Have you ever really considered those two words? Without Faith… What comes next is critically important – it is impossible to please God. Impossible! That really puts the word in context. From the beginning of man’s existence I believe God has been trying to teach man how important faith is. How faith is what will sustain man during the difficult times. And, faith is as much a verb as it is a noun.
Faith is a word like love; we all have our own definition but typically without ever really thinking about it. Yet, it really is incredibly important to know our definition so we can recognize the behavior when we see it in ourselves and in others. Scripture has many discourses and examples about faith, the most obvious example is Abraham who was told that he would the father of many nations yet he was childless. Though Abraham tried to make it happen, which has proved disastrous, yet God being faithful fulfilled His word to Abraham.
There are countless descriptions scripture provides which should indicate to us just how important faith is to God. Example: looking at only 3 scriptures we see that faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1), that without faith it is impossible to please Him (Hebrews 11:6), and that the just shall live by faith (Habakkuk 2:2). Even if you would consider only those three, they have far reaching implications.
The first description discusses the unseen aspect of faith. If our faith is based only in what we see then this is not faith. Faith takes us beyond the senses into a realm requiring us to stand on what we believe, what we know from what we have been promised. Always remember that God watches over His word to see that it is performed (Isaiah 55:11). The second description is a statement – it’s impossible to please God without faith. And the third description gives us our foundation to life, how we should live. Faith is an action word, foundational to everything.
… but, what do you believe?
