Faith Matters
Faith Matters
Without faith it is impossible to please God, for the one who draws near to Him must believe that He exists and rewards those who seek Him. (Heb. 11:6)
Real Faith
Dietrich Bonhoeffer got it right—belief and obedience go hand in hand. Biblical faith is a living, breathing, vibrant thing. It’s believing God is really there and He’s good. It’s trusting God’s Word implicitly. And as today’s verse makes plain, we have absolutely no chance of pleasing God apart from faith.
Faith is what saves and sanctifies us. (To be more precise, the object of our faith—Jesus—is who saves us and sanctifies us, though faith is instrumental.) Faith is what produces obedience, which in turn grows our faith, which leads to greater obedience. To sum it up, if we’re not really living by faith, we’re not really living the normal Christian life as defined by the Bible.
The Nature of Faith
What else can we say about faith? Probably the closest thing to a definition of faith in the Bible occurs in Hebrews 11:1: “Faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen.” The things to which our faith points are real and true, although they cannot yet be fully seen or experienced. Faith has an element of unrealized yet certain hope. And just what are we hoping for? Our full and final salvation in Jesus. It’s not in any doubt—the Scriptures assure us of that—but we don’t yet enjoy our full freedom as the children of God. That’s coming.
Bottom Line
The Christian life is from faith to faith. It begins with setting aside our distrust of God and believing the gospel, and it proceeds with more of the same.