Belief In Things NOT Seen...

An interrogation of the cruise ship Captain Francesco Schettino (the captain of the Costa Concordia) has yielded a startling admission: The captain says he was navigating by sight when the ship ran aground.

Prosecutor Francesco Verusio has accused the captain of piloting the ship too fast to allow him to react to dangers, causing the shipwreck, according to legal papers. Judge Valeria Montesarchio's initial ruling found Schettino changed the ship's course, steering too close to shore and causing the ship to hit a rock.

The judge said the captain admitted to making a mistake and that, at the time of the collision, he was navigating by sight.
-CNN, January 18, 2012

Without a doubt, sight is one of our most important natural senses. Our lives are greatly enriched by our ability to see the world around us. However, there are instances when our reliance on sight alone is practically useless. One such instance is when we rely on sight, instead of "faith" in our relationship with God. Paul even tells us, "for we walk by faith, not by sight." (2 Corinthians 5:7)

So, what is faith? What does it mean to believe? Some Christians think it means blind acceptance: "You've just got to believe." Some skeptics agree: "Faith is believing in something without good reasons to do so." -Steven Pinker, evolutionary psychologist who opposed mandatory religion classes at Harvard.

Both, however, are mistaken! Such ignorance of the nature of faith leads to shallowness of faith among Christians, and prejudice against faith among skeptics. To avoid misunderstanding the nature of faith, especially the nature of Christian faith, we will examine both, beginning with the "nature of faith".

As defined by Easton's Bible Dictionary: faith is in general the persuasion of the mind that a certain statement is true. Its primary idea is trust. It is a strong conviction or trust in something (Hebrews 11:1).

For example: you have faith that your parents are indeed your parents based upon your confidence in the reliability of their word. Such conviction or trust prompts you to respond accordingly. We have such faith (trust, conviction) in many things. We believe in Leonardo da Vinci as a person of history; and we believe in commercial aviation as a safe way to travel. Simply put, faith is trust or conviction in something or someone.

What is the evidentiary evidence of faith? Many people believe that faith is something blind ("you just gotta believe"). Yes, faith can be a conviction in "things unseen" (Hebrews 11:1). Yes, we can "walk by faith, not by sight" (2 Corinthians 5:7).

But there can be sound reasons (i.e., evidence) for believing in what you cannot "see." As was mentioned above, just as you believe in Leonardo da Vinci, though you have never seen him. Or, just as you believe in who your parents are, though you can't remember who was there at your birth.

Other people believe that faith is a special gift from God for a select few. In one sense faith is indeed a "gift" from God (cf. Ephesians 2:8; Romans 12:3). But while faith owes its ultimate source to God, it is available to all. For God desires all men to be saved (1 Timothy 2:3-6). He desires that which produces saving faith to be proclaimed to all (cf. Romans 1:16; 16:25-26).

The fact is that faith comes from evidence, provided by God Himself! He provides evidence of His existence in the universe (Psalm 19:1-3; Romans 1:19-20). And he also provides evidence of signs and wonders so we might believe in His Son (John 5:36; 10:37-38; 14:10-11; 20:30-31). Clearly, faith in the Bible is not 'blind faith', it is trust based on evidence!

The evidentiary nature of faith becomes even clearer as we consider the "nature of Christian faith." This consists first of a rational, intelligent faith in which God expects us to use our minds (Matthew 22:36-38; John 8:32). We do not have to commit 'intellectual suicide' in order to have faith. Indeed, a weak faith is the result of the heart trying to believe what the mind rejects.

Does this mean we can have 100% proof? No, but we often commit 100% with less than 100% proof. As when flying on an airplane (no 100% guarantee, but we commit 100% anyway). Why do we do this? Because the safety of commercial aviation makes it a rational, intelligent decision.

Therefore, the question becomes: "Is there enough evidence to warrant making a 100% commitment to Christ?" I believe there is! Certainly enough to commit myself 100% for Him, rather than be 100% against Him! There is no other alternative (Matthew 12:30). Think of it this way, Jesus is like an airplane; either we get on board totally, or we get left behind! The Christian faith is based on making a rational, intelligent decision.

We can think of Christian faith as a historical, factual faith. Christianity appeals to history, and the facts of history. "The facts backing the Christian claim are not a special kind of 'religious' fact. They are the cognitive, informational facts upon which all historical, legal, and ordinary decisions are based." -Charles Pinnock For example, notice the historical reference to time, places, people and events (Luke 2:1-5; 3:1-2). Thus it is not a faith based on philosophy, myths, or legends. The Christian faith is based on facts of history.

Christian faith is an objective faith. Here, we have faith (trust) in an object: Jesus of Nazareth. We have faith in who He was: The Christ, the Son of God; and faith in what He did: He rose from the dead on the third day. It does make a difference what we believe.

The old cliché "It doesn't matter what you believe, as long as you believe in something" is inconsistent with Christian faith. It is not faith in of itself that is important, but in Whom (the object) our faith is based (John 8:24; Romans 10:9). The Christian faith is trust or conviction in a Person (Jesus).

Finally, Christian faith is an evidentiary faith. In other words, a faith (conviction, trust) based on evidence. There is evidence such as eyewitness testimony (Acts 10:39-41; 13:31; 1 John 1:1-4; 2 Peter 1:16-18). Think of it as the same sort of evidence used in a court of law where we base convictions on the credibility of witnesses.

In evidentiary faith, there is also evidence such as fulfilled prophecy (Acts 17:2-3; 18:28; 26:22-23). This is based on the improbability of over 300 fulfilled prophecies being simply coincidence. When just 8 prophecies and their fulfillment are considered, the likelihood of coincidence is 1 in 10 to the 17th power; with just 48 prophecies the probability is 1 in 10 to the 157th power - virtually impossible! The Christian faith is based on such evidence!

In conclusion, we have seen that the nature of faith, in particular the Christian
faith, is...

a. Trust that is intelligent and rational
b. Trust in a person of history, Jesus of Nazareth
c. Trust in who He is, what He did
d. Trust based on empirical and reasonable evidence

Faith (trust) does lead to believing in things not seen; such as God who is invisible (John 1:18; 1 John 4:12), and as promises we hope to receive (resurrection, eternal life) -Romans 8:24.

Prayer:

I look to You, Father, for forgiveness, hope and life. Amen

Have a very blessed day!

Janet