The HBO of Faith
Ξ July 30th, 2007 | → | ∇ Christian Living |
Faith is a very simple issue. But it is not an easy road, neither is it easy to understand. The scriptures, though, detail all that is of faith. Here are some of the highights :
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Hebrews 11:1
Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.
James 2:22-23
Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)
Hebrews 10:23
So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Romans 10:17
Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
Matthew 17:19-20
When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. … And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.
Matthew 8:10,26
Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God? Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.
John 11:40-42
Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel.
John 5:19-20
If you ask the average person what faith is, you will likely get a somewhat vague answer. Faith is believing. Faith is trust. Faith is doing something blindly but believing it will work out. All these answers approximate the typical response. And for good reason - they all have an element of truth. Defining faith is hard for the person who doesn’t walk with the Lord - and for some of us who do profess to have some relationship with Him, it still is just as hard to understand as it is to follow.
But a good look at scripture reveals that faith is at once simple and difficult. It is complicated yet straightforward. The principle itself is so basic that a child displays it without even thinking, but the more we grow in knowledge, the easier it is to be distracted from the purity of true, Godly faith. Therefore, it is with this in mind that I offer up what I have seen revealed in the scriptures, the lives of the saints and the examples which it has been my honor to witness. For while simply understanding what faith is doesn’t in any way guarantee that we will be able to walk in it, the understanding that is grounded in scripture certainly offers the opportunity to a) let us know what it is NOT and b) prevent our undermining the simplicity that is in true Christian faith. Simply put, it removes the unnecessary burden of having to try and figure it out for ourselves and bring it about in ourselves. For the scriptures are clear that this is the wrong ground.
I think the scriptures bear out that true faith can be summed up with the acronym HBO: Hearing, Believing and Obeying.
So let’s examine what we have found in the above scriptures.
First of all, the writer of Hebrews begins a list of men and women of faith by telling us that faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. The very walk of a believer must be characterized by that. It is the walk from death to life and it always bears in it a great amount of expectation. We do not receive immediately much of what we desire or much of what we are promised. There are great promises and comforts that God offers, but our journey is to be marked by a looking beyond what we see - a looking beyond this life and this realm to the things of the spirit and to a place we do not yet occupy.
For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.
Romans 8:24-25
Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach. For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come.
Hebrews 13:13-14
This fixes both our emphasis and our vision. If we are walking with an emphasis on the things of the flesh, then we are more earthly minded than spiritually minded. While earthly things are not, in and of themselves, bad, it is when our vision becomes concerned mainly with these things - food, clothes, wealth, even physical healing to some extent - that we are not really focusing on Christ in faith. The disciples that followed Jesus till the end were the ones that recognized in Him, the “words of eternal life” (John 6:67-69). On the other side of that were the scores of men that followed Him but could not bear what He had to tell them. Their concern was for being fed and for physical supplies - things that would all perish when this life passes on. But Jesus wanted to give them something that did not perish. Their fleshly focus belied a lack of belief (John 6:35-36). Jesus Himself was the fulfillment they needed, but that’s not the fulfillment they wanted. They needed eternal life. They wanted physical satisfaction. They could not believe that Jesus WAS (and IS) the bread that came down from heaven. So this belief that is of faith is one which looks to the unseen. It is first and foremost concerned with spiritual things and the eternal, unseen habitation. It may be entered into now, but it may not happen while one only walks according to what is seen. This is important, and hard for most of us to swallow.
And if we truly believe, then is that not sufficient? Is it not enough for us to say “I believe, help Thou my unbelief!” and continue on? Surely not. For belief, by Jesus, is called a work (John 6:28-29). So it is that we read of Abraham and his obedience. He not only believed God, but he walked it out. And that obedience to that which was not seen was counted to Abraham for righteousness. For we are only justified by faith. It can be by no other way, otherwise we might receive the glory.
Which leads us to the third aspect of faith - hearing. It is more accurately the first (in order of working out - HBO) and probably the least considered aspect of faith today. Because of that, it is probably the most critical. It is very clear, according to Paul (Romans 10:17) that before anything can be of faith - that is the faith of Jesus Christ - it must be that we hear the voice of God. Not that we will hear an audible voice, not that it will be some great revelation in an instant, but it is simply the recognition - inward recognition - that God has spoken and you believe it. It is this witness that is spoken of here :
The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
Romans 8:16
And an example of this is seen in Jesus affirming where the faith comes from and in what it is proven:
He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.
Matthew 16:15-20
It is staggering what Jesus is telling the disciples NOT to do. He has been revealed to Peter, but it wasn’t by flesh and blood. No one came up to Peter and told him exactly what to say - instead he uttered what he did by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. No man can make this statement (truly and with understanding) except by the revelation of God (1 Corinthians 12:3). This is that faith that is true faith - that comes by HEARING the Word of God. Not only did Peter hear the words, but He heard the Word made flesh and it was able to dwell in him. To contrast, those that had the scriptures but not the indwelling word simply could not hear Christ, therefore they could not walk in faith:
But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me. And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape. And ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not. Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.
John 5:36-50
This hearing is not an objective thing. You can’t say that you heard the Lord simply because you read it in the scriptures. That’s what the Pharisees did. They read many things but didn’t believe the truth. They didn’t come to Christ even though they had the scriptures. There has been no change in the hearts of men. If His word does not dwell in a man, that man CANNOT believe. If the Word DOES dwell, then that man can hear the voice of God and knows what to believe - he knows what is of true faith and what is not. He knows what to approve and what to reject. He hears God. The indwelling word was the most (if not the only) significant difference between the true disciples and the false. Between the believers and the Pharisees. Let me say that again because I believe it gets to the very heart of saving faith :
THE ONLY SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TRUE DISCIPLES AND THE PHARISEES WAS THAT THE DISCIPLES HAD THE LIVING WORD DWELLING IN THEM. EVEN THOSE THAT FOLLOWED FOR A WHILE AND THEN LEFT DID NOT HAVE THE WORD - AT LEAST NOT IN PROPER FORM.
Consider the parable of the sower and the seed (Luke 8:1-14). What determined a man’s bearing of fruit? Whether or not the word of God bored down deep, died and then grew up in good soil. There was so much against that seed, but there were (and are) always some in whom the word not only dwells, but dwells richly and fruitfully. Yet there are those things that prevent a man from receiving the Word properly: the devil (who simply snatches it away), the testing of temptation (which drives a man away when tested), and the “cares, riches and pleasures of life” (which entice a man away and cause a man not to bear fruit). These things are faith-destroyers. But what happens in “an honest and good heart”? Such a man 1. Hears the word, 2. Keeps it, and 3. Brings forth fruit WITH PATIENCE. This ties in not only to hearing (the indwelling Word) but with faith (patience in waiting for fruit - perseverance in well-doing and realizing that the fruit of true faith is formed over years and not instantaneously).
How does all this match up with a modern view of faith? Briefly, we are told by many that we can name and claim our promise. All we have to do is find some precedent in scripture and it is ours to claim. But it should be clear that this is not real faith. It is mere desire for the fulfilling of fleshly desires. Not necessarily bad in themselves (we need to eat, be clothed and healty etc…) but not the things that are of true faith. True faith recognizes that God provides - but it also HEARS so that it recognizes what God has directed. It does not claim things for one’s self that God has not claimed for it. But rather, it looks to the Lord for what the Lord directs in any given situation. THAT is walking by faith. The differences are subtle in some ways, but vastly different in approach.
We have now established that we must first hear the voice of God for faith to be true and Godly. We must then believe what God has said and in so doing, we must act (obey) on what He has said. To do otherwise is unbelief. But, again, IT IS CRITICAL THAT ALL THREE ASPECTS BE PRESENT OR ELSE IT IS NOT TRUE CHRISTIAN FAITH BUT RATHER AN IMITATION. We may hear God and believe Him but not act on it. That is not faith. We may believe God and act, but unless we first hear (not desire and read, but actually know His leading) Him, we are not walking in real faith. These are all straight from scripture. Yet we must realize that WE CANNOT LEARN FAITH AS WE CAN LEARN OTHER THINGS. We must come to know God through scripture and prayer and seeking, but no one - not even the ancient words of a prophet - can substitute for the direction of God in our lives. Without that, the whole thing is another man-made religion. And without Jesus Christ and the gift of the Holy Spirit, we would be hard pressed to have that individual direction.
As a matter of looking at faith as a whole, I want to say a word about its nature while going on to a seeming issue with quantity of faith.
Faith is not a matter of believing something can happen. That is just a reflection of the efforts of man. The primary focus of faith is Jesus Christ. Yes, it has much to do with salvation, so faith in (and of) Christ is important for that, but Christ is our example - our elder brother - in walking in faith. He is not just one to believe IN, but One who is the Perfect example of walking by faith :
Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
Galatians 2:16
Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:
Philippians 3:8-9
And lest you think this is a word game, consider what is said of Jesus in Hebrews :
Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Hebrews 12:2
First of all, that “our” is not in the original text. It is italicized in the KJV because the original Greek does not say “our”. And while it doesn’t change the overall meaning appreciably, realizing that there is no “our” there serves to underscore what is said about Jesus being the author (also chief and leader) and finisher (perfector - Strongs says “one who has in his own person raised faith to its perfection and so set before us the highest example of faith ” of faith. It is ours by inheritance, but Christ’s by origination. And He offers us this example of what it is to walk by perfect faith :
Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel.
John 5:19-20
So faith is perfect and total reliance on the revealed will of God the Father so that whatever is done is NOT done by us, but rather by God - and to Him will all the glory go.
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
Matthew 5:16
This doesn’t come about because we say “To God be all the glory” but rather because we are walking by faith. If we are walking by faith, our actions WILL point upward and not to us. There will come that recognition that we are not doing our own work, but that there is some other great guiding principle that is above us. In short, men will recognize that God does the work and that we are merely vessels - IF we are truly walking by faith. There will need be no explanation or verbal encouragement that God is doing the work. It will be apparent. And those that are against God will only be agitated by such a work because it doesn’t testify of the one doing the work, but points to God. And as they do not have His Word dwelling in them or fight that very Word, they only do what is in their nature to do.
I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me. If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true. There is another that beareth witness of me; and I know that the witness which he witnesseth of me is true. Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the truth. But I receive not testimony from man: but these things I say, that ye might be saved. He was a burning and a shining light: and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light. But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me. And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape. And ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not. Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life. I receive not honour from men. But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you. I am come in my Father’s name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive. How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only? Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust. For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me; for he wrote of me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?
John 5:30-47
And what is Jesus saying (among other things)? That faith, ultimately, rests in the Father. That is - as Paul said - it is faith that results in righteousness OF the Father (and BY faith). So what, then, shall we say about what faith rests in? It in no way rests in us, but rather in God. We are, essentially, having faith NOT in the outcome, but in the One working the outcome (see Hebrews 10:23 above). And again :
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God
Ephesians 2:8
So if it is not already abundantly clear that the faith of Christ is given to us as a gift and that we cannot muster it up ourselves, then it is no surprise that we must hear HIM who directs and works all according to faith. If we do not, how can we rightly call it true faith? It is no more than our own hearts deceiving us. We, many times, do things with well-meaining intentions that are only of our own desires - yet we think we are doing something great for God. In the end, though, unless God has ordered it, it will come to nothing.
And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him. Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.
Matthew 17:1-5
So it is of primary importance for us to hear before we believe. Discern before we dash (so to speak). And in so doing, we realize that because HE is faithful who promised, we need do nothing but believe HIM and obey HIM. For true faith is only that which we have in a person, not in an outcome. It is the degree, essentially, to which we trust God. And it is not our capacity for belief that determines how much we trust God, but rather our capability of perception that does so.
That brings up the final point touching this subject that I want to address. It is to do with the amount of faith. Surely, if one believes God is omnipotent (all powerful) and that what Jesus said is true (”With God ALL things are possible” and “If you have faith the size of a grain of mustard seed, you will be able to cast this mountain into the sea.”), then amount of faith is almost meaningless. You either believe God or you don’t. That is true to an extent. But Jesus Himself said of the centurion that He had not seen so great faith in Israel. That is, there are degrees of faith. But was it that the centurion believed Jesus for more? Certainly not. To understand, let us look, again, at Jesus’ faith. If He was the perfect example of faith, and all He did and said was according to the will of God as shown Him, then we must find where most of us fail - in the hearing. We can believe much of God. That is not hard. But when the rubber hits the road and we are directed, the unbelief that resides in our hearts is easily exposed. And regardless of what we believe ABOUT God (i.e. that He can do anything), it is the “filter” in our own beings that limits what faith we actually have - it limits the degree to which we can hear. So when the centurion saw and met Jesus, he recognized (i.e. heard something that flesh and blood could not reveal to him) something in the Savior. Something that he could only compare to his own existence as a man with authority. Because he recognized the authority with which Jesus spoke and acted, he recognized the work of God in Christ and reasoned according to faith that there was no limit, and through THAT, heard the voice of God. It was a similar situation that Abraham faced with Isaac. Even though Abraham didn’t know exactly how God could sacrifice Isaac - the son of promise - he reasoned that God could raise him even from the dead. He had little precedent for this, but the witness of the Spirit prompted this in him:
And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together. And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.
Genesis 22:6-8
That statement is loaded with prophetic utterance and faith that we cannot see today! Oh, such immense trust in the Lord that Abraham would yield up that which the Lord had given! And such faith that even not seeing, he would place faith in the Lord even unto the loss of the very promise the same Lord had given him! And what did he foreshadow? The sacrifice of the Perfect Lamb that the Lord did provide. And one who was also a full expression of the faith that Abraham glimpsed and apprehended even a part of. He heard the voice of God and did not waiver though he did not see the end from the beginning.
Indeed, the measure of more faith is the degree to which we can hear God amidst the contrary voices which say “No! It cannot be that the Lord will require this of you!”. It is the degree to which we are able to overcome the belief and, in the midst of ANY circumstance say with David :
The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence.
2 Samuel 22:3
And with him also, we recognize this:
Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Delight thyself also in the LORD: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.
Psalm 37:3-6
Are we hearing the Lord today? Or are we hearing our own hearts?
