Thursday, July 21, 2011

“Portraits of Faith” Forum Series

A couple of months ago I was asked if I would be interested in leading a “Summer Forum” study on Hebrews 11 with a fellow member, David Beaty. The tentative title was “Portraits of Faith”. It turned out to be a 5-week study, so it expanded a bit over what I had originally thought it would be.

Dave and I started meeting weekly, and over the past 10 weeks we have had a blast getting to know each other and discussing what we would do in the forums.

The study, and my relationship with Dave Beaty, has taken me to places I haven’t visited in a while. The concept of faith as trust, obedience, believing something, being trustworthy and faithful, and holding onto “the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints” (Jude 1:3 NIV) challenges me to examine and reaffirm my own faith.

It’s not enough to study about faith and to teach about faith. The teacher, as well as his students, must have faith himself. Hebrews 11:6 says it clearly, “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.”

The basic meaning of “Faith” is trust—a sense of confidence in another that allows a relationship between the two parties to exist and to continue. It’s what keeps a marriage together, what develops a sense of unity to develop in an army unit or sports team, what enables those in a society to live with each other in harmony, and what keeps order in a democracy—the trust that citizens have in their leaders. It’s opposite, distrust, is of course what causes anarchy, wars, a breakdown of unit cohesiveness, and divorce.

Our faith in God, then, is more than just believing that He exists. It is a relationship with God in which we trust His promises, rely on His presence, and have confidence that He will lead us and enable us to carry out what He asks us to do—be His witnesses and ambassadors in the world to bring others into His kingdom. For Christians, “…faith is primarily the relationship we have with God through what Jesus accomplished in His death and resurrection.” (William L. Self, Holman Bible Dictionary).

It is that relationship I hope to foster in myself and the students through this study.