What is faith? Blind? Circular logic? Or the truth?
The problem with faith - to believe or not to believe

What is faith? In this specific case, what is Christian faith? People have lots of ideas about that. Some think faith is blind. Others may think the reasoning behind Christian faith is circular logic. Others believe Christian faith is the truth.

The adjacent image has a quote from Augustine – a well-known Bishop and author in the early church from the late 300’s through the early 400’s.

His statement is the source for today’s question: “What is faith?”

In the image, the quote is set on a background of storm clouds. Those storm clouds represent the debates about what exactly faith is,

Some will focus on the storm, and never see beyond that. To them, faith must be blind because there’s nothing there but the clouds.

Some will see through the storm and will even read the words about faith in the Bible. But they won’t understand them. That represents people who think the beliefs behind Christian faith are just circular logic.

Still others will see through the storm clouds, read the words on faith in the Bible, and will understand them. They will realize that what God said in the Bible about faith is the truth.

What is faith? Is it like planting seeds?

Is faith like planting seeds? Christians should be familiar with the Parable of the Sower. If you think about it there are parallels between what the intro says about people’s response to faith and with what Jesus said in that parable.

I was surprised to find out I haven’t written in detail about the Parable of the Sower. I’ve made a note to do that and to add a link here when it’s done. In any case, I do have a post on why Jesus spoke in parables that uses that parable in it.

Since Jesus explains the Parable of the Sower to His disciples, here it is from Matthew’s Gospel. After reading it, we’ll see the parallels with my introduction to today’s topic on What is faith?

The Parable of the Sower – Matthew

13:1-15 pp — Mk 4:1-12; Lk 8:4-10
13:16, 17 pp — Lk 10:23, 24
13:18-23 pp — Mk 4:13-20; Lk 8:11-15

Mt 13:1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2 Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 He who has ears, let him hear.”

Mt 13:10 The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?”

Mt 13:11 He replied, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. 12 Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables:
“Though seeing, they do not see;
though hearing, they do not hear or understand.

Mt 13:14 In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:
“ ‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.

Mt 13:15 For this people’s heart has become calloused;
they hardly hear with their ears,
and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them.’ 16 But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. 17 For I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.

Mt 13:18 “Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: 19 When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. 20 The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21 But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. 22 The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. 23 But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

In the Parable of the Sower, we have the seeds eaten by the birds before they even have a chance to spout. This lines up with the people who can’t see through the storm clouds. They never hear the words, so don’t even have the possibility of understanding them. They know nothing of faith.

Then there are the seeds that begin to sprout, but for various reasons, they die before growing into plants bearing fruits of vegetables. This parallels the people who see through the clouds and do get a chance to read the words. But they don’t understand what they read. Therefore, they don’t believe that Christian faith is truth.

Finally, the seeds that fall on good soil parallel the people who see through the storm clouds, read the words, and understand them. We’ll get into what’s behind the understanding shortly.

Let’s get into it – What is faith?

One of the most referenced passages covering what faith is about is in the book of Hebrews. When I was younger, it was pretty much accepted that it was written by Paul. Now, maybe with the desire for people to be “famous” by critiquing “old beliefs”, this idea isn’t held so much by Christians. However, Messianic Jewish people, who’ve converted from Judaism to Christianity, haven’t given up on Paul as the author quite so much. I bring this up for two reasons.

First, the second passage we’re going to look at is from Romans. Written by Paul.

Second, Hebrews, from a Messianic Jewish point of view at least, was written by Paul, who was a Pharisee converted/called to be a follower of Jesus by none other than Jesus Himself in an encounter you can read about it in Acts 9. As such, who better to address Jewish people on the topic of Messiah Jesus than the man who was the Pharisee of Pharisees, and who previously led the charge to persecute and kill His followers?

As always, I leave it to you, the reader, to come to your own beliefs about the actual author or Hebrews. I just want to give you a broader viewpoint on the issue. Ultimately, the things to remember is that Hebrews, regardless of the author, was written to give Jewish people an understanding of what was then known as “The Way” and became to be known as Christianity, follows from their beliefs as Jews.

As such, much of what’s written in this Hebrews passage references back to what Christians call the Old Testament but was/is largely derived from Jewish Scripture known as Tanakh. For more on the Tanakh, and a bit on how it influences what I write, please check out TANAKH תנ״ך.

Now faith is …

Actually, we can’t go straight into what faith is when we ask a question like, “What is faith”?

Does that sound weird? Probably. And yet, it’s true. When we, soon, get to read the passage in Hebrews titled “By Faith” in the 1984 NIV, we’ll see it begins with, “Now faith is …”. As you likely realized, that’s a transitional statement. We must ask, what came before “Now“?

So, let’s back up to the previous passage in Hebrews. It’s titled “A call to persevere”, beginning at Heb 10:19. I haven’t yet written specifically on this passage yet, although there are other posts referring to it. I’ll add a link here when I do a writeup on the passage.

In the meantime, it begins with these verses:

A Call to Persevere

Heb 10:19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 

This is a reference describing how Old Testament, old Covenant times. To a Jewish person, this passage brings them forward from what they knew, followed, and did prior to Jesus’ arrival and ministry. This is their transition to understanding what Christian faith is.

However, once again, we see a transition word: Therefore. Therefore, pun intended, we must back up again.

The passage before A Call to Persevere is titled Christ’s Sacrifice Once for All.

As you can probably tell, it’s another transition passage. Under the old covenant, there were lots of sacrifices. They were for various reasons. Some were for all the people, as a group. Some were by/for individual people, depending on the sins they committed.

But now, under the New Covenant, Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross covers everyone who believes in Him. His death, His blood, pays the price for all of our sins, past, present, and future.

All of that backdrop is necessary to understand what follows in the passage By Faith.
So, let’s get into it – finally. What is faith?

By Faith

Heb 11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
2 This is what the ancients were commended for …

Right away, we can see one problem mentioned in the title: blind faith. This sounds like the poster child for blind faith. “… certain of what we cannot see”.

But it isn’t blind faith. Not at all. The thing is, the Jewish people back then knew it wasn’t blind faith. It was an extension of the faith they already had. However, for those of us that aren’t Jewish and maybe aren’t familiar with the Old Testament, let’s take a look at what the author of Hebrews wrote about examples of Old Testament faith.

Heb 11:3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. …

These days, so many people don’t believe this anymore. There’s a desire/need to make God fit into what we think we know from science. Even though there’s really only one conflict between what the Bible tells us about creation and what science says about evolution, many people want to make God subservient to evolution.
By the way, that one difference is over who gets the credit for creation.

Obviously, the Bible says it’s God. But many in science want to make it random chance for the beginning and then more random chance that things since then have come to be what they are. This, even though the statistical odds of random chance being responsible are far greater than every individual part/piece of a 747 airplane being sent into the air and coming down fully assembled.

In reality, the leap of blind faith is to believe in anything other than divine creation and divine intervention is the ongoing processes to reach where the universe is today.

Heb 11:4 By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead. …

This is but one example of us learning from events in the Bible. Things that happened thousands of years ago are recorded to help us with our faith. But “scholarly research” has turned more from an attempt to understand to an attempt to become famous by coming up with ideas that turn what was once believed into something unbelievable. Not by proof. Rather by uncertainty and doubt. In other words, trying to undo faith.

Heb 11:5 By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

Honestly, Enoch is difficult to deal with. There are references in Jewish and Christian scripture to him. Enoch was the great grandfather of Noah. Genesis records:

From Adam to Noah

…
Ge 5:18 When Jared had lived 162 years, he became the father of Enoch. 19 And after he became the father of Enoch, Jared lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. 20 Altogether, Jared lived 962 years, and then he died.

Ge 5:21 When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. 22 And after he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. 23 Altogether, Enoch lived 365 years. 24 Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.

Ge 5:25 When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he became the father of Lamech. 26 And after he became the father of Lamech, Methuselah lived 782 years and had other sons and daughters. 27 Altogether, Methuselah lived 969 years, and then he died.

Ge 5:28 When Lamech had lived 182 years, he had a son. 29 He named him Noah and said, “He will comfort us in the labor and painful toil of our hands caused by the ground the LORD has cursed.” 30 After Noah was born, Lamech lived 595 years and had other sons and daughters. 31 Altogether, Lamech lived 777 years, and then he died.

Ge 5:32 After Noah was 500 years old, he became the father of Shem, Ham and Japheth.
…

In the very early church, the Book of Enoch was referenced in scripture, even though it wasn’t officially part of it. However, all references were removed by the Catholic Church by the 5th century. Given that the Protestant Reformation began in the 1500’s, references to the book of Enoch were never included in the Protestant Bible, with the exception of some small denominations.

In any case, references to Enoch do, obviously, exist in Christian scripture. As such, we should not ignore him, or the reference to his faith. Having said that though, there’s more. Later “scholarly” research seems to point to the Book of Enoch being written somewhere between 200 BC and about one hundred years after Christ’s birth. There are also questions as to whether it was one or multiple authors. Part of the issue, maybe a large part, has to do with the question of whether early writers foretold what was going to happen in New Testament times, or later writers wrote about what happened in Old Testament times.

Yeah – it’s messy. And yet, it comes back to the question I often ask – do we believe what’s in the book we claim to believe is the word of God?

Heb 11:7 By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. …

Noah should be the poster child for sticking with God regardless of what everyone else is doing. And I do mean everyone else. Literally.

The Flood

…

Ge 6:9 This is the account of Noah.

Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God. 10 Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth.

Ge 6:11 Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence. 12 God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. 13 So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth.
…
…

So Noah was so different that he and his family were the only ones saved. Can you imagine what it took to be the only people who weren’t evil and violent? And then, the scorn, ridicule, and everything else that must have come from everyone around him while he built the ark? Not to mention, all those who tried to get onto/into the ark when the rain finally came?

Do we have enough faith to do something like that today? Better yet, do we even have enough faith to be noticeably different from our friends and neighbors in less extreme ways?

Heb 11:8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

Heb 11:11 By faith Abraham, even though he was past age—and Sarah herself was barren—was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise. 12 And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore. …

I could write a lot about Abraham. Actually, I have written a lot about Abraham, both as the man and as an example in various situations relevant to our lives today. If you’d like, you can check them out here.

Heb 11:13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. 14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. …

This is important for us. Every one of the people we just read about died without getting, in a literal, physical sense, the things promised by God. They lived lives that most of us would never choose, let alone accept the circumstances and stay with God.

What is faith? Faith is doing what they did.

But there’s more. I’m not going to make comments on the rest of the people. But it is important that we read about them. Remember them. And realize that because of them, our faith isn’t blind. Our faith is not without good reason.

Heb 11:17 By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18 even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” 19 Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.
Heb 11:20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.
Heb 11:21 By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.
Heb 11:22 By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions about his bones.
Heb 11:23 By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.
Heb 11:24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. 25 He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. 26 He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. 27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. 28 By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.
Heb 11:29 By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.
Heb 11:30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days.
Heb 11:31 By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.
Heb 11:32 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. 35 Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. 36 Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. 37 They were stoned ; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.
…

And after all that, one more time we read:

Heb 11:39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. 40 God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

The question is, are we willing to believe what we claim to believe is God’s word in the Bible? Are we willing to believe it enough to use it as a reason to have faith in God?

To put it another way, are we able to believe what the Bible says in Heb 11:1 – faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

What is faith? Hope in the future

Earlier, I said we’d look at something Paul wrote in Romans. It points to the future. It also removes the reasons for thinking this hope for things we don’t see can be circular logic.

Future Glory

Right away, here’s a reminder of something we read in Hebrews. Future glory. Sounds a lot like:

Heb 11:39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. 40 God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

Except that now it’s not the Old Testament folks who are promised something. It’s us. You? Today’s believers.

Ro 8:18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. …

We should be encouraged by the past. All of creation is waiting in expectation. Do we? Or do we doubt? Do we believe God’s word on those we just read about? Or do we believe they’re all just characters in a fable?

Ro 8:22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

Now, Paul brings up the Holy Spirit. When we’re baptized, when we truly believe, we have the Holy Spirit, the mind of Christ as Paul wrote, in us. Those we just read about didn’t have Him. And yet, they believed. We do have Him. But do we believe enough to learn what Jesus said and enough to make the transformation required to try to follow His ways?

Ro 8:26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.

Even when we’re totally at a loss as to what to say, what to do, the Holy Spirit is there to help us. However, we need to ask. And that means we need to know that we have to ask.

Conclusion – What is faith? Blind? Circular logic? Or the truth?

There’s the problem of faith.  At least part of it.

Heb 11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

Romans 8:24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

Circular logic?

Or a leap of faith as the only way to the truth?

Or – is it always true, no matter what we think?

Think about it – before leaping to a decision.

Here’s the thing. If you reject the Bible, the question actually becomes moot, because the assumptions are also rejected.  If that’s where you’re at, and have no desire to examine further, that’s OK. You have the God-given right to do that.  But guess what?  It’s still true.  Because if you don’t believe in God, you have faith that He doesn’t exist.  And your reward will be appropriately based on that.  
Again, think about it before rejecting the logic.  
If there is a Heaven, you won’t be there, for the very reason stated above. Because you have faith that it doesn’t exist, and so you won’t see it, even if it does exist.  Even after you die.  You get what you believe to be true.
If there’s not a Heaven, you still won’t be there, because your faith will have kept you from believing in something that doesn’t exist.  You still get what you believe to be true.

By the same token, if you accept the Bible, then there is some risk involved.
If there is a Heaven, you will be there, because your faith led you to believe in something that does exist.  And you get what you believed to be true.
However, if there’s not a Heaven, your faith led you down a path that turned out not to be true.  And you won’t get what you thought was true.

It’s weird. The logical /”no risk”/guaranteed way to get what you want – is to not believe in God.
But the proposition with the risk is to believe in God.
I guess that’s why it’s called faith.  It takes risk to believe in something you can’t see.

For more on faith and belief, check out Are we supposed to Believe God, Believe in God or Follow God?