Faith The Greatest Power In The Wprld

The word faith occurs more often in Hebrews than any other book in the New Testament. In chapter 11 it is mentioned 24 times alone. It is the ACTIVITY of faith, however, rather than faith as a statement of doctrineal beliefs, that is emphasized here.

BUT WHAT PRECISELY IS FAITH

To understand what faith is we must get past certain misconceptions about faith. Let’s take a few minutes to look at what Biblical Faith is NOT:

For one thing: Faith is NOT a blind leap in the dark. Some people think you have to put your brain in neutral to believe in God. The fact is, believing there is NO God requires an unreasonable kind of faith.

If atheists, agnostics, or secular humanists put their faith into words, it might sound like this: By faith, we believe that the universe evolved from mindless matter, so that order accidentally emerged from chaos.

Of course, they are hard-pressed to find any evidence for this statement of faith. Science consistently shows that order does not grow from chaos and that design points to a designer.

I don’t know about you, but I find Hebrews 11:3 much more plausible: 3By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

Christian faith is compatible with logic and reason. It is based on historical evidence. It is supported by the Biblical record, by personal testimony, and by our own experiences.

Another misconception is faith that we can make God do anything we want.

But Biblical faith is NOT the ability to manipulate God. It is not blind faith or positive thinking. Some Christians think Faith is a kind of magic formula. You pray the right words, the right way with the right faith, and BAM, God says BINGO you got it right, what do you want?

Faith is not a formula where you pray the right prayers, say the right words and God is somehow obligated to answer.

That is not faith, it is presumption. It is the presumption that if I can be bold enough, strong enough, good enough God will notice and answer me. That kind of faith won’t outlast the first major disappointment. When a loved one is not healed or a promotion doesn’t come through or unforeseen tragedy strikes, false faith will crumble. Biblical faith does not believe that God will do what WE say. Biblical Faith knows that God will do what HE says. By faith, we rest on the promises of God --- no matter what happens.

Another common misconception is that Faith means knowing all the right facts and learning all the right rules.

But biblical Faith is NOT adherence to a list of doctrines. I believe in doctrine and theology. But the most doctrinally sound people in Jesus day were the Pharasees, and yet for most of them Jesus said he could do no miracles among them because of their lack of faith.

Biblical Faith is a relationship with a personal God. In the Old Testament, God is often referred to as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Jesus taught his disciples to prayer, Our FATHER who is in heaven…