Because of changing of the Gospel to make things palatable for our culture’s lost sinners, we have lost the definitions of our most critical terms because we have let unbelieves take over the “industry.” Faith is one of those terms that we have to explain over and over and over again because like with repentance, Biblical love, and everything else, we are allergic and aversive to the actual message God has given us.
All God asks of us in response to the Gospel is to turn from our sins, to leave them behind and not look back, and to simply trust Him and believe Him. Many will say, “I believe in God” and I say, “That’s nice. So do demons. The real question is do you believe Him?” Anyone can claim a weak generic “belief” in “a god” or some “higher power.” But it means absolutely nothing until there is weight put on that claim. I don’t look for anyone’s claim or profession of faith in God or in certain doctrines. I look for the reality of those doctrines flowing out of someone’s mind, mouth, and actions.
We have this very disturbing notion of syncretism where people can proclaim whatever doctrines they want but they can incorporate anything else they want as well. That’s not faith. Covering your bases and being “open-minded” to “other ideas” is not faith. It’s actually unbelief. If you are praying for Plan A and believe that God wants you to do Plan A, but you set up a contingency Plan B, you don’t believe Plan A is ever going to work out. There are people who will believe God for X but if it does not come in the form or shape or timing they prefer, they quite praying and blame God for not answering prayers. In these cases, they cannot say God did not pull thorough because God never promised he would do X. That was a presumption made by the person.
Faith is not the blind hope that you will get what you want. Faith is the trust in what has been promised will be fulfilled. Faith and trust are synonyms. It is the noun for active belief. We all have faith; it is a matter of in what or in whom. We have faith in our technology. How can I say that? Easy. We use it. We sit in our chairs without examining them. We turn on our computers and often get mad when they don’t operate the way they should or at the speed we are used to. Why do we get mad at a computer for being slow? The answer is simple: because we had faith that the computer would operate at the speed we are used to using. It’s really that simple. The hope we had was not met.
But what about people? We trust them, too. Those of us who have jobs have a LOT of faith in a company department called payroll, that they will indeed pay us the amount we are due to receive. We have faith in the airline industry that the pilot will take us to the city we expect to go in reasonable timing. We have expectations that our restaurants serve quality and edible food. We have faith they will do that. We ALSO have faith in people who don’t keep their promises, that they won’t keep their promises.
Yet when it comes to God, the one person who has a perfect record for fulfilling His promises, we have the hardest time actually believing Him. We will trust our mechanics and plumbers and electricians to keep our technology and utilities working, but we do not trust God with some basic things. Or worse, we selectively trust in what we want from Him. I remember one mission team that was comprised of a number of well-to-do people. They trusted God to cover them and their families over in Mexico, but when in the US, they wanted to control things. So what did God do? He broke down the bus on a US highway, forcing it onto a bridge during 100+ degree weather and afternoon rush hour. It was a near riot, but God had a plan for the whole thing. People from my church at the time recognized our bus and my dad (this was before cell phones were things) and they began the rescue process. This group wanted God to cover all the big things, but they still want control over what they think are small things. It’s the “buffet line” problem. They want certain parts of God, and they want to keep other parts to themselves. That’s not how it works. Trust in Christ is complete and total trust, as a child trusts his parents. It’s a whole package thing. God doesn’t want half our heart. He wants all our heart.
Trust in the Lord requires denial of self. It means you do not trust yourself; it means you trust Him. God makes it so simple. Do we actually believe Him or not? My previous pastor struggled when his daughter and family moved from El Paso to Florida, and he had to wrestle with God whether God could protect them more than he could. God basically told him that He loved the pastor’s grandkids more than he did. God makes it so simple. Trust Him. Believe Him. God has it covered. Again, this is not being presumptuous and putting words in God’s mouth to do what He did not say He would do. Believe on what God said He would do. Do we believe Him or not?
When we evangelize, the last thing we should ever do is try to explain God away to a skeptic’s silly questions. God doesn’t need our defense. He wants us to trust Him, and instead we should share how God has been faithful. The skeptic today despises the word “faith,” and we need to stop saying, “Just trust in God” in a blind faith matter. Instead, showcase how trusting in God has gotten you answers and put you in a better place than you would be if you didn’t. Show them how God has answered prayers. Our faith is not blind, and it is not without evidence. Our faith is based on evidence. We trust what is not yet reality because we have evidence that what God has said will be done. The skeptic has this faith too; they just refuse to let God be the object of their faith. We need to preach faith once again, what it truly is.
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