Faith SPONTANEOUS FAITH
He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool. Prov. 28:26.
Saving faith comes only through the faith relationship with Christ. Perhaps the best single definition for faith is trust. "Faith is trusting God."--Education, p. 253. And if faith is trusting, then the moment you have faith, you have at least two parties. There's no such thing as faith and only one person. Faith has a subjective element--one depending on another.
How do you learn to depend on another? Well, there are two things needed. You must have someone who is trustworthy, and you must get to know them. If you have someone who is not trustworthy, getting to know them will not develop trust--it will develop distrust! If you become acquainted with a person who is untrustworthy, you won't have to work to distrust them--the distrust will be automatic. The opposite is also true. If a person is absolutely trustworthy, all you have to do to learn to trust them is to get to know them, and you will trust them naturally and spontaneously.
Saving faith is always the result of something else. It is the result of a relationship with the One who is trustworthy.
So, how do you develop a relationship? By becoming acquainted through communication. That's the way to have a relationship with anyone. How do you communicate with God, with Jesus? Through the Bible--that's how God talks to us. And through prayer--that's how we talk to Him. And through going places and doing things together--that's Christian service. Through these simple means that God has given, relationship can exist. When we get to know Him we will trust Him spontaneously, and when we trust Him we have faith.
Therefore, faith is never something we work on. It's the devil's idea to try to get us to work on our faith, because he knows that if he can get us to work on our faith, he can keep our attention from Jesus, the source of faith. By getting us to work on our faith, he focuses our attention inward on ourselves--and if he succeeds in that, there is no chance for real faith.
So if I want to have genuine faith--the kind that really counts, saving faith--I must learn to trust God. In order to do that, I must get to know Him. I can get acquainted with Him through the simple avenues of communication, and when I know Him I will trust Him spontaneously.
He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool. Prov. 28:26.
Saving faith comes only through the faith relationship with Christ. Perhaps the best single definition for faith is trust. "Faith is trusting God."--Education, p. 253. And if faith is trusting, then the moment you have faith, you have at least two parties. There's no such thing as faith and only one person. Faith has a subjective element--one depending on another.
How do you learn to depend on another? Well, there are two things needed. You must have someone who is trustworthy, and you must get to know them. If you have someone who is not trustworthy, getting to know them will not develop trust--it will develop distrust! If you become acquainted with a person who is untrustworthy, you won't have to work to distrust them--the distrust will be automatic. The opposite is also true. If a person is absolutely trustworthy, all you have to do to learn to trust them is to get to know them, and you will trust them naturally and spontaneously.
Saving faith is always the result of something else. It is the result of a relationship with the One who is trustworthy.
So, how do you develop a relationship? By becoming acquainted through communication. That's the way to have a relationship with anyone. How do you communicate with God, with Jesus? Through the Bible--that's how God talks to us. And through prayer--that's how we talk to Him. And through going places and doing things together--that's Christian service. Through these simple means that God has given, relationship can exist. When we get to know Him we will trust Him spontaneously, and when we trust Him we have faith.
Therefore, faith is never something we work on. It's the devil's idea to try to get us to work on our faith, because he knows that if he can get us to work on our faith, he can keep our attention from Jesus, the source of faith. By getting us to work on our faith, he focuses our attention inward on ourselves--and if he succeeds in that, there is no chance for real faith.
So if I want to have genuine faith--the kind that really counts, saving faith--I must learn to trust God. In order to do that, I must get to know Him. I can get acquainted with Him through the simple avenues of communication, and when I know Him I will trust Him spontaneously.
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