The Essence of Faith -- Take Two

“When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” -- Jesus, Luke 18:8

I have spent the better part of the past two months meditating on, pondering, considering, reflecting and just about any other verb that could be used for thinking about what exactly faith is at it core, its very essence. It is such an abstract, difficult concept. Yet one that is critically important to grasp and understand because God Himself has said, “without faith it is impossible to please me” [Hebrews 11:6] and “that which is not from faith is sin” [Romans 14:23]. So what exactly is this “faith” that is required to please God and not from which everything else in our lives is sin?

Too often I think we use illustrations and examples to make our points regarding faith because the core is too difficult to comprehend and still even more difficult to explain. Jesus, Himself, did this in the parables He told. See Luke 18:1-17 where He describes faith in three separate illustrations … the unrighteous judge and the persistent widow, the contrasting prayers of the Pharisee and the tax collector, and allowing the children to come unto Him. Luke’s gospel is replete with such examples. When none other than the Lord of the Universe is reduced to example rather than definition perhaps this concept is unknowable in this life.

Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart famously wrote in Jacobellis v. Ohio in 1964, “I shall not today attempt further to define the kinds of material I understand to be embraced within that shorthand description of hard-core pornography and perhaps I could never succeed in intelligibly doing so. But I know it when I see it.” That I think is how we have conventionally viewed faith. In fact, I have done this very thing for the past two months in describing the various heroes of faith listed in Faith’s Hall and how true biblical faith was manifested in their lives. Each of these heroes illustrate a specific facet of faith that I think warrants appreciation and understanding, but any list will be by nature incomplete because I think faith is an infinite and eternal reality that does not lend itself to temporal and finite definitions. We are told in Hebrews 12:2 that Jesus Himself is “the author [or “founder” in the ESV] and perfecter of our faith.” So the obvious inference here is that our faith has its origin in the eternal and infinite God of the Universe.

The writer of Hebrews defines faith as “being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” [or in the KJV “the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen”]. I think in the abstract this is as good a definition as there is, but at the end of the day, it still leaves me with more questions than answers. What does it really mean anyway? My pastor Erik Braun in his December 19, 2010 sermon on Luke 18:1-17 stated this definition was an “infinite regression.” It’s source and origin is in the ultimate God of the universe and thus beyond human definition. So why really am I even trying? Stubbornness, perhaps? Determination? I don’t know. When the Bible uses terms like “substance” and “evidence” in lieu of “faith” then it seems to just shift the pursuit of understanding further down the track, because we are then left with trying to define in our own minds just exactly what is meant by those terms. And perhaps at some point recognizing the very futility of using finite human language to express infinite and eternal spiritual realities. But then again, human language is all we have to communicate with and really to even think with in this life, apart from that revelation given to us by the Spirit of God.

As I mentioned back on November 16, the apostles’ desperate cry for the Lord to “Increase our faith!” [Luke 17:5] is, ironically, the beginning of faith in its purest sense, as true and pure biblical faith comes only from God, and as such, it cannot be manufactured by the spirit of man. Moreover, not only is God the source of pure faith, but He is also its giver and its object. We, however, tend too often to view faith in light of its possessor rather than its giver. In Hebrews 11:1 faith is defined as “being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Erik elaborated on this by saying “faith is the instrumentation given by God to apply Himself to us.” I think that is a practical approach that appropriately recognizes both faith’s source and function.

So where does this faith come from? This question has always been a controversial one, yet this is puzzling considering how plainly the answer to this question is granted to us in the Scriptures. Some modern Evangelicals seem to think that faith is something that arises out of the fallen natures of some persons but not others ... and that this difference in response is not due to grace (for all had grace), but rather, some inherent difference in the persons themselves. But Jesus put this kind of speculation to rest when He declared, "no one can come to Me unless it is granted him by the Father" [John 6:65]. In the same passage Jesus also declared, "all that the Father gives Me will come to Me" [John 6:37]. In both verses the phrase "come to Me" simply means "believe in Me" and so taken together, Jesus is stating that no one can believe in Him unless God grants it, and all to whom God grants it will believe. According to this passage, then, God grants faith, a faith that will infallibly arise in the heart of those He has given His Son.

Moreover, faith is not the product of an unregenerated human nature. If a person becomes humble enough to submit to God, it is because the Holy Spirit has given that person a new, humble nature ... not because some men are more humble than others. It was not by chance that one person believed the gospel and not the other, nor was it because one had some innate virtue that the other lacked. It is grace and grace alone that makes men to differ, not the exertion of men's wills. While God requires faith of all men He promises to give unto all those that are ordained unto eternal life his Holy Spirit [see again John 6:63-65], which quickens and disarms hostility so they are willing and able to believe.

So let’s finish off this look at faith by considering Jesus’ illustrations about its nature in Luke 18:1-17.

And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’” And the Lord said, ‘Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And will not God give justice to His elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, He will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”

He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, robbers, evildoers, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift his eyes up to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Now they were bringing even infants to Him that He might touch them. And when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them to Him, saying, ‘Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.’

A widow in the first century A.D. epitomized the powerless. She was a woman who had lost her primary means of support and protection. This is why God had long ago made provision in the Law for the protection and provision of widows and orphans because without this provision they would not make it economically or spiritually in their realm of existence. Thus the widow is a perfect metaphor of the person dependent upon God. This particular widow knew no shame; she doggedly pursued this wicked judge and would not stop until she received the justice she felt due her. In her case, faith is being unashamed to call on God … to admit that without His help she would not make it. And God’s response was that if this judge who neither feared God nor respected man could be made to give this widow what was due her, then how much more will our heavenly Father be pleased to move on behalf of His very elect!?!

Pride, on the other hand, would be demonstrated as opposite the course of action from what this widow took. Pride would deny the very need so evident in her life. So in this parable we see that faith is admitting the truth … each of us lacks the power and authority to make our lives work and we must solely rely on God. Whatever we do from this position, of acknowledgement that we are totally dependent upon God, is faith, and whenever rely on our own skills or take credit for own provision, that is sin, because even our own skills and abilities come from the very hand of God. Whatever it may take and whenever we may go to the lowest places in our lives, there we find total dependence on Him and there the essence of faith forms in our souls. Of course, prideful that we are, we don’t like these places very much, and we generally seek to avoid them at all costs … to the very peril of our souls. And this is sin. In fact, this is the original sin of man, and unfortunately, one from where we’ve never advanced too very far.

Moreover, we think we are better than this! And we tend to show contempt for others that we perceive to be lower than us, and thus by extension, contempt for even God. We are so very much like the Pharisees even as we show contempt for these same Pharisees. The paradox is almost stupefying. Sadly, this is most often manifested by prayerlessness in our lives. And when we do pray, it tends to be more along the lines of the Pharisee in Jesus’ second parable who basically “prayed to himself” thanking God that he was above other men and not one in need of grace and mercy. In fact, God was lucky to have him on His side. If we are prayerless, then we are faithless, because at its very nature prayer is faith. Erik Braun goes so far as to say “they are infinitely co-mingled.” Prayer acknowledges our dependence on God. While we may think there are more important things to do, prayer is NOT DOING … IT IS SURRENDERING our very selves to God. Faith is the opposite of pride, it is praying without ceasing. The irony being that before we can do anything of eternal consequence, we must admit that ultimately we cannot do anything of spiritual consequence in the eternal realm. It is only the Spirit of God that can open the eyes and the hearts of men.

Faith at its core is also incredibly simple. It is only the pride of man that needlessly complicates it. And, in my opinion, I think this is primarily to prevent others from receiving what we ourselves have received. Thus our gift seems more exclusive, perhaps even more “deserved,” when it is by its very nature from grace and thus, by definition, undeserved. Consider the simple prayer of the tax collector who could not even bring himself to look upward to heaven as he prayed. He knew where he stood. There was nothing in his life that merited God’s favor and apart from God’s grace, his soul had no hope of salvation. All he could do was fall on God’s mercy.

Contrast this with the Pharisee who stood by himself, a one-man congregation, totally dependent on himself, the very antithesis of genuine faith. God loves to exalt the humble and He cannot help but humble the self-exalted. It is one of the fundamental laws of the universe. Furthermore, God is not impressed by the quantity of our words but rather the heart behind those words. Thus, the sinner’s prayer is glorious in its simplicity and filled with majesty. Its depths cannot be plumbed, yet it contains a mere seven words! It can and should serve as the entrance to understanding the depths of God. We can hardly find a richer text.

Lastly, consider Jesus’ own apostles who rebuked the crowds for bothering the Master with “infants.” Yet Jesus, Himself, scandalized His own followers by saying that unless “you receive the kingdom of God like a child you shall not enter it.” Little children and infants are receivers, not givers. In other words, they cannot do anything and they cannot give anything, which contributes to their welfare. They are totally dependent upon others for everything. For food and drink; to be changed and clothed; to be bathed and burped. They are at the mercy of others. If they need something they must cry for it or wait for it – they cannot do it for themselves. They are totally helpless.

The message for us is to acknowledge our status as a receiver and not as a giver. In other words, we must realize that we cannot do anything and we cannot give anything which gains us entrance into the kingdom of God. We must realize our total dependence upon Another. We must internalize into the core of our very souls that we cannot enter the kingdom of God by our own merits or on our own terms.

The One we are totally dependent upon, of course, is God in Christ. We depend upon Him for everything. When it comes to entrance into the kingdom of God, there is not one thing we can do for ourselves. Not calling, not regeneration, not conversion, not repentance, not faith, not justification, not sanctification, not perseverance. It is all of grace. It is all of mercy. It is all undeserved, unmerited, and unearned.

Finally, we must appreciate the status of children in the Ancient World. Though they were loved, they were powerless. They were lowly people. They counted for nothing. They were at the bottom rung of society, even below slaves. They had no economic value; no social standing; no physical strength; no political power; no military might. They were the ultimate nobodies in the great scheme of things. Contrary to the kingdoms of His day, Jesus made room in His kingdom for those without status and power. In fact, our status or lack of status, makes no difference in His kingdom. This matter of lowly status started with the King of the kingdom Himself. He was born of a woman pregnant before marriage. At birth He was laid in a manger in the town of Bethlehem. He grew up in Nazareth of Galilee. He was trained as a carpenter. He was a nobody according to the standards of the world.

This matter of lowly status continued with those Jesus associated with. He seemed to go out of His way to reach out to the lowest of the low, to reach out to the outcasts of society: prostitutes, tax collectors, Galilean fishermen, lepers, drunkards, and the like. He welcomed their presence. He ate and drank with them. He talked with them and was interested in them. He touched them and healed them.

"Receive the kingdom of God like a little child." You enter the kingdom of God not because of who you are, not because of who your parents are, not because of your wealth or standing or power or position or status. You come as nothing and you enter with nothing. You come in humility. You come as a nobody. You come only because Jesus calls and accepts you. And to understand this is the very essence of faith!