Faith is Foundational to Life with God
“Faith…the final frontier”…no, wait a minute, that’s “Space..the final frontier” and then cue the music from Star Trek. That would be Star Trek the original one not Star Trek the Next Generation or Star Trek Galaxy 5 or whatever other iterations they have come up with. But I digress….
Faith is not the final frontier. Faith is the beginning, the foundation to all of our lives. In Hebrews chapter 11, we read about faith. Here are the first six verses of chapter 11: Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2 For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. 3 By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. 4 By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks. 5 By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, “and was not found, because God had taken him”; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God. 6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
We have a definition of faith in verse 1, a declaration of faith regarding creation in verse 3 and a demand for faith in verse 6….hmmm…sounds like a sermon rolling around in there somewhere…but not this morning. I want to focus on verse 6. “Without faith it is impossible to please God”. Do we really understand that or live in that manner? Followers of Christ understand that it requires faith to believe in Jesus Christ. None of us have ever seen Him or spoken to Him. We did not see Him on a cross, nor did we see His resurrected body. We believe by faith…and that faith brings salvation from the consequences of sin and it brings eternal life to us. But do we continue in faith? Do we have faith to believe all of the remaining promises of God in regards to our daily life? Refrigerators and freezers can be a detriment to our faith if we no longer have to trust God to provide food for us. Bank accounts can be a detriment to our faith if we know longer trust God with our finances. The words of others saying, “it’s OK, everyone does it” can be a detriment to our faith concerning holiness and purity of living. Now, I’m not advocating the elimination of refrigerators, bank accounts and conversations with others. I’m just advocating that we make sure that we are still trusting in God in all aspects and areas of our lives.
If it is impossible to please God without faith, we need to look for ways to exercise and use faith in all areas of our lives, that is if we want to be pleasing to God. How much faith is required in your everyday life? Do you trust Him? Do you seek Him each and every day? I hope so because faith is foundational to life with God.
Have a “faith-filled” day!