In Ephesians 2:8 we read: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.”

In my last blog, we looked at two of the statements in this verse:
1. It is by grace we have been saved
2. We have been saved by grace “through faith”

We ended by looking at verses 32-38 from Hebrews 11 and the difference in the groups of people from verses 32-35 and verses 36-38. In the former group we have those who:
- conquered kingdoms
- shut the mouths of lions
- received back their dead, raised to life again
- gained what was promised (vs. 33)

I am definitely in for that experience. Sign me up. Faith works! However, let’s look at the second group who were:
- tortured, jeered, chained, imprisoned
- sawed in two, persecuted, mistreated
- lived in deserts, mountains, caves and holes in the ground
- commended for their faith but never received what was promised’ (Vs.39)

For group ‘A,’ faith is easier because circumstances are brighter and the results are much more immediate and tangible. For group ‘B,’ the benefits of faith are not quite so tangible or obvious and the result will often only be known in eternity.

The problem is, our lives are a mixture of A and B experiences. For group A there is the moment when trouble comes and a passionate cry for help is screamed in God’s ear. There is a moment of doubt and confusion but then it all ends in a hallelujah wind-up because the lion’s mouth is shut and the dead are raised. However, the pathway of faithful group B leads right through a relentless desert while the “faithless” remain in their palaces. And you sit down alone at night and wonder, “Where is God and what is he doing?” (See my next post which has reflections on Psalm 73).

One of the difficulties in faith is that we sometimes ill define it. Often people try to have faith as if faith is this conjured up intestinal fortitude. That can only end up in frustration and despair and it is often based on an erroneous definition of faith. The entire chapter of Hebrews 11 gives a well-rounded definition with no holds barred. I would like to attempt to distil that down to a statement that has been helpful for me: “Faith is the courage to obey, based on a decision to believe.”

Let me illustrate: Picture me standing by a pond with my skates, wondering if it is frozen enough to handle the effects of gravity on my considerable girth. If someone comes along and says, “Go ahead, I’m sure it will be all right,’ I will probably turn away. But then suppose that David Suzuki comes along and says, “Lorne, I have been doing testing on this water, calculating the depth, the temperature, etc., for the last two weeks and I believe that this ice can hold a person twice your weight.” With that info, I may just strap on my skates and head out. What is the real difference? The first man I did not trust. The second is a renowned scientist. Now truth is, I still have no more evidence but I have courage based on who is giving me information. I then choose to believe and therefore choose to act accordingly. It is the courage to act, based on a decision to believe.

Faith, then, is not this abstract, elusive commodity that only a few can have. Look at the last two statements in Ephesians 2:8:
3. Faith is not from yourselves
4. Faith is the “gift of God”

We are born with the God-given capacity to have faith no matter where we choose to direct it. The greatest test of faith is when we are uncertain of the outcome─when all we can see is the surface of the ice. What changes uncertainty into action is our decision to believe, to take God at his word and, sometimes with fear and trembling, to act upon it.

More than one spiritual victory has been robbed because we have been trying to have faith in our faith. The object of our faith must always be God. Can you trust his divinely revealed reputation? Can you trust his track record? Faith─the courage to obey based on a decision to believe.

Until next time,

Keep the faith. 

Major Lorne Pritchett is currently the District Director for the Canadian Bible Society in Newfoundland and Labrador. Married to Barbara, they have two children: Elizabeth (Christan Murphy) who is a high school teacher in Mt. Pearl, NL, and John (Michelle Burditt) who is the district manager for Zellers in the greater Vancouver area.