In today’s world the word “faith” has been mistreated and misused. Faith has come to mean “believing in something for which there is no evidence” or “a blind belief” or even “believing in something which is impractical or irrational.” In fact, one of the definitions listed for faith by Dictionary.com is the following: “belief that does not rest on logical proof or material evidence.” Do these definitions really describe faith? Do these definitions really describe a Biblical faith?
The answer to these questions can be found in Hebrews 11:1, which states: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” This verse clearly states that faith is, “the evidence of things not seen.” While the word “faith” when used in the everyday language might mean “believing in something for which there is no evidence,” this is NOT an accurate definition for what the word faith means within the Bible. The Bible consistently teaches that a Biblical faith is a belief and trust in God founded on evidence. While we cannot always see the things which we believe in, we can be confident of these things because there is evidence for these things. Consider the wind: we cannot see the wind, but we know it exists because there is evidence for its existence.
To me it seems foolish to believe in something and to devote one’s whole life to something for which there is no evidence. However, there is evidence for the Bible, for God, and for Christianity. Perhaps the misunderstanding of what the word faith means in a Biblical sense explains why the world sometimes views Christians as fanatical or less educated. While Jesus is not here physically walking on the earth today, there is a lot of evidence which points to the Lord and His Word. Over the next few weeks I will be writing about different types of evidence which point to the Almighty God.