The Amish Voice 6
Defining faith as it pertains to a Christ
-
based belief can be a challenging task.
What faith means to one person is not
necessarily what it means to another. Af-
ter centuries of Christendom, there are as
many definitions of faith as there are de-
nominations or even people.
To many people, faith is inextricably
linked to a culture, cultural setting, or
traditions. These customs become almost
indistinguishable from the word “faith” in
the minds of its constituents.
The Bible, however, gives a different
definition of faith by the context in which
it appears and also by the Greek term that
is rendered faith, meaning steadfast. The
question is, steadfast in what? Some care-
ful reading will reveal that we are to be
steadfast in our trust and belief that Jesus
is the promised Deliverer He claimed to
be, and that He will deliver us from wrath
and judgment and make us co-inheritors
with Him. This promise was first given to
Adam and Eve, then to the Patriarchs,
Moses, and the prophets and was finally
fulfilled though Christ. Over the years,
the promise was added to and expanded
upon as more revelation was given. It has
not yet reached completion and will not
be completed until the return of Christ.
Then He will truly be the Deliverer that
was promised, coming to deliver the
ELECT whom HE elected – not whom we
have elected. He will deliver them from
the wrath that was also promised, deliver-
ing them from (or in) the tribulation peri-
od.
This is what took place between Abra-
ham and God. God spoke and Abraham
believed without adding his own rules or
ideas. He simply and completely believed
what was spoken to him, and this believ-
ing was counted as righteousness for
Abraham. Dependency upon the truth of
these promises can be defined as faith.
Isaiah the prophet wrote the oft-quoted
words, “
the just shall live by faith,
”
which are repeated in the New Testament.
It does not say that the just shall live by
cultural trappings or traditions. We say
these things because we think they carry
some merit with God. But our merit does
not come from such things, as Scripture
plainly states Christ is our justification.
“
Blessed are those with the best attend-
ance record in the local church” is a mes-
sage often implied in a typical sermon.
But it is we who say it. It is we who as-
sume it. Christ never implied such a thing.
In our hearts we are to sanctify
Christ,
not
the church institution. Not our customs or
traditions. We have no justification for
ourselves or from ourselves. It is Christ
who justifies us in the presence of God as
our high priest – our legal representation
if you will. The church can and should act
as a support group for its members, but it
saves or loses no one. It does not have
that ability or authority. That belongs to
Christ.
So what should we say about cultural
customs and traditions? Are they wrong?
They are neither right nor wrong. They
are a personal preference or often the re-
sult of what one has been born into.
Whether you are of this or that culture has
little to do with anything other than per-
haps an individual choice about how you
wish to live. But it is God who sees
through cultural choices to discern the
thoughts and intents of the heart. So if you
are part of a nomadic culture that derives
its living from its herds and flocks, or a
business person on Wall Street, or a Ro-
man Centurion in command of a hundred
soldiers, it is God who sees through your
busyness to discern the thoughts and in-
tents of the heart. The desires of the heart
are a critical issue. As the prophet writes,
“
sacrifices and burnt offerings thou would
not but a body hast thou prepared me. Lo
I come to do thy will oh God.”
The thrust of the New Testament is
aimed at giving meaning to and defining
the Old Testament and changing the moti-
vations and desires of the heart. Changing
hearts and minds, not creating more rules
(
which always fail ultimately) is its goal.
A changed heart gives us freedom in
Christ, not for perverse purposes but for
living well, by faith, “
in the liberty where-
with Christ has set us free
.”
No longer
encumbered by rules which are impossi-
ble for us to keep anyway, we await with
full expectation the promises which were
first given to Adam and his wife, Eve, and
to many others along the way. These
promises were made to us through Christ.
The Cross and the Resurrection confirm
and establish these promises and fulfill
the previously written prophecies con-
cerning them.
Our confidence in these promises car-
ries with it great recompense of reward
according to the writer of the book of He-
brews. We are admonished to not cast
away this confidence. This unfailing con-
fidence toward God was witnessed by a
man who took a larger view of things and
who became “all things to all people so
that he might by all means save some.”
He left us many admonitions including
this statement showing him to be a global
citizen of the New Heavens and New
Earth by writing:
“
if indeed you continue in faith, firmly
established and steadfast, not moved
away from the hope of the good news that
you have heard, which was proclaimed in
all creation under heaven, and of which I,
Paul, was made a minister”
(
Col.1: 23).
Leander Keim | (740) 263-1468
A Brief Treatise on Faith
—
Leander Keim
