Faith

Faith, what is it? Why is it important in our life? How do we get it? How do we make it stronger? These are questions that we all need to answer for ourselves.

Hebrews 11:1–3 defines faith using words which are frequently quoted, and also frequently misunderstood:

“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.”

As with the rest of the Bible, context is critical. In this passage, the writer demonstrates that faith in God is really ''trust.'' What we have seen of God's nature and character should lead us to trust Him, and trust naturally leads to obedience.

This is not an endorsement of ''blind faith''. Instead, the writer presents the idea of ''faith'' as a confident look to the future, based on man’s reliance on God's nature and character. Faith is not just simple obedience to a set of rules or statements. Before we can have faith, we must understand in whom and in what we have faith. Without understanding, we cannot have true faith.  Also, our understanding must be built on the foundation of the scriptures, the traditions of our forefathers and on our own personal experiences.

The naive or inexperienced person is easily misled and believes every word he hears, but the prudent man is discrete and astute (Proverbs 14:15). The Christian apostle Paul wrote:

"Test everything that is said to be sure it is true, and if it is, then accept it." (1 Thessalonians 5:21).

Christian faith must be aligned with the concepts presented in the Bible, the life of Jesus and the ideals he presented. The Christian sees the mystery of God and his grace. This causes Man to want to know God more and to become obedient to God. To a Christian, faith is not static but causes one to want to learn more of God and to grow.

Christian faith has its origin in God. What are some examples of Faith in God? Hebrews chapter 11, introduces an impressive list of heroic believers from the Old Testament in a passage often called the "Faith Hall of Fame." These men and women and their stories stand out to encourage and challenge our faith.

By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.

By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.” For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.

By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

By faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise. And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.

All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. Indeed, they were longing for a better world—a heavenly one.

By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death. By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future. By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff. By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions concerning the burial of his bones.

By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and the application of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel. By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned. By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the army had marched around them for seven days. By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.

And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women received back their dead, raised to life again.

There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated; the world was not worthy of them.

They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground. These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

Sadly, one of the great misconceptions in the Christian life is that we can create faith on our own. We can’t. We struggle to stoke up faith by doing Christian works, by praying more, by reading the Bible more; in other words, by doing, doing, doing. But Scripture (Ephesians 2, 1 - 10) says that’s not how we get it:

"As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh a and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast, for we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

So, what is Faith? It is the firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, and strength of God.

Why is it important in our life? Ephesians 2, 1 - 7 answers that:

“As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.”

How do we get it? Again Ephesians 2 has an answer:

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

How do we make it stronger?

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you: For every one that asks receives; and he that seeks finds; and to him that knocks it shall be opened (Matthew 7:7-8 ).

Faith is not an easy concept for a human to grasp. It must be researched through studying the Bible and the works of our Saints. What we hear from our teachers, preachers, priests and others around us must be tested through our understanding of our research. If it is true, we must apply it to our daily life; if false, we must reject it completely.