You Gotta Have Faith

Faith = Knowledge, Assent and Trust.

Element No. 1: Knowledge. Before faith can exist there must be a body of substantive facts that are known and understood. For example, when the meteorologist predicts hurricane conditions, you can exercise faith in his forecast only when you know his prediction for the area in which you live.

Element No. 2: Assent. Knowledge alone is not faith (that is, its possible to know the facts relating to a particular subject and remain indifferent or even reject them as fanciful or untrue). Before you can have faith, you must not only know the facts, but also believe them to be true. Again, for example, if you know that the meteorologist's report states that the hurricane will miss your home, but disbelieve it and board up anyway, you lack faith in his report.

Element No. 3: Trust. Knowledge and assent are important, but even those two elements together do not constitute faith. True faith includes trust, or reliance on the facts, that is, knowing the meteorologist's report, believing it to be true and acting with reliance. If the report says you are safe, faith in the meteorologist means you don't board up. If the report says "run away," do so.

What about hoping for the best? Of course, it is possible to believe that "everything will turn out alright" without knowing why, but that belief alone is not the same as faith. Unless it is coupled with some substance, it lacks any sound basis. Its like believing that the coming hurricane will pass over your house without even consulting a weather report. Eventually, if you live in the zone of danger, you will be wrong.

What if there is a missing element? Its sad to say that some in the world lack even the most basic information, that is, they don't know the facts, and they perish. Others hear the facts, yet don't believe and they perish. Still others hear the facts, know they are true, but do nothing, or worse, still reject the facts, and they perish. Its relying on the facts that protects you in the danger zone.

Abraham. More specifically, it is those who hear, believe and trust, that is, risk it all by relying on the facts (which is really, relying on the One who is the source and substance of the facts) who possess the faith that is "imputed" as righteousness. ". . . Abraham believed God and it was imputed to him as righteousness."

©2006 David R. Childress. All Rights Reserved