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Updated: November 1, 2025 @ 12:56 am
Dr. David Ley
Dr. David Ley
I have the privilege of teaching students at Alaska Bible College the mechanics of sermon preparation in our pastoral ministry training track. In a previous Faith page article I shared part one of a a message that Sean Ichinose gave recently in our Preaching I class at ABC. It answered the question of, “what is faith?” In contrast to the oxymoron of “blind faith,” a biblical definition from Hebrews 1:1-2 is trusting the evidence of the reality of things not yet realized. In this faith article, I am sharing part 2 of the sermon that Sean Ichinose shared in our Preaching I class at ABC:
The clear biblical definition of faith as found in Hebrews 11:1-2 is very specific. Faith is what convinces us of the reality of things not yet realized. So, our beliefs shape how we act. In this scripture faith is defined clearly and the object of faith is the one true God.
What we want to know about here is faith in God, not just in anything. Hebrews 11 has much to say about faith in God…it’s the Hall of Faith for a reason. Right at the beginning of the chapter, the writer of Hebrews not only tells us what faith is but also what godly faith does. Hebrews 11:1-2 says, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old gained approval.” By faith those who came before us gained the approval of God. Why is this? I don’t mean in the sense of Old Testament versus the New Testament justification and salvation in the Age of the Law, although this passage is central to that discussion. This text speaks about the nature
of faith. Why does it please God so that He would approve it? If we jump forward to Verse 6, we read, “For without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” If you believe God is real, if you believe God is just, if you believe God is holy and that He will do what He says when He says it—it will show. Faith stirs obedience. If seeing something in faith is to grasp its reality and to live with the conviction that it is real…when God is the source of that conviction, you will live a certain way and do certain things.
Hebrews 11 is chock full of faith-driven actions done in obedience. Incredible ways for God to demonstrate His power and glory. Faith uplifts the one who is being believed. I find it somewhat dangerous to imagine oneself in God’s place, you know, the whole, “If I were God” thing. Yet, I do think that God has made it so that we can relate on a genuine level with Him on many things. Think about how good it feels when someone recognizes you for what you’re doing and how consistent you’ve been. Doesn’t it feel good to be trusted with something? It recognizes your worth when that happens. To believe something inherently gives credit to that thing. No wonder it’s pleasing to God. Our faith honors Him. So, I think we can expand our idea of faith in the context of Christianity: Faith is what convinces us of the reality of things not yet realized and compels us to act in ways that honor God.
I hope this serves to shed on light on what faith is. Let’s take a few minutes to shoot down what faith is not. Faith is not a feeling. Faith is not a sentiment you can have attached to someone or something. Faith must have an object, and this object is either trustworthy or is not. No matter how strongly one “feels” that a certain person is one way when they are not, it makes no effectual difference. That is only deceiving oneself. Faith is not mere intellectual assent. Many smart people have read the Bible. Many of these people know all they need to know to be saved and to be a fruitful Christian, only so they can try to refute these things in a university setting. Many professing Christians may acknowledge that Jesus Christ died on the cross, was buried, and rose again in three days and agree that God is holy and yet live in ways that even atheists would look down upon. This is when James steps in and says, “Can that faith save him?” (James 2:14) I don’t think James is putting down the value of faith, I think he’s just wondering what in the world in going on in that person’s head that what they claim to know is so separated from what they do. To have faith is to be convinced, to have your reality changed by what you know, not to just to know it.
Faith is not hope. I sometimes hear things like, “Well, I hope it turns out this way.” That’s not faith. There is a big difference between saying, “I hope I get a moose” and “I believe I will be getting a moose today.” Hope has a connotation of desire, and it is by no means a shallow thing—the Christian has a Living Hope in Jesus (1 Peter 1:3), we are to “abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:3). But faith is not hope, and how do I know this? The Bible says, “But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13). Because one is greater, we know that Paul did not just list the same thing three times. To have faith in something, and to hope for something, are two different things. Faith is not believing in believing. You cannot, simply cannot, expect anything to come from statements like, “Well if you just believe, it will happen!” Believe…what? Believe is a transitive verb. There has to be something to believe in!
Finally, there is one last thing that when I hear it, something irks me inside. Yet people seem to take it for granted. You want to know what it is? Blind Faith. Faith is not blind. Faith is never a matter of throwing your life away to something or someone blindly. That is called foolishness. Faith is not the abandonment of common sense. But many times, faith calls for the abandonment of your security. Faith may call for the abandonment of your desires and your delicate sense of control. Why? Because sometimes faith in God will call you to step out in ways that seem to go against reason, but it is not blindly throwing your life away. God calls us to know Him and to trust Him. First, for salvation. Then,
for sanctification and what He wants to do with the rest of your life. Jesus wants us to have faith as we walk with Him even when we cannot see and cannot know, because many times we will be stepping into places where only the Divine can see and the Divine can carry us.
Faith can make people do things they never think to do unless they had it. Evangelists, missionaries, martyrs. Testimonies that cannot be denied, and thousands of lives changed.
Faith is a monumental force for good in the heart dedicated to God. But do you know what kind of faith Jesus Himself said is able to move a mountain? Jesus answers that if we have faith the size of a mustard, mountains could be moved. It is seriously not much. And if we’re honest, sometimes all the faith we’ve got is even smaller than this. But God does not turn away any amount of genuine faith in Him. Mark 8 has a fine story of struggling faith. A man came up to Jesus and pleaded, “If you can do anything, take pity on us and help us!” And Jesus said, “If You can? All things are possible to him who believes.” You know in the
end, a miracle still occurs, but all the man in the story could say is, “I do believe; help my unbelief.” Is that not us or is that not us? But I give him credit, he was honest. We all have to start somewhere. And Jesus did not turn him away.
The late Dr. Charles Stanley once said this: “Little faith says God can do it. Great faith says God will do it. Perfect faith says it’s already done.” God help us have faith like that! Zero doubt. No question of the future reality. Remember, however, the faith of the man in Mark 8 could hardly say that Jesus can. Often, I find it hard enough to truly believe God can do something, let alone will make it come to pass. But don’t be disheartened. Do you
realize that the power of a faith fulfilled is not in the one who believes, but in the One who promises? Who has the power to make any promised reality into a present one? It’s God, who has never failed in a single promise. He has a perfect record, and is absolutely trustworthy God. “For as many as are the promises of God, in Him [that is Christ] they are
yes.” The magnitude of our faith is only the limit of what He can do. In every act of faith, He gets the glory. We get to watch Him work. Well, what now? What am I going to do about my weak mustard seed, puny, pathetic little faith!?
In Hebrews, 4:15, the Bible tells us that Jesus is able to sympathize with our weaknesses, for He was tempted in all things that we are. Consider, we all struggle with faith. Have you considered that the last entry in the Hall of Faith of Hebrews 11 is Jesus?
The Hall of Faith truly ends with Chapter 12:1-2. Here is the real finale. The author sums it all up and says this, “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us.” Are there things impeding your faith? And by that I mean, is there anything dissuading you that what God says is what it really is? Is sin trying to convince you that there’s another way? Don’t let anything persuade you that the reality is different. Hebrews 12:1,2 goes on, “…and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” When you are challenged about your belief in what God says will come to pass, take heart. Each time you withstand doubt, you will become stronger for the race. As Hebrews 12:2 says, “Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of faith.” You know what “author and perfector” means? The
One who leads us and the One who did it all right. The final champion of the Hall of Faith—Jesus. Why? Because: “…who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Let us fix our eyes on the One who said, “My Father, if it possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.” He believed that God would raise Him from the dead, and in faith allowed Himself to be the sacrifice for the sins of the world. In so doing, He accomplished the greatest thing that ever happened to the human race—salvation—and was rewarded handsomely. God wants to do things with your life, with your faith too, and there is great reward in being convinced that what He says is real and acting upon it. We fix our eyes on Jesus, our greatest example and yes, He is the one we believe in. Funny isn’t it? Fix our eyes? We do not walk by sight, but we are far from blind. He was not blind as He surrendered Himself to the Father’s will. Neither are you. Be convinced of the realities yet to be realized. Let that compel you to honor God in obedience. Have faith!
Dr. David Ley is the president of Alaska Bible College of Palmer.
Originally published on frontiersman.com, part of the BLOX Digital Content Exchange.
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