R. C. Sproul says that Christianity is not a religion but a faith because of the body of knowledge affirmed by its adherents and the virtue of faith exercised by the same in its understanding of redemption. A good definition of faith is cited as follows: Not belief without truth, but trust without reservation. It is said that true faith is not believing despite the evidence, but obeying in spite of the consequences. The biblical definition, of course, is Heb. 11:11 as follows: "The substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen." You don't have to have all the answers to believe, even a child can accept Christ!
Sproul decries the so-called "blind faith" terminology that some say Christians have. Not knowing why you believe or don't believe is blind faith too. Actually, salvation is a step into the light, not a leap into the dark. "Faith is the antidote to blindness, not the cause of it" (Sproul). He goes on to say that using that term is an "outrage to God and demeaning to Christians." We don't have faith in faith per se, that is fideism, it's the object of Christ that saves.
I shall begin by affirming what faith is not: It is not head belief (the belief must move 18 inches from the head to the heart), storybook faith or mere assent or acquiescence; it is not lip service; true saving faith is given, not achieved (it is not human accomplishment, but divine achievement); it is not easy- believism or faith without commitment; It is not simplistic, though it is simple enough for a child; it is not childish, though it is childlike; it is not gullibility, superstition (believing something for no reason), or being credulous; it is not believing something you know isn't true (we have sound reasons to believe and God doesn't expect us to believe despite the evidence; it is not solely sincerity, though this is required; it is not faith for its own sake or faith in faith. Expressions like "Keep the faith" are useless if not in the correct object or person.
Faith has many definitions: it is the opposite of sin; it is a choice and an action word that has legs; it is obedience (Bonhoeffer said, "Only he who believes is obedient, and only he who is obedient believes."); Faith is one way of looking at repentance; there is not saving faith without genuine repentance (the flip side of the coin, as it were, cf. Acts 20:31); other names for faith are reliance, confidence, trust; we "walk by faith, not by sight."
We don't need all the answers to believe (and believing doesn't mean you know all the answers-you know the Answerer), just a preponderance of the evidence. There is a surfeit of knowledge available as historical and logical evidence that the honest enquirer can search out. We don't believe despite the evidence; the historical proofs of eyewitnesses and circumstantial evidence is compelling and would be admissible in a court of law.
Faith is something only humans are capable of since we have the Imago Dei or image of God. We have the intelligence to know God, the emotions to love God, and the volition to obey God; We have this equipment; animals don't and cannot have a relationship with God as we can. They are oblivious to His presence.
Philosophers refer to a "properly basic belief" in that you can experience the love of Christ; as Psalm 34:8, NKJV, says: "Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good...." The proof of the pudding is in the eating!
Billy Graham cites a classic example of faith: A daredevil walked across the Niagara River on a tightrope, then with a wheelbarrow. He asked the on-lookers if they believed he could walk a man in the wheelbarrow across; they said, "Affirmative!" But when he asked for volunteers no one stepped forward (no one had real faith). To put it succinctly, faith is born when we give up (deny ourselves), surrender (to his lordship and will) and commit (to take up our cross to follow him). Many want to be leaders, but we need to be followers first.
Finally, there is a difference between believing in God (even the demons do this) and believing God. We long for more than a knowledge about God, but a knowledge of Him--to know Him, not just know He's there. We must believe in the God who is there, and believe in Him as He is. The latter takes a relationship to fulfill. Soli Deo Gloria!
Sproul decries the so-called "blind faith" terminology that some say Christians have. Not knowing why you believe or don't believe is blind faith too. Actually, salvation is a step into the light, not a leap into the dark. "Faith is the antidote to blindness, not the cause of it" (Sproul). He goes on to say that using that term is an "outrage to God and demeaning to Christians." We don't have faith in faith per se, that is fideism, it's the object of Christ that saves.
I shall begin by affirming what faith is not: It is not head belief (the belief must move 18 inches from the head to the heart), storybook faith or mere assent or acquiescence; it is not lip service; true saving faith is given, not achieved (it is not human accomplishment, but divine achievement); it is not easy- believism or faith without commitment; It is not simplistic, though it is simple enough for a child; it is not childish, though it is childlike; it is not gullibility, superstition (believing something for no reason), or being credulous; it is not believing something you know isn't true (we have sound reasons to believe and God doesn't expect us to believe despite the evidence; it is not solely sincerity, though this is required; it is not faith for its own sake or faith in faith. Expressions like "Keep the faith" are useless if not in the correct object or person.
Faith has many definitions: it is the opposite of sin; it is a choice and an action word that has legs; it is obedience (Bonhoeffer said, "Only he who believes is obedient, and only he who is obedient believes."); Faith is one way of looking at repentance; there is not saving faith without genuine repentance (the flip side of the coin, as it were, cf. Acts 20:31); other names for faith are reliance, confidence, trust; we "walk by faith, not by sight."
We don't need all the answers to believe (and believing doesn't mean you know all the answers-you know the Answerer), just a preponderance of the evidence. There is a surfeit of knowledge available as historical and logical evidence that the honest enquirer can search out. We don't believe despite the evidence; the historical proofs of eyewitnesses and circumstantial evidence is compelling and would be admissible in a court of law.
Faith is something only humans are capable of since we have the Imago Dei or image of God. We have the intelligence to know God, the emotions to love God, and the volition to obey God; We have this equipment; animals don't and cannot have a relationship with God as we can. They are oblivious to His presence.
Philosophers refer to a "properly basic belief" in that you can experience the love of Christ; as Psalm 34:8, NKJV, says: "Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good...." The proof of the pudding is in the eating!
Billy Graham cites a classic example of faith: A daredevil walked across the Niagara River on a tightrope, then with a wheelbarrow. He asked the on-lookers if they believed he could walk a man in the wheelbarrow across; they said, "Affirmative!" But when he asked for volunteers no one stepped forward (no one had real faith). To put it succinctly, faith is born when we give up (deny ourselves), surrender (to his lordship and will) and commit (to take up our cross to follow him). Many want to be leaders, but we need to be followers first.
Finally, there is a difference between believing in God (even the demons do this) and believing God. We long for more than a knowledge about God, but a knowledge of Him--to know Him, not just know He's there. We must believe in the God who is there, and believe in Him as He is. The latter takes a relationship to fulfill. Soli Deo Gloria!
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