What Faith Is Not
Sharon and Chuck Betters
TODAY’S TREASURE
Without faith it is impossible to please God because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him (Hebrews 11:6).
It's easy to respond to the anguished cry of the soul by saying, “Just have faith.” But what is faith? If we define faith incorrectly, we will be wrong about many other spiritual truths that rest on it, particularly obedience and suffering. It helps to establish what faith is by first understanding what it is not. Biblical faith is not:
- Dormant energy waiting to be activated by some mysterious incantation.
- A way of twisting God's arm to get what we want through him.
- Intellectual assent to man-made creeds or “articles of faith.”
- Complicated and incomprehensible theories about God.
- A guarantee of a comfortable, stress-free life.
The underlying fallacy in all these concepts is the focus on ourselves, what we can get, and how we can control our destinies. The writer of Hebrews points out that, in contrast to these false notions about faith, those who trust God often must walk a difficult road and sometimes seem to receive only evil in this life: some men and women of faith... “were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. Some faced years of flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted, and mistreated - the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains and in caves and holes in the ground. Hebrews 11: 35b - 38
Living in a broken world guarantees everyone will experience difficulty on some level. Some suffering may be due to faithlessness and disobedience, but much of it comes as a result of having faith rather than a lack of it. This should not surprise us. When we suffer for our faith, we are following the journey of Jesus, the perfect model of faith. Jesus “endured the cross, scorning its shame” for our sakes. We have no reason to expect anything different. Other suffering comes upon us, not because of our faith but for no apparent reason at all. Just having faith does not insulate us from sickness, pain, sorrow, and death. Even those who appear spiritually strong may succumb to faulty thinking - the mistaken belief that by trying harder, believing more, or finding the right spiritual formula, they will be able to make the pain go away.
Chuck learned how his apparent ability to remove pain from his family's life had helped shape his relationship with God:
“At a very early age, I concluded that as long as I was in charge of circumstances, I could control my happiness. Whether a ministerial crisis, an emotional depression, or the doctor's diagnosis that my wife had advanced breast cancer, my response would be, I can fix this! But when I held the lifeless body of our son, Mark, in my arms, I knew fully I was not in control of my circumstances, and I was scared.”
A skewed definition of faith implies “me plus God equals a majority” when the proper equation is “God plus no one is the majority.” The resolution of any difficult circumstance is an undeserved gift from Him. We must be wary of any definition of faith that implies that we have control of our circumstances.
LIFE-GIVING ENCOURAGEMENT
Hebrews gives us a simple yet profound definition of faith:
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and what we do not see (Hebrews 11:1).
What were the people mentioned in Hebrews 11 hoping for, and what were they certain of? What was visible to them that was invisible to others? The inhabitants of God's holy faith listed in Hebrews 11 were certain of what they could not see: God. They were sure of what they hoped for: God could and would keep his promises. Biblical faith is believing that God exists.
What these people believed about God is made even clearer in verse 6:
Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him (Hebrews 11:6).
The writer of the Hebrews points to creation as evidence that the Creator exists:
By faith, we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was it was visible (Hebrews 11:3).
In other words, creation testifies to all humankind that God exists, and the visible creation depends on the invisible creator. The knowledge that God is sovereign and in control of everything is one of the pivotal building blocks of faith. (Excerpted from Treasures of Faith pages 15-18)
As I soaked in Hebrews 1:3, I imagined the Lord asking me, “Sharon, look around you. See my creation, really see it. Look for the tiniest details required to enable a bird to fly, flowers to bloom and even the cicadas that wake up every 17 years - since I created everything – the universe, earth, and even-numbered the stars, can I not also be trusted with the details of your life?”
Friends, take today to think through that question. Can you trust God with the details of your life? Will you believe today God is sovereign and you can trust Him?
PRAYER
Oh Lord, thank you, we can confidently declare, “God is sovereign, and I can trust Him!”
P&R Publishing is running a sale! Treasures of Faith - $3.00 and the Leader’s Guide is $2.00. Supplies are limited. Order here!
More free resources for help hope & healing:
Treasures of Encouragement, Women Helping Women
By Sharon W. Betters
Treasuresofencouragement.org Learn how God sends treasures of encouragement to help turn hearts toward Jesus and how the beauty, privilege, and power of biblical encouragement is a means to invite others to trust the Lord’s goodness and faithfulness in the mundane moments and especially in the broken places of life. Free supplemental resources.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Sharon W. Betters is a mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, pastor’s wife, and cofounder of MARKINC Ministries, where she is the Director of Resource Development. Sharon is the author of several books, including Treasures of Encouragement, Treasures in Darkness, and co-author with Susan Hunt of Aging with Grace. She is the co-host of the Help & Hope podcast and writes Daily Treasure, an online devotional.
For more from Daily Treasure please visit MARKINC.ORG.
Originally published Thursday, 01 June 2023.
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