Hebrews 11 is often referred to as “the faith chapter.” You know, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1). The very definition, right? I’m not so sure. In fact, I see in that text a definition of biblical hope rather than biblical faith. That is, hope is the conviction that the unseen will occur—on the basis of faith.
You can see that in the initial wording. It isn’t defining faith so much as describing it. It isn’t telling you what faith is so much as what faith does. The chapter goes on with illustrations of what people did on the basis of faith. Faith has its effects—hope, conviction, actions. James said that faith without works is dead (James 2:17). So Hebrews 11 is about what faith produces rather than what faith is.
Biblical faith is never credulity. Credulity is a leap in the dark. Biblical faith is always reasonable. It rests squarely on God’s revealed character (Rom. 1:19–20), His past actions, and His promises. We don’t believe in a vacuum; we believe with evidence. Biblical faith includes truth—information we must believe—assent—our agreement with that truth—and confidence—our personal reliance on the truth we believe. It’s a solid structure, not a nebulous feeling, built on the God of the universe who has revealed Himself to us.
Biblical faith is not the modern version. It’s not believing without evidence. It’s not believing in spite of the evidence. It’s not “believing the improbable” or indulging in wishful thinking. It is based on the truth about God and the historical evidence—as shown in Hebrews 11, which lists people who acted on faith to demonstrate how faith operates.
Biblical faith, then, is confident trust in God’s character and promises, grounded in His revealed word and proven faithfulness. It’s not a shot in the dark. It’s not mindless following. It’s not blind. It is rational, credible, covenantal trust.
Biblical faith is sturdy because its foundation is God Himself—His character, His word, His works. Hebrews 11 reminds us that those who walked before us didn’t cling to faith as a vague feeling or blind optimism; they trusted a God who had proven His faithfulness, and their hope grew solid because of it. That same God calls us to the same kind of confidence today. So perhaps the real question is not whether faith is hard, but whether we are truly resting in the One who makes faith reasonable, hope certain, and obedience the natural outflow of trust.
4 comments:
It is odd and completely illegitimate that Bible-based believers (especially “fundamental” ones) are considered by skeptics and deniers to be gullible anti-intellectuals, when the truth about biblical faith is as you wrote today--it is grounded in rational, proven, and trustworthy evidence and certainties. A strong faith in the God of the Bible correlates to keener reasoning, while faithless people are the truly ignorant ones. As I see it, a biblical faith--leading to a true knowledge of God--is the supreme entity the Lord established for the human race in general and for the elect specifically. We are a special breed, not a sorry bunch. My confidence in some things in life might wax and wane, but the biblical faith bestowed to me almost fifty years ago is a sure thing--because the object of that faith is true.
P.S. I agree that Heb. 11:1 is about our hope, which is based on faith. The faith that is granted to us by the Lord produces our hope, rather than that we hope that our faith is true (indeed, in some real instances, “the faithful” are merely “the hopeful”--with their faith in faith itself).
Another example of linguistic drift. Faith and hope have become nebulous, distant things. But for Christians, faith and hope are sure things, as you said, based on evidence. It may be true that newer believers are relying more on credulity than faith, but too many of us seem to never develop passed that, leading the world to believe we're all science-denying airheads.
Oh, look! Lorna's back. :)
Well, thanks for noticing--it’s nice to be missed!
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