"You can not know how faith is to be expressed
until you have first heard the story"
Secular Examples
The sky had become an eerie green black. The bottom of the clouds were churning downward like a pot about to boil over. That's when the farmer noticed that in the distance one of those clouds was beginning to hang low, that a tail had begun to unfold toward the ground. The twister just appeared to hang motionless between heaven and earth. The farmer knew why it appeared to be standing still. He was northeast of that massive dark funnel and it was coming straight at him!
He needed a way out. Several options were open to him: 1) drop down to the ground in the open field and hope for the best, 2) discover how fast he could run in work boots through a freshly plowed field, or 3) slam his pickup into high gear and get out of there. The farmer did not think much of the first two options, but he did have faith in his pickup aimed in a southeast direction. Because of his faith in the pickup, he found himself driving at a reckless speed across his field. His faith in the pickup saved him.
This simple story of a farmer's faith in his pickup illustrates the nature of faith whether it be faith in Jesus, in oneself or in something else. Faith (in the Greek "pistis") means to have trust. And when faith is connected to an object such as in the phrase "faith in Jesus," suddenly the context determines HOW that trust is to be manifested. In other words, if one is to possess an appropriate faith in a particular object in a given situation, that context determines the required expression of faith. For example, what did it mean for the farmer to have faith in the pickup? One doesn't know until one has first heard the story. In this story , for the farmer to have faith in his pickup meant more than just being fully convinced in his heart that the pickup could save him; it also required his faith to be expressed in the action of putting the pedal to the metal!
How one manifests faith in someone or something changes depending upon the situation. When a child is stuck in a tree, to have faith in daddy means to express one's trust in daddy by "jumping" into his arms. When one is at the bottom of a cliff, to have faith in the rope means one will "grab on and start climbing up." For a person to say, "I really trust in the rope," but refuse to rely upon the rope by climbing is to fail to express faith. When one's spouse says, "I will pick it up for you from the store" to have faith in one's spouse in this situation simply requires one "to believe" that he or she will come home with the desired merchandise.
Biblical Examples
In the Bible, the context of what God has said determines how faith is to be expressed. Accordingly, any response falling short of this standard can not be called faith. For example, when God gave a promise, to respond with faith meant "to simply believe God's promise." But when God issued a command, to respond with faith meant "to believe and obey God's command."
Abraham provides a wonderful example of this principle. What response was required of Abraham when God promised him that he would have a son even though he and his wife were too old? Was Abraham required to do anything? No. In this situation, to have faith in God simply meant to believe God's promise. And because he did believe God, Abraham became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. Genesis 15:6; Romans 4 But, when God told Abraham to leave his family and go to a land that God would show him, to have faith did not simply require "just believing in God." In this situation, to have faith meant that Abraham had to obey God by "packing his bags and heading down a dusty road trusting that God would lead him." Consult Genesis 12:1,4; Hebrews 11:8
Note: Paul's purpose in Romans 4 is not to claim that "just believing" is the response of faith which God wants in every possible context. Rather, Paul is contrasting the principle of faith in God and in Jesus against the principle of self-reliance which can come from the works of the Law. To use these verses as a definition for explaining "how one becomes a Christian by responding in faith" is to rip them out of their context. Paul's point is that righteousness comes by the principle of faith, not by the self-reliance of works. See Romans 3:27f. How God requires us to respond with faith in Christ is not the subject of Romans 4.
But there are also other examples of faith in the Bible. God told Noah that He would destroy all the living creatures of the land and air with a flood. God instructed Noah to prepare for this flood by building an ark. Noah had never seen a flood. So how was Noah to manifest faith in God? Because of what God had told him, for Noah to possess faith meant that his trust in God had to be expressed by obeying God's command to build an ark even though the idea might have seemed absurd to him. And because he did construct that ark, Noah became an heir of the righteousness which comes by faith. Hebrews 11:7
Fast forwarding through history one finds the nation of Judah being told to have faith in God. If they were to have faith in God what was required of them in this situation? You can not know until you have first heard the story.
A vast army was advancing out against God's people, but God told His king not to be afraid of this large army, but to march out against them because the battle belonged to God. The king told the people to have faith in the LORD. 2 Chronicles 20:15-17 If they were to have faith in God what was required of them in this situation? They had to march out against the enemy. 2 Chronicles 20:20
Hundreds of years before Jesus was born, God announced through His prophet Isaiah that His Servant would suffer and take upon himself the sins of others. The story of Jesus reveals how God fulfilled many prophecies like this one and how God has provided peace and salvation through Jesus.
God anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit and with power. Jesus went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, because God was with him.
When the religious leaders felt threatened by Jesus, they began to plot how to kill him. Although they succeeded in having him killed, God raised him up to life on the third day and appointed Jesus to be the judge of the living and the dead when God will judge the world with justice.
Before ascending to heaven, Jesus told his disciples to go and make disciples of all nations by baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit and to teach them to observe everything he had commanded them. The good news is that those who believe in Jesus receive the forgiveness of their sins.
When people hear the story about Jesus' death and resurrection, many do respond with faith. For example, in Acts 4:4 one reads, "But many of those who heard the word believed; and they numbered about five thousand." Similarly when the message of Jesus was proclaimed at Antioch, "a great number became believers and turned to the Lord." Acts 11:21 Likewise when some Jewish priests heard the Gospel, they became "obedient to the faith." Acts 6:7 These passages use phrases like "believe" or became "obedient to the faith" to indicate that "someone was converted." They do not tell us everything about HOW those people trusted in Jesus. They have the same function and communicate the same message as Acts 14:21 which states, "They preached the good news in that city, and made many disciples..."
There are also a number of stories within the Bible that describe in detail how people have entrusted their lives to Jesus when they heard the Gospel. Acts 8:12 states, "But when they believed Philip while he was proclaiming the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized." Likewise Acts 8:35-36, "Then Philip ... proclaimed to him the good news about Jesus. As they traveled along the road, they came to some water; and the eunuch said, 'Look, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?'"
The apostle Paul repeatedly defended the idea that salvation comes by trusting in Jesus, not by the self-reliance which can come from observing the works of the Mosaical Law. In those few passages where Paul briefly describes how faith in Jesus is to be expressed, he mentions believing in Jesus with one's heart, confessing Jesus with one's lips and putting on Jesus by being baptized. Romans 10:9-10; Galatians 3:26-27
Paul taught that the faith which results in one becoming a child of God involves not just belief and confession of Jesus as Lord but also baptism. In Galatians 3:26-27 we read, "For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for as many of you as have been baptized into Christ, have clothed yourselves with Christ."
The New Testament describes trusting in Jesus to be an expression of trust in what God has done in giving Jesus as our sacrifice, a response God has determined and which involves not only believing that Jesus was raised from the dead but also a willingness to confess him as Lord and to cast one's hope upon Christ as one is buried in baptism to be clothed with Christ and then raised up to walk a new life.
Have you trusted in Jesus to free you from your sins? If you believe in him, have you been willing to confess that he is Lord and to be baptized in his name? Do you love Jesus? Jesus said that those who love him would do what he commanded. John 14:15, 21: 15:10
Here are some other articles you may be interested in:
Jesus is Good NewsJohn 3:16 - The Simple and Beautiful Message of the Gospel
When God Says, "You Belong to Me"
Biblical Faith (Part 2): Why Baptism is Necessary For Faith in Jesus. "Sez Who?"
Barry Newton, Copyright © 1998 - 1999