Modern March | a Christian blog

Posted: 05 May 2010 08:43 AM PDT

The entire foundation on which Christianity is based is faith in Jesus Christ. Faith that He is who He said He was. Faith that He died for us. Faith that He will return to bring us all home. Faith that leads us to live radically different than the culture that surrounds us. This is fundamental doctrine to all Christians - be it Lutherans, Catholics, Baptists, or Pentecostals.

The Christian world has fallen flat on its proverbial face as two centuries have passed and our faith has become suburbanized and caged by materialistic deism. In Acts 5:41, you see the apostles rejoicing after just being beaten for their faith. Today, we complain about the time constraints of our daily lives and church is hastily thrust out of our schedules. Once a confident faith worth martyrdom, Christianity has been has been reduced to nothing more than a hobby built on unfounded beliefs that do not intertwine with our humanistic desires.

What has happened to that untamed zeal of the apostles?

Faith itself has been lost, and it must be reclaimed. The word "faith" can be destructive for the Christian believer if not understood properly. Here is how faith is defined in the English dictionary:

Faith [feyth] – noun

belief that is not based on proof
confidence or trust in a person or thing

Though these could be construed as the same thing, they are drastically different. We must understand the irreparable separation of these two definitions.

Belief That is Not Based on Proof

Many, possibly even the majority, of Christians fall into following this dangerous definition of faith without even knowing it. We get caught up in the fact that we will likely never audibly hear the voice of God, never physically see God in a visual form, or that we will never experience the essence of God or His Kingdom with any of our other human senses.

In light of this, we tend to base our faith on an idea of God and not the person of God. We must understand that God has not come into our five senses as much as it has come into our inner-most beings. Jesus makes this clear to the people who had this very idea during His ministry. He tells the Pharisees in Luke 17:20-21, "Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, "The Kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the Kingdom of God is withinyou." The human mind demands tangible evidence, but God's presence and Kingdom are not observable outwardly.

Here we are, two centuries later, making the same assumptions and mistakes. As a Christian, we are to have full belief in God and in Jesus' amazing promise to us. This definition leaves the door open to the possibility that there is no God, because it is presumed that there is no proof.

Confidence or Trust in a Person or Thing

This definition is the clear depiction of true faith in God. Paul tells the church in Ephesus, "In Him and through faith in Him we may approach God with freedom and confidence." Freedom and confidence; what a novel concept! You see, Paul understood that God was experienced through the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit, incomprehensible to the natural aspects of man (1 Corinthians 2:10-14).

There is proof everyday that God is there within your heart. Watch how you smile in the darkest hours of your life, when everything has gone completely wrong and you realize at that moment that God has it under control and that something better is coming your way. Non-Christians will never fully understand what it's like to never worry, to never need, to never yearn; because we have our Lord and Savior who provides to us freedom and love that the world could never offer.

This kind of liberation in confidence leaves the door of doubt shut.

Conclusion

Please do not mistake this for experientialism. Paul is clear in Romans 1:20 that God has revealed Himself in creation, yet this is certainly not the same as Him revealing Himself to those who love Him. Man cannot be saved through faith by natural revelation experienced by our senses; he must be saved through the special revelation given by God Himself.

One of my closest friends once described dating a non-Christian by saying that he will never fully know her. He does not view the world the way that she does because He does not know God. There is your proof; the uncontrollable love for something greater than you could ever hope to imagine. You don't need to see, hear, or touch God. It's better than that. You get to feel God within the depths of your soul. That is all the proof you will ever need.

Someone will ask, "How would you describe your faith in God?" Your response could be, "I think that the Bible is true," or you could respond, "It is an unquenchable inner thirst to please and worship the Creator of the universe."

The difference is vital, and could be gravely eternal. One is built on baseless beliefs, the other is built on confident trust.

Filed under: Articles, Theology