Skip to main content

innovation of faith

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

Evidence NOT seen??? Don't take this verse the wrong way. The Apostles again and again stress that they are eyewitnesses. They saw the evidence. And, Thomas looked and touched. This book of the New Testament was written to Hebrew Christians, they all knew Jesus rose from the dead. "The substance of things hoped for" is the resurrection. FAITH is prompted by what we see, hear and feel. Our grasp on what FAITH is has slipped. We have gone with the flow of the culture.

We need to say; "Jesus rose from the dead." Because we know it. It's not our belief, it's a fact! In the Gospel of Matthew, chapter eleven, when John the Baptizer has questions, about Jesus being the Messiah, Jesus points to His actions. Tells them what they have SEEN and HEARD Him do as proof of who He is. People had experience with Jesus performing miracles. There was only one conclusion that could be drawn; He is the Son of God. From the very beginning Christians have used reason and logic to understand their FAITH. We have a knowledge base to read and study. We can know what God's plan is in the pages of the Holy Bible. All the emphasis in the New Testament is on evidence and proof! Based on people's experiences. 

Today people qualify and even discount FAITH. Saying there is a difference between heart knowledge vs head knowledge. Or, they might say; "Faith was what you have in the absence of knowledge." Others say; "it's believing something is true without confirmation from the five senses." Which is a direct contradiction to the Gospels that took great pains to record the five senses that testified to Jesus ministry and resurrection. Biblical ignorance is pronounced in our world today. In the culture and in the church. We need to start by defining FAITH. So many talk about faith and do not define it. Lutherans have defined faith as having three elements: 1. Knowledge (Mental affirmation/intellectual agreement.) 2. Asent, (Professed fealty to Jesus as Lord (Rom 10:9-10)) 3. Trusting, (Enacted loyalty to THE KING, as in the obedience to God.) But, sadly, it's not expressed in our classrooms and pulpits.

Faith is an innovation of Jesus and His Disciples. Dr. Schmidt carefully researched this book for nearly twenty years. It is the culmination of his lifetime of work. He documents the history and use of the word FAITH. How it's specific to Christianity. It's not indigenous to any other religion. Only three other scholars have picked up this fact. And, it's all available to you and me in his book Faith Misused. 

To learn more about this subject, the book and it's author listen to PART FOUR of this podcast. There is much more information here, they answer emails, and it's VERY interesting... 
https://issuesetc.org/2022/02/23/0542-faith-and-christianitys-uniqueness-part-4-dr-alvin-schmidt-2-23-22/

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

obedient unto death

Philippians 2:8 "And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." Are you offended? The creator of the universe became incarnate and walked with people. He served people. He sacrificed Himself for you and me. Was this work beneath Him? Did He have to do this? Why is THIS God's plan? Who am I to question GOD'S plan? In this letter, Paul's Holy Ghost inspired writing tells us to put others’ interests ahead of our own. Paul tells us to live from a spirit of selflessness, compassion, and unity, reflecting the character of Christ and His love for humanity. A love that is truly "MIGHTY!" "MIGHTY" is one of the names the prophet Isaiah recorded for the Messiah. This is NOT the typical way to be "MIGHTY." Jesus is GOD, and all the glory and majesty that comes with that. And God came down from heaven to be born into the family of people. GOD lived with us and died for us. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

the donkey

Luke 19:32-34 "32 And they that were sent went their way, and found even as He had said unto them. 33 And as they were loosing the colt, the owners thereof said unto them, Why loose ye the colt? 34 And they said, The Lord hath need of him." God's Grand Plan is your REDEMPTION! Since GOD can make that happen, getting a donkey to ride into Jerusalem is easy! Before the celebratory crowd is shouting "HOSANNA!" Jesus sent 2 Disciples to get a donkey. What is described in today's verses is exactly the way Jesus said things would unfold. Here we can see Jesus is in charge of ALL creatures. The people and the donkeys!  In the verses leading up to here we can read that the Disciples are not getting it. They are thinking the Messiah was going to take David's throne. Take Israel back from the Roman occupation. People did not understand God's Grand Plan. Even though Jesus told them all. On their way to Jerusalem they pass through Jericho. Zacheas was there, the...
Post a Comment
Read more

encouragement

Ephesians 6:10 "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might." We continue our study of the Lord's Prayer. This week, "Deliver Us From Evil." is also translated as "Deliver Us From The Evil One." We need to remain "sober" and "vigilant." A big part of this is studying the Holy Scriptures, like we are doing. We want to form a solid united front against Satan.  For the heart of our studies we turn to Paul's letter to the Ephesians. It was one of four letters Paul wrote while in prison in Rome. Paul cared deeply for the Ephesians. He lived with them for three years as this church was forming. He wants to encourage them and help them become successful. His words can help you and me today.
Post a Comment
Read more