The Paradox Of Faith

But without faith it is impossible to please Him,

for he who comes to God must believe that

He is, and that He is a rewarder of those

who diligently seek Him.

Hebrews 11:6

            I picked up from Church the magazine Acts & Facts by the Creation Research Institute that had on the cover, The Paradox of Faith (Italics mine). These last few blogs are all about faith and that faith is necessary for any Christian, and this faith by any Christian is all about having faith in an unseen God. It is faith that to be true, reliable, to lead our lives to be in harmony with the will of God, it must then be absolute. It was pointed out that faith is a gift of God, and that no one, no one, can earn this gift, it is a free gift, therefore, there is nothing a person can do to receive this gift: it is given freely. The paradox is this: We are all dead in our sins (Ephesians 2:1, 5) and being dead in our sins; we have no power to earn faith, or salvation. We are all natural men, in being natural men; infected, so to speak, with sin, original sin that came upon all people by the sin of Adam. Therefore having our souls so infected, corrupted by sin we have no desire for God, or Godly things: “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1Corinthians 2:14). Therein lies the paradox, we are dead in sins, and yet to believe in Him we must, “diligently seek Him,” and we do not naturally desire to seek Him. We must believe that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. We need faith, and we cannot earn it, nor can we even expect to have it because the justice of God is that men who are sinner should die. God is not fair! No! God is not fair; He is Just. Why would a Just God give to men anything who are so depraved, so corrupt, so filled with sin that they desire the things of this world and not Him? Woe is us! We want everlasting life, we want all that God can give, and yet, we on the other hand want it our way. We want faith but faith that pleases us and make reasons why this faith is true. But it is not! It is not absolute faith, it is faith built upon the doctrines of a man, or men. We cry out aloud, GOD IS LOVE! We believe that this loving God will not destroy us, and that all men would, in some way, come to him, that all religions are just nothing more than different paths to God. Yes, GOD IS LOVE, but this love does not take away from Him that He is JUST! Yes, God is MERCIFUL, AND FULL OF GRACE! Yet, this mercy and grace does not override God’s justice. Yes, God is patient, but His patience is not His permission, for His patience does not override His justice. God does not save you, or anyone because of His love for you, no, His love for you is activated to you through His Son, Jesus Christ who died upon the cross, a sinless man, dying for the sin of man, and God loves you because He loves His Son, the propitiation for sin. Through Jesus Christ, the Intercessor, the Mediator, God then does what His LOVE, GRACE, AND MERCY, can only do, He draws those He will save. He enables them so that they desire Him. Then by this drawing, and enabling, men and women desire to diligently seek Him, and they grow in their sanctification, that is they grow to love Him more and more, and this love, this sanctification makes cause for the changes that men and women need so that they then are pleasing Him. It is God who gives faith and it is God Who saves, and it is God who loves His children through the lens of love, a love for His Son, who He sent to die for sin, and by this dying God implants in His chosen people, those chosen according to His will and purpose: salvation. It is all God! Yet, we are not to tacitly believe, to do nothing, to not act upon this salvation, this drawing, this enabling, for God uses men and women to be His witnesses so that those God gave faith to will be invigorated to be all that God desires for His children, to take the Gospel to the world so that those who call upon, Him, those who God draws, enables will also become active witness, and be saved, that is show that God has saved them: “For ‘whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved’” (Romans 10:13: cf. Joel 2:32). But how are they to call upon the name of the LORD, and how does God draw men? By His word, and this word is to be preached in all the world, for God according to His promise to Abraham will draw His people out from all nations. Yes, God assigns some men to be preachers. Don’t sit back and think then that you are not to preach. We are all ambassadors, and witnesses for Jesus Christ. Are we not? Do you believe that you have the absolute truth according to Scripture? Then why are you, if you are not, telling others about this gospel? Why are you not being the witness for Jesus Christ? If you had a child that was sick and you knew absolutely that this physician could heal him, would you not tell that child, that person, to go and be healed? “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And who shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things”(Romans 10:14–16)!  The Greek word translated “preacher,” is one who proclaims, and in this case it is the ones proclaiming the Gospel, and is this not what we are, proclaimers, by our office of being an ambassador, a witness for God? Yes! Not everyone will believe! No! God does not call, or enable everyone. Unless God does so they will be a what Isaiah said, “But they have not all obeyed the gospel, for Isaiah says, ‘LORD, who has believed our report?’” (Romans 10:16; cf. Isaiah 53:1). To then, show that that the love of God is in us; those things that we are doing, things that are Godly, not so that we have some pious feeling. Not to have some emotion based upon our doing we by this love of God in us: we preach, we proclaim, we live, and all this according to the truth found in Scripture as God has revealed that truth for His children to come to know, and practice in their lives. Live what you are: A child of God.

I thank my God, making mention of you

            Always in my prayers, hearing of

Your love and faith which you have toward

            The Lord Jesus and toward all the saints,

That the sharing of your faith may become

            Effective by the acknowledgment of

Every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.

                                                Philemon 4–6

Praise God: He gave us freely faith

Richard L. Crumb