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Christianity: Faith or By Sight?
Our God is a giving God and has given
mankind many things in this life to use and
enjoy. Among the many things He has
given us, one shows up at the top of the
list. Like all His gifts, this one cannot be
bought with money; it is free, without
strings attached. The gift I am going to
discuss with you today is used continually
throughout our lives, and the more we
exercise it, the better and more powerful it
becomes. It is named in the list of
fruit of
the Spirit
in Galatians 5, and is illustrated
for us throughout the entire Old and New
Testaments. What is it? It is FAITH.
Faith, just like wisdom and many other
gifts from heaven, is given to us in various
proportions, or quantities. How do we
know this? Because in Luke 17:5 we read:
And the apostles said unto the Lord,
Increase our faith.
We are not born knowing how to rely upon
God, nor do we know the importance of
depending upon His wisdom and strength.
For that reason we must discover how to do
so if we want to mature and grow in our
walk with God.
Before we get started, let me say that the
Bible speaks of three different types of
faith. There is intellectual faith, godly faith,
and saving faith. Often we use these terms
interchangeably, but they are not the same.
Three Types of Faith
Intellectual faith
.
Intellectual faith—maybe the most difficult
to explain—is a logical or knowledgeable
faith. Both Christians and unbelievers can
have intellectual faith. It is further defined
as believing something to be true without
having proof or making a commitment. For
example, a person can intellectually believe
that Jesus was a real person who walked
the earth, helped others, and performed
miracles, but come short of believing that
He was God in human flesh.
Matthew 1:23:
Behold, a virgin shall be
with child, and shall bring forth a son, and
they shall call his name Emmanuel, which
being interpreted is, God with us.
See also John 1:1-3 and 14, John 20:28
A person with intellectual faith would, in a
sense, believe the same way about Jesus as
he or she believes about George
Washington—a man described in our
history books as being the first U.S.
President.
Intellectual faith can be described as head
knowledge, or in the case of George
Washington, you know some things about
him because of what you heard other
people say, or read in history books, but
you don’t know him personally—you have
never met him.
Godly faith
.
Someone who has godly faith is fully
confident that whatever the Lord has
promised to do, He will absolutely fulfill.
He has never failed to keep His word, and
that will never change. Someone once said:
God said it, I believe it, and that settles it.
Truly, this is godly faith, and those who
have been born of the Spirit should find
themselves living with this kind of a
mindset.
Before we look at the last type of faith,
let me ask:
Do you find it easier to place
your faith in the fact that there is a
heavenly city with golden streets than
placing your faith in God for the things that
are going on in your life from day to day?
Saving faith
.
This is defined as trusting in Jesus Christ as
—Joe Keim
Continued Inside—Page 10