信心是動態的 An Active Faith

This morning we would like to study the topic of ‘An Active Faith.

In the Christian religion, faith is considered as rather essential. Faith, prayer and love are seemingly simple concepts, but difficult to apply in real life. Why are they so hard to apply? I wonder if perhaps our understanding of these concepts is fuzzy to begin with. Of course, I’m not saying that after this morning’s discussion, we can claim to understand them clearly. I think we should pose these questions: when we have doubts, do we still have faith? If we do not have doubts, can we say we have faith? If we are clear about the answer, I think we will never claim to be a person without faith again. Doubts are often the foundation for faith building.

When we talk about faith, we often refer to Abraham. When we chat with other brothers and sisters, we often hear the phrase, “I don’t have enough faith.” Let us now look at Abraham to see if he was indeed a person of faith.

How do we describe the word “faith”? Please turn to Hebrews 11; this passage is one of the most definitive descriptions of faith in the Bible. v.1, “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Here faith is compared to something that is visible. Faith in essence is invisible, but here it is compared to a visible thing. The author says, “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” This certainty refers to something that we can see; and yet, faith is difficult to quantify. The author then illustrates faith with many examples in order to clarify this verse. v.6, “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Here it says that if man approaches God without faith, God will not be pleased. When we come to God today, do we come bearing our faith? Or are we here only because it happens to be Saturday? Do you come with your faith in tow? What is this faith expecting to receive? Here it says that we must believe “…that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” What exactly is God’s reward? I come to God with my faith, if we all come to God with our faith today, then I ask you, what are we expecting to receive? How do you define your faith?

Please read from Mark 9:14 onwards. Here records a boy who was ill, and his father brought him to Jesus hoping for a cure. v.23-24, “‘If you can’? said Jesus. ‘Everything is possible for him who believes.’ Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, ‘I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!’” The man said, I believe, but my belief is not enough. So, does he believe or not? He said he believes, but his belief is not enough. Is this also a description of our understanding of faith today? I think all of us claim that we believe, but is this belief complete or is it still lacking? If it is a faith that is deficient, then perhaps we will not see what is described in v.23, “said Jesus. ‘Everything is possible for him who believes.’” As long as you believe, anything is possible! But the boy’s father claimed that he does not have sufficient faith. In fact, he came to Jesus seeking healing for his son, so he must have believed that Jesus can heal his son; but at the same time, he is not entirely certain that Jesus will heal his son. He came pleading to Jesus, because he sees how his boy suffered from the evil spirit. He wished whole-heartedly that Jesus will heal his boy, but at the same time, he was not completely convinced that Jesus can do this. So is this kind of belief considered to be faith?

When we say we have faith, or this person has faith — for example, we say Abraham is the father of faith — what kind of faith did he have? If we can comprehend thoroughly all these types of faith, I think we will come to see that everyone can claim to have faith. I believe we are all people with faith. Therefore what we ask for today is not faith; rather, we ask for clear recognition of such faith. How do we utilize this faith to achieve what we ask for? From the response of this boy’s father, we can see that faith can exist, but quite possibly inadequately. There is a lot of room in play.

We believe in Jesus, but is this belief enough? Please read Genesis 12. Here the LORD spoke to Abraham for the first time. If we read 11:12+, we will see the people at that time have children around 30 years of age, even though they continue to live for a long time. In v.26, Abraham’s father had him when he was 70 years old, which is considered quite old to have a child, since most men start having children around the age of 30. Abraham was already 75 years old when God chose him. So just because people at that time lived a long life, it did not mean they have children later in life as well. I believe they start having children around the same time we tend to have children today, around the age of 30 or so. Thus when God chose Abraham, he was already way past the normal average age of childbearing years. He had probably given up any hope of having any children by then. 12:1-2, “The LORD had said to Abram, ‘Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation.’” To Abraham, this must have been monumental news. He does not have a child, and to most, he is not expected to be able to have a child at his age. And yet, the LORD promised that he shall become a great nation! But there is a condition: he must leave his country, his people and his father’s household. This is an enormous demand. If without faith, could he have been able to obey God’s words? Abraham did as the LORD commanded, but strangely, the Bible did not stress at this point that Abraham is a man of faith. If we consider this turn of event with normal logic, we would think he would need a tremendous amount of faith at this moment of time, since he must leave all that is familiar to him behind and journey forth to a completely unknown land. According to Hebrews, when the LORD called him to leave his home, He did not tell Abraham where he was going. Abraham did as the LORD commanded. The way we would see it today, I believe this should have been the moment of Abraham’s greatest demonstration of faith, and thus the most praiseworthy. But the Bible did not indicate this to be so.

Please read Genesis 13. Here the servants of Abram and Lot were quarreling, so Abram asked Lot to choose his direction first, and he will take whatever was left over. Of course, Lot chose the best land for himself. v.14-18, “The LORD said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, ‘Look around from where you are, to the north and south, to the east and west. All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever. I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted. Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.’ So Abram went to live near the great trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he pitched his tents. There he built an altar to the LORD.” Here the LORD made Abraham a huge promise, one that is far more concrete compared to the one made in chapter 12. The LORD said, whatever land you walk on I will give to you and your descendants. Abraham did not have a child at the time, but in v.16 the LORD says, “I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth.” Abraham also believed this, but the Bible did not laud this as an extraordinary demonstration of faith either. This is quite surprising to me, since both of these actions required a great deal of faith; especially the first one in chapter 12, when he must leave his country, his people and his father’s household, and believe that the LORD will make his descendants into a great nation. Abraham proved himself with definitive actions. In chapter 13, Abraham could only listen, because he had already left his country, his people and his father’s household, he no longer have a way back. The LORD told him here that his offspring would be like the dust of the earth, how was this possible? And yet, Abraham built an altar to the LORD and worshipped.

Please read chapter 15:1, “After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: ‘Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.’” If we consider the LORD’s words here carefully, “Do not be afraid, Abram”, we can see that Abraham was starting to fear at this point. What was he afraid of? I do not believe he was in fear of his surroundings, since he had just came from a victorious battle over the local tribes, whose forces can never be a match for him. Just his household alone is able to overcome the forces of four kings, the same four kings who previously vanquished five other kings. Therefore, Abraham’s army was formidable and powerful. So why did the LORD say to Abraham at this moment, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward”? Abraham answered in v.2, “Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless”? We see how quickly Abraham’s answer referred to his childlessness, rather than a question of armies or environs, more pragmatic concerns for a foreigner such as he. He was completely unafraid of this hostile environment. What was he afraid of most? I am without a child. I left my homeland because you promised me a son, but to this point, I still have nothing. Thus he began to doubt and question in his heart, and fear followed, as to whether the road he took was right or wrong. The voice that called me to come out, was the voice I heard real or not? And so, he became afraid. We often say that Abraham is at the lowest point of his faith here, since this is how we often judge and define faith. We believe that faith should be set at the highest level possible, thus any evidence of doubt is an antithesis of faith. This is also the standard we have set for judging the acts of the ancient apostles. When Moses asked the LORD for death, we say that he did not have faith; when Elijah asked for death, we say that he did not have faith. But did Abraham have faith at this moment of time? Quite obviously, he did not seem to have any faith, as according to our standard. However, the LORD said to him, “I am your shield, your very great reward.” Abraham replied, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.” In v.3, Abraham said, “You have given me no children”, so he must have thought that after so much time have elapsed, how can a child be possible now? He has everything else, an abundant wealth that increases steadily, numerous servants and soldiers who enforce his supremacy; he is almost invincible in that foreign land. But what was his only regret? He did not leave his homeland for these reasons; he left his country behind in the hope of building for himself a mighty nation, as the LORD promised once upon a time. Now it seems that he has nothing to show for his effort.

The LORD said to him, “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.” The LORD’s word was very clear; but when man doubt the reality of things compared to the word of God, we then start to try and explain the word of God our way. We think: maybe God’s will is just this, maybe God meant my servant will be my heir. Thus Abraham came to this eventual conclusion, and he told the LORD what he thought. v.3, “And Abram said, ‘You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.’ Then the word of the LORD came to him, v.4 ‘This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.’” This is a crucial turning point in his faith; he had started to interpret the LORD’s word according to his own rationale. In fact, he is not doing anything particularly wrong, since this enabled Abraham to keep on living and believing. But this does not preclude the fear that is within his heart, and the doubts that invariably arise.

The LORD appeared to him at this moment in v.5, and brought him outside to view the night sky, “He took him outside and said, ‘Look up at the sky and count the stars — if indeed you can count them.’ Then he said to him, ‘So shall your offspring be.’” v.6, “Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.” This is a very significant event. In Romans where it is said that Abraham was justified by faith, the reference was to this event. Please read Romans 4:3, “What does Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.’” Please turn back to Genesis 15:6, “Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.” Why was his faith considered to be justified only at this point? Why was a greater demonstration of faith in chapter 12 not considered to be justified? Also chapter 13 as well. Why was his faith only deemed justified in chapter 15? Actually, three seconds before this moment, he was still in a lot of doubt; to the point that he had started to interpret the word of the LORD himself. And yet, it was at this very moment that the LORD pronounced his faith to be justified.

This conveys to me an important message: when men are in doubt, perhaps this is the beginning of his justification by faith. A person who claims to have never doubted, is that even possible? Is it possible for someone to have never doubted in his/her journey of faith? Let us look to Jesus as an example. Jesus Christ should be one who is considered perfect. During his whole life, has he ever doubted? Was he ever afraid? I think we all know that the answer is yes. Thus I think our expectation of faith today is perhaps a little too extreme. We tend to see any doubt always in a negative light. In fact, having doubts mean the possibility of a greater understanding. Scientific advancements mostly happen this way. The reason why science is always moving forward is because of the constant questioning of the findings, which leads to clearer understanding.

Therefore, a great faith was shown here; in fact, within this doubting is found a considerable faith. He knows there is more to this than what he sees, and this is a demonstration of enormous faith; that is, always believing that things are not just as they appear, not just believing it to be this way and that is it. Today when we talk about faith, it is about the commonly accepted things; so no need to discuss further, you only need to believe. But can you hold on to your faith at this point? The question is: what you believe in today, is it the most perfect? Thus I believe faith should be constantly on the move, it is not static. You cannot use a ruler as a measure and say that beyond this point is faith. Faith should be magnified at any given moment and time, even at the point you start to doubt. After you doubted, you must lift your head and believe once again. If you are in constant doubt, then it is no longer faith. But if doubt is the motivator for a better understanding, then this is a show of great faith; because you know there are things that you have not seen yet.

Please turn back to Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” We know that things we have not seen are difficult for us to visualize in definitive ways, is that not so? If we look at the faith of a child who believes in Jesus, in miracles and wonders, we will see that this child’s faith is basically the same as ours. But what the child is given to see is different. The older we are, the more we expect from the content of our faith. You can say anything to a child and s/he will believe that this is the work of God, because this expression of faith is something s/he can believe in. However, we understand faith as assurance of something unseen. So if you have not seen it, every time it is expressed, you will doubt if it is indeed a demonstration of faith. If it is possible to express faith completely and visibly, then it is no longer called faith. Because faith is the belief in the unseen, and the confidence in what we hope for. Therefore, whichever aspect of faith is visible, there will always be parts that are not seen.

Let us read Hebrews 11:13, “All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance.” Although they only see them from afar, and yet they draw ever closer to them. However, no matter how close they are, there is still a great distance between them. God is limitlessly grand, so we cannot claim to be anywhere close to Him. No matter how close we may come to our God, there is still a huge span in between. Just like our attempts to navigate outer space. We have a satellite that has been in orbit for the past 30+ years, where has it been to? To us on earth, it has travelled far and wide; but seen within the context of the universe, this satellite has not moved much at all. The universe is immense; the distance travelled is measured in the speed of light. How quick can light travel in a second? About 300,000+ kilometers in a second. From the earth to the sun, it takes about 8 minutes with the speed of light. But if you were to fly at your own speed, you will take an entire lifetime and may never reach the sun. Or if you reach it, you can never come back! So you can understand how vast the universe is. To you, you feel as if you have travelled a long way and seem to be closer to your goal, but to God, you are still far off.

Here it indicates the great faith of Abraham, even to just before his death, he is still seeing it from afar. He still needs a lot of assurance. Let us return to Genesis 15. If we can understand this, that faith continues to believe even in the midst of doubt. We can see it the same way as scientific advancements, with which constant questioning and doubts are for the purpose of greater discoveries and clearer understandings. The doubts expressed here do not mean forsaking everything; rather, it is a belief that better things are just ahead. So as Abraham finds himself mired in a flux of doubts and he feels as if he has nothing more to gain, the LORD told him to come out and look at the stars in the sky. In Genesis 15:2, Abraham said to the LORD that he is childless, in v.5, the LORD asked Abraham to “Look up at the sky and count the stars — if indeed you can count them.” You claim you do not have it, but I tell you, can you count the stars? If you can count the number of stars, so will the number of your descendants be. In v.6, Abraham believed the LORD. From the moment of his greatest doubt, he enters immediately into absolute faith. Thus, the LORD credited it to him as righteousness.

If you were to measure this expression of faith to the faith demonstrated in chapter 12, it appears to be smaller in comparison. The faith that is required in chapter 12 seems to be far more demanding, as he must leave behind everything familiar to him, and commit himself with the act of departure. But in chapter 15, all that was demanded of him was belief. This belief is not forever, even though at that moment of time, he believed the LORD completely, and it was credited to him as righteousness.

In chapter 17, the LORD demanded the act of circumcision from Abraham, v.2-3, “‘Then I will make my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers.’ Abram fell facedown.” He has a child by now, namely Ishmael. v.4, “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations.” Here the LORD made a covenant with Abraham, signified by the mark of circumcision. At that time, Isaac has yet to be born, only Ishmael. This is worthy of thoughtful attention, why did the LORD institute circumcision at that particular moment of time? Why not wait until after the birth of Isaac? Circumcision was demanded of Abraham before Isaac was born. Please read v.16, the Lord said Sarai shall give birth to a son, and she will be the mother of nations. In v.17, Abraham laughed to himself: how could he have a child when he is already 100 years old? And Sarai is 90 years old! How is a child possible? At this point, Abraham laughed in his heart; is this laughter an expression of faith or a lack of it? To us, it is obvious that he does not believe in this at all, because he thinks it impossible to achieve. In his mind, Ishmael is to be his son and heir, since he is already born, and circumcision — the sign of the covenant — was already put in place by the LORD. A unique feature of chapter 17 is that the LORD promised a son born of Sarai, not Abraham, since Abraham had already conceived a child. That is why Abraham found this laughable; although it is the LORD speaking with him, he still laughed secretly within himself: how could this be possible?

If we consider Abraham at this moment of time, do we say that his faith has weakened? I do not think so. This is a very normal reaction of skepticism, and as such, should not be labeled as a demonstration of faithlessness. Do not accept things that you have doubts in, because this is senseless. If in matters of faith you accept what you do not believe in, this is no longer faith, this is mindless acceptance. Since you have not considered it carefully yourself, you merely believe what others tell you to believe and you dare not doubt what others tell you not to doubt. Why? Because you are afraid that others will see you as faithless. The Bible never attempted to hide any of Abraham’s doubts, even though he is seen as the foremost of all forefathers, and an exemplary model for Israel to follow. Genesis described all the thought processes Abraham went through. If and when he doubted, it is plainly seen; if he thought it was funny, he laughed. Despite all these, the LORD did not withhold His covenant with Abraham.

I think to myself: if Abraham did not laugh, the LORD would probably think him strange. How could you not have any questions? This is an impossible thing! Why should you force yourself to accept it? Thus the LORD appeared to Abraham once again in chapter 18, telling him that Sarah will have a child soon. In v.12-13, “Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, ‘After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I now have this pleasure?’ Then the Lord said to Abraham, ‘Why did Sarah laugh’?” In v.15, “Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, ‘I did not laugh.’” Sometimes when I think about this, I find it funny too. Sarah was already 89 years old, and she still lied and said, “I did not laugh”! So I think that man, from young to old, behaves about the same: namely, this fear of admitting a lack of faith. But it really didn’t matter; if you feel like laughing, then laugh, since it is a laughable matter. How can I possibly give birth to a child now? When Sarah became pregnant, only then can she truly appreciate the mighty power of the LORD.

I believe faith should be a constantly changing thing. Today you may have absolute faith; but when some things reach a certain point and doubts arise, this should not matter. What is important is that you keep moving forward. What we should be afraid of is going backward during moments of doubt. Although we may have some doubts, I believe our answers can always be found in our God. So no matter how skeptical you may be, as long as you believe that answers can be found in God, then all these are expressions of faith. As long as you continue to believe that I can find all answers in my God, then I believe this is the greatest demonstration of faith possible. Only God can take unseen things, and show them at any given time in ways that are clearly understandable.

Just as the LORD appeared to Abraham and told him that his descendants shall be as numerous as the stars in the sky, even though Abraham can only see the children he bore, who numbered eight in total. If his grandchildren were included, I do not think there were more than 30 altogether. And yet, the LORD promised Abraham that his descendants shall be as numerous as the stars in the sky. So before Abraham died, did he truly believe that his children shall be as numerous as promised? I believe Abraham must have questioned; but he is able to see from afar, and believe that this will be realized. I believe, but I believe with some difficulty. With this kind of faith Abraham passed on from life. He is able to see it from afar and believe that the answer surely lies over there. So even if he is unable to completely accept the present reality, what does it matter?

From this, I look to what we expect from our own faith. If you are able to accept that faith is meant to be this way, especially as we look to our model in Abraham, whose faith encompassed such ups and downs. Still, the LORD credited it to him as righteousness, since he had proven himself to be a person of great faith. As we look to ourselves then: do we have faith? I believe our answer is ‘yes, we do’. But at the same time, we are well aware that our faith still has a lot of room for growth and improvement. During our moments of grave doubt, may our Lord continue to increase the measures of our faith.