What Is Faith (Hebrews 11:6)

What Is Faith?

 

Hebrews 11:6 "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."

 

Today, I am going to talk about faith. Faith is one of the most common words and concepts in the Christian religion. As much as it has become common, however, we may lose its deep and powerful meaning and use it habitually. How can I explain the faith we Christians have? It is comparable, let say, with money or a smart phone. As for money. We all know the power of money. It is not just a piece of paper or a number in your bank account. It is truly power. With money, we can buy, at least, anything is for sale. We are also free from the burden to make a living and can do many things that we want to enjoy in the free time. What about a smart phone? Nowadays, a phone is not just a device. With a phone, we can do many things including phone call, internet surfing, watching movies, listening to music, playing games, and even doing business. Through the phone, we are wired to the vast ocean of knowledge and information, and can reach people, companies, schools, and organizations. Faith can be understood in the same way. Jesus said, “Everything is possible for one who believes” (Mark 9:23), and “Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you” (Matthew 17:20). In Hebrews 11, we see many specific examples of what people did by faith. For example, verses 33-35 says “……who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women received back their dead, raised to life again……” This is amazing. What faith enables us to do is truly beyond our imagination. These things are impossible with all the money, technology, and wisdom of the world. Money is power and wisdom in this world. And faith is power and wisdom in that world, the Kingdom of God. It is like a smart phone that wires us to God and all the great things in His Kingdom.

 

How can we define “faith”? In the dictionary, its meaning is defined as: “complete trust or confidence in someone or something.” I would like to rephrase this according to my Christian understanding of faith. Faith is “holding and relying on something/somebody for his/her life from the beginning to the end, and always, and even at the cost of death.” Basically, faith implies some expectation. For example, you make a very important request to your friend, and you say, “I just believe you!” So, your faith in the friend is your expectation that the friend would do the requested work very well. If you don’t have such an expectation, you don’t need to put your trust in that person. On the other hand, faith implies cost in my side. This sacrifice can be patience, waiting in anxiety for a long time, struggling with visible negative signs against the expectation, and so on. Every kind of faith involves these two elements: expectation and cost.

 

The dictionary definition says that faith is “complete trust or confidence in someone or something.” I like the word “complete.” This word is truly applicable to Christian faith. What is complete trust or complete faith we can have? It is the faith involving the highest expectation and the highest cost. And what are they? They are life. I presented a long definition of Christian faith. Actually, this definition can be simplified this way: Life for life. That is, Christian faith is expecting life at the cost of life. Hebrews 5:7 says, “"During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission." Here we can see the faith of Jesus Christ. He offered his life and trusted the father who could save him from death. And it happened exactly as he believed. This is Jesus’ death on the cross and his resurrection. This is life for life: genuine complete faith.

 

Faith consists of two components. One is universal truth and the other is personal conviction. Universal truth is the content, and personal conviction is the container. There is the legendary story about Galileo Galilei. In his days, most people believed that the Earth is the center of the Universe and the orbit of all heavenly bodies. But based on his observation, Galileo argued that the earth moves around the Sun. Then, the Church forced him to recant his claims that the earth moves around the Sun. Facing the formidable threat, Galileo had to recant his argument, but he allegedly muttered the rebellious phrase "And yet it moves." Here is the universal truth that the earth moves around the Sun. And this truth was received and held personally and firmly in Galileo’s heart. Every faith involves these two elements: universal truth and personal conviction of the truth.

 

Which do you think is more important between the two? Of course, both are important but as I mentioned above, the truth is content and personal conviction is its container. We can compare this to a treasure and its case. In 2Corinthians 4:7, St. Paul says, “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” Here, “this treasure” is the gospel about Jesus Christ, which is the universal truth that Paul holds and believes firmly with unshakable conviction. A jewel box is precious not because of itself but because of the jewel cased in the box. If the box is empty or the jewel inside the box is a fake, the case will look very poor even if it is decorated with many glittering things. If Galileo argued that the Sun moves around the earth and he died for this belief, he would not be respected as a great scholar. What made him great is the universal truth that he defended desperately. In this sense, truthfulness of faith is determined less by the container than by the content. Thus, when we talk about faith, we must think first and last and always “what I believe.” If you don’t know and are not able to explain “what you believe,” your faith may be fake and empty. Actually, it is not faith. It would be rather a deceptive harmful delusion. True faith is merely what is induced from the truth, universal truth. The conviction itself comes from the truth. You hold something firmly. And your holding power doesn’t come from your own body. It comes from the value of what you are holding. The more valuable and truthful it is, the more strongly you hold it.

 

Then, let’s go back to today’s passage. It says: "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." This verse doesn’t tell us what faith is or how we should believe. It tells us what we should believe. That is, what matters is the content of faith. And here we learn what it is: “that God exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” This verse also tells us what is the believer’s expectation, and what would be the cost he should pay. The expectation is “reward,” and the cost is “earnest seeking.”

 

Let’s think further about the content of faith: God exists and he rewards those who earnestly seek him. From this, we can easily infer that faith is about God, and not something or someone else. Often, people and even many Christians understand faith in connection to their problems. When they are sick, they believe that they would be healed. When they take an exam, they believe that they would pass it. When they are searching for a job, they believe that they would find the best one. In such problem-centered faith, God is rather treated as an agent who waits out there in order to solve our problems, and retreats when the problem has been solved. Our faith just plays around the problems and seeks solutions. Such problem-centered faith doesn’t seek God himself, and therefore, its direction is wrong if not corrected at some point of the journey. God is the ultimate purpose of our faith. With faith, we are not seeking the solution of problems. We are seeking God himself and his glorious and honorable rewards.

 

Specifically, we must believe that God exists and he rewards those who earnestly seek him. What does it mean that “God exists” or “God is”? And even if he exists, what does it mean to me? For many people, God’s being is just a matter of curiosity nothing to do with my own life. But it is not. When the Bible says something, it always does so in connection to me and my life. For example, Jesus said, “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35). Actually Jesus is saying, “I am the bread of life to you.” When the Bible says “God exists,” it means, “God exists toward you.” The way of God’s existence is totally different from the existence of creatures including us human beings. How? If you read throughout the Bible, you can find some common attributes explaining “how God is.” Some of them I want to share with you here are these: God is living; God is one; and God is true. God is living God, only God, and true God. When we believe that God exists, we should accept these attributes of God’s being.

 

God is living. He hears my voice and responds to it. He knows me and cares for my everything. He is watching over me even without sleeping. Every nerve of his is fully awake toward me. We have living people around me, family, friends, colleagues, and many names on my phone and in SNS communities. Are they truly living? No, they are not. They are sleeping, or busy with their own businesses, or too selfish to take care of others. In fact, there are few living around me in the real sense. Although they are living, they are as good as dead to me. But God’s living is not so. God’s living is real. There are many verses describing God’s living toward me. Isaiah 49:15 says, ““Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!” Psalm 121:4 says, “indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.” Matthew 6:31-32 says, “So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.” And Luke 12:6-7 says, “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” All these verses show how careful and faithful our living God is to us. We only believe that somebody exists only when I can see him in front of me. But God is invisible, and he works very quietly and peacefully, so we may think he is not there. But God is with me all the time, and his living in me is more real than the existence of myself.

 

Another attribute of God’s being is that he is one. He is only God. Thus, when we believe in him, we should believe in only him. People like to have multiple choices especially for something very important. For the security of our lives, we want to keep some extra helps. Going further, we may seek other gods. The Bible again emphasizes that there is only God and there is no one else. In Isaiah 46:9, the Lord says, “Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me.” Hosea 13:4 also says, ““But I have been the Lord your God ever since you came out of Egypt. You shall acknowledge no God but me, no Savior except me.” When we believe that God exists, we must believe that there is no god and no savior except the Lord. God is jealous. This means that God doesn’t want me to have many gods. God wants me to be my only God. In 1Kings 18:21, Prophet Elijah confronts people and says to them, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.” For this, the psalmist prays, “Teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart that I may fear your name” (Psalm 86:11).

 

The last attribute of God’s being I want to mention is that he is true. God is true God. When we say “true God,” it means that he is really God in every way. If I am introduced to a pianist, I may want to see if he is a true pianist. How? By seeing him playing the piano. If he plays the piano very well, he will be found to be true. This is also the case for God. God proved himself to be true in many ways, especially by showing his miraculous saving power to those who trusted him. In Exodus 14:4, God said, “And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” Ezekiel 39:28 says, “Then they will know that I am the Lord their God, for though I sent them into exile among the nations, I will gather them to their own land, not leaving any behind.” For their security, people tend to rely on powers in the world such as money, military and political power, good reputation, etc. However, they are useless in saving lives. It is only God who can save us, and it is only God who receives glory for the greatness.

 

In the true sense, it is only God who exists. All the other things exist conditionally and temporarily. They may exist today but not tomorrow. Even if they exist, they are powerless and useless, and therefore, as good as dead. But God’s being is not like that. God’s being is not conditional, and not temporary. God’s name is “I AM WHO I AM.” He is eternal and unchanging. He is Alpha and Omega. He was, and He is, and He is to come (Revelation 4:8). This is the meaning of God’s existence. Because God exists in this way, he is worthy of our “complete trust and confidence.” And other than God, there is nothing that deserves our “complete trust and confidence.” In this sense, the word “faith” should be used only to God.

 

In fact, “faith” is not just a religious word. It is also used often in human relationships. People trust one another. They exchange praises and commend others for their trustworthiness. But the Bible gives a warning against such practices. Jeremiah 17:5 says, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who draws strength from mere flesh and whose heart turns away from the Lord.’” According to this verse, man is ‘mere flesh.’ Flesh means ‘weakness,’ not only in power but also in every way including wisdom, righteousness, faithfulness, mercifulness, etc. For example, Peter must have been the most faithful among Jesus’ 12 disciples. But Jesus said to him, “Truly I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.” And as Jesus foretold, Peter denied his most beloved Lord not once but three times. Jesus, the sinless, was tried at the Courts of the Jews and the Roman Empire, the most religious and civilized courts in the world, and was sentenced to death. The best of flesh is still the worst in God’s eyes. What flesh needs is not the heavy burden of being trusted but the grace of compassion and forgiveness.

 

At the beginning, I compared faith to money. Actually, faith is spiritual money. Today’s text says that God rewards those who earnestly seek him. If we pay a 100-dollar bill in a store, the clerk checks its genuineness through some kind of test. When it is proved to be genuine, it is accepted. Our faith is also tested by God in some way. 1Peter 1:7 says, “These (trials) have come so that your faith – of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire – may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” God exists and he rewards those who earnestly seek him. Although God is living, only, true God, we are often in the middle of deadly darkness, without any visible hope of life. I believe Jesus would have been so when he was on the cross, crying, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46). Still the Lord believed the Father, and Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46). Jesus believed and obeyed God until he died on the cross. And this faith and obedience was his seeking of God’s salvation, the resurrection from the dead. With his faith purer than pure gold, Jesus gained his life. This is life for life, genuine faith that brings us salvation.