Faith trusts God to do as He has promised.
There is a song from the late 1980′s by “Theologian turned music star” Michael Card. The name of the song was “That’s what Faith must be”, you can find it here. Anyway, the song postulates that faith is: hearing with our heart, to see with our souls, to be guided by a hand we cannot hold, to trust in a way that we cannot see...
While I do not dispute Mr Card’s definition, I do think it’s a tad more “mystical” than it needs to be. It places faith as something undefinable, something immaterial, something quite not knowable.... and I am not sure that this is the case.
I’ve been giving a lot of thought lately to defining faith. It is the key aspect of true Christianity, the linchpin (if you will) of who is or is not real. As Luther discerned: The just shall live by his faith. (Romans 1:17, Habakkuk 2:4)
It would seem, then, that faith must be something definable, something tangible, something explainable..... if we are to live by it.
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One of the key moments in my salvation --(which took nearly 9 years to get to... I was a pretty stubborn young lad)-- was pulling out a dictionary, and setting it next to my Bible when I studied. I realized that words had to have SPECIFIC, DEFINITE, CONCRETE meanings.... or else the message has no bearing or weight.
One of the first words I ever looked up was “Trust” --- because one of the first verses I grappled with was Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all of your heart lean not on your own understanding Acknowledge the Lord in all that you do And He will set your paths straight.
It seemed from that passage that Trust was a key component of everything that was “Christian” .... so I turned to the dictionary to determine “What is trust”? What I found out, shocked me.
The words “Trust, Faith & Believe” are synonymous. They define one another. If you turn to Trust, you’ll find the words “Faith” and “Believe” in the definition. If you turn to Faith.... you’ll find the words “Trust” and “Believe“ defining it. Same with Believe..... so essentially, all three are bound together. If you trust.... you have faith.... you believe. You cannot separate one from the other two.
And thus you find it all throughout the Bible, once you come to understand this. Where you see “Faith”, you’ll also sometimes see “Trust” or “Believe”. You’ll understand them as complimentary of one another.... and you start reading things a bit differently.
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I was doing the dishes just now, thinking about Faith. How do you define it, and something struck me.
Faith is remembering my past --- what the Lord has saved me from. It is remembering all the sin I used to live in, all the rebellion that defined my life. Faith is remembering these things, and turning with a thankful heart to God.... humbled that He would save me from such sins.
Faith doesn’t make me proud..... it humbles me. Faith doesn’t gloat, as though I made me better.... it cries, because where I once was.... is not where I am any longer... not because of my own efforts, but because I simply “Trusted” God to forgive me. I thus come to realize the gravity of my former actions --- and how greatly I deserved the judgement against me --- and yet, I know all the more, this is what God saved me from.
Faith looks to God, and remembers the forgiveness that was given. Faith looks to God and remembers the hand that was extended to remove us from the mire. Faith.... acts in response to these things, and humbly submits itself to do the Father’s bidding, even unto death.
Because God.... Jesus.... The Holy Spirit.... has acted on our behalf when we were helpless to do so.
Faith, is thankful gratitude that bears the weight of the past, and at the same time, has been freed by the burden of it because God has promised to forgive... and because Faith trusts God to do as He has promised.
