SOURCES OF FAITH

The importance of faith in God cannot be over emphasized. The writer of the New Testament
letter known as Hebrews identifies faith for us: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for,
the conviction of things not seen.The balance of the chapter is given to the personal, practical
demonstrations of this assurance and conviction in the lives of many of the people of Old
Testament history. Before he gets very far into this history lesson, the unknown author
emphatically states the significance of spiritual faith in God. Following the identification of the
patriarch Enoch as one who had “pleased God” by his faith, he insists that “without faith it is
impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and
that he rewards those who seek him. Godly faith involves both belief and trust in God. Can it be
stated any more forcefully?

Back to the question which forms the title of this article: “What is the source of Godly faith?”
Many will properly point out the apostle Paul’s testimony that “...faith comes from hearing, and
hearing through the word of Christ. This “word” is ultimately from God, “inspired”literally
“breathed outby God through the work of the Holy Spirit. Carefully read Jesus’ promise to his
apostles that they would be led into “all truth”.

Faith is a learned response, through hearing God’s will, as already noted. Jesus’ devoted
followers are to teach the word of God to everyone down through the ages to the end of time.
An important fact is that knowledge is learned through different means. Think of it this way. Due
to a dry spell, your lawn needs moisture. So, you attach a hose to an outdoor faucet and a
sprinkler to the other end of the hose. When the faucet handle is turned on, the lawn is watered.
In this illustration, the water represents faith, while the hose and sprinkler represent teaching,
which allows the lawn to “learn.”