Fact And Faith

In this era when the young are being educated to believe in nothing that they cannot prove as fact, we are rapidly nearing the stage when agnosticism is reaching profound proportions. Faith is being pushed farther and farther away: until we are in danger of being in the same position as the man out of whom was cast seven devils. Our minds are in danger of becoming swept and garnished of faith, and erroneous thoughts and isms taking root, we enter a state of spiritual death. (Matt. 12:43/45).

Remember that “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things NOT SEEN”. (Heb. I1:1) There are many things in scripture that simply have to be taken on faith. The Apostle PAUL did not mean that faith should give place to fact, but that the proven aspects of the scriptures should be steadfastly adhered to. He did not mean that we should uncompromisingly prove everything, only that we should hold fast to the facts that were proven.

If NOAH had not had faith in the first instance,then he would have been overwhelmed when the fact arrived. It was his faith that saved both him and his household.

ABRAHAM died in faith, not having received the fact. It was hundreds of years later that his descendants entered the promised land, yet today, one of the strongest facets of our faith is the evidence of the fact that ISRAEL possesses the land promised to ABRAHAM.

MOSES, JACOB, DAVID, ISAIAH, JEREMIAH, and nearly all of the prophets spoke of the birth of JESUS centuries before it happened. They prophesied the fall, destruction, dispersion and re-gathering of ISRAEL without ever seeing the actual fact, and many suffered horrible deaths because of the strength of their faith. They could not prove these things; that was why the Nation of ISRAEL treated them so cruelly, yet centuries later we have concrete evidence of the facts.

Perhaps the nearest one to our own times was GIDEON who thrice required proof from GOD before he acted. (Judges 6:37-39, Judges 7:9-15) Because he fought the wars of the LORD, he had peace and dominion in his time, but his house was not established after him.

A very pertinent point comes out in the time of our LORD. I refer specifically to MARY, the sister of LAZARUS: She who sat at JESUS’ feet and listened to Him expounding the Kingdom of GOD. With loving patience CHRIST had taught her that He was the MESSIAH, the resurrection and the LIFE.

She had both seen, and heard of, His miracles. She knew of the people He had raised from the dead, yet when LAZARUS died, where was her faith? She wept bitterly, and reproached JESUS, “hadst thou been here, my brother had not died”. Was she blaming him for not coming post haste when they sent him word LAZARUS was sick? She gave no indication that she thought Him capable of raising her brother. No wonder JESUS wept. If she, who had hung on to His every word, had no faith in His powers, who then had? MARY and MARTHA both had to have fact, before they unreservedly accepted CHRIST for what He was, the Son of GOD. What a contrast is the story of JAIRUS. Like everyone else he had heard of the miraculous powers of JESUS, but until necessity arose, he had not bothered with him. But when he came to JESUS for help, how different was his attitude: “My daughter is EVEN NOW DEAD, but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live”. (Matt. 9:18) Nor did his faith waver when he was met by those who told him his daughter had died. When JESUS said to him, “Fear not, only believe”, he did exactly that, his faith was rewarded with fact.

We too can be like MARY, we can diligently read the Scriptures, we can diligently pray, yet by our actions and questionings, and, I am sorry to say, unfruitful disputations, prove that we require FACT, and if we have no fact, then we have no faith. It is a very subtle pit into which we can so easily fall.

There are many things in scripture for which we have no explanation, and I think this is deliberately so, else where is our faith? There would be no merit if we believed only because we had definite proof of fact. The worthies of old received the seal of approval because of their faith, so if we would also be commended by GOD, we too must be prepared to have faith even when we have no fact.

In the Millenium, these obscurities will be made plain facts to us. As JESUS said to THOMAS, who required fact to believe, “Blessed are they who have not seen and yet believe”.

Fact is a desirable thing, but faith is much more desirable, for it is a sure and certain fact “that without faith it is impossible to please GOD”.