“For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written, ‘The righteous will live by faith’” (Romans 1:17)
“We live by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7a)
Everyone lives by faith.
There are those who would disagree. A few years ago, I was speaking with someone who is a professed atheist, and she was telling me she lived by the facts of science. I told her she had faith in science, which she vehemently denied. I said, “I assume that you adhere to the ‘big bang’ theory of the creation of the universe.” She agreed. I then reminded her that the theory holds that the universe was created by an explosion of matter that had condensed into a relatively small volume. She agreed. I then asked where the matter came from. Her response—no one knows. I responded, “God only knows.” She stayed with her first statement.
Had I been thinking, I could have asked her if she had been to the Galapagos Islands to observe nature for herself, assuming she had gone there with a critical eye to disprove Darwin’s theory of evolution. But I knew she’d never been there. I also knew she didn’t own a telescope, so I know she has never tracked the movement of the planets in our sky to determine for herself that we do in fact live in a heliocentric solar system, and that our solar system is part of a galaxy that is part of the universe. I know she was taught these things. So she was relying on the testimony of others. She lives by faith.
She might say she lives by assumption. Faith, assumption—it’s really the same thing.
When we go to the doctor’s office and we see the diploma hanging on the wall, we believe that he really has been to medical school and earned that degree. We believe he or she knows what they’re talking about. When the nurse enters the room with a shot for us, we have faith that the nurse is competent to give a shot, we have faith that the medication in the shot is for our good and not to harm us.
We could go on about faith in daily living, but I believe the point has been made. Whether called assumptions, presumptions or faith, we all have it in abundance. The only question is: On what is our faith based?
The New Testament speaks a great deal about faith and belief. Generally, the term “belief” is interchanged with faith. When we read the statement, “They believed in Him,” it means they placed their faith in Jesus.
Is faith really all that important in living out the Christian life?
When Jesus fed the 5000, John’s Gospel account states that that miracle was immediately followed by Jesus walking on the water. Then John tells us the crowds figured out Jesus had gone to the other side of the Sea of Galilee and followed Him there. Once they find Him, they ask, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” (John 6:28). Jesus’ response found in the next verse states, “The work of God is this: to believe in the One He has sent.”
The writer of Hebrews 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” (Heb. 11:6).
Paul wrote these words to the Ephesians: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8).
The entirety of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is premised on faith, on the ability of a person to come to the belief that God really does exist, that He really did send His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins and save us from eternal punishment and alienation from God. It is faith that the Holy Spirit lives in us and enables us to recall Jesus’ words (John 14:26) and guide us into all truth (John 16:13).
Ultimately, each person needs to come to a realization that he or she lives a life of faith. It may be a faith in God, a faith in no god, a faith in science, a faith in Marvel Comics—a faith in something. Once we realize that truth, then we can begin to address whether our faith is well-grounded or not. Faith that is secure and true can withstand challenges. Faith is not something to be dismissed, but something to embrace as a very real part of living in our world. My faith is in God through Christ Jesus by the indwelling presence of His Holy Spirit.