Godly faith–faith that is pleasing to God–is not some “woo-woo,” irrational feeling or blind leap, but something much more substantial. A blogpost is not the place for an exhaustive discussion of godly faith, but there is a bit of “news” for most folks via a little exercise.
In a sense that is similar to the trust I have in my wife because she has consistently demonstrated her character, we learn by the evidence of God’s faithfulness in our experience with Him that he is trustworthy.
We also know that God is pleased when we obey what He has already revealed to us we are to do, things like showing others the Way to Him, being truthful, kind, thankful for our blessings (yes, even when in the middle of our troubles), etc.
So, try substituting “trusting obedience” for “faith” in Hebrews 11.
“Now [trusting obedience] is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
“For by [trusting obedience] the elders obtained a good report.
“Through [trusting obedience] 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.
“By [trusting obedience] Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.
“By [trusting obedience] Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God,” etc.
While “trusting obedience” does not completely cover _all_ the sense that Paul’s use of “pistis” implies here, it is valid, IMO, and certainly expands on the typical understanding most folks ascribe to the term.
So, when Paul said (2 Corinthians 5:7), “We walk by faith, not by sight,” it seems to me he was saying “We walk by trusting obedience, not by what we see, or by what is obvious to our senses or reasoning, or feelings, but by relying on His Word and by trusting what God has already said and done in our lives.”
Of course, all that is simply speaking of an aspect of our faith. The NT also contains the phrase “`o pistis [tou] christou” (see Galatians 2:16, for example) a phrase variously translated (according to personal preference?) “faith in Christ” or “the faith of Christ.” The “tou” leans my thinking strongly toward “the faith of Christ,” but even then, one must ask oneself if “tou” is genitive or dative in these cases. . .
But rather than get into the weeds about that lil grammatical issue (which does not substantially affect the following), let’s just ask, What would it mean to speak about being saved (or, in the words of Gal 2:16, justified) by “the faith of Christ” rather than (or as well as?) our faith in Christ?
Questions:
- Whose faith is likely to be pure and effective?
- By whose faith was expiation made for our sin and therefore justifies us before God?
- Whose faithfulness effects and sustains our sanctification?
Perhaps it would be easier to grasp the idea that “We are saved by the faith of Christ” to retranslate “pistis” in this case as “faithfulness,” and restate it as “We are saved by the faithfulness of Christ.”
Continue thinking about that while I toddle off to bed. . .