Friday, February 17, 2012

Have Faith!

Everyone has faith in something. Atheists – even those on the portly side – sit in chairs every day without doubting that the chair will support their weight, even if they’ve never encountered that particular chair before. Every airplane passenger takes a giant leap of faith as they cross the threshold from solid ground into that relatively small, pressurized space soon to be hurtling through the skies at great speed, controlled by a pilot they have never met before.

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Yet faith alone is not enough – the object of our faith is crucial. Why does faith in God elude so many people? The evidence of the Creator is all around us in the amazingly intricate way our bodies, and all of nature’s wonders, are designed (Hebrews 11:3). Our minds correctly tell us that something does not come from nothing and that beauty, function, order and intelligence do not arise by chance (Psalm 53:1).

If we come across a book of poetry, it would be nonsensical to assume that the ink molecules randomly aligned themselves on the page to form meaningful symbols, and that chance caused the letters to link together in vocabulary words, and that over time, those words happened to assemble into verses of great beauty, emotion and meaning.

Even those who come to the common-sense conclusion that there must be an Intelligent Designer may not accept saving faith in Jesus Christ as Savior, Lord, Son of God, and God Himself (Luke 4:34; John 1:1). But the Bible, God’s Word, plainly tells us that faith in Jesus as Savior is the only way to eternal life (John 3:16;14:6).

Why doubt the Bible? It is internally consistent despite authorship by about 40 men of diverse backgrounds over a span of about 1500 years. It is historically and scientifically accurate, and advances in these fields corroborate facts and principles recorded in God’s Word thousands of years ago. So many Bible prophecies have been already been accurately fulfilled that the odds are astronomically against this happening by chance.

God has made it easy to believe in Him because His creation testifies of His greatness (Psalm 19:1), and because His Word spells out for us His amazing creation and plan of salvation through faith in His Son (John 3:16; 1 Corinthians 15). He even designed us with a conscience to warn us when we are doing wrong (John 8:9). Without God, the concepts of right and wrong make no sense, because value judgments would merely be a matter of personal preference rather than reflecting God’s absolute standard. Yet most sane individuals in all cultures inherently realize that stealing, murder and other sins are wrong.

The Bible says we are all sinners (Romans 3:23), which most of us will admit if we examine ourselves honestly (1 John 1:8). God is holy and just (Leviticus 19:2; Deuteronomy 32:4 Revelation 4:8), and therefore sinners are doomed to pay the punishment – eternity in hell – for breaking His laws (Psalm 9:17; Matthew 5:22; 10:28). Yet God loves us so much that He sent His only Son as a perfect, sinless sacrifice to die on the cross to pay the debt we owe. His Son rose from the dead that all who have faith in His death for our sins, His burial and His resurrection will have eternal life in His presence (John 3:16; 1 Corinthians 15).

Even a child can understand that he is a sinner and that God’s Son, Who had no sin, took the punishment for us so we can go free. In fact, we need a simple, childlike faith, free of intellectual objections and pride, to accept God’s plan of salvation and to trust in Him alone (Matthew 18:3-4). Salvation is a free gift of God’s grace through our faith (Ephesians 2:8-9). There is nothing we can do to earn it, which is why pride and self-reliance keep so many from salvation (Matthew 19: 23-24).

Why should we have Bible-based faith in Jesus Christ as the only way to heaven? Because without faith, it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). We can have an intellectual knowledge of Bible verses, attend church and tithe regularly, and even take part in religious ceremonies such as baptism and communion, and yet never have a relationship with Jesus as our personal Savior (Matthew 15:8). Church members who call themselves Christians yet lack a childlike faith in Him will be doomed to eternity in hell rather than receiving eternal joy and peace in His presence (Matthew 7:21-23).

Once we are saved, faith will give us patience (James 1:3) as we wait for answers to prayer, trusting in His perfect timing (Isaiah 40:31). Faith allows us to work tirelessly for Him, even though we may not see the fruit of our labor until we hear Him say: Well done, though good and faithful servant (Matthew 25:21).

Faith will bring us peace through trials (Philippians 4:7), as we trust that God is working all things together for our good (Romans 8:28). Faith will even bring us victory over death, as we know that we will be reunited with our loved ones in Christ who have gone home to Him (1 Corinthians 15:54-55).

If you haven't already done so, put your faith in Jesus Christ today!

32 comments:

A Skeptic's Journey said...

Beautiful post. :)

Laurie Collett said...

Thanks, A Skeptic's Journey & Denise!
May you both have a blessed weekend!
Laurie

a joyful noise said...

I like what you said about Faith alone is NOT enough, we must place our Faith in Jesus as our Savior. Thank you for the good Words.

Nadwrażliwiec said...

I think that the biggest reason of unbelieve is pride. Pride people don't want even to think, that someone could be over them. They are pride because of their money, knowledge and power. Second reason are stereotypes about God, Christians and Bible. For example, I heard that "only Jehova's Witnesses read the Bible", or that Bible is book only for stupid people. Some people also were hurt by "Christians".
I had to make a break in writing a blog, so don't worry if You can't write the comment.
Greetings and blessings to You.

Frank E. Blasi said...

Excellent post.

Ian Curtis said...

An excellent defense of God's word and our need to believe on His Son. I appreciate the objection to atheists being morally impotent when it comes to good and evil; it the absolute truth: when you do not have a perfect authority to derive truth from one is left only with preference, taste, and opinion. God bless!

Laurie Collett said...

Thanks, A Joyful Noise! The object of our fsith is by far more important than the degree of our faith, because Jesus said that if we have faith even as a grain of mustard seed, we could move mountains!
May you have a blessed week!
Laurie

Laurie Collett said...

Dear Zim,
Nice to hear from you! I have missed your comments and blog posts. You're right -- pride keeps many people from coming to the Lord, like the rich young ruler who had more faith in his own possessions than he did in Jesus. It is important for Christians to have a Christian lifestyle and actions, because the world watches very closely to see if we are hypocrites.
Blessings to you, and prayers for your studies and your ministry.
Laurie

Laurie Collett said...

Thanks, Frank! May you have a blessed week!
Laurie

Laurie Collett said...

Thanks so much, Ian! I appreciate the encouragement.
God bless you & your ministry,
Laurie

Donald Fishgrab said...

Several years ago a person was overheard trying to witness. He kept telling the man he was talking to to just believe. The man finally asked him what to believe and the witness couldn't answer. How many have been left with a belief, but in the wrong thing. Great post.

Lisa notes... said...

"Yet faith alone is not enough – the object of our faith is crucial."

It's like at Thanksgiving when people give thanks, but to whom???

Thanks for this.

Laurie Collett said...

Great story, dfish, and sad that Christians try to witness without knowing what they believe. We need to be firmly rooted in the faith to be able to share it convincingly with others.
Thanks and God bless!
Laurie

Laurie Collett said...

Dear Lisa,
Thanks so much for visiting and commenting! Jesus Christ alone is the author and finisher of our faith, and the object of our thankfulness.
In Him,
Laurie

Joan Davis (Jo) said...

I think that many people don't have faith in God because He is something they don't understand. They want to be able figure everything out "logically", but find Him to be a mystery. Others don't want to give up control to something bigger than themselves. But, whatever the reason, thank God our Lord has patience! He is waiting for each of us to come to Him. And when we do, we find such joy! I'm placing my faith in the Lord!

Laurie Collett said...

That is so true, Joan! We know people in both categories. Praise the Lord for His patience and faithfulness -- He alone is worthy of our faith!
God bless you,
Laurie

Laura said...

I never get tired of hearing this invitation, Laurie. THank you for your faith, and for sharing it so lavishly.

Shanda said...

Yes, faith gets us through trials and gives us hope of a better home one day. I cannot imagine a life without my faith.

Laurie Collett said...

Thanks, Laura, I appreciate the encouragement and kind words!
Blessings to you,
Laurie

Laurie Collett said...

Amen, Shanda! I look back on my life before I was saved and marvel at God's grace and mercy to get me through it before I even knew Him. He is all we need, and without faith in Him, we are doomed indeed.
God bless,
Laurie

Charlotte said...

You stated these truths very well. How sad it is that so many people don't know this. I'm glad you're helping to get the word out to the blogging community.
Thank you for sharing on Spiritual Sundays.
Blessings,
Charlotte

Laurie Collett said...

Thanks for your encouragement, Charlotte!
May God bless you and your ministry,
Laurie

Anonymous said...

Hi Laurie - perfect way to end that post, "If you haven't already done so, put your faith in Jesus Christ today!" Love seeing you on the link up :)
God bless
Tracy

Laurie Collett said...

Thanks, Tracy! Blessings to you and your ministry.
Laurie

Pia said...

great post! faith is such a powerful word.

Never Forsaken said...

Hi Laurie,
That scripture on faith from Hebrews was the subject of a recent post of mine, so I just had to pop in to say how cool it is when the Lord gives His children the same scriptures to digest and then share with others in different ways. :)
So cool!

~God Bless You~

Laurie Collett said...

Thanks, Pia! God bless,
Laurie

Laurie Collett said...

Hi Never Forsaken,
It always amazes how often I'll teach my Bible study class and hear the Preacher use the same verses and/or themes, even though we didn't coordinate it! The Holy Spirit works in mysterious ways, Praise God!
Have a blessed weekend,
Laurie

Ms. Kathleen said...

Preach it girl! God is good!! Have a wonderful weekend.
http://theemptynestexpress.com

Laurie Collett said...

Amen, Ms. Kathleen! He is good all the time! May you have a blessed weekend in Him.
Laurie

Joan Hall said...

Laurie, I love the analogy you used about words randomly forming on paper in relation to creation. You are right, everyone has faith in something, but the only faith that will matter in the end is that is Jesus Christ.

Blessings,
Joan

Laurie Collett said...

Thanks, Joan! Praying for unsaved souls to find faith in Him and in Him alone!
Laurie