Myths about Faith

If there's one thing we Christians know it's faith. We know faith. Or ... do we? I think that we have a few things of which many or most are certain but are, in fact, mistaken. I think we have a few mistaken ideas about faith that should be addressed.

Myth #1. Faith is believing something without any reason or evidence, yea, against reason or evidence.

I've actually heard people -- Christians -- say, "If you know something to be true, it's not faith." They will go on to argue that if there's evidence and logic involved, that's not faith. And, of course, the world is quite certain that "Faith is believing when common sense tells you not to." (Fred Gailey - Miracle on 34th Street). "Faith is something you believe that nobody in his right mind would believe." (Archie Bunker - All in the Family). Well, there's a word for that, and it's not faith. It's credulity. Credulity is blind faith, the kind that believes without a reason. But the biblical version of faith is not that version. The root Greek word, peitho, according to Strong's dictionary, means first, "to convince (by argument, true or false)". I didn't put that term "argument" in there. The Greek dictionary did. It goes on to include this alternate definition: "to assent (to evidence or authority)". Notice how "to blindly believe" is not a part of this concept. It is argument or evidence or even authority, but not "without reason or evidence." Biblical faith is first based on evidence and argument which leads to a logical conclusion. It took faith for the children of Israel to walk across the Red Sea in the midst of the water, but it was based on 10 prior events where God demonstrated His capabilities. The faith they needed was the obvious conclusion, the next step.

Related to this myth are its sequels: Faith and reason/science are opposed, and reason and science eliminate the need for faith. (In common terms, "doubting Thomas" would have been the hero, not believing until he found the evidence. In Thomas's experience, he vastly regretted that position.) Not true.

Myth #2. Faith is something that we produce.

This is certain, isn't it? Well, if you'd like to go by senses or perception, you may. I'm going by God's Word. There we read that God assigns a measure of faith to each believer (Rom 12:3). Hebrews says that Jesus is the Author of our faith (Heb 12:2). In Acts 3 there is that story about the lame man healed at the Beautiful Gate. In the uproar that followed, Peter said something interesting. "And His name--by faith in His name--has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all" (Act 3:16). Notice to whom Peter attributes the faith the man required to be healed -- "the faith that is through Jesus." Not the faith in Jesus, but from Him. Paul says that we are granted to believe, not that we create that belief (Phil 1:29). We are mostly pretty sure that we are the ones that muster faith, but the Bible seems to say otherwise.

Myth #3. We are saved by faith apart from works.

This is mostly true. Just ... not ... quite. The Bible is absolutely clear that we are not saved by works. It is the fundamental component of the Gospel, one of the biggest things that makes Christianity unique among religions. In all other beliefs you're saved by being good. In Christianity we're saved by faith and not by works. "There, see?" some will tell me. "Saved by faith apart from works." After all, isn't that exactly what Paul says? "For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law." (Rom 3:28). Well, sort of. That is, we are saved by faith and not by works. But if you search the Bible for the phrase, "apart from works", you will find another interesting reference. "Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless?" (James 2:20). What? Indeed, "As the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead" (James 2:26). So while it is true that works do not save us, it is equally true that genuine biblical faith produces works. Those works are a product -- they certainly occur -- but they don't save. Thus, it is not entirely accurate to say that the faith by which we are saved is faith apart from works because James says that faith apart from works is dead faith.

Myth #4. Faith is simply believing something is true.

In English, it is true that faith is generally defined as mental acquiescence. If you believe a fact to be true, that's faith. The biblical concept of faith -- saving faith -- is not the same. First, biblical faith must be based on fact. There are those who might believe in faeries and dragons, but these things are not fact, so it wouldn't be classified as faith even if it is so classified in English. Second, it does require mental acquiescence. "This is fact. I believe it to be true." That second step is required. But it isn't sufficient in itself. Beyond recognizing a fact as true, the Bible needs one more component to classify it as biblical faith. It is trust. It is commitment. In the stories we tell, it's admitting that the chair can hold your weight and then sitting in the chair. Over and over in the Gospel of John he uses the phrase "believe into" rather than merely "believe" or "believe in". (It doesn't translate as nicely, so you won't find it in the translations, but it's in the original texts.) You see, we don't merely mentally concur with Christ; we believe into Him. Biblical faith is not merely agreeing to the facts about Christ, but placing our trust in Christ.

Myth #5. God is limited by our faith.

The most obvious place you'll hear this is in the horrid "health and wealth" line of teaching. "If you only have enough faith," they'll tell you, "you can ..." and there will be all sorts of things you can do. Be healed. Be rich. Be happy. It's all a matter of how much faith you have. "Oh, you're not healed, rich, happy? Well, clearly it's because you don't have the faith. Sorry. God can't do much with that." But it's not true. When the man asked Jesus to heal his child, Jesus told him, "All things are possible to him who believes" to which he replied, "I believe; help my unbelief!" (Mark 9:15-25). This astounding admission of doubt was sufficient to have the demon cast out of the son.

Yes, faith is called for. Yes, faith can move mountains (Matt 17:20). Yes, doubt can produce instability (James 1:6-7). Yes, sometimes God will withhold from us what He would like to give us because we don't believe. However, never forget that God is Sovereign. He doesn't need our permission, our request, or our faith to do as He pleases. Our lack of faith might limit us, but it never limits God.

We believe, then, that God cannot save without faith. But if it is true that faith is not something we produce, but something that God gives, then that's not an issue, is it? And we believe that God cannot answer prayers without faith. But God answers prayers before we ask (Matt 6:8). We believe that if we don't have sufficient faith, God cannot heal. But God can heal whenever He wishes and does so even for those who don't believe in Him at all. And, while we avoid the rank error of the "health and wealth" folk, we still tend to think that "if I only had enough faith, God could provide more for me." But nowhere is it written that God is limited by my faith in order to supply my need. Look, either God is Sovereign and is, therefore, not limited by my faith, or He is limited by my faith and is, therefore, not Sovereign. It's as simple as that.

Faith is a key component of Christianity. It is a gift from God (Phil 1:29; Eph 2:8-9) (lest any man should boast). Faith is a rational conclusion based on the evidence we've been given. It is more than simply believing something is true and, as such, faith does not exist in a vacuum, but produces a sure output -- works. Faith is vital to Christianity, but God is not limited by the amount of faith we can muster. So we are to use it, exercise it, practice it, defend it, work it. It's a gift that keeps on giving.