Faith and Law
Paul gives us one of the clearest definitions of faith found in the Holy Bible.
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1)
The Apostle Paul makes two assertions about faith
1. Faith is the substance of things hoped for.
2. Faith is the evidence of things not seen.
The key words are substance and evidence.
Substance is a strange word to use in a definition of faith. We think of faith as something opposite to substance. Substance refers to something tangible, something you can see, hear, touch, taste, and feel. It is corporeal. The synonyms for substance are
· Matter
· Body
· Element
· Essential nature
· Essence
· Material
· Corporality
· Physical nature
· Flesh and blood
· Reality
· Actuality
· Solid
· Species
· Genus
· Mass
· Chief part
If something is substantial, we think of it as material, corporeal, concrete, tangible, physical, actual, basic, weighty, or solid. We don’t connect faith with substance. We connect faith with
· Belief
· Trust
· Assurance
· Confidence
· Reliance
· Hope
· Expectation
· Optimism
· Truth without evidence
· Profession of religious truth
· Devotion
· Conviction
· Feeling
· Expectation
· confidence
Therefore, we must wrestle with Paul’s assertion that faith is the substance of things hoped for. First, of course, we must come to terms with the phrase, “things hoped for.” From that we know that faith deals with things not yet accomplished or performed but that are desired or hoped for or wanted. Faith is related to uncertainty because faith is not knowledge. Once one has knowledge, one no longer needs faith. Therefore, faith must confront doubt, darkness, uncertainty. Faith then is the bridge between uncertainty and knowledge, hope and achievement, trial and accomplishment. Peter refers to the trial of our faith:
7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: (1 Peter 1:7)
The apostle Peter puts an added twist to faith. He says that faith is “much more precious than gold.” We tend to overlook Peter’s phrase “gold that perisheth.” Peter is asserting that faith does not perish. In other words, faith is not just for this life. It is not only the first principle of the gospel. Faith is also an eternal principle. It never perishes, making faith spiritual, not temporal. It creates a paradox. Paul said Faith was a substance. Peter said that faith never perishes. The answer to the paradox leads to a great principle. That principle is that even our spirit is made of substance. In other words, even spirit is made of matter. There is reducible matter and there is irreducible matter. Gold is made of reducible matter, but faith is made of irreducible matter.
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