A Confidence In God
August 14th, 2009 by Micah SewellIf you are older than 15 you probably remember watching Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Indiana was trying to find the Holy Grail before the Nazis could use it to conquer the world. Of course that wasn’t enough suspense. He also had only a few minutes before his father died. To accomplish all of this he had to go through a couple of almost impossible tests with only the help of a journal. At one point he came to the end of a cliff and had to find a way to cross a sickeningly huge gap. Remembering the words written in his father’s journal he decided he had to make a “Leap of Faith“. So he did it! He leapt out into nothing, landed on a bridge and defeated the Nazis once again.
This is a very emotional and powerful moment and gives tingles to almost anyone watching. It is also the complete opposite of faith. Faith is not a leap. It is not mystical. It is not a spell or magic, and it is not a formula.
So what is faith? I think it can be summed up as an unshakable confidence in the character of God. It is something quite reasonable.
Romans 10:13 for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.” 14 How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? 15 How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS!” 16 However, they did not all heed the good news; for Isaiah says, “LORD, WHO HAS BELIEVED OUR REPORT?” 17 So faith {comes} from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.
If faith comes from hearing, then why is it that so many people hear the Gospel and don’t believe? It would be so simple to evangelize and disciple the world. We would only need the internet and some big speakers. But this isn’t so. There are a couple of different kinds of “hearing.” The first would be hearing the notes and sounds someone makes. It’s like the game “Telephone.” One person says a random phrase like, “the duck flies at midnight.” Then it passes through several people, and the last person relays the message as, “the black flies are in flight.” What happened was each person heard sounds but never understood the message. Confusion is very fun but not effective. The second kind of hearing could really be called “understanding.” It’s the kind where someone says, “I hear ya, man.” What he means is that he understood what the person was saying.
This is what I think this verse means. So faith comes by hearing and the hearing comes by the word of God. Let’s change out the words. Faith comes through understanding-hearing and understanding-hearing by the word of God. Our faith should come about when we are presented with the truth of God, and we really get it. So faith is a reasonable thing, but how should it look? Is faith when we just really believe something is going to happen? I don’t think it is. That is part of it, but it should be a result of our faith and not the core of it.
Abraham showed what his faith was in. His name was originally Abram which meant “exalted father.” The problem was that he was very old and not a father. He had to go around being constantly reminded that he had no children. Hello, my name is Exalted Father, and I’m not a father. I imagine this would be painful. Then God came along and told him he was going to have children. Fast forward several years, and he sees this happen. The promise was fulfilled with the miraculous birth of his son Isaac.
Genesis 22:1 “After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, ‘Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here am I.’” God told Abraham to take the very thing He promised him (the product of his faith) and sacrifice him. If Abraham’s faith was only believing really hard that he would have a son, he would have crumpled at this point, but he didn’t. He meant to follow through with this. Genesis 22:11-12 “But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, ‘Abraham, Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here am I.’ (12) He said, ‘Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.’”
Abraham’s life was not caught up in Isaac but in God. His confidence was not that he would have a son. His confidence was in God. Abraham knew God. They had an interactive relationship. James 2:23 and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”–and he was called a friend of God.
Daniel 3:12-17 “There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, pay no attention to you; they do not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” (13) Then Nebuchadnezzar in furious rage commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought. So they brought these men before the king. (14) Nebuchadnezzar answered and said to them, “Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up? (15) Now if you are ready when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, well and good. But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?” (16) Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. (17) If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king.”
If we let this story stop here, we would all still be very impressed. Those guys had faith just like Indiana Jones! But that is not the whole of their faith. The story continues.
Daniel 3:18-20 “But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” (19) Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with fury, and the expression of his face was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He ordered the furnace heated seven times more than it was usually heated. (20) And he ordered some of the mighty men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace.
Let this be a call to faith for you, but not the mystical wimpy stuff. Don’t let faith stop at a formula or really strong hope in something impossible. Exercise the FAITH THAT WORKS, the reasonable faith. The faith based on understanding the truths of the Bible and the stories of our incredible God. Develop an unshakable confidence in the character of God!
August 31st, 2009 at 12:51 AM
I like your definition of faith as an unshakable confidence in the character of God, and I agree that it is reasonable to have such a confidence in Him. But, I also believe that there are times when God calls people to take such bold steps, that they are very much similar to Indiana Jones’ leap of faith. Even though Abraham had an unshakable confidence in God, I cannot possibly believe that he climbed that mountain without fear or doubt. I imagine that he must have felt much like Indy did when he made his leap of faith. They both had reason to do what was otherwise totally insane and would result in certain death. Indy had his notebook, Abraham had a word from the Lord. But they still had to make the leap and climb the mountain. I agree that Abraham’s faith was not completely groundless. It was founded in something solid and unshakable – God’s character. I guess I just want to keep the tension in that story, and when I put myself in Abraham’s shoes, not actually knowing for sure how things were going to turn out, I know that I would not feel like sacrificing Isaac was the reasonable thing to do, even though it was the right thing.
September 4th, 2009 at 1:10 AM
it’s late. :o) But i’ve been thinking and so i want to reply.
Abraham knew three things:
1. God exists
2. God’s character and abilities (at least in some fashion)
3. What God said He would do (the promise He made)
As for God existing – Ps 19:1, Romans 1:19-20
God’s abilities and character – he at least would know God was capable of creating the world and all it contains. He could see from the order in creation that God was orderly and rational, from the beauty of creation and the fact that we smell and taste that God was nice and giving, from the fact that the world still exists day to day that God is able and willing to sustain it, from His speaking to Abe that God is interactive and smart.
I think Abraham would have known even more though. He had available Noah and Shem who could tell all about God’s heart and the flood.
Our faith as a Christian is never unreasonable. We always have the things Abraham knew and then some. Knowing that God exists and that He is good makes obeying Him reasonable no matter what He says.
As for Isaac being sacrificed… God intended that it would never happen. He was testing Abraham to see where his treasure was. Does Abe treasure Me or the things I can give him?
If Abe had said no, Isaac would have lived. When Abe said yes, Isaac lived.
If I were Abe, I’d have thought “wow. that sounds tough, but God is infinitely intelligent and loving. He knows what He is talking about. He has never done wrong. So… ok. God is more valuable to me than what He can give to me.”
something like that. I’ll post more later if you or anyone wants.
September 7th, 2009 at 12:54 AM
It’s also late, and I’ve also been doing some thinking. I need to keep it short.
Ok, so even if Abraham knew God existed, and knew something about his abilities and character (which is based on circumstantial evidence at best), Abe still has no guarantee that God will continue to act in a loving way, and in fact now Abe has some evidence to suggest that maybe God does NOT have his or Isaac’s best interest in mind. If I were in Abe’s shoes, I would have thought, “wow, that sounds nothing like the God that I have been serving all these years.” If somehow i was absolutely convinced that it was in fact God telling me to kill my son, my next thought would be, “Maybe God is not as good and loving as I originally thought.” If I finally came to the point where i could respond as you said you would – “wow. that sounds tough, but God is infinitely intelligent and loving. He knows what He is talking about. He has never done wrong. So… ok. God is more valuable to me than what He can give to me.” I would then have to totally change my perception of what “intelligent and loving” means. If it is EVER reasonable for mike hazeltine to attempt to kill one of his children, I need to completely re-understand the word “reasonable”. If THAT can be reasonable, then we are not using that word in the same way that it is normally used in English. I agree with you, micah… it is ALWAYS ‘reasonable’ to be obedient to God…. but in the same breath, I believe that God calls people to do some pretty unreasonable things. Insane things… things that cannot be called reasonable by any stretch of the imagination, except that God told them to do it, so that makes it ok. Does it make it reasonable? I dunno… sort of, I guess. It’s kind of like a miracle or something… it violates the natural order of things. God calls Abe to do something unreasonable like kill his son, but it is reasonable to do it, because God called him to do it. Sigh. If that is the case, then theoretically, nothing is unreasonable as long as it is God who is calling you to do it. Marry a prostitute (hosea)? Sure why not. Kill my son? Ok, God. I just have a hard time accepting those things as ‘reasonable’, at least in the way we normally use that word.
Alright, bro, it’s late, and I think i’ve rambled a little. I’ll see you wednesday, if not before.
peace and love.
September 7th, 2009 at 1:10 AM
First about Abe. His knowledge isn’t just possible. Everyone has the law written on their hearts and the understanding that there is a Creator God to whom we are accountable. Everyone who can be held responsible for anything must also have the ability to reason. This is why people are guilty when they sin even if a missionary doesn’t give them a Bible. Now, I think Abe had a lot more information than just that, but the universal knowledge is enough without having heard from Noah or Shem or some righteous family member.
I think if God is the one asking it makes it reasonable. Especially for us now that we have the Bible. As for Abe the only moment that is slightly unreasonable is the kill Isaac one. BUT abe reasoned through it. (By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, “In Isaac your seed shall be called,” concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense. Hebrews 11:17-19, NKJV)… I think that it’s perfectly fine to assume that God wasn’t going to allow the killing. I don’t know. Maybe Abe thought about the possibility.
If Abe knew about God what we know about Him then he could reasonably say God doesn’t ok murder and he doesn’t change. He doesn’t make mistakes or bad decisions. He doesn’t tempt us to sin. God is always good. He is smarter than me. My brain fits inside my head. I love Him more than anything. So I will do what He says. If Isaac dies God can raise him from the dead.
Like Shad Mesh and Abed in Daniel. Our God will save us. But even if He doesn’t we won’t bow to Nebby.
But with this situation we really need to step it back and see what the point was. Does Abe put his confidence in God or the fulfillment of a promise?
September 7th, 2009 at 1:15 AM
As for Hosea. That was VERY reasonable. People are created with an equal value because they are created in the image of God with the purpose of relationship with Him and others.
God appealed to Hosea to marry Gomer the prostitute. Hosea got to make a decision. He could have killed himself or gone off on a ship. He chose to love a valuable human and to help connect the valuable individuals of Israel back to God.
That’s incredibly reasonable. Not easy. But a brilliant idea. In fact I think this goes to another point:
EVERY time God tells someone to do something it is both completely intelligent and loving. It is the wisest thing a person could choose to do. It is the best thing a person could do (morally, reasonably, intelligently, spiritually and so on).
The moment God tells someone to do something wrong we have a huge problem. Lucky for us, this will never happen.
September 13th, 2009 at 6:41 PM
“The moment God tells someone to do something wrong we have a huge problem. Lucky for us, this will never happen.”
This statement perfectly captures why I have such a hard time with Abe’s story. Abraham had a “moment” where God told him to do something wrong… or at least something that is wrong 99.999% of the time, something that God condemns elsewhere in the Bible (people sacrificing their children to Molech), something that common sense tells us is wrong, something that has every appearance of being wrong, etc.
If it was reasonable in Abe’s case for him to attempt to sacrifice Isaac, then theoretically it could be reasonable in someone else’s life. This means, that we would have to accept the statement that sometimes it is morally right and perfectly reasonable to try to kill a child. I have a hard time with that.
One last thought that may give some clarity, or at least help me to sidestep the issue a little. The thought is this: what is the point of the story? It is clearly not to demonstrate that God sometimes asks people to do morally questionable things. What is more likely is that the story is first of all a prophetic picture of God sacrificing his own Son a few thousand years later, and second of all, it gives us a glimpse into the kind of faith and relationship Abe had with God.
I can’t help but be troubled by the moral implications of the story, but it is helpful for me to remember that they are hardly the point the author was trying to make. What was at stake was not whether or not God was being reasonable, or whether or not God was being ethical by his and our own standards, but whether or not Abraham would fear God and be obedient. And on that day, on that mountain, Abraham, Isaac, – and even God! – discovered that he would.
September 17th, 2009 at 12:30 AM
I went the wrong direction with the abe topic.
Here’s a better set of thoughts.
1. God had the right to ask it of him.
no person has the right to ever use or dispose of a person. people are never people’s property. people are God’s property. He has the right to do whatever He wants with people.
2. The point God was making was that even when He had the opportunity to receive the ultimate sacrifice and worship from a person He would not!
Child sacrifice was rampant in their time. Those wicked gods demanded child sacrifice. God wanted to know that Abraham loved Him for Him and not for what He could do for him. BUT the one person who had the right to ask it made a huge statement to anyone who would ever hear of it:
I am not like those gods. I deserve supreme obedience and worship, but I will not accept human sacrifice.
To reset things here: Child sacrifice would and will always be wrong. God would never ask someone to do something wrong and then let it happen or hold them accountable for it.
He has done no wrong.