Why is Faith Important?

Probably everyone knows something about faith - Christians, non-believers, agnostics, new agers, Buddhists, and everyone in between. But how is faith more than a theological concept? What difference does it make? It’s an idea that’s so common we’ve forgotten what it really is. Or, at least I had. But I’ve been learning you don’t have to understand to believe, and realizing from the lives of Bible heroes more of what faith is.

Faith gives reason to obedience – if we base our belief on only what can be tangibly proven, we don’t have a reason to obey. I can’t show evidence that God told me to do something, so why should I do it? I can’t prove He had me in mind when He wrote the Bible thousands of years ago, why should I obey? Faith is taking that knowledge and making it our own, believing that when God spoke, he had us in mind, and knowing that even if no one else heard the whisper, God can speak to us in our heart. Romans 4:21 defines Abraham's faith as “being absolutely convinced that God would do what he had promised.”

Faith in the anchor during life’s fluctuations – feelings go up and down, circumstances change. I think all Christians go through times of spiritual barrenness, and times of great flourishing in the Lord. But the constant which sustains through both those times is faith. It’s what kept the men of faith in the Bible going - Abraham, Moses, Noah, and others. It’s what gave Jesus reassurance when He couldn’t see through the tomb. When we’re down and discouraged, it’s faith that gets us back up again. It brings heaven to earth, and gives us confidence no matter what. As Romans 1:17 says, “The just shall live by faith.”

Faith gives life to believing – we can believe facts about God and the Bible, but if they remain mere facts and don’t change our lives, they’re useless. James says the devils believe in God. (James 2:19) They know more about Him than we do! But faith makes God’s word come alive. We believe He’s actually there, He is for us, and He desires a personal relationship with us. It’s that by-faith-relationship that separates knowledge from experience.

The Bible says everyone is given a measure of faith. (Romans 12:2) We already have it; we’ve just got to use it. When we take God at His word, claim the Bible and its promises and instructions as our own, it strengthens our faith. Trying circumstances and tests can also provide opportunity for faith to grow. I read that faith is like a muscle; the more we use it, the stronger it becomes.

I’m going to make a bold statement, but I believe it’s true. Faith is a choice. We have to choose to believe and live like it, choose to take God at His word. There is evidence, there is experience, but in the end, the thing that sets apart believers and non-believers is simply what the terms suggest: do we believe or not?