Faith basically means to believe and trust God. This is why according to Romans 10:17 faith comes by hearing the word of God. Without the message of the gospel we could not have faith. This is because of what faith is. Faith is not a step in the dark. It is hearing what God has to say, believing it, and then acting upon it.
Take, for instance, a man who is not a Christian. He hears God in his word say that he personally is a sinner. No one else may be saying this, in fact, people may be telling him what a great fellow he is. But he believes God. He is convicted by the Holy Spirit of his sin and guilt, and he begins to look for an answer. The same Holy Spirit who convicts shows him that the answer is to believe in Jesus. God requires from him repentance and faith. So he comes to God as God has prescribed. He is saved, and it is all by faith through grace. It is faith without works because he has contributed nothing to his salvation.
He is now a Christian and he still lives and acts by faith. He believes God as to how he is to live only now it is faith plus works. Faith produces in his life actions that please God. This is very evident in Hebrews 11. A series of godly men and women are brought before us and we are to admire their actions, but the explanation for these actions that so honour and please God, is that they were done by faith.
If you read Hebrews 11:24-29 you will see that everything Moses did to please God was by faith. It was a response of belief and trust in what God was saying to him.
By faith Moses chose God and it was no passing fad, no temporary emotion soon to fade away. We are told in v.27 an amazing thing – ‘he persevered because he saw him who is invisible.’ God calls upon us to live by faith, but also in his grace, at times, he reveals something of his great love for us by demonstrating it in such a way that we do not need faith to see it. Moses did not need faith to see the burning bush, nor the manna each morning. All these he saw. They were visible, tangible evidences of the love of the invisible God.
It is still the same. On many occasions God’s goodness is visible. His mercies and blessings are beyond measure and often defy description. But they are real, thrilling and humbling, and this strengthens faith in God. But above all these there are experiences of God that are most precious. There are times when Jesus draws near and touches our lives in special ways. There are times in prayer when heaven is open and prayers are answered in amazing ways. Things happen which are inexplicable apart from God. We are seeing the invisible. We are experiencing touches of heaven here and now. And if we want to see more of this then we need to live by faith. We miss out on so much of what God wants to give us because of worldliness. Living by faith may be costly but it is also very rewarding.
THE COST OF FAITH
The life of faith involves two basic things. First of all, there is a giving up, and then there is a taking on. We can see both of these in the Hebrews 11 account of the life of Moses.
He refused to be known any longer as an Egyptian. In other words he disassociated himself from the enemies of God. This was not easy because Pharaoh’s daughter had been good to him. She had saved his life and had been like a mother to him. So this was done at great cost in terms of personal relationships. Also in terms of material possessions the cost was enormous. Moses literally gave up living like a king.
What did he get in return for this? He chose to be mistreated by the world as God’s people always had been. But as far as Moses was concerned there was only one thing that now mattered. He was one of God’s people. He belonged to God. God loved him, chose him, owned him, wanted him, and now with great joy and peace Moses stood up and identified himself with the people of God.
The lesson for us in the life of Moses is clear. You cannot be one of God’s people and still belong to the world. It has to be one or the other. Many Christians want it both ways, but it won’t work. If you claim to be a Christian then stand up and be counted. This means forsaking worldliness, sin and self. Faith always costs.
No doubt many in Egypt said that Moses was a fool to give up all he had for faith in God. The opinion is still alive today. We are told not to take God too seriously. It is all right to be religious but do not take it too far. The result of this pressure is that many Christians have one foot in the church and one foot in the world. They do not go on with God and spiritually they stagnate.
It is foolish, because the pleasures of sin are only for a short time (Hebrews 11:25). Moses had his eye on greater treasures than Egypt could offer. It could offer him wealth and power and pleasure and after death they would even build him a pyramid. But what after that? Pyramid or pauper’s grave, when you are dead the end result is the same.
