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LEAP OF FAITH
1Now
faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not
seen. (Heb 11:)
We are
told in many places that we must live by faith as a Christian. And, I
suspect, this is something that everyone who flies the Christian banner
will agree with. We must live by faith. But just what is
"Faith"? And what should we have faith in?
According
to each church, we must have faith in the doctrines that the church in
question has established as "Truth." If church doctrine is truth, and
we must have faith in that doctrine, then we must change our faith and
our belief when we change from one church to another. I for one do not
believe that faith is so haphazard as to be effected by man's
suppositions. If this is so, and the faith that saves us is more stable
than water, then perhaps faith is elsewhere than in church doctrine.
Paul
says of faith:
1Now
faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence
of things not seen. 2For by it
the elders obtained a good report. 3Through
faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so
that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
(Heb 11:)
So
then, faith is based on things not seen, things that do not appear.
Things which are seen then, things that can be handled and observed,
are not of faith. It takes no faith to believe in that bird in your
hand, but it takes faith to believe there is a bird in the bush.
Let's
take a look at the word "faith" and see what it means in the Greek. (It
might be kept in mind that Faith is one of the few words that are the same
Greek word interpreted each occurrence):
FAITH
G4102 pis'-tis From G3982; persuasion,
that is, credence; moral conviction
(of religious truth, or the truthfulness of God
or a religious teacher), especially reliance upon
Christ for salvation; abstractly constancy in
such profession; by extension the system of religious (Gospel) truth
itself: - assurance, belief, believe,
faith, fidelity.
Faith
then is that which we believe, that which we accept as truth itself.
Faith, belief, and our concept of truth itself might be summed up with
either or all of these words.
Faith
essentially is what we consist of as a Christian. Therefore, attack our
"faith," and we feel attacked ourself as a person, as well as it be an
attack on our religious system (our church).
We
now know what Faith is, but knowing what faith
is, is like knowing what water is. Knowing what it is does not keep us
from dying of thirst. There must be something done with that knowledge
if it is to be of use to us. So, what are we supposed to do with the
knowledge we now have, that is, of faith?
James
tells us:
14What doth it
profit, my brethren, though a man
say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?. . . 17Even
so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
18Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and
I have works: show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee
my faith by my works. 19Thou believest that
there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and
tremble. 20But wilt thou know, O vain man, that
faith without works is dead?. . . . 26For
as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead
also. (James 2:)
I
think James is trying to tell us that faith is only of use if there is
action behind that faith. If you, as a parent, were to have a child who
vehemently affirmed that he had total faith in you, but rejected all of
your advice (or even part of it) and refused to do what you told him to
do: what would you think of his claims of absolute faith? Would God
expect any less of His children?
Of
course, in many (if not most) of the churches today we are taught that
faith is all that's needed. We are taught that Jesus fulfilled all the
law, and that by His death there is nothing else for us to do but to
rest our "faith" in Him. That would seem reasonable on the surface, but
what then did Jesus mean by these statements?
15If
ye love me, keep my commandments. 16And
I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that
he may abide with you for ever; 17Even
the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth
him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with
you, and shall be in you.
18I
will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. 19Yet
a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because
I live, ye shall live also. 20At that day ye
shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me,
and I in you. 21He
that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is
that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and
I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. 22Judas
saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest
thyself unto us, and not unto the world? 23Jesus
answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will
keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will
come unto him, and make our abode with him. 24He
that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word
which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me. (John 14:)
9As
the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. 10If
ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even
as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. (John
15:)
26And he
that overcometh, and keepeth my works
unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: (Rev 2:)
21To
him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my
throne, even as I also overcame, and am
set down with my Father in his throne. 22He
that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
(Rev 3:)
11He
that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches;
He that overcometh shall not be hurt
of the second death. (Rev 2:)
I
get the impression from the above Scriptures that Jesus believes there is
something that must be done to prove one's faith. It seems to me that
verbal consent of belief is not enough to satisfy Jesus' concept of
"faith."
But
if there is nothing to do, nothing that we can, or should
"do" (works), then why did Jesus say what He did above, or why did He
say this:
27For
the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels;
and then he shall reward every man according to his works.
(Mat 16:)
12 And,
behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me,
to give every man according as his work shall be.
(Rev 22:)
11And
I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the
earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. 12And
I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were
opened: and another book was opened, which is the book
of life: and the dead were judged out of those things
which were written in the books, according to their works. 13And
the sea gave up the dead which were
in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and
they were judged every man according to their
works. 14And death and hell were
cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15And
whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the
lake of fire. (Rev 20:)
Now,
the first Scriptures referring to being judged by our works might be
taken to mean we will be rewarded for our works, but there will be no
particular consequences for having fallen short. But that last
Scripture, where our works are judged while we stand next to a fuming,
fiery pit.... Well, I think I would give the Words just a little more
consideration. Add to this the following parable intended (as I see it)
to explain the event.:
28Take
therefore the talent from him, and give it unto
him which hath ten talents. 29For unto every
one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him
that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. 30And
cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness:
there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Mat 24:)
Here
we have a parable describing what I believe to be the same event
described above. (I know some churches teach multiple judgments, but I
for one do not see but one in the Bible (Mat 12:36; 2Pet 3:7; Heb
9:27). And, again, although it is widely taught that Jesus does not
know a real servant from an unconverted impostor, I take it that the
unfaithful servant was just that, an unfaithful "servant," just as the
five foolish virgins were "virgins," not imitation virgins.
I
would not want to risk my eternal soul to think otherwise.
If
the above is true, then our works establish our faith. If we have no
works, then we have no faith. And if Jesus has abolished all works of
faith, then there is no way for us to satisfy the works of faith
demanded of us that will keep us out of the pit. And if there is no way
for us to work, then there is nothing we can obey. And if there is
nothing that we can obey, I wonder then what Jesus meant when He
demanded that we obey His commandments if we want to avoid the pit?
Such
a dilemma. How do we get around this?
Now,
to my point of this study:
We
are to live by faith. The more faith we have, the more we are in tune
with God and His will for us. Is this the way you read the Scriptures
also?
If
we see what we have faith in, then it is not through faith that we are
seeing. The more we see, that is, the more the evidence that something
is true, then the less faith it takes to believe in it (consider John
9:29-41 and Rev 3:17 in this light).
In
the churches there are doctrines established by great theologians,
students of the Word, and those who have ofttimes been martyred for
their belief. Such persons who will stand up for their belief, even to
their death, must certainly have faith in what they teach and in what
they believe in. For this we have the Saints of the Catholic faith who
have withstood the test of fire for their faith. We have the martyrs of
the Protestant faith for their convictions. This should
pretty well indicate that their view of Scripture must at least be
given serious consideration, if not out 'n out believed as truth.
However, to believe one Martyr's view of faith, is to completely
contradict another Martyr's view of faith. And if we want to really see
faith in action in these latter days all we have to do is take a quick
look at the Mormons, the JW's and the Bahai's. Surely they
must have the "truth" upon which to base our faith if we are to use the
views of the martyred theologians as a bases for our faith.
Faith
goes against that which we see. Therefore, the more evidence, the less
the leap of faith needed to believe what we are looking at. The less
the evidence for our belief, the more faith it takes to believe.
I
present a dilemma for anyone seeking truth by way of faith. I say that
all the theologians are wrong. I say that they have little "evidence"
by which to base a belief. I say that the theologians have a multitude
of conflicting views that contradict the Word of God they are basing
their beliefs and their teachings upon.
Then
I add more confusion to the mix by offering an
even different view of Scripture that conflicts
with all the others.
On
top of this, I offer many times more evidence and
Scripture to back up my stance than any of the others.
Therefore,
if I have more evidence to support my view, it requires less of a leap
of faith to accept what I am presenting, and therefore less faith is
required. If less faith is required, then, less credit will be
accounted to the "believer" for believing as they do, that is, those
who accept my view.
Such
a dilemma. What to do about this dilemma?
Of
course the simplest solution, and the one that makes the most sense, is
to follow the long established doctines of those who have gone before
and stood up for their faith. That is what I would suggest under normal
circumstances. The problem is in determining which one
we are to follow.
I
say: none. I say: certainly not my views. What I say should be the last
to be considered when it comes to what one should accept and believe.
I
say, do as Jesus commanded us to do, and that is to follow the Holy
Spirit through the Scriptures and let Him teach
you what you are to believe. If this happens to also be one of the
established doctrines, well and good. But if not, then be prepared to
abandon your view and accept that which God is showing you.
What
brought this entire study about is a question regarding Lucifer.
However, it was not Lucifer that the question (rebuttal) was over, but
that of accepting another view (faith) than that of the established
doctrine of the church.
And
such is a very good point, and one that gives me a clearer
understanding as to what I am trying to accomplish in these writings.
Is
Lucifer Satan? Is Heaven in the sky somewhere? Is hell a burning pit of
fire? Is there a Trinity? What words should be spoken over us at our
baptism? Is there a pre-rapture? Is there tongues today? Saturday
worship?
Paul
said:
16Let
no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an
holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:
17Which are a shadow of things to come;
but the body is of Christ. 18Let
no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and
worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not
seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, 19And
not holding the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands
having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the
increase of God. 20Wherefore if
ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though
living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, 21(Touch
not; taste not; handle not; 22Which
all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines
of men? 23Which
things have indeed a show of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and
neglecting of the body; not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh.
(Col 2:)
We're
told to not judge others, and according to how we judge, we
will be judged (Mat 7:1-2). Yet we continue to judge and to divide the
Body of Christ over the very things we are told are of no importance.
We war and fight, belittle and accuse: and this our own brother who
believes and chooses to worship God differently than we choose to
(James 4:1-10). Imagine the power the Church would have if it stood
together against evil, rather than spent its time spitting at one
onother.
None
of these issues are important, yet these are the things we use as
morter for the walls we build to separate us, to dismember the Body of
Christ. Meanwhile, the essence of the Word, the purposes of God, the
reason Jesus died is ignored and explained away. We are given just two
things which we are to do, and that we must do if
we are to be in God's grace, and if we are to avoid the pit. Yet,
almost unanimously the churches have dismissed these two requirements
and have reduced them to mere requests if they even acknowledge them at
all.
Jesus
said: Keep my commandments. And He said: By your works you will be
judged.
Both
of these, as well as the faith to do either, is not something that can
be dictated by a doctrine, or a church: but rather must be an
individual act taken by each of us through the Holy Spirit. And it is
those who are led by the Holy Spirit who constitute the Church of God,
the Body of Christ, the Bride, and the Temple of God. No denomination,
no affiliation, no work, no depth of study is going to suffice. We must
be "Born again" through the Holy Spirit if we are to be a part of God's
plan.
And
if we are led by the Holy Spirit, we will then be able to fulfill
Jesus' commandment to the Church. And if we are fulfilling His
commandments, then there will be no backbiting in the Body of Christ:
36Master,
which is the great commandment in the law? 37Jesus
said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all
thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38This
is the first and great commandment. 39And the second is
like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
40On these two commandments hang all the
law and the prophets. (Mat 22:)
34A new
commandment I give unto you,
That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one
another. 35By this shall all men
know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. (John
13:)
12This
is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have
loved you. 13Greater love hath no man than
this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:)
7Ye
hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, 8This
people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their
lips; but their heart is far from me. 9But
in vain they do worship me, teaching for
doctrines the commandments of men. (Mat 15:)
19Wherefore,
my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak,
slow to wrath: 20For the wrath of man worketh
not the righteousness of God. 21Wherefore lay
apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with
meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your
souls. 22But be
ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
23For if any be a hearer of the word, and
not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a
glass: 24For he beholdeth himself, and goeth
his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. 25But
whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein,
he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall
be blessed in his deed. 26If any man among you
seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his
own heart, this man's religion is
vain. 27Pure religion and
undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless
and widows in their affliction, and to
keep himself unspotted from the world. (James 1:)
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