Faith & Reason

Faith and reason interplay.

"God has put enough into this world to make faith in Him a most reasonable thing, but has left enough out to make it impossible to live by sheer reason alone. There's an interplay - it is not faith in nothingness or subjectivity, it is the systematic reasoning that God gives to us, it says, 'You're the One whom I want to lean on for this.' So the dimensions are there, both. And the fact of the matter is, the scientist too lives an awful lot by faith."
--Ravi Zacharias

Mind and Heart Q&A (Part 1 0f 4)
An open forum with Dr. Ravi Zacharias and two top scientists - Louw Alberts and David Block. Continue reading →

Faith

"What is faith?"

As Christians, we often tell people that we have "faith" and that our "faith" is in Jesus Christ. But just what is this faith that we speak of? What does it mean to have "faith"?

Hebrews 11:1-3 & 6(NIV)
1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

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.

For reasons only (fully and truly) known by God, we (mankind) have been called to have faith in God.

Why am I telling you this?

To simply acknowledge that it does indeed take faith to be a follower of Jesus Christ. In previous posts, I have talked about how unshakably true the Word of God is and how the Christian faith and the Bible have withstood the fiercest scrutiny. Yet, even when the facts stack up and all things point to the Bible being true... you come to that point where you have to have faith. You've never seen God, you've never heard God, so you don't know that He is real (a lot of times as humans, we don't believe it unless we see it), but His Word tells us that He is and He asks us to have faith.

"How can I REALLY, TRULY know that God is real? If He is real, why can't I see Him? Why can't I hear Him? Why......"

John 20:24-29 (NIV)
24 Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it." 26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" 27 Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe." 28 Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!" 29 Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." Continue reading →

Hang-ups

Take a moment, clear your mind, and answer this question as honestly as you can:

What is hindering you from believing in God? What is keeping you from accepting the person of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior?

If you reject the Christian faith, if you reject the Bible, if you reject Jesus, let me ask you this:

Why? REALLY...... why?

Do you have a reason? If so, have you considered your reasoning? If you've been hung-up on something you don't understand about God, Jesus, the Bible or the Christian worldview, have you pursued answers to your question(s)? If you haven't, I'd encourage you to do so.

Here's one example of what I'm talking about:

Do you reject the Christian faith because "Christians are hypocrites."? If so, I'd suggest that you reconsider this reasoning. The Bible tells us that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23) Have you rejected Christ because people who have talked to you about Him have judged you and said or acted like they were better than you? If you've thought, "They're no better than me!", you are correct... they aren't better than you. The Bible also says, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast." (Ephesians 2:9) They have not attained salvation by their own doing, salvation is a free gift from God that you cannot earn. They don't "deserve" to spend eternity with God in heaven, anymore than anyone else.

Jesus dealt with this very thing in the gospels. The Pharisees were confident in their knowledge of the law, and how they had kept the law. Jesus said in Luke 11, "And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them." God is fully aware of hypocrisy and when Jesus came to earth, He definitely addressed the issue head-on.

So what? What's the point?

Say for instance you truly don't believe there is a God, but then... you die, and you find out there really IS a God. What do you have to say for yourself? Will you blame your disbelief on those pesky Christians who acted like they were better than you? (They shouldn't do that by the way, I'm not suggesting that they don't have a responsibility to act right.) What would God say in response to that if you did? I believe that He covered every possible angle. There are no loop-holes. If you read His Word, you will find that it's VERY clear:

Acts 4:12 (NIV)
Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.

There are no excuses... He has provided a way for mankind to find redemption. There is ONE way to God the Father, and that is through His son, Jesus Christ. And His Word (The Holy Bible), which tells us about that way... is being spread all over the world so that all may know that the payment for our sin has been paid by the blood of Jesus Christ.

God isn't asking you to accept the "truth" and actions of man... He is asking you to accept His truth and His actions. He sent His son Jesus to die for your sins and mine. Christianity is ultimately about Christ. He was born of a virgin, He was crucified, He died, and He rose again. Through Him, we have victory over sin and death.

So, what's your hang-up? What are you struggling to accept? What's keeping you from following Christ? Continue reading →