Bible Study

Another fact about faith is that it needs to be matched with action. Belief is not just brain cells in motion. It demands a response. Do we do what we believe? If we believe in a seed, we plant it. A man who owns an airplane but will not risk a trip is a contradictory character. It will get him exactly nowhere. We may as well believe in Mickey Mouse as the Almighty if we do not expect Him to do anything. James, the half-brother of Jesus, an upright and forthright character, in his short book made some hard-hitting remarks. “You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble” (James 2:19). Their theology was sound but useless; they were sham believers. James said they were lovers of money who were impatient with God, and using them as an example, he said faith that does not work is not faith. Everyone knows humanity first stepped onto the moon on July 20, 1969. It was a great event, but it happened a long way from planet earth. Most wives find it more useful to know their husbands, who live in the same house. That is proper faith. It is also the kind of faith God wants. He is not a figure of past history but “a very present help” (Psalm 46:1). Faith, Not Scientific Opinion People often say, “I’ll believe it when I see it.” No they will not. They cannot. You can only believe, or have faith, in what you do not see. What you see is fact, and is not up for believing. If you can prove it, faith does not come into play. Nobody believes two plus two equals four. They know so. But God wants faith. “Without faith it is impossible to please Him” (Hebrews 11:6). Jesus said, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29). Faith is the way to get God’s blessing, not the “cleverness” that says you won’t believe anything unless you can run your tape measure round it. This was Paul’s point in 1 Corinthians. He was familiar with the great thinkers of Greece who had discovered the certainties of mathemat¬ics. Reason worked with numbers, and they imagined it would work for everything else—including the meaning of life, the whole business of life, and God Himself. To this day, these ancient philosophers set thinkers off on a red herring trail. Paul knew what had happened, and he told the learned thinkers of Corinth that “the world through wisdom did not know God” (1 Corinthians 1:21). Faith is based on a personal relationship, not on a mathematical equation. We know what God did yesterday, but we have to trust Him for tomorrow. There are no guarantees. In many ways, faith is akin to love. It is a heart matter. We do not decide to fall in love after weighing all the pros and cons. Couples get married on trust, not on scientific evidence or conclusive logic.