"FAITH",
BELIEF, and Believers...
( FAITH as a GIFT.... from GOD )


Why do you "believe" what you say you believe?
Are you afraid NOT to claim belief in what some individual -- or some church -- has told you you must "believe" in order to be "saved", and accepted by God?

A tablet from the on-going INTERNET BOOK, "The Doctor's Terrific Tablets"
( http://www.terrific-tabs.com )
by John N. Todd III, M. D. (link)


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What is "faith", and how do you get it -- and where do you get it? What causes certain individuals to "believe" -- while so many others seem never to have any interest in "faith" and belief?

My intention, in this chapter, is to consider a number of questions concerning "belief", and "faith" -- and then to show some of what God's Bible has to say on the subject. Naturally, as usual, I will "throw in" a few personal remarks -- and, as always, I will ask the reader to answer certain questions, to his own satisfaction, on this fascinating subject.


First, read out-loud the following words.... from God:

Ephesians 2: 8 (NRSV) For by grace you have been saved, through FAITH; and this is not your own doing. It is the GIFT of God -- NOT the result of works, so that no one may boast.... (See link, Not by WORKS.)

Hebrews 11: 6 (NRSV) Without FAITH it is impossible to please God, for whoever would approach Him must BELIEVE that He exists.... and that He rewards those who seek Him....

Mark 9: 23 (KJV) Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.

Job 32: 9 (NRSV). Elihu speaking: "It is not the old that are wise, nor the aged that understand what is right. 8 But truly it is the Spirit in a mortal -- the breath of the Almighty -- that makes for understanding."

John 6: 45 (NRSV) It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard, and learned from the Father comes to me.... 65 And He (Jesus) said, "For this reason I have told you that NO ONE can come to me unless it is granted by the Father."

Philippians 3: 9 (NIV) .... that I may gain Christ, and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ -- the righteousness that comes from God -- and is by faith. (See link: The righteousness that comes from God.)

Same (KJV) 9 And be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the Law -- but that which is through the faith OF Christ, the righteousness which is of God, by faith.... (Note the difference in translation between this KJV and the NIV translation, above.... and see the link The Faith OF Jesus.)

Romans 3: 28 (NRSV) For we hold that a person is justified by faith, apart from WORKS prescribed by the Law. 29 Or, is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also.... since God is one; and He will justify the circumcised on the ground of faith, and the uncircumcised through that same faith. 31 Do we then overthrow the Law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the Law.

I Corinthians 1: 20 Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know Him (God), God was pleased -- through the foolishness of what was preached -- to SAVE those who BELIEVE. 22 Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified -- a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24 but to those whom God has CALLED, both Jews and Greeks -- Christ, the power of God, and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength...... 30 It is BECAUSE OF HIM (God) that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God -- that is, our righteousness, holiness, and redemption.

Galatians 2: 16 And we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we might be justified by faith in Christ, and NOT by doing the works of the Law -- because no one will be justified by the works of the Law.

(Same) Galatians 2: 16 (KJV) Knowing that a man is NOT justified by the works of the Law, but by the faith OF Jesus Christ -- even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith OF Christ, and not by the works of the Law: for by the works of the Law shall no flesh be justified. (Note, again, the difference in translation: "the faith OF Jesus Christ"; and "by the faith OF Christ".)

Mark 16: 15 (KJV) And He (Jesus) said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.... but he that believeth not shall be damned.

Here is my statement, or definition, of "faith": My understanding is that "faith" represents a personal, profound, heartfelt conclusion about God.... a "conviction".... a genuine acceptance of God as the Sovereign Creator of the Universe, and as the one Sovereign Authority in the life of each individual whom God has included among His "children" (God's people [link]). I understand "faith" to be a deep belief that God is indeed the sole Divine entity, who leads and empowers and protects and instructs and disciplines and truly loves those human individuals whom He has claimed as His own -- the chosen (link), the "elect" of God (those "accepted" by God). I consider "faith" and "belief" to be synonymous terms, both representing a GIFT from God, "given" to certain individuals, of God's choice.... for reasons that we humans cannot understand.... a gift unrelated to an individual's will, or claims, or promises, or works, or efforts, or choices, or decisions -- and unrelated to an individual's recitation of a church creed -- and unrelated to "membership" in any specific denominational church.

Now, consider the questions that follow:

How does one obtain "faith"? How can an individual create or generate or develop "belief" and "faith" -- within himself. What causes an individual to have "faith".... and so to become a "believer"?

(The term "believer" is frequently used, in the New Testament, to refer to those individuals, aggregately, whom God has included among those to whom He has given "faith". Otherwise, in present-day sermonology, and in some Sunday-school classes, the term "believer" may be flippantly used to refer to those individuals who have "joined" a certain church, or those who have been "accepted" by a denominational religion -- or those who have assumed for themselves the right to use the appellation of "believer" -- thereby hoping to cause God to include them among His accepted individuals. )

Is it possible to force "belief" on yourself -- or on someone else? Can a church grant you faith -- or, by accepting you, cause you to genuinely "believe"?

Does claiming to be a "Christian" (or a Jew, or a Muslim) cause one to truly "believe", and thus to possess "faith"? Can one pretend belief, and so be included among the "believers"? Is there a human being -- or a group of humans (such as a "church" or a mosque), that must accept your claim of "belief" -- in order for your claim to become valid -- in the eyes of God? Who decides about the authenticity of a claim of faith, or a statement of belief? Is it as easy as: "Name it, and claim it" -- as some denominations flippantly promote?

Can an individual "write his own ticket"? Is the entire "belief-faith-
understanding-trust" process a simple matter of an individual's "choice", or "decision"? Are there false claims of belief? Does a "confession of faith", or a "profession of faith", open the door to Heaven. Must God accept a person's claim of "conversion".... and "belief"?

Does "the church", or a preacher, or a congregation have anything to do with verifying an individual's claim of belief? Can an individual join a church, and so become a "believer"? Does a statement-of-commitment to a certain church's doctrine "force" God to accept an individual as one who truly senses faith, and true belief.... and honest "trust"?

Where does God fit into this picture? When does God decide about the validity of an individual's claim of belief and faith? Does God know who is pretending? Is there a human, anywhere, who can fool or deceive God? Does God just "wait and see" how an individual "performs", after that person recites a creed -- before God makes up His mind about the sincerity of one's profession of "faith"? Can we humans ever know, unequivocally, in this life, in this World, that we have been eternally included, and "saved" -- because of our professed "faith"? Or, do we have to wait until some arbitrary time, late in life, or after death, before we can learn whether or not we have been accepted by God? (See link: The Judgment for God's People.)

Take me, for example. Suppose I choose to join, say, a "Presbyterian" church. For the sake of argument, assume that I could pass the membership requirements laid down by the humans who make up the "church board". Assume that the preacher gave his nod of approval for my being included in this church. Assume that I recited the creeds, and that I made all the correct promises. When I have done all that, and have been inducted as a member, does that mean that God has accepted me -- based on my will, my choice, my "decision" -- and based on approval of me by the very-human "board", and by the preacher, and by the members of the church.... and does all my effort, and the church's acquiescence, mean that "faith" has suddenly come upon me, and into me? In other words, can I now assume all the rights-and-privileges of those who are included with "God's people" in the Kingdom of God? Have I become a "Christian" simply because I "wrote my own ticket", and joined a "Christian" church? Does my statement of "faith" and "belief" entitle me to "salvation"? Am I now irrevocably included as a "believer"? (See link Circumventing God.)

Consider me, as an example, again. After I have professed to "accept" the "Presbyterian" doctrine, what would the Catholics say about my "standing" with God? Would they say that my vows and creeds were mistakenly recited, and that God would accept only the "Catholic" promises? Would they say that the only real way to God is through claiming "faith" in the tenets of the Catholic Church (after memorization and recitation of vows and creeds -- specified and mandated by them)?

What about the Jews, and the Muslims.... and the world's countless other religions and "faiths". Would each of those religions say that I "signed-up" with the wrong group.... and that I swore allegiance to an infidel "church"?

Now, here comes the big question. Does the entire process of "belief-understanding-faith-trust" begin with us humans, or does it begin with God? Consider the following as my "rhetorical answer" to that question: it is my understanding that God Himself "prepares" certain individuals -- "chosen" in advance by God -- to become "believers"; and that God then "awakens" ("calls", "converts", "saves") these "accepted" individuals, at a time decided-upon by God Himself -- unrelated to the will and efforts of any human-individual.... and unrelated to acceptance by any church-of-human-beings. (See link Chosen by God.)

I consider the Biblical answer to this big question to be: "Yes, the entire process of acceptance by God, begins and ends with God."

What do you say?

In the following paragraphs, I will quote a few additional Biblical statements, and promises, about "faith", and "belief":

Luke 16: 14 The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all this, and they ridiculed Him (Jesus). 15 So He said to them, "You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of others; but God knows your hearts -- for what is prized by human beings is an abomination in the sight of God.

Romans 3: 21 (NRSV) But now, apart from Law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by the Law and the prophets, 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ -- for all who believe.

SAME... Romans 3: 21 (KJV) But now the righteousness of God without the Law is manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the prophets..... 22 Even the righteousness of God, which is by faith OF Jesus Christ.... unto all, and upon all them that believe....

Mark 9: 37 (NRSV) Jesus speaking: "Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.... and whoever welcomes me, welcomes NOT ME.... but the One who sent me."

1 Samuel 16: 7 But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him -- for the LORD does not see as mortals see. They look on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart."

2 Peter 1: 1 (NRSV) Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ: To those who have received a faith as precious as ours through the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Habakkuk 2: 4 (NRSV) Look at the proud! Their spirit is not right in them -- but the righteous live by their faith.

Galatians 3: 2 (NIV) I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the Law -- or by believing what you heard? 3 Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by HUMAN effort?

So..... what are your answers to the above-questions about "faith", and about how one develops faith? If, as is stated in Hebrews: "Without faith, it is impossible to satisfy God" -- and if, as quoted from Ephesians, faith is a GIFT from God, unrelated to "works" -- then what can we humans "do" to please God.... and thus to receive God's gift of faith?

What criteria does God use in making His "choice", as to whom He will grant the "gift of faith"? The answer to that question (I say), lies within the scriptures quoted above.... and, beyond all other explanations.... the answers lie within the plan, the purpose, and the pleasure of GOD, Himself.

Someone has said: "It is not what man 'believes'.... it is what GOD decrees".

Someone else has said: "Beliefs cannot change TRUTH; but TRUTH can change beliefs."

What are your thoughts?

6/2/06