THE DEFINITION OF THE FAITH
Key Verse 11: 1This famous chapter of faith begins with the definition of faith. What is faith?
1. Faith is the assurance and demonstration (1)
Faith is the assurance of the things hoped for and the demonstration of those things that are not seen. Many have vague hope, but faith is the concretization of this hope. It is fully assured (2Ch 20:20; Mk 11:22). Intellectuals influenced by Cartesian thought want to take evidence before believing. But faith is to believe without seeing (Jn 20:29). The first step in Christian life is the exercise of this faith in practical life. The faithful life of a Christian is both the object of appreciation of God (2) and the proof of demonstration to the unbelieving world.
2. The faith of creation (3)
The foundation of faith is the faith of creation. In the beginning God created heaven and earth (Gn 1: 1) and everything was done by God and nothing done was done without him (Jn 1: 3). We do not believe in a coin that does not exist in the pocket. How would we believe in the world created by God? Only faith requires. If faith visits us, we can see the invisible world: creation, the angel, the kingdom of God, and so on. So we must continually struggle against the unbelief of the world and the unbelief in us to come by faith to the throne of grace and get what we desire and discover the kingdom of God. There belongs the main subject of the Hebrews, the eternal sacrifice of God by his Son Jesus. God wanted fallen man to return to his paradise.
Prayer: Lord, as disciples of Jesus, increase my faith in this unbelieving world. Let me show your existence in the world by my faith.
One word: Faith full of confidence and demonstrating of the invisible.
No comments:
Post a Comment