December 5th, 2023
What is authentic faith? It is a holy hoping for the best? Authentic faith is the confident assurance in events not yet seen (Hebrews 11:1). Faith is not a call to believe in things when common sense tells you not to. Faith is not a mindless stab in the dark. It is not a crossing of the fingers and hoping for the best, and it is not a leap into apparent nothingness. It’s a word that speaks of reasoned, careful, deliberate, intentional thought. Thought upon what? God and his promises.
If you are absolutely gripped by the realities that have been promised to you by God, then how you live your life in the present will be radically different than if you did not possess that certainty. This is what faith is, my friends! Positive certainty expressed in action. Authentic faith is not merely believing in God. It is “believing” God. Taking God at his word, living in obedience to his revelation whatever the cost because you know down deep in your bones that God will always do what he says, that His speaking is His doing. It is an abiding assurance in God and his promises that animates you to persevere in your obedience to Him. Do you wish to be a more consistently obedient, steadily persevering Christian? A stronger Christian, a more courageous and outspoken Christian? Then you need to strengthen your faith!
Your faith instinctively strengthens in direct proportion to the expansion of the object of your faith! You expand your understanding of the object of your faith and faith itself will obediently follow. The object of your faith–if indeed you are a Christian–is Jesus Christ and all of his promises. Is your faith weak? It is owing to the fact that you don’t know the object of your faith well enough.
But when Jesus Christ becomes progressively bigger, or better yet, your understanding of who He is progressively conforms to reality, your faith will become increasingly stronger. But how does that happen? By immersing yourself in the faith-arousing Word of God, reading of Jesus Christ!
The same powerful Word that long ago brought the universe to life is the same Word that can bring you to life and furnish you with a faith that is truly and authentically Christian.
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