Youth Bible Study – April 18th 2020 Saturday

Bible Study

The Two types of Faith: 

Detach from The World’s Faith 

faith verb

ˈfāth

faithed; faithing; faiths

1: something that is believed especially with strong conviction

The description of Faith as per mainstream understanding portrays a picture. When we analyze and distinguish the difference between that picture and God’s definition of Faith. We can determine what we have built ours on. From what we see in the definition above, we can take away one observation, that there are two parts to the description of Faith,”Belief” and “conviction”. These two elements form a dyad which make up the product of Faith within a person’s life. The reason as to why everyone falls under this explanation is because it’s common to all people. Thus many religions around the world also fall into this description of Faith, having the same structure that causes their subjects to stay in that confinement. Building up belief and conviction on their subjective experiences. 

 This dyad of belief and conviction can be broken down even more. Belief meaning acceptance of, and Conviction meaning persuasive reason for acceptance. When we analyze this Faith closer, we see this description can explain anyone’s faith by understanding their dyad. Understanding the Conviction one holds, and their Belief, we can see why a person has the faith they possess, whatever that faith may be in, and we can also understand it’s strength. This description of faith, being a commonality within all people, is based on their own interpretation. Not even proclaiming Christians are exempted from this idea of faith. For example a man may call himself a Christian, he may hold his belief in the Church only to have his conviction be his family, his community, or pressure from his congregation. A reason as to why he’s of that faith, is simply because he walked through those circumstances.  Yet another example can be a man that has a belief that there is no God, and his conviction can be his disagreement to the beliefs of Theists, because his environment ridiculed those traits. He overlooks the holiness of that Faith’s teacher (note: I didn’t say goodness of the teacher, the word holiness is intended, any man or teacher can be good thus making that religion just another philosophy, rather than a true Faith of divine origin). 

Being subjective to the individual, this worldly image of faith is adiaphorous, neither positive or negative. Mankind can make with it what they will. Left to their interpretation they can build their beliefs and accept their convictions on whatever they may choose. It can be built on good philosophy or an evil one as history has shown time and time again. The world’s faith is simply a white cane to guide him from birth to death, Built on their finite knowledge without much view of the future. The case of the two men will be explained in the end, once we understand God’s description of Faith.

So what is the biblical definition of Faith? If faith is described in the above manner for the world, how does God define it in his word?

Hebrews 11:1 Now Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

It could be a coincidence that the world’s definition of Faith and God’s description looks the same. Belief described as assurance and conviction remaining the same. However there is an aspect of God’s description of faith that distinguishes it. An invisible element that has gone unseen by the world, Hope. This Faith is described to be built on a foundation, a foundation of hope. The ” ‘assurance’ of things ‘Hoped’ for”, that hope is what we have lightly covered in our previous chapter. Therefore the Biblical definition can be translated as: 

“Now Faith is the ‘Belief’ in God’s promise that gives ‘Hope’, the ‘conviction’ of things not seen.“

Not to add or take away from scripture, however upon reading the ending of the passage in Hebrews 10 to the beginning of Hebrews 12 we translate this as Paul’s explanation of Faith inspired by the Holy Spirit. That God always provided for his followers in the old testament, as a testament to hope, but hope was always on the promise of God. 

A multifaceted promise that fulfills all the desires of humanity that sin has robbed. This passage is proof that God’s description of Faith is also a dyad. However a dyad that is not built on human understanding and interpretation, not built on any subjective experience or philosophy, but Rather something objective. The foundation provided by God for Faith is Hope and Hope not in something momentary, but something concrete, His promise. This multifaceted promise can be seen evidently throughout scripture, in the old books to the new. But today we can see all those promises translated as the promise of Christ’s death, resurrection, and The Kingdom of God that Christ will bring one day. God’s Faith is built by Belief in Hope, and Conviction in past Hopes fulfilled. That Great Promise, is a whole study to itself.

Now that we have covered the world’s definition of Faith and God’s definition, how do we determine where our faith lies?

Earlier we read about the man who held a faith because he was born into it, his conviction was his family. When we look closer we see that this kind of faith is subjective, and that it is based on his experience and emotions. This Faith is not rooted in an objective foundation that is eternal, thus in the slightest sign of trouble, his faith can fall apart. Like a seed that falls in a rocky place, the belief won’t be rooted enough to produce any good for him because the conviction is not strong. Like two pillars built on sand, the structure crumbles down at the sign of a wave; resulting in him being a broken man at the end. Because the moment the pillars fall, his faith in what is truth in his life breaks down.

On the topic of the man that held a belief that said there is no God because he disagreed with the Theists due to his environment. He has built his faith on sand as well, not just denying a Holy Teacher, but the search for the truth. His conviction and belief was built on a bandwagon fallacy. Without looking at the benefits to society that the teachings of the Theist can bring, without seeing the chain reaction of benefits the Faith brought, he is quick to dismiss the odds of humanity’s moral elevation to chance. This is like a seed that falls on a pathway, and birds eat it, the belief is never rooted on a foundation and its conviction is based on irrelevant information.

Looking at just these two examples, and understanding that foundation in faith is key. We should reflect where we have placed our foundation on. we can understand that the two men above have built theirs on subjective things in life. The moment these subjective foundations break down, the men will break themselves. Our lives are built on faiths, whatever we choose that faith to be in. Its true nature is not to be an illusive element, subject to the person. Rather it is the creator’s design, a built in instinct that helps us to determine what the truth is in our own lives. From childhood people build their lives on faith, hoping that the information he or she grows up with is true, so that their life is not a lie and the order established in their mind is founded on truth rather than an illusion. 

So where does our faith lay? Is it on God’s promise, the objective truth, or our finite knowledge and experience. 

We can definitely establish that the subjective reality is far more uncertain and dangerous for us due to its dangerously powerless foundation. As for God’s promise, we can establish it to be good, and be certain of its foundation. 

However the thing with Faith is that it requires our attention, blindly believing in “God’s promise” can seem like following a dogma for many. Thus the study of God’s Promise has to be established as well, proving that we have willingly followed the Truth. We must let go of the subjective faith of the world and start looking to the objective foundation of God’s promise in our future.