Faith and Belief.

I am learning lately that Faith isn't exactly what I thought it was. Paul encourages Timothy in both of his letters to "Fight the fight of Faith". I don't think I really ever understood what it means to fight for faith until the last year.

I think I always thought of Faith as just belief. But I really think that belief is totally different. In John it says "I believe Lord, help my unbelief". Yet we are either a people that has faith or does not. I think as I get older (and I think for us all) in my Christian life its less and less just a set of facts or ideas or scripture which is just simply true. That used to be all I needed to believe and it let me sleep at night... "Ive seen this at work in my life, it is scripturally sound, so it is true".

Well as I grow older in my faith, and especially through seminary, I am given more ideas, more facts, more opinions and more things to read. As all of this enters me, I am changed. My faith sometimes has to renegotiate with the information before me.

But there are two good things about this. One, God is unchanging and good. I know that the promises of God are true so even if my facts are off, or what I believe is misinformed a little, It is my faith alone that is credited to me as righteousness. And, two, my faith is not based on ideas or theologies or trivia about the bible, but rather my faith comes from the Lord.

Often in the New Testament faith is accompanied by one of two things in a verse: the Holy Spirit, or fear of God. This tells me two things: One, that my faith comes from God, He chooses to give it to me (Hallelujah!) and it comes from my new, godly, heart knowing the truth that has been revealed to me by the Spirit. Two, that faith doesn't always come after miracles, belief does. We walk by faith, not by sight. I don't need anything or any proof to fight for faith, just prayer. Just like in the story of the paralytic, it is the friends faith BEFORE the healing that gets their friend healed. Now I'm pretty sure that they all believed a whole lot more after that, but their faith was what brought them before the Lord, and the same can be said for us.

Knowing this we should encourage each other that even if we are having a struggle believing the Gospel or truth or even our own salvation, that we are still children of God and that God will persevere and pursue us until we are fully reconciled with Him. And why is that? Because not only are we faithful, but God is ultimately faithful to His people. Think of that!!! If we need proof of God in order to have faith in God, what proof have we given God in order for Him to have faith in us??? none, and yet God is still faithful. So if God is giving us the ultimate example of faith, how much easier is it for us to live by faith in a good and righteous and holy God?

Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 1 Tim 6:12

We all need to remember the new heart that we received at our baptism and the confession that was made there... not that I wouldn't fail, not that I would produce so much fruit, but that I believe and confess my faith in our Lord, Jesus Christ...

I pray we can all say with Paul: I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 2 Tim 4:7

I'm with a lot of you, it gets harder and harder the older we get in our faith. There is a lot to try and reconcile with. We are bombarded with information that makes it impossible to go back to the days when we could just "believe". But press on, fight the fight, and encourage me, and Ill sure try and encourage you. Ill leave you with the words of Christ:

I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers." Luke 22:32

Praise God.