Faith is a gift . . .

 

Where does faith come from? Why do I believe that if I plug in my hair dryer and turn on the switch it will run? Why do I believe the sun will come up in the morning? Or that the news will be on at 6 p.m. every night? This kind of faith is based on experience and confidence in the reliability of electricity, the sun, and the television station. At least two of them could fail and then my faith would be shattered.

Biblical faith is not quite the same. For one thing, it is a gift from God — He grants the ability to believe what He says:

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:8–9)

I can look at evidence in creation and believe God exists. I can realize that there is something or someone far beyond my experience, but unless I go for affirmation about who that is by the way He revealed it, I could come up with all sorts of ideas about who or what God is:

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature . . .  (Hebrews 1:1–3)

The faith that is given by God is not the faith that can be conjured up by human reasoning, or experience, or logic, or supposition. It is a gift from God and this gift includes revelations about Him that we cannot otherwise know. For instance: “By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.” (Hebrews 11:3)

I recall how I believed in evolution when Jesus saved me, even argued with my mother about it. However, faith wins . . . for in a short time I realized that creation by God was true. I cannot see that or prove it by scientific experiment, but I just know that it is true — because God said so.

This is how biblical faith works; it reveals as God speaks and gives insights that unbelievers can’t know, such as how the physical universe began, where it is heading, and how it will end. I know Who governs the universe and how I fit into the total scheme of things. I know why I exist and how to invest my life in matters of eternal consequence. This is all because of Christ and the marvelous gift of faith that comes with Him:

The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. (1 Corinthians 2:14–16)

MacArthur says that most people refuse God’s counsel. They believe the enemy’s lie that God does not exist, or that He does not want the best for us, or that His book is out of date and cannot reveal unseen matters to us. However, such things aren’t beyond the realm of knowing—if a person is willing to be taught by God’s Word.

The Bible clearly states that God spoke the physical universe into existence, creating visible matter from what was non-physical or invisible. He “gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.” (Romans 4:17) These are not observable but understood by this gift of faith in which God opens our heart to His realm, to His realities. The most brilliant human minds cannot see such things but those who have this faith can say with the psalmist, “I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the aged, for I keep your precepts.” (Psalm 119:99–100)

PRAY: Again, I know that faith is not my own doing. Jesus, it is Your gift to me, a gift that comes by grace — Your goodness and sacrificial love. All praise to You, the God who reveals Himself to sinners such as I.

PONDER: “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world . . . .” (Psalm 19:1–4) The gift begins with what can be seen in creation yet it culminates in Jesus Christ. I want Him to always enable me to proclaim Him in every possible way every time that He reveals Himself!

 

 

He is God revealed, God alive — forever!

Leviticus 16; Psalm 19; Proverbs 30; 1 Timothy 1

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world . . . . (Psalm 19:1–4)

The blind and hard-hearted say there is no God, yet God is generous in disclosing Himself. He does it in creation, by His Spirit, through His Word, in events, even in that we are made in His image. Today Christians celebrate the most astonishing revelation of God; He became a man, did miracles to prove that He is God, was crucified for this claim, buried, then rose again — appearing alive to more than 500 people.

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, (Hebrews 1:1–3)

Yesterday I sang “This is my Father’s world . . . .” and looked out the window at that line, “I hear Him pass in the rustling grass” and rejoiced at the tall grasses rustling. They declare His presence and the sky declares His glory:

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun. . . . (Psalm 19:1–4)

How can that be? How can the eye of a sinner who once rejected God see Him pass, know that He is here with me?

As it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”— these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit . . . . (1 Corinthians 2:9–10)

Can I explain this? Not easily. Faith means just knowing. Without faith, I would say I’m just too dense, yet because of the Spirit of God and the Word of God, I can also say that I know!

Surely, I am too stupid to be a man. I have not the understanding of a man. I have not learned wisdom, nor have I knowledge of the Holy One. Who has ascended to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in his fists? Who has wrapped up the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is his son’s name? Surely you know! (Proverbs 30:2–4)

He made me in His image with the capacity to know Him, a capacity unlocked by faith in Jesus Christ and the miracle of forgiveness and new life. This new life is declared by an empty tomb, a risen Savior, a man of sorrows who went to a cross for me, who went to a grave that I might die to sin, and who rose from the dead to reveal what He gives to all who place their faith in Him. Not in our own wisdom. Not in our own goodness (which is like filthy rags)l. Not in our ideas of how the world came to be. Not in our own interpretations of the Scriptures. Not in our strange ideas of who Jesus is. Not in our religious rites and ceremonies. But we live in the One who died and who is now alive.

He has risen. He has risen indeed!

Joyous Easter!