What Faith Is

Because God's ways are higher than ours and His thoughts not our thoughts, the natural man cannot comprehend Him.  To the human intellect, the wisdom of God can appear as foolishness (1 Cor. 1:18)!  One of the challenges Christians face is to communicate what faith in God is to those who mischaracterise it and reject Him.  The cliche that faith is, "Believing without seeing" is a misnomer, because saving faith in God is based upon drawing conclusions through various kinds of evidence:  personal observation of the world, historical and biblical accounts and eye-witness testimony.  When the data is considered together, faith is choosing to place our trust in God with intent to obey Him.  To some this will look like foolishness, to trust God no one cannot see.  But evidence for God's existence is all around us and becomes plainly evident when mixed with faith in God.

Hebrews 11:1-3 says, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. ² For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. ³ By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible."  Faith is not only exercised by people by faith in God but by all people--whether it be faith in themselves, their own intelligence, their sources of information, scholars, scientists, experts, parents or friends.  God has given to every person a measure of faith, and it is our choice where we will place our trust (Rom. 12:3).  A point being made in this passage is no one has ever seen a universe, galaxy, solar system or planet generator.  There is no mechanical means or power observed by man where we can say, "That's where the earth came from."  Because we have never seen a universe generator, people have long considered how our planet came into being.

As mankind has delved into the things that exist to observed and study them, much has been discovered:  the order in the universe, the abundance and diversity of living creatures on earth, that our solar system runs better than any clockwork we have devised on the grandest scale, the governance of natural laws, the existence of elements, the information packed into every living cell, and the vastness of the universe.  One could go on and on.  Some people observe the evidence and believe Darwinian evolution is the key to the origin of the species and also apply it to the cosmos.  Others, like the writer of Hebrews, see the same world and affirm life can only come from life.  They reason like every house has a builder, all of creation must have had a Creator.  The Bible reveals the God of Israel spoke the world into existence, and based on the data and evidence He is the most reasonable explanation for all there now is.  Mankind who never saw the invisible God observed the world, and deduced there must be a first cause Who is greater than all there is.

Psalm 19:1-3 reads, "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. ² Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge. ³ There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard."  Some have peered into the heavens and praised the sun or moon for their beauty, while others see the same heavenly bodies and praise God for His wondrous handiwork.  I cannot believe the sun should be 400 times farther from the earth and be 400 times greater than the moon, providing the ability for a perfect solar eclipse to be viewable from earth.  It is easier for me to believe the sun, moon and the earth's relation to them was designed than to believe this was accidental and formed over time by nothing for no reason.  Placing our faith in God according to the knowledge we possess is a conscious, personal decision.  Hebrews 11:6 goes on to say, "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."  Believing God exists is the first step to understanding His goodness towards us.  Knowing He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him, our faith continues to grow as we do so.

Rather than placing faith opposite to intelligence or actions, real faith in God is demonstrated by our actions--the way we choose to live.  James said faith without works is dead, and thus a man's faith is demonstrated by what he does.  A skydiver demonstrates faith in their equipment as well as themselves to safely navigate to the ground from great altitudes that would usually result in death.  The writer of Hebrews listed many people who chose to take particular actions because they placed their faith in God.  After Abraham placed his son Isaac on an altar in obedience to God, James 2:22 states:  "Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?  Therefore faith is not a feeling or a belief in the mind, but trust that takes action accordingly.  Based on his knowledge of Who God is and all He promised Abraham, he accounted God was able to raise Isaac from the dead and thus went through with his intention to sacrifice his only son.  That is real faith according to knowledge of God, and may it be demonstrated in all God's people He calls friends by His grace.