Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)

 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. (John 3:36)

 

           These Scriptures are vital to a correct understanding of the kind of faith God requires of those who would follow him. In Hebrews 11 the writer launches into a beautiful essay of the heroes of faith from the Old Testament and reminds his readers of what that faith compelled them to do. In John 3:36 just 20 short verses after that great, and often misused passage of John 3:16 the Bible tells us that a faith that stops short of obedience will not enjoy the blessings of God but rather his wrath.

 

            So what kind of faith puts us in good standing with God?

1.   It is a faith that accepts and acts on God’s Word even when we don’t have all our questions answered. It is believing in the Genesis account of creation. It is obeying whatever God commands us to do. God has not commanded us to have everything figured out. He has commanded us to trust and obey.  

 

2.   It is a faith that believes that God is. Some would have us believe that religion is a crutch for weak-minded people. Ah, yes, those unenlightened dullards like Sir Walter Scott, Isaac Newton and others. The choice truly is much more simple than it has been made out to be. Either we are the result of an accident or we are the result of design. As R.C. Sproul wrote in the title of a recent book, “I don’t have enough faith to be an atheist”. The bottom line is that biblical truth suffers nothing at the hands of close scrutiny. Darwinian evolution is a theory not a fact, regardless of what its proponents would have us believe.

3.   Faith rewards when faith seeks. A faith that stands flatfooted and will not move will not save (James 2). Salvation by “faith only” is of Martin Luther not Jesus Christ. As the Bible says, Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart” (Psalm 119:2). After all, what does it mean for Jesus to be Lord? Is it just something nice to call him or does it mean something much more? Jesus said, “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? (Luke 6:46). To live our lives with Jesus as our Lord is far more than having a reverent respect for him. It is also to believe what he says and obey what he commands.

            Is Jesus our Lord? Is He really? Do we sometimes do what we want and then claim that he "led" us to do it? Who is really "lord" then? At the conclusion of his Sermon on the Mount he said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21).

            If we are to claim Jesus as our Lord we must embrace the Bible as our guide and follow its precepts. You can't have one without the other.

 

God bless you,

Brad Fry