Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:01, NKJV).
Faith in Christ is transformative. It was meant to be.
Faith, we discover, is the only way to please God.
Faith is the differentiator between a life worthy of condemnation and one worthy of divine commendation.
Hebrews 11 is the one place in Scripture devoted almost entirely to what faith is, and what it looks like lived out in the world.
Read it and tremble. Memorize it and have the pathways in your mind re-grooved.
I dare you.
For when you finally see what a life of faith may entail, you will quickly see that it is NOT a nice, neat contractual agreement between you and God. You will see that it is NOT one of the things on a list that you agree to do, or have, that enables you to pass the citizenship test of Heaven.
It is, in fact, what you BECOME as a child of God, and it changes you fundamentally, like radical surgery. Often, those around you will not like the results. They will see you as somehow disfigured, unfit for continued association. You become a pariah, an outcast, sometimes from your own family and household.
When this reaction is caused by your own sense of supposed superiority, the stench of that is hard to bear by anyone, even your staunchest former allies. But when it is caused by your sincere desire to put Christ first in your life, to become like Him, then in some sense you join the long list of those "hated for Christ's sake."
The popular conception of faith in Christ is characterized by the "pie in the sky by and by" dismissal. All the cool kids know better, and if you believe in the atoning work of Christ on the Cross for your sins, and live your life surrendered to Him, you are as far from membership in the Cool Kids Club as you can get and still be a resident of the planet.
The polite condescension heaped on you is even more unbearable than the open contempt. And many of the most rabid Cool Kids believe you need "an intervention", and if they had their way, you'd be forced into state-sponsored rehabilitation.
The reason a life of faith invokes such hostility is because it threatens the very foundation of human pride and self-sufficiency, and unflinchingly declares that we are not our own - that we are accountable for our choices, actions, and priorities to an Omnipotent Judge.
The very idea sends a lot people through the roof; they go ballistic and their missiles of rebuke and ridicule are fueled by an endless supply of "HOW DARE THEY BE SO _____" (fill in the blank).
It's tiring and damaging and to be expected. Jesus Himself warned of the consequences of following Him.
“If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. “If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. “Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. “But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me. (John 15:18-21, NKJV).
But remember, it is God's opinion that counts, not the world's, and a heart of faith knows this because of the substance of things hoped for, the solidity and weight of the promises of God.
If I promise you something, the degree to which you can rely upon those promises being carried out are directly proportional to my integrity and power. My past track record and my control over the circumstances of life are what any thinking, rational person would focus upon to determine the likelihood of my fulfilling my word.
To trust me in that regard requires an investment of time and personal experience. Only a fool trusts someone they don't know. Consequently, if you don't know me, or if my track record is spotty, or if my promise is unrealistic in relation to the power required to carry it out, the substance upon which you base your trust in me lacks solidity and weight. It's just so much vapor and gas.
Such is NOT the case with God. If He is who He says He is, then His control and power over circumstances is absolute. He can do what He promises. And if you have experienced His gracious transforming power in your own experience, and seen the impact of His beloved Son on the history of the world, and on the individuals submitted to His care, and have spent time in fellowship with Him through His word and prayer, then you are in a position to judge His track record. You understand it is flawless.
The solidity and weight of His promises are off the scale. It would take work to disregard or dismiss them.
Add to that the incontrovertible evidence of things not seen, and you have an iron-clad argument for the rationality of faith.
What evidence?
How about the Goldilocks Principle of Cosmology - everything in the Universe "just right" for that thing we call life?
Or accurately fulfilled prophecy from a source obviously "outside of time" - the reemergence of the Nation of Israel after nearly 2000 years of dispersal; the eerily prescient description of the history of mankind in general and the Middle East in particular?
Do you really believe it is a quirk of fate that the eyes of all national governments are focused on a part of the world that serves the energy needs of most of the modern global economy? Is it merely coincidental that 2500 years ago that very thing was written down ahead of time, and has played out just as described?
Or the amazing declarations in Scripture of how the underneath of all things are put together - "so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible…".
If these evidences leave you unmoved, what about the changed lives of the men, women and children who have come to faith in Christ? Murderers become missionaries; slavers become emancipators; warmongers become peacemakers?
The transition from degenerate sinner to regenerated saint is inexplicable without the ingredient of faith. Postulate what you will, but name me one life changed for the better by committed atheism, or one nation becoming the vanguard of human decency and uplifting without its people motivated by belief in Christ.
You can't. Not honestly.
And honestly, once you consider the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen in this light, faith must be admitted to be something real. Something substantial you can sink your teeth into and upon which you can base your destiny.
But in the end, faith is by definition unprovable in this age. It is a matter of the human heart. mind and will, and that is a good thing, because once faith becomes sight, as the prophecies tell us will happen, then it will be too late to exercise faith.
That opportunity to please God in the only way fallen human beings can will be gone… forever.
So take heed and consider now, before it is too late.
Instead of contempt, put on humility and teachableness.
Instead of being dismissive, try honest investigation.
Instead of falling for propaganda and cultural stereotypes, try looking at people as unique individuals and taking the time to find out what truly makes them tick.
Instead of indiscriminately swallowing lies, seek truth.
Do you really have your life so under control, and the world so neatly organized that you can afford to overlook these things? If so, for your sake, I hope time does not pass, because no matter what you believe, the future has a way of unravelling your nice, neat package of what is and isn't true.
And maybe, just maybe, if you try these things you will be surprised by the grace of God, and come to see His Son and His people in a different light.
A light that gives life to the world.
