Faith… Growing up, I heard a lot of sermons about the impossibility of being saved by ‘faith alone’…..
Still today, it’s a hot topic. The questions of ‘works’ enters into the equation. It is argued that one can be saved then loose that salvation….or one might not have in fact BEEN saved in the first place.
The writer of Hebrews defined faith as ‘being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.’ (Heb. 11:1) We all live by faith. We believe that when we stand up, we will be anchored to the earth beneath us, even though we can’t see the force of gravity. We believe the little gadget we all carry around everywhere we go, will enable us to speak to someone miles away, even though we can’t see the digital signal that cellular phones work off of.
There is a beginning point in faith. I believe in gravity because I’ve learned to walk and have never floated off the planet doing so. I believe in cell phones because I’ve experienced the convenience of owning one…(however, they are much more convenient now than that first bag phone I had !!)
What is the beginning point in faith in God? What is it the hope as far as He is concerned?
My beginning point was fear. I had no love for Him, I had lots of respect for His authority, even though I resented it. I resented it for years….but I’m thankful for it now.
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Ps. 111:10, Pro. 1:7, & Pro. 9:10)
My fear kept some pretty tight boundaries around me. We call it legalism these days. I no longer live with those fences, but I believe those fences kept me safe, kept me from making mistakes I might have made if I’d had the freedom I now enjoy. Some people don’t do well fenced in that way, they break down the fences in rebellion. Thank You God, fear kept me from doing so.
I’m no longer fearful of Him. The rest of those promises are true too… “..all who follow His precepts have good understanding.”(Ps. 111:10) “…fools despise wisdom and discipline.”(Pro. 1:7) “..knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” (Pro. 9:10)
God is to be revered and respected, and He is certainly to be feared if not found to be in His Son, Jesus Christ. He IS Who He says He is…and He WILL do what He says He will do.
I have complete faith in that.
