Faith is Acting upon what we Know

There certainly is an informational side to faith. For us to trust Jesus, we must have good theology which informs us about who Jesus is. Our faith must be fed with solid biblical and theological content. But when Jesus challenges his closest followers with the charge, “Do you STILL have no faith,” He is saying something more about faith.

Jesus had given them a plethora of evidence about his power, sovereignty, love and goodness. They had received lots of information, were taught good theology and feasted daily on His Words yet after everything they had been through, after all they had seen and after all of their needs had been met, in a moment of panic they did NOT believe. Jesus said, “Do you still not trust me?”

Certainly faith is always IN something or someone and to have faith you must learn about and become acquainted with someone or something. Part of faith is looking at the evidence and thinking it through with your mind. But moreover faith involves a commitment, a clinging to the information. When Jesus says “have you still no faith?,” he’s assuming that they already HAVE something they should be EXERCISING. He’s saying, “it’s time to act like you believe your theology.”  He doesn’t say, “oh you poor men, you can’t help yourselves” but instead rebukes them and exhorts them to faith. He says to them and to us, “I’ve been giving you faith and all it needs but you are not exercising it.” This is because faith is not a feeling or an impulse and it does not automatically result from having, hearing or studying good theology. Faith is acting upon what we know.

Faith comes from thinking about the evidence and facts and telling yourself the truth and then LIVING AS THOUGH ALL OF IT IS TRUE! When confronted with challenging circumstances we must remember Who He is and What He has promised and then act consistently upon what we know and believe.