FAITH

The definition of faith according to Webster is Unquestioning belief that doesn't require proof or evidence. According to Webster, we don't need proof to have faith, but we as Christians are blessed with evidence of the great God that we place our faith in. We have the Bible. 66 wonderful books by 40 authors who were inspired by God Himself. This Book took 1600 years to complete!

The definition of faith according to Hebrews 11 is a bit different than Webster's definition. "Faith is the substance, (the assurance, reality, confirmation, title deed) of things hoped for, the evidence (conviction, proof, conviction of their reality) of things not seen."

According to the Bible, we are saved through faith, live by faith, receive righteousness through faith, are justified by faith, have access to God's grace by faith, receive the promise of the Spirit by faith, do God's work by faith, and wait for His return in faith. Faith is vital to the life of a Christian.

Faith affects our lives in different ways everyday. We have faith that when we get into our cars we will arrive at our destination. We have faith that the food that we buy at the grocery store which is grown by absolute strangers is not going to be harmful to us. We have faith that our doctors are competent and therefore place our health in their hands. Without faith our lives would be very difficult!

Hebrews offers us many examples of how faith affected the people of God. We read about Abel. His sacrifice was pleasing to God and by faith he was commended as a righteous man. It talks about Enoch whose faith caused him to please God so that God took him from the earth and he did not experience death. His faith delivered him from death! Noah's faith manifested itself in works. As James says, "Faith without works is dead". Noah's act of building the ark came completely from his faith in God.
There are many more examples of faith in Hebrews. By faith Abraham... by faith Isaac... by faith Jacob... by faith Joseph... by faith Moses... by faith Rahab... James even goes on to tell us that he doesn't have time to talk about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets!
Faith is so important in the life of the Christian. Faith is when we please God, admit our dependence upon Him, and continually seek to rely upon Him and His grace.

Our faith in God should affect our attitude towards this world. True faith produces conviction not preference and convictions are non-negotiable. No matter what trials and temptations this world may bring, the convictions that come through our faith in God must stand firm. We cannot afford to conform to the patterns of the world and jeopardize the affect that our faith may have on others. Just as James speaks of those from the past whose faith is an example to us now, so our faith may now and in the future be commendable enough to be listed alongside of these great heroes of faith from the past.

"...Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."