Concluding Thoughts on Faith
Well, this concludes my sequence of thoughts on faith in Jesus Christ as the first principle of the gospel. Here is the outline:
- Faith as Defined in the Scriptures - setting aside what we think faith might be, this post explores how faith is actually defined in the scriptures. It requires changing my preconceptions to take the authors of the scriptures at their word.
- Faith and Belief - faith and belief are not the same thing. We choose to believe and God grants us faith as we believe and act on what he has given us.
- Faith is a Gift - faith comes from God as a gift when we believe and act on the evidences and assurances He has given us. Faith comes from God rather than being conjured from within ourselves by sheer force of will.
- Examples of Faith - stories of faith in the scriptures take on new richness when viewed through the scriptural definition of faith. There are implications for how we should live and face life's challenges.
- What Does it Mean? - There are implications for how we should live and face life's challenges.
Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen which are true and that build hope, through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal.
Recall that the first principle of the gospel is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Expanding this simple statement of the first principle I feel that a more complete statement of the first principle of the gospel is that as we believe, obey, and be true to the Spirit we receive, God will give us many evidences and assurances that will build hope, through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal.
When the Father presented the plan of salvation and we accepted it we knew that He would not put us on this side of the veil and leave us comfortless. We came into this life to be proved, having the assurance that as we hearkened to the light sent from God he would assure us of our destination and give us evidence that we are on the right path. Thus, we may progress from grace to grace until we, following the example and receiving the enabling gifts of the Savior, receive the fulness of the Father.
When the Father presented the plan of salvation and we accepted it we knew that He would not put us on this side of the veil and leave us comfortless. We came into this life to be proved, having the assurance that as we hearkened to the light sent from God he would assure us of our destination and give us evidence that we are on the right path. Thus, we may progress from grace to grace until we, following the example and receiving the enabling gifts of the Savior, receive the fulness of the Father.
Clearly, faith is just the starting point. Repentance, Baptism, the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and more will follow. But what a wonderful thing it is to know that God has not left us alone in mortality to blindly find our way. We have His assurance that he will show us the way. Of course the discussion in these posts is incomplete. They are just my current thoughts based upon scripture study, prayer, pondering, and conversations with friends. My only hope in posting these thoughts is that there will be something in here that gets you to rethink your understanding of faith. And, in the process, I hope you will come to love your Savior more. I know that has been the effect this study has had on me.
A couple of comments about your definition of faith: the Greek word translated "evidence" in the KJV translation of Hebrews 11:1 is elengchos. It means the act of presenting strong evidence for something: proof. Another translation of the word translated "substance," for which the Lectures on Faith reasonably substitute "assurance," is "objective guarantee" (Lane, Word Biblical Commentary, 325, 328-29). Lane also makes a reasonable case that the first part of the verse should be translated "Faith celebrates . . ." rather than "Faith is . . . ."
ReplyDeleteIn any case, even if we stick with "is," I think that what you have here is a description of faith rather than a definition of it. (Nitpicky, yes, but blogs are for picking nits, no?)