever-more thrilling. One can fail with really bad results, the other cannot fail. One starts in the heavens and ends on earth, the other starts on earth and ends in Heaven.
Can there be any greater pursuit in this life than to know God personally? He has made all of the provisions necessary and the invitation is in Jeremiah 33:3:
“Call upon Me and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things that you did not know….”