Greg Rolfe

3 years ago · 1 min. reading time · ~10 ·

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Faith

Faith

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Hebrews 11:1 teaches that faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. Faith is hope and evidence. Yet the problem we have is that it is also not tangible; we are unable to touch, taste, or hear it. Faith is a state of rest, a state of knowing.

Faith is the daily realization that the Holy Spirit is dwelling within us and is active in our lives. Faith is the daily declaration that we can live lives that influence and are influenced by the kingdom of God. Faith is the daily presence of God in our lives encouraging us to live for God.

It is easy to misunderstand the reality of how faith works. Faith is often used in the same way as prayer. Something we do, or a point of action based on the moment. Faith is not like a faucet that we turn on and off. Faith is the belief that the Holy Spirit resides in us and is constantly enabling us to accomplish the good works prepared before our birth for us to accomplish.

The reality of faith is that faith is not a verb. Faith is not an action, faith is a foundation. Because Abraham stood on faith he was able to act. Daniel knowing God had his back stood for what was right. Faith is knowing, resting, and believing, resulting in the ability to act.

If you read Hebrews 11:1 you will notice I left out one word, now. Now faith. Faith is about now, not yesterday's faith nor is it about tomorrow's faith. Faith is about now. Faith is about you and God today. Faith is you standing on, trusting in, your relationship with God.

Blessings.



Comments

Greg Rolfe

3 years ago #18

Of course to suppose failure we must actually know what the person truly had faith in. And that is the very difficult part. I mean, no one has ever lied. That is the real issue with history. The motivation of a man's actions is recorded after the fact with the intent of supporting the position of the one recording the event.

Greg Rolfe

3 years ago #17

#13
John Rylance I truly wish I could say yes to your statement. I do believe that long-term faith in God does end in success. But if we look at history and ZI mean the last 4000 years we will see that both have a very solid record of failure.

Harvey Lloyd

3 years ago #16

#16
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_VYCqCexow&t=592s I think CS Lewis offers a counter to the argument of faith in natural law/morality. I don't believe that Kant's philosophy is working out very well. I must ask though. If mankind has the potential to undo the mess we find ourselves, was the potential not existent before we made the decisions to get in the mess? If this potential did exist before and we are still in the mess............If the potential wasn't there before then how could we have faith that it will exert itself now?

Ken Boddie

3 years ago #15

Faith, Greg, takes many forms besides that of formal religion. I do not share your belief in an all encompassing hierarchal entity, but I do have faith that mankind has the potential to rise above the self gratifying and environmentally destructive mess we’ve gotten ourselves into.

Mohammed Abdul Jawad

3 years ago #14

Indeed, unfaltering faith, like a bulwark and without perversion, leads to great triumph. And, people, without hopes, are faithless and timid.

Harvey Lloyd

3 years ago #13

#9
#10 For me the word trust has a lot of connotations that do not exactly fit with faith. They look similar but do not support each other very well. Faith is a belief that someone, something will be present as observed without thought to its changing because of circumstances. Like the Sun coming up, 2+2=4. Trust has variables while faith does not. We either believe and act based on the sun coming up or we dont. I can have levels of trust depending on circumstances. Where faith is really a binary system. Its on or off. Faith is tied to what i believe to be true while trust is tied to circumstances and the risk associated with need solutions. Our needs and wants are tied to solutions that often require us to depend on each other. However we all know that each individual has their own needs and wants. They also have their priorities. I trust that each person will consider their own needs and wants prior to considering mine. Discernment. But do i have faith that the “other”person will do the right thing? If we dont believe in the same principals then this would be bad faith.

John Rylance

3 years ago #12

#12
The simple answer is No. Rereading your reply the stumbling point is last piece, mainly not obtaining goals, and that long term secular faith/trust is a failure. Does that mean long term religious faith/ trust is more likely to be a success. Or have I misinterpreted your meaning.

Greg Rolfe

3 years ago #11

John Rylance if I miss used your statement I truly apologize. It was my intent to honor your response. I agree that faith and trust are not the same in all respects but both are earned. Did I totally miss your point?

John Rylance

3 years ago #10

#9
Im not sure I fully understand or agree with your reply. For me it's like the proverbial Curates Egg good/ Understandable in parts. #6 Like Harvey says "faith/ trust means many different things in people" I know what I mean by faith and trust, and accept we dont entirely agree on the subject.

Greg Rolfe

3 years ago #9

#6
#8 When we place faith or as John mentioned trust in something we tend to act upon that faith. The result of these actions is intended to bring us hope or satisfaction or even as Harvey said happiness. Harvey, you mentioned that placing your trust in people generally results in stress, or actually you said division, and John mentioned that our trust had to be earned. So placing both of your positions together, we end up with the result that while we can place faith in people the long-term result is neither trust nor faith resulting in never obtaining our desired goals. The secular result of long-term faith/trust is a failure. Curious.

John Rylance

3 years ago #8

The crux of faith as discussed here is in the word TRUST. Whether in a religious or non- religious context we have faith in what we believe/ trust in. Trust that has been earnt by the focus of our faith.

Greg Rolfe

3 years ago #7

#6
Hello Harvey Lloyd, that is a very interesting statement, "branding error". I have never considered it that way before. You are correct that without faith there is no hope. And true that faith need not be in any God but potentially even circumstances. Thank you for bringing this idea up.

Harvey Lloyd

3 years ago #6

The word faith conjures up many different things in people. It seems relegated to a spiritual domain which i believe has been a branding error. We all experience faith, without it we probably wouldn't get out of bed in the morning. I also think that one of the statements we can make is that depression is a lack of faith in a future we want. We plan that trip and make the reservations while we dream of the joys that will be had when the time comes. This is a leap of faith by any measure. We assume that we will be alive at that moment and those we will be sharing with will be in great health. We also assume that the drivers, pilots and buildings will all be in good health as we travel and arrive. We jump in our cars and have faith that everyone we pass or is nearby in their travels will follow posted rules of the road. We all have faith but most of that faith is placed in other humans and their assumed responsibilities being met. So that i might reach my intended destination at a specific point in time. I think it reasonable to say that the reactions to Covid certainly rocked the faith of many. But this faith in man, to do all they are suppose to do so i can be happy is misplaced. I also believe that placing it there is the beginning of some of the divisions we see in America. With faith in God i can let man off the hook for providing my happiness. Amazingly this makes life's destinations much more enjoyable.

Greg Rolfe

3 years ago #5

Hello Gentlemen, you are very correct in that faith holds a similar definition regardless of the subject in which you have faith. I see John Rylance that you are quoting the Berean study bible and let off a couple of words. Changes the meaning a little. Blessings!

Pascal Derrien

3 years ago #4

#3
:-) thought so

John Rylance

3 years ago #3

#2
Thats exactly what I was hinting at in my brief comment.

Pascal Derrien

3 years ago #2

#1
I would add secular beliefs in that instance :-)

John Rylance

3 years ago #1

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do. Hebrews 11.1 True Greg whatever are our beliefs.

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