Why Faith?
Adam and Eve displayed no faith in God’s Word of promise and protection. The result was the death of their souls, and eventually the death of their bodies (Gen 3). Sin and death reigned over their progeny (Rom 6:6). The lesson is clear: believe the Word of God spoken to you. Man refuses to listen because he is under the influence of Satan and sin. He goes to his death, ignorant of truth and devoid of faith.
But God spoke to Noah, and he listened and obeyed. God spoke to Abraham, and he listened and obeyed. God spoke to Moses, and he wrote down what God said, for our benefit. More revelation did not automatically result in more faith, however. The prophets spoke, but Israel disobeyed. Jesus Christ, the ultimate revelation of God, being God Himself, incarnate, spoke and most did not believe Him. The Holy Spirit then inspired apostolic preachers and writers…with even more revelation, and still, today, multitudes refuse to believe God. It is impossible to please God without faith (Heb 11:6).
The consequence of unbelief is an eternity separated from God. To not believe God’s revelation of Himself, is to insinuate God is a liar. The Spirit of truth is blasphemed by man’s unbelief and active suppression of the truth of God, in light of so much revelation. It is irrational for man to position himself in hostility and enmity against God. The benevolence of so great a salvation is, however, resisted and even hated by the bulk of humanity.
Man enjoys the sins that destroy him. This is a problem. Satan blinds the mind of men from believing the Gospel that would save them from sin, death, judgment, hell, and the lake of fire. This is another problem. Satan has convinced man that God is not trustworthy, and man has believed the evil liar, instead of the gracious truth teller. We can only conclude total depravity and total inability. Man simply cannot generate faith by himself. Sin is too powerful. Satan is too powerful. Hell is too unbelievable. Eternity is too distant to be believed.
Total depravity is summed up in Genesis 6:5, “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” Jeremiah warned, “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it (Jer 17:9)?” Man surely does not understand.
Ask any man, and he will tell you of his goodness. He will feign enough to claim something a bit short of perfection, but he will quickly claim sincerity as his salvation. Then, he will cover the gap with a claim to good works to make up the difference between God’s goodness and his own. His ire rises when confronted with the Bible’s assessment of him, “All have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is none who does good, there is not even one (Rom 3:12).” Man is angered when the Bible informs him that God considers his “good works” on par with filthy rags (Is 64:6).
False religions of the world thrive on the notion that man is able to correct himself and make himself acceptable to god or gods. Man loves religion because religious duty, done well, produces pride, and pride makes a man feel good about himself. Religious costumes abound…just in case, you missed how religious the false worshiper is in reality. More ceremony, more opulence, more gold and silver, more icons, more holy days on the calendar, and “more” is the key because false gods are never satisfied.
Depraved and unable to approach Almighty God in Spirit and truth, thus, requires an act of God to remedy the plight of man. God must give man faith in the truth, in order for the truth to set him free from sin and false religion. For a man to be found faithful in God’s evaluation, it must be a fruit of the Holy Spirit (Gal 5:22).
Peter identified the receipt of faith, in writing to the churches of northern Asia (2 Pet 1:1), “Simon Peter, a bond servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ.” Paul also acknowledged that faith was not something a person generates himself, writing to the Philippians (1:29), “For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him but also to suffer for His sake.” Faith is granted to the elect, redeemed, regenerate by God.
Faith is given to believers in Jesus, by God’s grace. The means by which faith comes to a person is the Word of God (Rom 10:17). Clearly, if the Holy Spirit indwells a heart, a spirit of unbelief is dying off. The Spirit of truth plants the Word of truth (Ps 119:160; Jn 14:26; 16:13), in the heart and mind of God’s elect people at regeneration (Acts 20:32). Truth is sealed by the Spirit; and the one who does not work, but who believes, is justified by faith in the truth that is in Christ Jesus (Rom 4:5).
Faith is essential for one’s salvation (Eph 2:8–9). Salvation belongs to the Lord (Ps 3:8; Jonah 2:9; Rev 19:1), who has promised it, and He alone is able to perform it (Rom 4:21). It is God who calls into being that which does not exist (Rom 4:17), and where faith did not exist, God abounds with grace (Eph 2:8). It is not by the free will of man (Jn 1:13; Rom 9:16), not of yourselves, lest any man should boast (Eph 2:9). “This is the work of God…that you believe in the One whom He has sent (Jn 6:29).” God’s motive, in giving us faith, is love (Gal 5:6). Faith identifies us, as children of God (Gal 3:26).
Just as a seed grows, so does faith, implanted in the good soil of a chosen soul (1 Pet 2:2). The disciples made their request known to Jesus, “Increase our faith (Lk 17:5).” “God has allotted to each a measure of faith (Rom 12:3c).” Faith is nourished by the Word of God and sound doctrine (1 Tim 4:6). Faith grows (2 Cor 10:15). It grows, “until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ (Eph 4:13).”
Faith is a position (1 Tim 3:13), known as, “in Christ.” This community, the community of faith, is where Christians have fellowship with God and one another (1 Cor 1:9). Faith is a corpus of doctrine, believed on by God’s people in the world (1 Tim 3:16). In other words, if the faith is in you, then you are in the faith. Faith is tested (2 Cor 13:5). Faith serves, in the manner of a shield, under the assault of fiery arrows in war (Eph 6:16). Faith develops a reputation (Rom 1:8). Faith and love go together (1 Cor 13:2, 13; 2 Cor 8:7; Gal 2:20; 5:6, 22; Eph 1:15; 3:17; 6:23; Col 1:4; 1 Thess 1:3; 3:6; 5:8; 2 Thess 1:3; 1 Tim 1:5; 1:14; 2:15; 4:12; 6:10–11; 2 Tim 1:13). Where faith is present, love has already done His good work.
Just as faith is a gift, maintained by the Holy Spirit, so it abides (1 Cor 13:13). He who promised is faithful (Heb 10:23). This is why faith is the assurance of things hoped for (Heb 11:1). Jesus Christ is faithful and true (Rev 19:11). All that is promised by Him will surely come to fruition.
Here is one promise that grants full assurance, “…and the one who comes to Me, I will certainly not cast out (Jn 6:37).” As Paul affirmed in Philippians 1:6, “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” The good work of faith belongs to the Lord, who accomplishes all things for His beloved (Ps 57:2). The writer of Hebrews shares this confidence in Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith (Heb 12:2). Faith is God’s established plan, and God’s way, and He will accomplish His good pleasure and purpose (Isa 46:10).
As faith grows, it produces greater obedience to God’s Law, our rule of life. Jesus taught His disciples, “You are My friends, if you do what I command you (Jn 15:14).” With humble and contrite heart (Isa 66:2), we recognize our failings in this regard and yield, all the more, to the indwelling Holy Spirit (Rom 8:9, 11), leading and guiding us into alignment with God’s Word (Jn 16:13; Rom 8:29). Paul expressed his own spirit in submission, “I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me (Gal 2:20).”
New life in Christ, is a life of faith, in Him, and our ambition is to please Him, with our obedience to all He has commanded. Bringing about obedience of faith, in others, is the objective of the grace given for us to minister to them (Rom 1:4–6). God is able to establish people in obedience of faith, through the preaching of the Bible and for His own glory (Rom 16:25–27). Still, no one is perfect this side of glory.
Why faith? We have reasoned. First, faith is God’s way of salvation. Second, faith is a vindication of God’s word of truth to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Third, faith is a work of God, imparted as a gift of God, to His elect people. Fourth, faith is not blind, for it is based entirely on God’s truth. Fifth, when faith is evidenced in a person, it becomes her justification (not guilty), before the bar of God’s Law and judgment seat. Sixth, faith is received, at the preaching of God’s Word. Seventh, faith comes into a person, with the indwelling Spirit of truth. Eighth, faith grows, abides, and is maintained as a permanent gift of the Holy Spirit. In other words, faith endures until glory!
My dear reader, faith manifests in those who are in Christ Jesus. It is produced by God’s indwelling Spirit, in the heart of a believer in Jesus Christ. Do you have faith? Are you in the faith? Do you love Jesus Christ? Do you know His love for His beloved ones? As we have learned here, faith comes to a person in submission to the Word of His grace. Are you sitting under the preaching of God’s Word, at a local church on Sunday? Are you reading His Word? If so, may God grant you faith, if it be His will, and increasing faith, for His glory. Amen.
David E. Norczyk
Spokane Valley, Washington
November 28, 2020
