Faith

Faith is essential to someone who wishes to follow the Lord. As Hebrews 11:6 tells us,

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.

And so, of course, we know it is necessary. Let us take a few moments and examine Biblical faith.

If you look in Hebrews 11:1, we are given an explanation of what faith is. It is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. In other words, it is a conviction in something beyond what can be seen with our mortal eyes, and serves as a basis for hope (not just wishing for something, but reasonable expectation of getting what you long for). We see that faith is a basis for which we build out hope in Christ and our hope for eternal life.

We also learn in Romans 10:17 how a person develops faith.

So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God

Faith, then, comes from using the Bible to learn more about God and His will. Faith does not suddenly appear out of nowhere. Faith is built on the word of God: the Bible. John 20:20-31 also explains this. This passage teaches us that the reason that John was written was so that we (the reader) might believe that Jesus is the Christ, and that in believing we may have life.

We also learn from the Bible that faith is not something that is static. Faith is something that must grow and develop. In John 4:39-42, we see the growth of faith in the Samaritans. At first, they believed based on the testimony of others. But when they went to the source of their faith, that is, Christ, their faith deepen and grew and became strong. So it is with us. When we first believe, it is often based at least partially on the teachings of someone else. But to have a deep rooted faith, we must seek out the source: Christ. And Christ is revealed to us through the word of God: the Bible.

The Bible also tells us a little more about faith. Faith is active. Faith isn't just something a person has, it is something a person does. Consider John 6:29 and I John 3:23. Faith is a response we must have toward God. And we see in these verses that faith is a work, that is, it is obedience to one of God's commands. It is something we must DO. In James 2, we learn that faith, by itself, is dead. Simply believing that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God is not enough. In doing that, we are only fulfilling one of the things that God asks of us.

We are told to have faith. If we obey and believe, then that is wonderful! But faith is only the beginning of a person's walk with God. Everything else a person does must be based on that faith. But can we honestly think that God only wants obedience in one thing, and one thing only? Or can we assume that God wants obedience in all things, not only in faith? Faith is absolutely necessary. Without faith, it is impossible to please God. But we cannot allow ourselves to stop with simply believing, we must follow the Lord completely, and not simply partially (Matthew 22:37-38, James 2:8-11).