Hebrews 11:1,6 (NIV)
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for
and certain of what we do not see. 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.
These two verses ought to be memorized by
every Christian believer. Verse 1
defines faith and verse 6 describes the consequences of a lack of faith.
The definition of faith is not hard to
understand. Faith is being sure
(assurance) and certain (conviction).
But, what is harder to understand is the real meaning of assurance and
conviction. The word used for
“assurance” or “being sure” literally means “confidence that something is
real”. The word used for “conviction” or
“certain” means “something that is proved”. So this verse can be amplified by stating
“faith is confident trust that our hope is real and there is proof that
whatever I cannot see is true”. In fact
the Amplified Bible says: “Now faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the
title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not
see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is
not revealed to the senses]”.
The best way to live out your faith is to
live your life daily with the solid assumption that God’s Word is absolutely
true. Whatever God says in the Bible, it
is true and it will happen. Simply
believing that whatever God’s word says, that in itself is sufficient evidence
that it is true and no further proof is necessary.
Yet, honestly, it is very difficult for
intelligent humans to agree to believe like this. I know that I cringe sometimes when I see or
hear people who dismiss the thinking process and say things like “whatever the
Bible says, I believe it and that’s that.”
Indeed that should be the ultimate belief of every believer, but it is
also the responsibility of every believer to come to this conclusion on his/her
own searching and studying the Scriptures and not take the easy way out. God does not want blind faith from you. He wants you to dig deep into His word, think
it through rationally and carefully, and come to your own conclusion that what
He says in His Word is absolutely true.
Someone has said that Christianity is
reasonable and rational, logically consistent that fits the evidence and
relevant for every person. It is not
blind faith, it is faith based on an intelligent pursuit of what is truth. Jesus said in John 10:37-38, “If I do not do
the works of My Father, do not believe Me, but if I do them, though you do not
believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and understand………”. I like the emphasis on the pursuit of
knowledge and understanding, the cornerstone of faith.
Hebrews 11:6 clearly states that confident
trust in God is necessary if you wish to please Him. Such trust will produce rewards (what might
those be?), but note the emphasis not only on faith, but also on seeking
God. Seeking God requires action,
requires diligent effort (see Proverbs 2:1-5) to be in fellowship with Him, to
spend quality time with Him, to give Him first priority in your life, and to
learn from His Word how you can practice your faith daily.
Think about ways that you can pursue
deepening your faith. Figure out how you
can spend perhaps at least an hour a day in quality time with God. This may seem like too much time to spare,
but the rewards of a faith full of assurance and conviction will be worth far
more (both in this life and the next one) than any other way you choose to
spend your time.
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