Hi! it’s been a while blogging… so much busy in doing things but hopefully I would give time to blog my reflections again. This time here is my short sharing at my cellgroup about faith….
FAITH: THE EVIDENCE OF THINGS NOT SEEN
What is Faith?
Hebrews 11:1 – “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (KJV)
ESV- Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
> When the Bible says “faith is the substance of things hoped for” (Heb. 11:1), it is speaking of something that has weight or significance—something of extreme value. (may bigat ba ng faith mo?). Oxford dictionary says that substance means – a real physical matter which a person or thing consist. But the bible describes the faith as substance!
> “Faith is . . . the evidence of things not seen.” The author uses a reference to one of the senses of the human body through which we gain knowledge, the sense of sight. There is a popular expression today, “Seeing is believing.” Bible doesn’t contradict it because when the disciples and apostle Paul preach they are “eyewitness” of the real and true Jesus Christ. By the way what is evidence?
> The idea is this: When faith is linked to hope, it is put into the time frame of the future, and the one thing that I cannot see at all is tomorrow (e.g. Noah, Abraham, David, Moses, Centurion etc.). None of us has yet experienced tomorrow.
> Let’s say – I don’t know what tomorrow is going to bring, but I know that God knows what tomorrow is going to bring. So if God promises that tomorrow will bring something, and if I trust God for tomorrow, I have faith in something I have not yet seen. That faith serves as evidence because its object evidence alone is God. I know Him; He has a track record—He is infallible and never lies. God knows everything and is perfect in whatever He communicates. So if God tells me that something is going to happen tomorrow, I believe it even though I haven’t seen it yet. (When was the last time where you have put and exercised your faith? And God’s perfect time answered it?)
>Another unseen is the work of God that manifested on your situations. When David challenged Goliath, he could think that I could not defeat him. But, he just flew the stone away and boompanis si Goliath. An ordinary child cannot do it, but what was seen is the work of God. (Can you think of situations in your life that you cannot resolve but God had made a way for it?)
> The word assurance comes from a Greek word referring to steadfastness of mind, a firm resolution, a confidence or assurance. The word conviction comes from a Greek word that denotes certainty or conviction about the existence or truthfulness of something. In light of the meaning of these terms, we may define biblical faith as the Christian’s assurance or confidence that what he hopes for is or will become a reality and the conviction or certainty that what he has not seen actually exists.
Kristiyanong Marunong 