Faith: The Demonstration Clause

In my note, "What is Faith?" I attempted to begin a strong definition of faith. I highly encourage you to read that note before this one, so that things will make much more sense. In this note, however, I hope to explore another crucial idea that is foundational for a true understanding of faith. You see, we Christians claim to know about the power of God. We talk about miracles and deliverance and tell everyone we know about how awesome our God is. But we have a very serious problem.

No one is demonstrating his power.

Those on the outside ask us, "Where is your God? Where is this power you speak of?" They challenge and cry out to us, "Stop talking and SHOW ME!!!" This is where the Demonstration Clause of faith comes in. Our faith is not only made up of our experiences with God and the evidence that supports, but also in demonstrating who He is. The Apostle Peter knew this. In Acts 3 we see the famous story of Peter, John, and the man at the Temple gate. When the beggar asked for money, Peter gave him what he really needed: healing. Peter and John demonstrated God's power. Scripture said that those around them were amazed at the power of God and what had happened to the lame beggar. We can see all three "faith builders" in this story. I mentioned experience and evidence in my last note on this. Now I believe I can show you how all three components of faith really work.

1.) Experience- This primarily benefits believers. Christians tend to have events that occur in their lives that cannot be empirically explained (salvation, healing, dreams, visions, etc). John and Peter saw and went though such things. They also experienced the power of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, something also unexplainable by empiricism. This is the first building block for faith.

2.) Evidence- This benefits both believers and non-believers. There are many things in Christianity that can be explained through empirical evidence. For example, historical accounts of Jesus (aside from the Bible) and scientific proof for events such as the Resurrection are evidences that both strengthen our knowledge and defense of the faith and gives non-believers reason not to doubt these happenings. Peter and John had seen with their own two eyes the ministry, miracles, transfiguration, crucifixion, and ascension of Christ. The evidence for Him was overwhelming. The Apostle Paul even said that if he was not to be believed, to ask the many eyewitnesses if he was right about Jesus. People today who doubted such things as Jesus Resurrection are now saved because they believed the evidence presented to them. This is the second building block of faith.

3.) Demonstration- This is primarily for the benefit of non-believers. If there are people who do not believe in healing, when witnessing someone being healed as demonstrated by the power of God could certainly change that person's mind!! When Peter healed the crippled beggar, those around them were astonished and amazed. Believers are the ones through which this demonstration is carried out. This is the third building block.

Now, to explain why I have said all this. These three things work together, in a circle so to speak, so that one relates directly to the other. There is, however, one problem. We aren't demonstrating enough. We've had plenty of experience and we have tons of evidence, but we don't really demonstrate. I believe, as people of faith, we are called to demonstration. Why aren't we laying hands on the sick and they are healed? Why do we sit around and talk about healing and deliverance when we are supposed to be going out to heal and deliver people? If this is such a key thing to faith, why have we dropped the ball? I say, it's time to fix this. I say, it's time to live out all three aspects of faith. I believe that without these, faith is not complete. We may know that our faith isn't wishful thinking, and we may be able to prove that it isn't, but can we show that it is truthful? People don't just want words. The want to see those words come to life.

Remembering Ideas

So, I bought a digital voice recorder. It came in today. I bought it mainly to keep track of ideas when I can't write them down. You thinkers out there, you know how it goes. You can be anywhere and a very profound thought enters into your already bombarded mind. You want to write it down, but most of the time you can't because carrying a pen and some paper around is not always the best thing to do. But, those awesome epiphanies always come when we can't write them down. By the time I get back to my dorm to write my awesomely profound thought down, I've forgotten it.

Now, with the help of this small device, I can speak my ideas into a little microphone and remember them long enough to do something productive with them. For those who may read this and decide to buy one, eBay is an awesome place to get one. I encourage all you thinkers out there to try this idea out with me. Hopefully we can all be more productive now.

What Is Faith?

The question of faith is ever present in our Christian walk. In a sense, it is a defining characteristic of such. Yet, often times we ask ourselves and others this question: “What is faith?” By no means is the concept and action of faith easy to define, or even grasp for that matter. This question was asked of those of us who were in Dr. Skip Jenkins’s Intro to Theology class. We were asked to give the first thing that came to mind whenever Skip asked what faith is. The responses were many and scattered across a broad spectrum.

Some gave highly complex answers, while others gave simple definitions such as “devotion” and “trust.” Once everyone that wished had given their answers, comments, and rebuttals, Skip brought us to the biblical definition of faith. This is where I will park this machine. Because, regardless of what we think, the Bible has the correct answer to our question. We can come up with every conceivable though as to what faith is, but nothing comes close to what the writer of Hebrews said.

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”- Hebrews 11:1 (KJV)

Let’s look at this a little closer. The two key words in this verse are substance and evidence. The Greek word for substance is the word hypostasis which means “a setting under, substructure.” In other words, it sounds like we have a foundation. Likewise, the Greek for evidence translates back to elegchos. This word means, “a proof.” So, let’s see how the verse reads when we insert these words:

“Now faith is the foundation of things hoped for, the proof of things not seen.”

Puts things into a slightly different perspective, huh? I like the way Dr. Skip put it. He said, “Faith is the foundation of things hoped for, and the closing argument of a case already won.” This is true because, usually, a proof is the end of a process. If something is proven, it is final. Here’s where we jump into the deep end, so hang on. A foundation is a beginning, and a proof is an end. This means that faith has a beginning and an end. It’s no coincidence that in the very next chapter, the writer of Hebrews calls Jesus the “author and finisher of our faith. (Heb 12:2) Jesus is the foundation and ending proof of our faith.

Yet, if there is a beginning and an end, that means there is something that connects the two, correct? What makes up the nuts and bolts, the in between that connects the two points of faith? The answer here is experience and evidence. You see, every Christian typically has some kind of experience or set of experiences to back up their faith. It could have been healing. Or, you may have heard God speak to you. Whatever it is, experiences with God do wonders for increasing you faith until the day of perfection. But, what about evidence? What about cold, hard, empirical evidence?

Some would say that you don’t need evidence to prove reasons for your faith, as faith is a proof itself. Now, let’s not throw the baby out with the bath water here. The Bible is clear about presenting a defense, or apologetic, or our faith. 1 Peter 3:15 says,” But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.” It is interesting to note that the word “answer” is translated back to “apologia” which means, “a defense of.” Knowing evidence of our faith and defending it are crucial for keeping and building.

So, to state it all, Faith (along with Heb 11:1) is made up of experiences and evidence that prove what we believe, beginning and ending with Jesus Christ. By no means is this a complete answer to the question of faith, but I do believe it is a strong starting point. This is to show that faith was never meant to be taken or used as a “cop out” when we don’t know the answer. In fact, it is exactly the opposite. I hope, everyone, that this has benefited you in some way.

Grace and Peace.