Faith for Modern Times

Introduction

I entitled this book Faith for Modern Times because with all the talk about faith these days, it is important to learn how faith worked in the lives of Biblical people so that we can see how it applies to our lives today.  This is not the final word, to be sure, it is only meant to stimulate thought in this area.  As a zealous Christian it is easy to become confused when exposed to the many various teachings that seem to indicate that faith is a means to an end—usually financial or physical.  In other words, if you had enough and have the right kind of faith you will have unlimited health and wealth.

When I was a young believer I was exposed to these teachings and because I wanted to know if this faith teaching was real, it created some unrest in me which led me to seek for the truth.  I sincerely wanted the truth so I read and prayed and talked to people and went to church.  When I heard the position that “faith people” took I was intrigued and excited to think that if I could reach a place of “activating” my faith I could literally move mountains.  Literally.

I was taught in a formal theological setting for five years, which included studying Greek, eschatology and many central doctrines of the Christian faith.  Yet when I was exposed to the “faith” teachings, I first thought that I had missed something.  The faith teachers would always say that the Pharisees missed Jesus, though they knew the written text very well.  Which meant that most college professors were Pharisees who were really missing the point, and in the final analysis—Jesus Himself.  That’s one thing I didn’t want to do, so I would spend long hours making sure, through prayer and fasting, that I would in no way miss Him.

I have been a Christian for over 30 years and gone to Bible College and Seminary.  In no way do I claim perfection, but I believe I have diligently sought the truth in this area.  In fact, I taught Apologetics (the study of the defense of the Christian faith) in my local church.  The issue of suffering would come up and even though I had been fed a steady diet of “if you have faith, you will not suffer” something in me didn’t buy it.  As I studied the scriptures it seemed that God never promised a suffering-free life no matter what level of faith you were on.

This research and study took on actual experience when in 2002 I was struck head on by a drunk driver and paralyzed from the waist down.  At first my faith was high—God will heal me—but as of the writing of this book, without the assistance of braces, I cannot walk.  This led me more and more to seek the truth.  My previous book, Walking This Walk was written in light of this struggle.

Since I believe the scriptures to be the final word on faith and practice, I turned off most of what I was listening to in terms of teachers and preachers and began a search for myself as to what faith was and how it worked.  I did read some authors that I trusted and still went to church, but my desire was to know the truth about faith.  I use some authors in this book to compare and contrast various views of faith.

I look at four men in the Old Testament who walked with God over a lifetime.  One thing really stood out to me and that was that faith, far from being a one shot deal—get a shot of faith for what you need, was something that was exercised toward God over a lifetime of peaks and valleys.  Faith began with God, not men, because God was here first.

If that is the case then, God who?  The book of Genesis says, “In the beginning God...”  This is the God of the Bible; the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of the prophets, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Not the God of Islam or the Buddhist idea of God or of the many offshoot cults who talk about God in ways that they can control.  Contrary to us controlling God, or our faith controlling situations, it is He who has the final say.

Does God want us to have faith for things?  Yes.  Paul the Apostle said, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (Phil 4:6).  Notice it says “supplications and requests”, not “faith demands”.  For example, “God, you see my faith, therefore take this mountain (problem) and cast it into the sea.”  That being said we need to be persistent in prayer and to take God at His word and truly stand in faith for what we believe is God’s will for us and our families.

The problem with the instant faith is, when what is “believed for” does no