As we converse with others about our beliefs, we use some of the same language: faith, God, grace, and mercy. But I must caution you that while you use the same words – many are using vastly different definitions of the words you use.Did you know that more than one hundred million Americans claim no allegiance to a church, synagogue, or temple? Many of them, perhaps the majority, are pursuing some form of what we can call “spirituality”, hoping to connect with something greater than themselves. They are looking for meaning, seeking some higher purpose that will fill their inner emptiness and persistent longing for peace.
So when you ask someone, ‘Do you have faith?’ or when you hear someone talking about faith, do you really know what they mean? Do you even know what you mean? When people hear the word faith, they usually think of religion, and because Christianity is still the most popular religion in the world (for now). Most people usually think of Christian and faith as going together. But the thing is everybody has faith. If not, you would never leave your home:
You have faith that your car is going to start and get you to where you are going
You have faith in the other drivers on the road – that they won’t slam into you
You have faith your job will be there when you arrive (perhaps that faith is waning)
You have faith that at a certain time in the future you will receive a paycheck
You have faith that when you take the check to the bank you will receive money
Now it is possible that none of those things might happen, but in spite of the negative possibilities you continue on because:
You’ve calculated your chances for success are pretty good
You trust the maker of your car, the drivers, the employer, etc
In other words your faith in these events/objects rests in your knowledge and experience with them which results in trust, confidence, and belief. The same should be true of your faith in God, but we must be careful. What if in our own hunger to discover a similar faith we are headed down a destructive path? I believe the very common ideal we pursue is in effect leading us to death, destruction, and endless hunger?
Allow me to illustrate: I can take a simple bottle of water and refill it with poison. Keep the same label and change the contents. It looks the same. Can’t really tell the difference and yet that which you might seek after to give life instead will kill you. Do I have your attention?
In church and in society at large, we use simple words to convey really big ideas – Faith, God, Jesus, Sin, Grace, Mercy, Salvation - but what so the words mean? When we hear people talking, when we engage in conversation, do we really know what we are talking about? Do we even understand what they are talking about? Culture and society continue to redefine words. Does it really matter if we define them differently?
The harsh reality is this: the reason we are so easily deceived is that we do not know the truth as we should. And when we cannot recognize the original we will fall prey to the counterfeit. In the scientific world, finding errors is much easier to find when you know what is right. When attempting to identify a forgery, it is suggested that you start with two basic actions: 1) Look at the details. The differences may be nearly imperceptible, but there are often tell-tale signs of forgery if you look closely enough. It may be a color not quite right on a painting, or the placement of the sculptor's signature. When you know the details of the original the flaws in the forgery become apparent. The US Treasury teaches it’s agents to recognize forgeries by teaching them what the real thing looks like in every detail. When you know the real thing intimately, the fakes are easy to find.
2) Study the details. A document may look authentic, but if it is printed on a type of paper not available at the time the original was produced, you've spotted a forgery. Often the modern chemical composition of paint gives away the forgery of an older work. There are a variety of scientific tests than can be done in a laboratory to determine when an object was created or what was used to create it. You are likely to pay dearly for these services, but the knowledge could save you from buying a high-priced forgery.
Saying I believe in God does not mean we are saying the same thing. Saying I have faith is not the same thing. We must be careful to examine the details and study what is being said about faith, God, and Christianity. All faith, all spiritual ideals, all religions are based on one of three worldviews of God. There are three different views of God and any statement of belief in God is based in some form or a variation of these three views.
The world view of moral relativism is the view that there is no God. The final reality is to be matter and not spirit. There is no spiritual world. There are no souls. There is no life after death and there are certainly no miracles. This world view is most often seen is those that declare themselves to be Atheists.
A second world view is that of Naturalism or Pantheism and it is rooted in eastern mysticism and is the core of New Age spiritual thought. Most easily stated this is the belief that God is all and all is God. Pan means all and as such the idea is that all that exists is God. There are merely different levels of existence. The lowest level is matter then vegetable then animal and finally man. Nature is God, you are God, I am God. God is all that there is. This is at the core of the Eastern Religions and is the core view of those espousing the new spiritualism.
The third type of world view is Theism and it is the belief that God is the creator and sustainer of the universe. God is personal, powerful, and independent of the universe. He is creator, and a God to whom we must give an account. Because God is both personal and just, God will bring every individual into judgment so that righteousness will prevail in the end. This is the core view of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.
What is your world view? When you say you believe in God, what kind of God is it you believe in?
Then the LORD said to me, "The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I have not sent them or appointed them or spoken to them. They are prophesying to you false visions, divinations, idolatries and the delusions of their own minds.
Jeremiah 14:14 NIV
What are you studying? Who are you studying? Will you be able to recognize the counterfeits that are out there? Do you know the original well enough to tell it from the forgeries?
Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. I Peter 3:15 NIV
The world is searching for answers and meaning.
Are you prepared to give an answer for the faith you claim?
The meaning of the words you use is every bit as important if not more so.
A Prayer for the day:
God we confess that while we claim to have faith in You, we have been less than diligent in getting to know You. We have heard Your call to be faithful students of your Word – to be ever ready to answer for the faith we claim. Help us to become the people you have called us to be – a people ever ready to answer for the faith we claim. May we become such people of depth that what we say with mouths, might reveal what we believe with our hearts, and that we believe might change how we live and talk. In Christ’s Name, AMEN
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