Faith in the Bible, you cannot see it, or touch it, or taste it, or smell it, or hear it, but faith is the most powerful force driving human experience. In the Bible, faith drives the actions of so many people.
By FAITH Abram left his homeland to a place that God promised. Then By FAITH, the parents of Moses put him into a basket and floated him down the Nile to be rescued by Pharaoh’s daughter. Also By FAITH, Joshua led the Israelites into battle to claim the Promised Land.
Additionally By FAITH, David took a slingshot and five stones to defeat the giant Philistine Goliath. By FAITH Mary obeyed God and carried His child. By FAITH the disciples dropped everything they were doing and followed Jesus. And it is by FAITH that man and God are reconciled.
We cannot prove the existence of God. We can see evidence and make a determination that the evidence points to God, but we cannot prove it. It is by FAITH that we believe in God.
Many people believe in God, but in different ways, so it is by FAITH that we accept the Bible as the inspired Word of God. FAITH is founded on facts gathered through the accounts of history, both recorded and verbal. Faith is not emotion, it is the hope of something that has not yet happened.
Biblical faith is beyond mere hope, it is a confident expectation that God will do what He says He will do. Biblical faith is based upon a consistent record of promises kept the LORD.
Faith in the Bible Based On Fact
In order for faith to have any meaning, it must be based on fact, not opinion, conjecture or fantasy. Imagine holding a key in your pocket. You’re convinced it is the key to your home, so you have faith that it will work on your front door.
Then you try to place the key into the lock, but it doesn’t work. You were convinced that it was the right key. It looked like the right key, but it didn’t turn the lock. Your faith was not founded on fact, it was founded on opinion.
Biblical faith is built on people seeking truth. We can read the Bible, but sometimes we are frustrated because we don’t understand. Maybe we give up and don’t pursue the truth. God said “seek and you will find,” which is a simple way of saying you are encouraged to examine the Bible and study the Word.
We All Need To Know God
In order to know God, His nature and character, we need to get acquainted with Him. When you meet someone for the first time and there is a connection, you want to talk and get to know them. Over time, you may get to know them very well.
You know their opinions, their feelings and you have a good idea of what they will do or say in any situation.
So it is with God. Over time, when we have knowledge, we begin to trust and when we begin to trust, we begin to develop FAITH. We become friends with God as His children.
God Invites Us To Ask Questions
Faith does not mean you can’t ask questions. God invites us to question. He invites us to “reason” with Him. We ask questions, He delivers answers.
Answers are revealed in His Word, or they come by the guidance of the Holy Spirit, who opens our eyes to truth and meaning. God’s Word is living and, as He tells us, is spiritually discerned, meaning that if God wants you to understand it, you will.
You can read a passage 100 times and not grasp it’s significance, but on the 101st reading you suddenly see it clearly and understand. You haven’t suddenly gotten any smarter, but God has opened a window for you. In a growing relationship with God, FAITH is a gift He gives us.
Biblical faith is not blind faith.
Biblical faith is not blind faith. Blind faith is just something you want to happen. Biblical faith is more like you want what God wants you to have.
What is God’s plan for your life? How can you serve Him? These are questions that each of us ponder in faith to He who created us and loves us.
Faith in God is based on the intimate, personal relationship you have with Him, and is based on the absolute truth that God is sovereign. Faith founded on fact.