Faith

Faith is defined as a deep-rooted trust or conviction of the truth of anything. In relation to God, it is the deep-rooted trust that He exists, thus meaning that we are separated from Him by our sin, but reconciliation to God comes through repentance of sin and faith in Jesus Christ.

Or, as Hebrews 11:6 puts it, "But without faith, it is impossible to please Him, for He that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him."

Why have a study on faith? Because I have heard sermons on Hebrews 11:1-3, 6 preached several times. Many of these sermons butchered the topic of faith. I have even preached some of those point-missing sermons. Some have tried to define faith in Hebrews 11 as our 21 doctrinal statements. Some have tried to define it as "the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." (And what does that mean, really?)

However, upon delving into word studies on faith, I found what faith really is... a trust in God. I spent the next year trying to instill that in my congregation at Denson Springs. Why? Because faith is the bedrock of the Christian life. If you don't have faith, or even understand it, there will be no Christian growth, maturity, or understanding of the scriptures (2 Peter 1:5-8). Without faith, all morality is in vain. All good deeds become hypocritical acts. Without faith, brotherly and agape love are impossible (in the Biblical sense).

So we really need to understand faith so we can better understand how to let our faith grow. Once we get to that point, we'll be poised for serious Spiritual growth and empowerment.

Over the next few days, I'll continue to share my thoughts on faith on this blog.