(From the Editor’s Desk)
The term faith is one of the most widely discussed topics in both religious and everyday contexts. Everyone has an opinion about it. In fact, faith is exercised by everyone in daily life. Without some measure of faith, it would be difficult to function as a human being. This everyday faith is always based on things that can be touched, smelled, seen, felt, heard, or remembered from past experiences. Every act of man—rising from bed, going about his daily tasks, and retiring at night—is carried out by faith. Without it, human effort is ineffective. But the faith that God calls us to is entirely different from this natural kind of faith.
Biblical faith is not a blind belief system either. Biblical faith is placing trust in someone you have never seen but have heard of, and in whom you have confidence. It is not something you originate or control; rather, it is the work of Someone far greater within you. How can a person place faith in someone they have never seen? This extraordinary ability is generated in the human heart by God, born out of His grace and abounding love. In Hebrews 11:1 we read “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Also Romans 5:5 tells us, “And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.”
If a person claims to believe in God through his own faith, he is, in reality, believing in a god of his own imagination. This explains why there are millions of gods in the world: each person shapes God according to his own understanding and desires. Jesus addressed this in John 9:41 when speaking to the Pharisees: “If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.” Those who claim to find God through their own faith remain in sin.
The Bible clearly states, “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). All men are spiritually dead and utterly depraved. Psalm 115:17-18 reminds us, “The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence. But we will bless the Lord from this time forth and evermore.” Those who do not believe in Jesus Christ are already condemned; the wrath of God abides upon them.
King Solomon, renowned for his wisdom, wrote in Ecclesiastes 3:11, “He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their hearts, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.”
The God of the Bible reveals Himself to mankind through His Son, Jesus Christ. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Yet the glory of Christ must still be revealed to each individual heart, a work accomplished by the Holy Spirit. A man comes to faith in God by hearing His Word, which is truth and life. It is spoken by the Creator for the purpose of regenerating sinners. Faith is not imparted by eloquence or persuasion; it is the power of the Holy Spirit at work in the listener, giving him new life and the faith of Christ. The highest expression of gratitude by a believer is to acknowledge that the “faith” within him is “the gift of God by His grace.”
True faith is visible in a believer’s life, flowing outward like a river. It produces a longing for virtue, a hunger for God’s Word—the spiritual nourishment of the soul—and a deep desire to know the Lord. It manifests in humility, perseverance, kindness, and even love for one’s enemies.
This believer is a remarkable work of God on earth, created in His image. As Ephesians 2:8-10 declares, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”
If you understand and believe this, you are truly a child of God.