Many men and women claim to be people of faith, yet when you ask them why, they say, “Well, I just have a strong feeling inside of me that I’m a Christian.” By this standard, someone may deny the deity of Jesus Christ, repudiate His atoning death, and disbelieve His bodily resurrection and still be regarded as a Christian because they have a strong feeling about it.

Yet Scripture teaches that faith is not a subjective religious feeling divorced from the objective truth that God has made known. It is not a vague, internal experience that has its origin in one’s own self.

Can we call someone a Christian simply on the basis of what is going on in their gut? Is a Christian whatever we want a Christian to be, depending on the strength of a subjective conviction? Not at all! Why not? Because the Bible says so! It repeatedly reminds us about the danger of being misled by our feelings. In Proverbs, Solomon writes, “Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered” (28:26). Elsewhere, the prophet Jeremiah takes this truth a step further, declaring that “the heart is deceitful above all things” (17:9).

This is not to say that faith never stirs or excites our hearts. It should! The Gospel is exhilarating news. True faith, however, isn’t only that. The strong feeling it engenders is never divorced from the objective truth that has been made clear to us in the pages of the Scriptures. Whatever that is, it’s not biblical faith.

Adapted from the sermon “What Is Faith?” by Alistair Begg

“Are you a person of faith?” How you respond to that question will depend on what you think faith actually is. Given all the misconceptions and misappropriations of the word faith in our culture, it’s no surprise that you might hesitate to answer.

But the questions of faith—its meaning, its object, its content, its significance—are not ones we can afford to overlook. Faith is an urgent matter that we must come to terms with immediately, because “without faith it is impossible to please” God (Heb. 11:6). So, as we consider what faith is, continue to ask yourself this question: “Am I a person of faith?”

What Faith Is Not

People talk about faith in all sorts of ways. In an effort to encourage a friend who’s going through tough times, you might hear someone say, “Just have faith!” Or maybe you’ve heard people talking about how they have faith that a political candidate or a scientific breakthrough is finally going to bring the change our society needs.

Given that there are so many ways to talk about faith, we must make clear what true, biblical faith is not. In describing what faith isn’t, we move closer to knowing what it is. We also discover that some of the things that we regard as faith are not really faith at all.

Adapted from the sermon “What Is Faith?” by Alistair Begg

Because He Lives

God sent His son, they called Him, Jesus;
He came to love, heal and forgive;
He lived and died to buy my pardon,
An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives!

Chorus

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives, all fear is gone,
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living,
Just because He lives!

How sweet to hold a newborn baby,
And feel the pride and joy he brings;
But greater still the calm assurance:
This child can face uncertain days because He Lives!

And then one day, I’ll cross the river,
I’ll fight life’s final war with pain;
And then, as death gives way to victory,
I’ll see the lights of glory and I’ll know He lives!

His grace is great enough to meet the great things
The crashing waves that overwhelm the soul,
The roaring winds that leave us stunned and breathless,
The sudden storm beyond our life’s control.
His grace is great enough to meet the small things
The little pin-prick troubles that annoy,
The insect worries, buzzing and persistent,
The squeaking wheels that grate upon our joy.
— Annie Johnson Flint

There is always a large balance to our credit in the bank of Heaven waiting for our exercise of faith in drawing it. Draw heavily upon His resources.