Do you honestly think the God of the universe that spoke everything into existence, (big bang) creating a masterpiece in the image of Himself, (humans) placing them  in an environment perfectly tuned for their existence, would not communicate with them or give them evidence of who He is? 

WTF!

Oh, how many times I have heard it growing up. WTF!

Where’s the faith? 

If you had enough faith:

You wouldn’t have become sick. 

You wouldn’t have lost your job. 

Your child would be healthier. 

You would have enough money. 

Your mom wouldn’t have died. 

You wouldn’t be subject to the laws of nature!

You would be, you wouldn’t be – you fill in the blank. 

If…you just had enough faith. 

Faith in what? Faith in the truth that all of the above are in some way  caused by a fallen world?

Faith in the truth that most are caused by poor choices on our part, just like the first humans?

We hear it all the time, he or she is a “person of faith”. Some have faith in Mohammad, Buddha, Jesus, mother universe, the church, saint so-and-so, science, a wafer, themselves and their intellect, and so it goes. 

I have a dear friend that won’t exit the house without her little angel pin. 

WTF? 

Where is the faith? What is faith? What is the object of your faith?  Where does your faith come from? Do you have enough? Have you moved any mountains lately? (Matthew 17:20)

When you sit in a chair, drive over a bridge, take a plane ride, observe the rotating earth at sunrise/sunset, you are expressing faith.  

Faith in what?  

Faith, in our modern world is defined as trust in something or someone. 

“Person of faith”, has erroneously become the mantra for someone being connected with God. Religion, is satan’s greatest tool, and now, “person of faith” is added to his arsenal. 

Faith, always comes from believing and believing from evidence. 

Belief in a person, place or thing, to the point of fully trusting it, (for a purpose) constitutes faith. 

Ancient mariners followed a certain star, believing it would lead them safely to a specific location. They were saying, “star, we believe you”. 

Belief came from evidence that the star would lead them. Faith/trust was born causing them to set their course and follow it.  What did it have to do with God?

Everyone is a person of faith! You can’t move about this planet without faith in something.

You have faith it will rain and water the earth, filling the underground cisterns that you drink from everyday. The water then returns to the clouds, a cycle that sustains everything from tiny cyanobacteria to giant blue whales. (Hydrology) Every living thing needs it. Pssst…your faucet doesn’t make it. 

So WTF? Science, your body, the earth?  

You have faith that when you inhale and exhale, the chemicals you need for life are always there. Did you know they are produced from the plants and trees? The waste of your oxygen sustains them to make more oxygen for you. (Photosynthesis) “Wow” is in order. 

WTF?

You have faith that when you step out of you car, you’re not going to float off into space. (gravity)

By the way, the earth is spinning approximately 1000 miles an hour, attached to nothing, and is the perfect size to sustain our atmosphere. If it were larger or smaller, you’d be toast. (actually, you wouldn’t even be) Additionally., it’s tilted perfectly at 23.5 degrees so we don’t fry or freeze.
(Fine-tuned universe)

WTF?

You have faith that when you lie down at night, your brain is sustaining your life, reorganizing cells and removing toxic waste. Your organs are actually replacing themselves. (Mitosis) 

It also awakens the “self made” individual. 

WTF?

Do you see any of it?  Not a chance. 

Do you trust your life to things you can’t see? Of course you do. 

Lack of visual observation is not lack of faith, nor lack of evidence. 

How on earth can we have faith in so many things and not have faith in the amazing intelligence, power, and source of the universe and everything in it? 

That makes no sense.  I digress. 

This writing is not to agonize over the endless philosophical wrangling of definitions, metaphors, or semantics regarding faith versus belief, but to show how they are presented in the Holy Scriptures relating to God, with evidence; a word infrequently used in Christian culture. They’re just not the same. 

Faith comes from believing and believing from evidence. 

None are born with faith. 

Many theologians define faith as believing when there is no evidence. 

That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.

Faith is trust, confidence, with the connotation of belief “based on the reliability of the one trusted”.  

The “object” of your belief produces the faith – not you. 

This is big, contemplate this statement for a moment: The “object” of your belief produces the faith – not you. 

Why do you have faith in crossing a high, expansion bridge? Because you believe it’s a bridge?  No! You have total trust in it because you see thousands of cars pass over it every day. And… “you” have crossed it hundreds of times without fear of it collapsing into the water. The engineers, technology, physics, materials, and empirical data have produced evidence, leading you to believe and then trust the bridge.

The bridge produces the faith.  

You see the evidence of the bridge, you believe, faith is born, and you cross. 

You get “all” that the bridge is, the “truth” of the bridge, if you will. 

Evidence, belief, faith, in that order. 

Faith can not come from disbelief. 

Faith causes action, you take part, trust it; whether a bridge, an angel pin, or God. 

By the way, you can be totally wrong. 

Sincerity and faith are not the same. You can sincerely believe something that’s not true. 

How would you know? 

Answer: Evidence. 

Evidence, refers to any information, facts, or data that help to establish the truth or validity of a claim or assertion. The purpose of evidence is to provide support for a conclusion or to help in making a decision by demonstrating that something is true or false based on observable and verifiable information. 

Truth is always revealed by evidence. 

We have been given the physical laws of nature and believe them as truth. Do you think maybe the greatest, perfect intelligence of the universe would show us evidence? 

Pontius Pilate, the Roman Governor, asked Jesus, “What is truth?” (John 18:38). Pilate didn’t realize he was looking at the truth itself, emphasizing that truth is not merely a concept to be debated but a person to be encountered and embraced. 

Evidence, without a doubt, reveals something other than the physical realm – Something much bigger than our understanding. Acknowledging it is first step in understanding it.

You can’t show me a mind, a will or an emotion. I challenge anyone to show me a conscience on an operating table or during a CT scan. 

Aren’t humans clear evidence of spirit wrapped in flesh? 

Our bodies facilitate “us”, our being, to survive in this physical realm… for a purpose. 

The first law of thermodynamics shows us that energy can’t be created or destroyed. The second law of thermodynamics shows us that physical things are always heading for destruction. So where’s the “you” going when your body fails? The evidence is pretty clear,  when all fades to black, it’s not the end. 

These irrefutable laws lead us to consider the order, purpose, and limitations of the physical universe, pointing us toward the eternal nature of God and His creation.

We must understand that faith always has a purpose. The bridge produces faith for the purpose of crossing. If you start to worship the bridge and believe it will cure your cancer, you have corrupted the truth and purpose of the bridge, diminishing your faith in the bridge.  

Faith in a pin for anything other than an ornament or symbol is corrupting it’s truth and purpose.

Would you say the Creator of the universe has a purpose?  

God’s purpose is clear and is made known: to redeem, reconcile and unite creation, (not just humans) bringing us into a perfect, eternal relationship… by – the – blood – of – Jesus Christ. 

7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; (Ephesians 1)

Perfection requires perfection and accepts nothing less. 

9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: (Ephesians 1)

God so loved…8God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5)

It’s made known! 

9 he[d] made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ(Ephesians 1:9)

That’s all folks, not your works, purpose or agenda. The entirety of the Bible, 783,000 words, culminate in the finished work of Christ. (Hebrews 1:1)

Religion, (man’s attempt at reaching God), corrupts the truth of God for their own purposes. 

The evidence is unmistakable: a wafer does not possess the physical DNA of a human body, and grape juice/wine is not blood. Immersion in water does not cleanse one’s spirit, just gets you wet – Corruption. 

Mankind’s works and righteousness are insufficient to bridge the gap between us and God.  All our works are as filthy rags, (Isaiah 64:6) emphasizing that human efforts fall short of God’s perfect standard. 

God shows and draws everyone.  44a “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, (John 6)

Evidence and truth are synonymous, and you can know it. (John 8:32)

Faith and belief have been conflated over time to mean the same thing, and they certainly are closely related, but they are not the same. 

Faith comes from believing and believing from evidence. 

None are born with faith. 

Faith comes after you see, hear and believe. (Romans 10:17, John 14:11)

As it goes with the bridge or anything else, so it goes with God.

The physical world serves as a tangible illustration of spiritual truths, shadows of things to come. (Hebrews 8:5) 

That which is seen speaks of the unseen. (Roman’s 1:20)

Faith in the bridge is a gift from the bridge. 

Faith in God, is a gift from God, received through hearing and responding to the gospel message. It is not something we can generate on our own, but it is also not something that happens without our response. (Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 10:17; John 1:12-13). 

The gospel message is the means by which God draws us to Himself, and our belief in that message is the response that brings about the gift of faith. 

Everything draws us, (stimuli) we accept or reject it. The bridge draws us – God draws us. 

God has not asked anyone to “just have faith” without evidence. 

The Gospel message is that God the eternal Son, left the glory of heaven, a spiritual realm, entered the physical realm via the womb of a virgin, offering His one time sacrifice for the sin of humanity, reuniting mankind with his creator. (Hebrews 10:14) Yes, God became flesh and dwelled among us. (John 1:14). He shed His royal, precious blood, dying on the cross for the sin of humanity, arose to life the third day, and was seen by five hundred people. (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). God so loved… 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3)

Everyone knows that famous verse but do we know the next verse?

17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. (John 3) 

Purpose! God’s purpose. God did not leave the realm of heaven to fix our society. (Just  look around) 

Religion is not God’s purpose! 

11 To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the Lord: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats.(Isaiah 1)

God cares nothing of your sacrifice! 

14FOR BY ONE SACRIFICE He has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. (Hebrews 10)

Biblical sacrifice always caused death, required blood because life is therein. Sin always causes death and only life can change/defeat it. As light defeats darkness because darkness has no inherent power, life defeats death. 

The blood/life of innocent animals could only cover or atone for sin. Christ’s blood was perfect, without sin and acceptable to “take away” the sin of mankind. (Born of a virgin where His blood didn’t mingle with that of the mother. Mary and her mother were both sinners). Just reference any medical textbook for that “evidence” – Sorry Catholics. (Roman’s 3:23)

 “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”(Colossians 1:13-14)

Christ died once, you don’t have to. (Hebrews 10:10,14)

“He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2Corinthians 5:21)

Jesus took on the sin of the world, experiencing the separation and anguish that sin brings, so you wouldn’t have to.

Jesus took your sin and gave you His righteousness. 

Watch this: God, now, accepts a “living” sacrifice, not the stench of religious offerings or death of anything. The blood of bulls and goats was a foreshadowing of the One to come. Sin/death has been dealt with at the cross. Christ’s sacrifice is your sacrifice! You received exactly what Christ did but you didn’t have to die for it! A living sacrifice!

You are born of God, a child of God, alive to God, alive in God, redeemed and bought back by the blood of Christ. (John 3) 

Your old sinful nature – the old man, dead to sin, has been crucified, raised to newness of life and seated with Him. You are a new creature.  (2Corinthians 5:17)

Your life is hidden in Him as a glass of water in the ocean. (Colossians 3) When you see, hear and accept His finished work, God is pleased and you are restored to oneness. Finished!  

He comes to live, in and through you.  “Jesus answered and said to him, ‘If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.’” (John 14:23)

19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. (1 Corinthians 6)

There’s no death here!

We honor God with all that we are! Our body, soul and spirit, our life! It’s “His” life that we now live and offer to Him. A living sacrifice.
(Galatians 2:20)
“Once you see it, you can’t unsee it” (Andrew Farley @The Grace Message)

You have all that He is and each of us looks differently with God living in us. We express Him now, with different gifts and talents He has given. The work He started and will finish. 

“We”, the new man can’t die or Christ would have to die and that’s not going to happen. We are a part of Him. (John 17)

At this point of hearing, seeing,  believing and calling on Him, Faith, His faith, enters us to nurture, grow and express Him.  

The offering of our new life to Him is just reasonable – it’s who we are now.  (Romans 12:1)

The word faith here is synonymous with God. We could say God enters here. 

God gives you a measure of faith to grow, learn and enjoy His life. 

A  living sacrifice means living in the reality of your new identity in Christ, empowered by the Holy Spirit, and offering your life as an act of worship in response to God’s mercy and grace. This is not about striving to become something you are not, but about living out who you already are in Christ.

You’re still going to sin because your flesh remembers sin and wants to do it. Your new spiritual man will fight it every time.

Watch this: You are now free to sin! Oh my, the gasps of the religious! But you won’t want to. Instead of God holding sin against you, He nurtures you, renewing your mind and changes your desires. You’re his child now and He will never hold sin against you again.

“If it ain’t that good, it’s just another religion”
(Edward Fields)

You have what Christ has, never to die again. Death has no part in God, or a man that has believed God. God is a God of the living,  affirming the reality of eternal life and the ongoing, vibrant relationship we have.  (Matthew 22:32)

He is pleased… watching… you LIVE!

This is God’s gift to you when you believe. (Ephesians 2:8-9) 

You are set apart (Holy) for God, born of God and the fullness of God dwells in you. 

This is the power and promise of faith, God’s faith. 

The “you” that lives in that broken body is alive to God even if you physically die. The grave has no victory, nor does death have any sting. “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die.” (John 11:25-26)

Divinity reaches into humanity. The Great Spirit stoops humbly, (Philippians 2:6-8) entering physicality – love manifested in its greatest form. It can’t happen in reverse, man has no power/ability to do it. (Darkness) When men attempt to reach into divinity without going through Christ, (reiki, meditation, diets, touching or works of any kind) demonic spirits respond, not the Holy Spirit. 

Isn’t all of this the dumbest thing you’ve ever heard? It’s foolishness! (1 Corinthians 1:18) 

Unless…wait for it – unless there’s EVIDENCE!

God drawing people is not some ethereal, mystic concept, He’s showing everyone physical evidence!

God has chosen (purposed) the physical to show us the spiritual – the unseen by the seen. 

How else could Spirit show man?

God became one of us, so we could become one of His (John 3)

The Son of God became the Son of man, so the sons of men could become sons of God. 

11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. (John 14:11)

“Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father. But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.”  (John 10:38)

Here, Jesus is encouraging people to look at the miraculous works He performed as evidence of His divine authority and to believe based on that evidence. He even says: “don’t believe without the evidence”

WTF!

Of the 245 times “faith” is used in the Greek New Testament, it is usually a noun, and always a gift from God, not mental assent or something you can achieve on your own. 

Did you know that the word  “faith” is not found in the book of John? 

And it’s only found twice in the Old Testament. 

God has never asked anyone to have faith, but He commands belief. 

The Greek word “pistis”, often translated as “faith” in the New Testament, carries the connotation of trust, belief, and confidence, but it also implies a divine influence and persuasion. This is evident in passages like Ephesians 2:8-9, which states that faith is a gift from God, and Hebrews 12:2, which describes Jesus as the author and perfecter of our faith. 

Do you see this? God is the author and perfecter of your faith. Just as the bridge influences you after you believe it, God influences you when you believe and trust Him – God’s faith. All of the objects of faith previously mentioned can fail, God’s faith can’t. If it could, God would not be God. 

This “believing” is always described using another word from the same root word,“Pisteuo”.   

Why different words? Because they are different.

Once again, we are using scripture, not commentary, to describe these concepts. 

Faith, as related to scripture, is always a gift from God. (Ephesians 2:8,9, James 1:17)

It’s always His, and …becomes yours. Faith in the bridge comes from the bridge.

Faith in God comes from God. 

You’re not born with faith. The gifts of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. You’re not born with any of them, just spend 10 seconds with a two-year-old. 

Watch this: many will say, I have faith “in” Christ, and that’s certainly a good thing. 

This does not exult your mental assent, but a gift…after you believe. Faith “in” Christ means that you now trust Him from the position of being “in” Him.  A gift, not your doing, based on your belief.  Like the bridge, you become part of it when you cross over it. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.(Ephesians 2) 

It’s a gift, a noun, not an action. 

It causes action. 

You most likely didn’t do a thing to assist the bridge, nor does your performance affect what the bridge is or does. You could walk, crawl, ride, drive, or dance your way across the bridge. And… the bridge doesn’t discriminate your race, creed color or gender. A Jew, Gentile, Christian, Hindu, Priest, atheist, young, old, gay, straight, are all welcome to cross. 

It’s the same with God or any truth. 

Truth can’t lie and doesn’t discriminate as long as you respond to the truth of what the object is. 

(Certainly a fool could dynamite the bridge, corrupting what the bridge is) 

Religion has taken dynamite to God’s simple message, corrupting it. 

I can believe something and not have faith.  I can believe something that’s not true.  I can believe something is true but not trust it. 

19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.(James 2:19)

A man walked over Niagara Falls on a tightrope. He asked the crowd if they believed he could do it. “Well… yeah”, the crowd responded. He then, pushed a man in a wheelbarrow across and back. The man then asked: “do you believe I can do this”?     “Well… yes”, they responded with certainty! 

He then asked for volunteers – none would ride. 

God is inviting volunteers, but won’t force you to get in.  

Love requires choice. 

Faith has power, allowing us to live and move and be human. Without faith, we’d be stopped in our tracks, afraid of everything and anything. 

It’s the same with God. Faith in the spiritual realm has the power of connecting and uniting us with God. 

Just as faith in the bridge connects us with the bridge. 

Give God some credit: When we seek, read and hear God’s word, it has the power to bring us to the truth. (the reason we print out scripture). Without it, we would be dead, separated, unable to cross the bridge. 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. (Hebrews 11:6)

Reason here:  How on earth could a spiritually dead human connect with an eternal, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent God, unless He allowed it and caused it?  4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions (Ephesians 2)

Adam and Eve were dead to God, separated, because of sin. They were afraid and lost. How in hell, could they come back? 

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy… 

God found them, came to them, as He does each one of us. 

When we see or hear evidence, we observe, orient, decide and act. We reason something to be true or false based upon evidence. 

Faith always acts – not so for belief. 

You can’t have faith without belief, but you can believe and not have faith. 

Many will say they believe there is a God, but haven’t believed the evidence of who He is, and what He has done in the person of Christ, to a point of receiving His gift of faith. 

They believe in their own version of God. 

Can you imagine if the bridge was left to what everyone thought it should be…there’s no truth in that. 

It’s like saying, the bridge is a bridge, but there’s no concrete and steel in it. That’s perversion. When something is changed from it’s purist form, (truth) it’s perverted and becomes something else. 

Many believe there’s an intelligent designer, but unity with that intelligent designer isn’t found in the finished work of Christ – The Designer! They have concocted thousands of ways you should do it! (Religion)

Many believe in God, but the “Jesus thing” is too exclusive.  Similar to believing the bridge is a bridge but not believing “all” that it is. The foundation, piers, abutments, wing wall, bearings, floor, girders, cables, suspenders, asphalt, rock, stone, electrical wiring, switches, lights, signs, bolts, washers, just to name a few. 

1“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God[a]; believe also in me. (John 14:1)

Do you see this? Jesus is saying, I’ll show you evidence!  I’ve come to show you the Father. 

Is the Father God? Is the Eternal Son God? Is the Holy Spirit God? Is God Creator and source of everything from nothing, outside of time? Yes. 

We can’t believe God is, and not believe all that He is. 

Jesus Christ is claiming to be God in the flesh. 14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1)

15Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: (Colossians 1)

“He’s either a liar, lunatic or Lord. There’s no room for anything in between.” (C. S. Lewis, “Mere Christianity”)

Just look at the evidence!  Have you? 

Who do you say He is?

Jesus did signs and wonders that only God could do. Historically documented, eyewitness testimony while other eyewitnesses could have refuted it, but didn’t. Read objective, non-biblical accounts: Josephus, Tacitus, Pliny the Younger, in addition to the accounts in scripture. These were the objective reporters of their day. 

You say, “well, I don’t believe any of it”. That doesn’t change the truth of it. 

We have all the evidence we need to believe Him. 

There’s so much evidence, only a fool would miss it. 

1 The fool says in his heart,
    “There is no God.” (Psalm 53)

When you “hear” the word of God, it has power to produce faith – God’s faith. God speaks heart and knows your pride or humility. When His word falls on a fertile heart that is seeking something bigger than itself, a measure of faith will draw you and cause you to grow in understanding, and thirst as a panting deer. 

Words are so important and we tend to skip over them, or lose their meaning through translation, transliteration and interpretation. Look at what “hearing” meant to early writers:

The original Greek word for “hearing”is akoḗ – properly, hearing; used of inner (spiritual) hearing (not just the audible) that goes with receiving faith from God, i.e. spiritual hearing (discerning God’s voice; see also Gal 3:2,5, Gk text).

Also, to “hear” often used in scripture meaning “not only to hear but to respond and obey.”

Nowhere in scripture has God asked us to believe without evidence.  

He draws us with his truth and with that word comes power.  The power to generate faith.  

From Genesis to Revelation, we are clearly shown evidence. This “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” (Psalm 19:1) 

The complexity and order of creation, from the vastness of the universe to the intricacies of biological life, point to an intelligent Designer. 

The Bible is a profound source of evidence for God. (Oh, here we go – eyes roll) It is a collection of writings inspired by God, revealing His character, His plans, and His interactions with humanity. (2 Timothy 3:16).  It’s prophecies have come true in astounding fashion. 

The Bible is an amazing predictor of events – Evidence. 

If we use the modern science of probability in reference to just eight prophecies, the chance that any man who ever lived down to the present time that could have fulfilled all eight prophecies is 1 in 10 to the power of 17, or the number “1” with 17 zeroes = 100,000,000,000,000,000. (PETER STONER IN “SCIENCE SPEAKS” – MOODY PRESS).

If you bump it up from 8 to 48 prophecies, We find the chance that any one man fulfilled all 48 prophecies to be 1 in 10/157, or 1 with 157 zeros. 

Now, bump that number up from 48 prophecies to 272 prophecies listed and fulfilled in this book and the numbers are absolutely staggering. It would be 1 chance in a TRILLION, TRILLION, TRILLION, TRILLION, TRILLION, TRILLION, TRILLION, TRILLION, TRILLION, TRILLION, TRILLION, TRILLION, TRILLION and Jesus would have to fulfill every single one of them. Jesus fulfilled them all.(“Evidence that demands a verdict” – Josh McDowell)

Before you go and make a silly statement that the Bible is just a book written by men without supernatural inspiration, consider this: if there’s a book that predicts future events with the precision equal to the number of electrons in the universe, would I want to study it, or at least give it a look? It claims eyewitness, supernatural events. 

“I choose to believe the Bible because it is a reliable collection of historical documents written by eyewitnesses during the lifetime of other eyewitnesses. They report supernatural events that took place in fulfillment of specific prophecies and claim that their writings are Divine rather that human in origin.” (Dr. Voddie Tharon Baucham, Jr. Dean of Theology at African Christian University in Lusaka, Zambia.) 

The person of Jesus Christ is the ultimate revelation of God. (Hebrews 1:1) He is the visible manifestation of the invisible God. (Colossians 1:16) The Word, Logos, Essence, will and full expression of God. 

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14 ) 

Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection are historical events that provide compelling evidence of God’s love and power (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).

The evidence of God is seen in creation, scripture, the person of Jesus Christ, and the transformed lives of believers. These all point to a loving, powerful, and present God who desires a relationship with us.

Do you honestly think the God of the universe, that spoke everything into existence, (big bang) created a masterpiece in the image of himself, (humans) and wouldn’t communicate with them or give them evidence of who He is? 

This is not “blind” faith.  

This is not believing without evidence, as many Christian leaders define faith. 

“Blind faith” is an oxymoron. 

Blind faith is not biblical, it’s stupid. 

Most will use Hebrews 11 to support their claim of “ blind” faith. 

11 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)

The faith described in Hebrews 11 is not blind faith. It is a confident trust in God based on His revealed character, promises and evidence! It involves believing in what we cannot see with our physical eyes but what we know to be true because of God’s faithfulness and the testimony of His Word. 

This chapter goes on to speak of those that God had granted faith: Abraham “believed” God and was granted faith. Just as He does with us.

Faith is at the end of the hallway of belief. 

Abraham believed God…and…faith was granted to him. Insert your name there. 

Watch this: “For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.”  (Roman’s 1)

It sounds like current events to me!

This passage suggests that people have enough evidence of God through creation, but some choose to ignore it.

This act of believing is also a gift from God. John 1:12-13 explains that to all who received Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God—born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

29 For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him, (Philippians 1:29) 

We like no other creature have the ability to discern and believe. 

In context, “to suffer here is not you sleeping on nails or hurting yourself as religion led many to do. It’s saying that you will not be liked by the world and will be persecuted for your faith. 

Jesus doesn’t need you to bleed and die, He did. 

Your flesh will suffer the loss of the junk you used to enjoy, but it will be replaced with so much better. A living sacrifice!

God so loved… He has given each and every human an innate ability to find their way to Him. There’s a void in each of us that can only be filled with God. 

He has given each person a conscience. (Romans 2:15) Conscience means shared knowledge, (His knowledge) and the inner voice that causes us to at least wonder and reason about it.

So why don’t we all come to believe and receive this gift of faith?

Because we’ve allowed the world to harden our hearts. The object of our faith is in the world and not God. 

Remember: the object of our faith produces the faith.

Faith in the bridge, you get the bridge and all that it is. 

Faith in the world, you get the world and all that it is. 

Faith in Muhammad, you get Muhammad, and all that he is. 

Faith in Christ, you get God and all that He is. 9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10 and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. (Colossians 2)

WTF?

God draws all to him. (John 6:44) He gives us evidence and the key is the condition of the heart – Stony/Fertile ground. 

4“A farmer went out to sow his seed.  As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.” (Matthew 13:3-9)

All humanity is given the capacity to believe after hearing God’s word and seeing the evidence in creation, that no man could do. Satan is right there at-tempting to blind you with the lust of the world, just as in the beginning.  4The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. (2 Corinthians 4)

Why is it that nobody would refute satan and evil, but resist God and his goodness? 

If you are an unbeliever, you might give some thought as to why. 

Remember, God speaks heart. After responding with an open fertile heart, God’s faith is planted. It either falls on stony or fertile ground. 

An open fertile heart allows God to come and live.

What you do with this “measure of faith”, (Romans 12:3), determines God’s influence. 
By believing all that God is in Christ, you are saved. By placing this faith in Him for what you do now in the physical, He influences all that you do, (Walking according to the Spirit)

To the contrary, when we go back to faith in other stuff, (object) we get influence from that object, not God. (Walking by the flesh)

Certainly doesn’t mean loss of salvation, just loss of expressing God in that particular moment and that grieves God. We must walk in His faith for all that we do now. It’s our living sacrifice.

Jesus says if you have the faith as a grain of mustard seed,  it grows and nothing shall be impossible for that person (Mt 13:31-32; Mt 17:20; Mk 11:22-24). Paul tells Timothy to “stir up the faith that is in you. 

Where you put that faith is powerful. 

If you place that little bit of faith in where it comes from, (object) it will grow as a seed that becomes a large tree. God will forever live in you and nurture you as His own. 

You are a new creature in Christ, a God/man, all that God is has come to live in you. Your new identity grows as a child does, from Infancy to adulthood. God the Holy Spirit will bring you to all truth. (John 16:13)

Faith, is the divine influence and persuasion that comes from your believing. It now keeps you and nurtures you, allowing you to hear His voice, thirst for His word, learn and grow until the day of redemption. A gift from God to you, and your gift to Him that He accepts and delights in. A living sacrifice!

It’s God saying, I see your heart and I believe you.  13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, (Ephesians 1)

Faith is God entering (divine influence) a fertile heart that has reasoned there is something greater, supernatural, above and beyond our human comprehension and seeks to know and have a relationship. A heart that believes what God has said. There, faith enters as a light in darkness. 

Faith is you being born from God and now taking on His influence and character, as you did from your earthly parents. His character joins your human spirit, (not tandem but one) permeating your very soul. He will exude from you as you live and grow. At your Spiritual maturity, you will be like Him. (1John 3:2)

This was the original design, being made in His image – what we were supposed to be before unbelief entered. Faith couldn’t live there. 

Christ is that prototype, the first born of this new creature. What we become by faith. 

Remember: He’s the author and finisher. 

You can’t pry open the door of faith on your on, and you can’t fool God. 

You can say anything, walk down an isle, throw your hands up shouting, “I believe”, pretend to fall dead or get baptized in a river. None of it brings faith until God sees your believing heart. 

To the contrary, when you have believed and God grants His gift of faith, you can’t pry your way out of it. (Sealed with the Holy Spirit)

You become a new creature, born of God and are gifted His divine nature. (John 3, 2Corinthians 5:17). His faith is now your faith. Your desire is always to please him, trust Him, no matter the circumstances. (Not that you always do) It’s like that cup of water thrown into the ocean – It becomes the ocean.  The Holy Spirit immerses you into Christ. (True Baptism). 

The bridge shows evidence, gives you a reason to believe, and faith is born. 

God shows evidence, gives you a reason to believe and faith is born. 

The bridge carries you across a physical divide as God carries you from death to life. 

For Christ’s sake look at the evidence!  

When we are so hardened and drawn by the world, we miss the drawing of our creator. 44No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day” (John 6:44).

Give God some credit. 

When faith enters, we are sealed until the day of redemption, kept by the power and indwelling of God. (Ephesians 1:13,14)

“You” may start to doubt, waver and perform poorly as life pummels you, but “His” faith will not waver, perform poorly, nor leave you. (John 10:28)

You are born of God, as you are born of your earthly father and you can’t change it, once faith has entered. (John 3)

The word of God from Genesis to Revelation will make sense to you; as water to a fish, or the sky to a bird. 

The Spirit of God has entered you as it entered the virgin when she believed. Key word, believe… 

 Faith comes from believing, and believing from evidence. 13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, (Ephesians 1)

Faith is not just acknowledging certain truths, but about entering into a living, dynamic relationship with God. (Divine influence) As believers, we are not just acknowledging God’s existence; we are trusting all that God has said. We trust that God’s final declaration (Hebrews 1:1) is Jesus as our Savior and Lord, and this trust leads to a transformed life.  (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Throughout His-story, God has given signs and wonders, evidence of His existence and truth. The ultimate sign and wonder is that God, the eternal Son, in the person of Jesus Christ, set aside His glory and entered humanity to save us from ourselves. He loves each and every one of us to the point of dying for our penalty of sin and raising to life, so we also, may now live as He is. The Gospel – Good news. (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) 

The most important truth you could ever get right… or wrong.  WTF!

God loves you and wants you to cross over the bridge. From death to life, His Life. 

He’s done it all, paid it all, destroyed death and is waiting for your call. 

All who call on Him will be saved. (Roman’s 10:13)

For Christ’s sake… and yours, look at the evidence! Amen. 

The next time you hear: “I’m a person of faith”, I hope you ask WTF!

SINNER’S PULPIt

“Come in a sinner, leave a saint”