By Angela Bhandal
Romans 1:17b, ‘The Righteous will live by faith’
What is faith? Belief, confidence, trust,
reliance are all words to describe faith. In the Bible, religious faith is a
life-shaping attitude towards God. The person with faith considers God’s
revelation of Himself and of truth to be ‘certain and sure’. The person with
faith therefore responds to all situations and circumstances with love, trust
and obedience toward God.
Ephesians 2:8, ‘For it is by grace you have been saved through faith – and this not
from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can
boast’.
Faith is a gift from God. When someone
gives you a gift, you have two options, either 1) to accept the gift or 2)
refuse the gift.
If you choose to accept the gift, you
unwrap it and are grateful for whatever you have received.
You could also refuse the gift and give it
back to the giver ~ but you will never know what it was that you missed out on.
(It is impossible to not receive and open a gift, but afterwards we may discard
it, and treat it with contempt).
In the case of the gift of faith, it is a
life-giving eternal gift with supernatural powers!
When God gives the gift of faith to a
person, this enables them to believe in God and all that the Bible speaks
about. In fact, without faith it is impossible to believe in God, in Jesus, in
His Word because nothing makes sense. ‘Faith’ is like the first step ~ then
comes the anointing of Holy Spirit ~ that’s like pouring petrol on a small
spark – BOOM! Something amazing and profound happens revelation has been born.
And when this person believes in God and puts their hope and trust in Jesus
Christ, thus a new believer is born.
Hebrews 11:6, ‘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’.
So we can see that faith helps us to
believe that God exists. Maybe we take our faith for granted because we’ve been
Christians for so long now, we just believe fullstop! But we shouldn’t do this.
The faith that each one of us has is unique and given to us from God. When we
get a gift from someone that’s of great value, we treasure it and look after
it. It should be the same with our faith because it is a treasure to be valued.
Once when I was younger, I was given a
golden locket to commemorate a special birthday by my parents. One day I was a
bit short of cash, so I decided to pawn the locket for whatever I could get for
it. I really regretted doing that and still do to this day. I didn’t value the
gift until I had sold it because I didn’t appreciate it.
Faith is a gift; it helps us believe that
God exists. It also helps us to be ‘sure of what we hope for’ and certain of
what we do not see. What are some of the things that you are hoping for, that
God will do for you?
Are we earnestly seeking Him? We have just
read that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him? Hebrews 11 is a chapter that
lists men and women whose faith in God was expressed by actions.
-Noah built an ark long before he saw the
rains that God warned would flood the earth
-Abraham believed God’s promise of a child
long before he saw signs of his wife’s pregnancy
-Joseph, dying in Egypt, looked ahead and
spoke of the time four centuries later when his families descendents would
return to the land God promised them.
In each case, faith shaped the believer’s
perception of the future and made a difference in the choices that each made in
the present. Faith should shape our perspective too, transforming the way we
live our lives and the decisions we make. We who believe in Jesus, can, be sure
of what we hope for, even though we cannot yet see it!
All the people mentioned in Hebrews 11,
that great cloud of witnesses, were still living by faith when they died (vs
13), some didn’t receive things promised and only perceived them from a
distance. Will you and I still be living in faith when death comes for us, or
will we have given up? It is normal to become tired and discouraged but don’t be
like the five foolish virgins who missed out because they were not ready when
the Bridegroom came (Matthew 25:1-13). How terrible to live all our lives by
faith and then loose out on the greatest blessings at the last minute.
Finally, faith can also be ‘ineffectual’,
and by this I mean we can place our confidence in false or empty objects, thus
believing in vain. In this situation, faith’s object is invalid. For example I
understand that in India, Buddhists and Hindus put their faith in many idols
such as cows, rats and elephants. They go to great lengths in their faith to
worship these animals, they make altars, give money and food. But will a cow
bring salvation? We can believe in something hoping it will save us – maybe a
husband, wife, friend, a way of life, a diet, an exercise programme.
In addition, we can make ‘intellectual’
commitments without committing our hearts and in this way faith’s response is
inadequate. James illustrates this problem with the observation that ‘even the
demons believe God exists and shudder’. A ‘faith’ that exists simply as
agreement that something is true, without that wholehearted response which
motivates action, is a futile faith. The faith in God to which we are called in
Jesus engages our total response to the Lord. We consider God trustworthy and
because we believe, everything we think and do is shaped by conviction.
Faith in God not only leads us to eternal
life, but it helps us to hang in there when life gets tough. Faith enables us
to do things that are only possible with God. Faith is a precious gift from God
~ don’t give it away ~ treasure it, because one day you will receive another
great reward when the words are spoken over you, ‘Well done, good and faithful
servant!’
Amen
