- Mar 24, 2011
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You've probably heard from our atheist friends that faith is belief without evidence, or just hoping something is true. A blind faith. As usual when we are dealing with skeptical arguments, nothing could be further from the truth! Have you seen this scripture?
Hebrews 11:1
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen
You see here that the scripture is associating the word faith with the words substance and evidence. So we aren't dealing with something intangible, or illogical. We are dealing with something tangible and real which correlates to reality.
Faith is actually something we use every day, and we have good reasons for doing so. I'll give you a real life example.
When you deposit your money in a bank account, you can't see what they are doing with it. Although you can't see what they are doing, you trust them to hold your money for you. Why? Because you have faith in the institution. You have seen that your bank is well established in your community, or even in the nation. You have heard testimonies about how people are satisfied with the service. You see that you are able to get your money out anytime you want.
Because of this, you have faith in them. It's not a blind faith, you have strong reasons for doing so. It's just the same with our faith in God. We don't take a leap of faith; our faith is built on strong reasons and strong evidence. (on nothing less than Jesus Christ and His righteousness)
This analogy demonstrates why we put our hope in the promises of God. For instance, we know if the bank were to lose our money because of some disaster, there is a promise of reimbursement by the government up to a certain amount. We put our hope in this promise because of our belief in the US Government having the will and resources to fulfill that promise. That is the same with our God. We know He is able to fulfill His word, and that He does so on a continual basis. We hope in His promises because of His unchanging character and unfailing love. It is infinitely more sound to put your hope in Gods promises then even a government which will one day fail. Again, we have strong reasons and strong evidence for doing so:
We believe in God and Jesus Christ our Lord because He has revealed Himself to us personally, by causing us to be born again and giving us new life. We see what He has done in our own personalities, in our mind will and emotions. We see the dramatic changes which have His fingerprints all over them.
We believe in God and Jesus Christ our Lord because of the evidence of His word. We see the fulfilled prophecy which verified every aspect of the life of Jesus and His ministry, from the time He would be born, to the exact location, as well as specific things that He would do to indicate He is the Messiah. Isaiah 53 for instance. We see that as well in other prophetic scriptures, such as in Daniel which accurately predicts the course of our world history.
We believe in God and Jesus Christ our Lord because of the evidence of His creation. We see Gods amazing handiwork, and awesome creative ability everywhere we turn. Although corrupted by the fall, His creation faithfully preaches about His eternal power and Godhead on a continual basis.
These are just some of the strong reasons and strong evidence which tells us that ours is a reasonable, rational faith. It isn't pie in the sky, it is based on the evidence and the historical person of Jesus Christ, our Messiah and Lord.
Hebrews 11:1
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen
You see here that the scripture is associating the word faith with the words substance and evidence. So we aren't dealing with something intangible, or illogical. We are dealing with something tangible and real which correlates to reality.
Faith is actually something we use every day, and we have good reasons for doing so. I'll give you a real life example.
When you deposit your money in a bank account, you can't see what they are doing with it. Although you can't see what they are doing, you trust them to hold your money for you. Why? Because you have faith in the institution. You have seen that your bank is well established in your community, or even in the nation. You have heard testimonies about how people are satisfied with the service. You see that you are able to get your money out anytime you want.
Because of this, you have faith in them. It's not a blind faith, you have strong reasons for doing so. It's just the same with our faith in God. We don't take a leap of faith; our faith is built on strong reasons and strong evidence. (on nothing less than Jesus Christ and His righteousness)
This analogy demonstrates why we put our hope in the promises of God. For instance, we know if the bank were to lose our money because of some disaster, there is a promise of reimbursement by the government up to a certain amount. We put our hope in this promise because of our belief in the US Government having the will and resources to fulfill that promise. That is the same with our God. We know He is able to fulfill His word, and that He does so on a continual basis. We hope in His promises because of His unchanging character and unfailing love. It is infinitely more sound to put your hope in Gods promises then even a government which will one day fail. Again, we have strong reasons and strong evidence for doing so:
We believe in God and Jesus Christ our Lord because He has revealed Himself to us personally, by causing us to be born again and giving us new life. We see what He has done in our own personalities, in our mind will and emotions. We see the dramatic changes which have His fingerprints all over them.
We believe in God and Jesus Christ our Lord because of the evidence of His word. We see the fulfilled prophecy which verified every aspect of the life of Jesus and His ministry, from the time He would be born, to the exact location, as well as specific things that He would do to indicate He is the Messiah. Isaiah 53 for instance. We see that as well in other prophetic scriptures, such as in Daniel which accurately predicts the course of our world history.
We believe in God and Jesus Christ our Lord because of the evidence of His creation. We see Gods amazing handiwork, and awesome creative ability everywhere we turn. Although corrupted by the fall, His creation faithfully preaches about His eternal power and Godhead on a continual basis.
These are just some of the strong reasons and strong evidence which tells us that ours is a reasonable, rational faith. It isn't pie in the sky, it is based on the evidence and the historical person of Jesus Christ, our Messiah and Lord.