MY FAITH? YOUR FAITH? THE FAITH

MY FAITH? YOUR FAITH? THE FAITH
By the late Pastor Bob Hanna

The word "Faith" has suffered untold distortion and misapplica-tion over
time. There are several proper definitions, but they have been shamefully
misinterpreted. One accurate definition is "The Faith," referring to that which is
believed. The apostle wrote; "He [Christ] gave some, apostles, and some,
prophets, and some, evangelists: and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of
the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of
Christ: till we all come in the unity of the faith" (Eph. 4: 11-13).

"And so were the churches established in the faith" (Acts 16:5). Faith, in
these examples, is the common cause in which we believe. This definition is
ordinarily not the victim of misinterpreta- tion. The same can't be said, for
example, of Paul's declaration, "I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live;
yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh
I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me"
(Galatians 2:20), Most modern translations erroneously render "His faith" to
read, "my Faith". This, of course, is impossible. Human faith has no power to
sustain one's spiritual preserva-tion.

Another false impression popularly held, is that faith can be humanly
generated which can attain one's personal desires. Such a one might be heard to say,
"The reason the Lord didn't answer my prayer is that I didn't have enough
faith." Our faith consists of believing and obeying God, not in producing desired
results. "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of
things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report. Through faith we
understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which
are seen were not made of things which do appear" (Hebrews 11:1-3).

Strangely, it appears that people can more easily place their faith in
matters of the secular world than in spiritual things. For ex-ample, when a person
is presented a personal check in payment for a service or a purchase, the
recipient is accepting it because he has faith that it will be honored by the bank.
Yet when that same person is offered salvation by grace through faith, he
resists.

God is looking for those with whom He can do the impossible - what a pity
that we plan only the things that we can do by ourselves. -- A. W. Tozer