Live By Faith
I am just talking about faith. I don’t mean “religion” or “rituals”. By that I mean a set of rules or rituals that men accept and believe in. Instead I just try to follow the Bible as a primary and only source for walking in faith. Many people think that religious people all would say the same thing – that they follow only the Bible. However, what they really follow is what someone else has determined or interpreted. They are not guided by a careful study of the Bible and guidance by the Holy Spirit. Instead they are guided by pastors, bishops, elders, Bible scholars, Bible commentaries, etc. It would be like going to school and I have a chance to hear lectures from the master of the field. What would I choose to listen to? The master directly from his written words or a 3rd party’s notes? I don’t like to take a chance on my eternal destiny by trusting in the ideas of anyone outside of the Bible writers. So, that is what I mean when I say I do not follow any religion doctrine nor set of rituals. I simply try to walk by faith in what I understand the Bible to say as God gives me the understanding. I can learn from others who also study the Bible, but I am always very careful to remember that they are nothing compared to the true master of the doctrine. This is what God told me from the book of Habakkuk, Hebrew and James that I should live by faith and walk by faith. I have a religion – a way of living based on the Bible – but not what is commonly thought of as religion. So, when someone says Christians believe this thing or that thing that doesn’t apply to me if its not truly found in the Bible. Here are some good Bible verses:
Habakkuk 2
2Then the LORD answered me and said,
"Record the vision
And inscribe it on tablets,
That the one who reads it may run.
3"For the vision is yet for the appointed time;
It hastens toward the goal and it will not fail
Though it tarries, wait for it;
For it will certainly come, it will not delay.
4"Behold, as for the proud one,
His soul is not right within him;
But the righteous will live by his faith.
哈 巴 谷 書 2: 2-4
Hebrews 10
39But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul.
Hebrews 11
1Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
希 伯 來 書 10 :39 – 11:2
39 我 們 卻 不 是 退 後 入 沉 淪 的 那 等 人 ， 乃 是 有 信 心 以 致 靈 魂 得 救 的 人 。
1 信 就 是 所 望 之 事 的 實 底 ， 是 未 見 之 事 的 確 據 。
2 古 人 在 這 信 上 得 了 美 好 的 證 據 。
希 伯 來 書 11:6
6 人 非 有 信 ， 就 不 能 得 神 的 喜 悅 ； 因 為 到 神 面 前 來 的 人 必 須 信 有 神 ， 且 信 他 賞 賜 那 尋 求 他 的 人 。
6And 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 seek Him. ~ Hebrews 11
To me, a person who does not go to a church building to gather with others or does not follow a specific known religious doctrine does not mean he does not have faith in God. I do not get from the Bible that my faith would grow by seeing what others do nor does my growth relate to any religion. I’m not saying that it does no good to meet with other Christian believers, but that this is not the cornerstone of my faith. I don’t focus on what others fail to do and their failure could not test my faith.
James: 1 (雅 各 書 )
“2 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
5But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
6But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind.”
I don’t need to see how others (either Christians or non Christians) follow their own religion. I can see plenty of the same facts by reading the Bible. The Bible mentions a small portion but still great number of people and their lives and events throughout the human history, yet we only read that just a hand full of people live by faith such as Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham,… see Hebrews 11
I also keep in mind that religious ritual is not considered a work in the Bible :
In James 1:23 -27 (雅 各 書 )
23For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror;
24for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was.
25But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.
26If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man's religion is worthless.
27Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
Back to Hebrews 10 (希 伯 來 書), when people are talking meanly to me:
32Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you stood your ground in a great contest in the face of suffering. 33Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. 34You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions.
35So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. 36You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. 37For in just a very little while, “He who is coming will come and will not delay. But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him. But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.
In James 2:14 -17(雅 各 書 )
14What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him?
15If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food,
16and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and be filled," and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?
17Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.
原文章由 ndw 於 08-12-26 13:02 發表
Live By Faith
I am just talking about faith. I don’t mean “religion” or “rituals”. By that I mean a set of rules or rituals that men accept and believe in. Instead I just try to follow the Bible ...
First, I need to define some very important concepts so that others will know what I mean. For example, when I say "faith" I mean . . .
Faith = belief or reliance on something or someone; a belief that causes one to act with confidence in a certain direction, with a specific purpose.
Philosophy = a belief, manner of thinking that forms a basis for a person's approach to critical decisions in their life.
A person's faith can be part of their philosophy as well, however, the converse is not always true - i.e. a person's philosophy is not part of their faith
So, some people have faith in a higher power, some have faith in other someones, and some have faith in a system. Not all people have this kind of faith, but most do. All people follow a philosophy however. And all people put their trust and confidence in some ones and/or some things. Therefore, all have some sort of faith when defined this way.
Atheists express a faith that there is no god.
Agnostics express a faith that deity is unknowable or that they do know if there is a deity or that they do not care - i.e. it doesn't matter whether there is or isn't a deity.
The background of my philosophy -
When I was young I was a skeptic about the existence of deity. My parents went to church once a year at Easter and did not read a Bible or other books on the subject. There were Bibles around, but they were table settings only. In effect, my parents were agnostics. My siblings were also agnostics or atheists. My brother became a doctor and I always thought he was an atheist at any rate until recently. He told me that he had trouble believing because God expected him to believe. This struck me as a non-rational reason for not believing in someone's existence. They expect something from you that you don't want to give, therefore they must not be real? I didn't always have this idea however.
Getting back to my youth, I grew from the idea of complete skepticism to one that acknowledged that there might be a god of some sort, but that deity didn't seem to care about humans so why should we care about them, i.e. agnosticism. However, I tried to keep an open mind and was very inquisitive. I studied books on science, all sorts of religions and philosophies. It was a gradual process that shaped my thinking as I reasoned it all out. My philosophy hung in the balance. However, it was a personal experience which forced me off the fence to go completely into belief in God. In my personal experience I was confronted by God to deal with the idea that deity might exist. Not only that but that He existed in a form that I didn't necessarily like or appreciate. Which meant that I'm not God or in His shoes, and I shouldn't judge His actions by my standards or knowledge. As time went on, I read the Bible, trying to keep an open mind as always. Eventually it was the teachings of Jesus in the Bible and that wisdom that he possessed that persuaded me to belief that this is not from man. So, I started to belief in Jesus and the existence of deity and not only that, in the goodness of this deity from the Bible. It became more defined for me and today I've learned to appreciate the God of the Bible even when I cannot understand Him or His ways. In fact, it makes sense to me now that I won't understand the "why" of everything He expects of me. (As a parent, it is sometimes impossible for me to get my children to understand the reason they need to obey me always. I try to explain to them, but they do not understand fully and it doesn't seem to help them obey any better. When they trust me and follow my "laws" then we have harmony and they see that things turn out for good. That is the most important concept for them to understand.)
As I continued to mature, I realized that I don't have to know "why" as much. Then I started asking "how" am I to do this? or "how" will I deal with this problem? I'm at the point in my search for purpose where I don't even have to know the "how" because I know God will lead me and make it all turn out for good according to His purposes, which I know are totally good. When I say "search" for purpose, that doesn't mean I haven't found a purpose, but that I only understand part of it. It is very extensive, this purpose God has set for me. In fact, it isn't just one purpose, but several purposes. I have many roles in life.
I say all this to hopefully demonstrate that I am a rational, reasonable, open-minded individual who is not afraid to examine my beliefs or expose them to scrutiny, nor am I afraid of what science might "discover" today. I am confident that what is "true" today will change tomorrow into something else that science will say is "true". It has happened many times already in my lifetime. Science is always making "discoveries" and many times the discoveries are merely that an earlier discovery was incorrect based on some new evidence. I believe there are deists out there who are afraid of skeptics and their knowledge of science. This is merely true because they don't have a firm foundation to rest their "faith" on and they feel vulnerable. Often times when confronted with good arguments, they merely respond by attacking the arguer, instead of focusing on what they are saying. When you feel vulnerable, you tend to get emotional and the arguments may get heated. I have seen this many times from the "other side" as well. They also seem to feel vulnerable when someone argues in favor of belief in deity. They then resort to attacks and insults on the persons with the belief. They label believers as "superstitious", "weak", "ignorant", "uneducated" or something to that effect. Believers are considered as simple as children. When the unbeliever or anyone resorts to insults and/or blank generalities, it means they feel a weakness in the debate on their side. In effect, it means they've lost the debate already.
So, in the future, I hope I will see less insulting language and less assumptions on both sides because that means the discussion is fruitful, but I probably won't. My personal belief and understanding of the Bible tells me that this kind of approach to arguing is very "un-Christian like" anyway. I hope all believers get this point especially. They also need to build up that firm foundation on God's word. They need to read the Bible and trust God for their understanding and not lean on men (including teachers and pastors). God may use these men to help you, but you are very capable in understanding if you have the faith and ask God for wisdom. I try to show people that I have reasons for my faith and that it's very strong. I also try to show that I care for others including those who attack my faith. Its a work in progress because I am human. For those who don't like to hear arguments from Christians, keep this in mind. We are a work in progress, but still may be progressing just the same. We may make you feel uncomfortable or even disgust you but we bring these things up only because we care for you and care very deeply. (At least that should be true; I cannot speak for all believers.) Can you not care very deeply for the believer and show some patience and humility?
One more thing that comes up from time to time when a believer invites a non-churchgoer to church. There are many who say they don't believe or don't go to a church to worship God because of all the "hypocrites" in the churches. After giving this some thought, it nows seems both ironic and humorous for them to say that. If this be the statement, then my question is this: Are they hypocrites because they sin and go to church? Are they hypocrites because they want to persuade others to stop sinning? If those are the reasons for the accusation then I have to say look at yourself first! I say this because the Bible plainly tells us that all are sinners. Christians are merely sinners who admit they are sinners. In fact they have to in order to become a Christian. This is part of their "cure". This is the only way Christ will accept them. If this is the reason they are labeled hypocrites then the same argument would point out that all the ones who attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings are hypocrites for trying to get others to stop their drinking because they haven't stopped their drinking yet. Maybe you think you don't need to go because you don't sin. If you don't think you sin, then you are worst hypocrite of all. Everyone sins, just ask your spouse!
I would like to extend this to the following second point. You assign the hypocrite label to those who admit they are sinners and who go to church for encouragement in order to reduce their sinning? It seems to me they are at least trying. They demonstrate that by their confession and their attendance. Yet you accuse them of hypocrisy for trying and don't even seem to be trying yourself. After all, you don't go to church because of the "hypocrites" which means you think you are not a hypocrite, right? Otherwise, how could you make the argument? You would be the hypocrite for making the accusation in the first place. However, there is still no way out for you. If you don't even try by going to church or try to encourage others to stop sinning, but remain at home resting in confidence that you are a sincere and good person. they you really are the truer hypocrite of the two because at least they admitted they have a problem and are trying to do something about it. You, however, have not progressed to that understanding yet. I rest my case.
Thoughts on evolution, atheism and belief -
I would hope that everyone believes that to love others, to care for others, is a high form of thought. In other words, this is not some primitive, primordial way of thinking, but a higher state of thinking. If evolution is true, it seems that man should be evolving into a better person all around, not just physically, but mentally. This means that man should be more caring and loving, if these are desirable higher traits. It seems to me that we need more of this type of thinking in the world. This would deal with poverty better than any scientific breakthrough could ever. However, if this is all true and that evolution is leading us to this state, then why is it that many non-evolutionist believers have been stating these very same thoughts for thousands of years. Not only that, but they stated those thoughts in contrast to many atheists who did not share that same viewpoint or care enough about it. Doesn't it seem likely that the believers would be bringing up the rear when it comes to caring and nurturing others, especially if they are behind in their evolution. Instead they are at the forefront of caring institutions, caring actions. Who started the first non-government owned orphanages, mental institutions, public hospitals and made education mandatory for all? It wasn't an atheist from what historians usually say. Who started most charities? You can get the clue from the word itself. Charity is a old bible word for love. It strikes me as ironic that the ones who defend the rights of the unborn child, who are against euthanasia and who seem to value all human life the most are not USUALLy these people who believe there is no god and that evolution is a proven fact. At least politically thats true in America, where the religious right as its called are against abortion and so forth. It makes me wonder. Does it make you wonder? I can't imagine and don't want to imagine a world without Christ and the beliefs that He has fostered in humans. Yes, hopefully, we are evolving - evolving into a better mankind through Jesus Christ. And belief makes it more economical too! After all, you don't have to do any genetic engineering to make it possible!
我覺得是一種自以為是有義的，用自己的尺度何謂義來向對方講數。就是自以為有理的，定要對方認同自己不可的自強與自傲的講數態度。我跟自己講，如果發現我自己正在跟神講數呢，就要立刻記起聖經裡說過的：
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