Last Sunday night, an informal roundtable discussion was held regarding difficult issues Christians must confront in their belief:

1. Definition: do you know facts & doubt, or did the Spirit give you a hearty trust?
2. Cold idealogy or covenant relationship: is your faith blind trust in your leaders?
3. Challenge to faith: how do you handle the problem of evil?
4. Opponents of Faith: how do you handle atheists?

Whether you were present for the discussion or not, these are important questions for every Christitan to wrestle with.

Definition of Faith

The Oxford Dictionary defines faith as “strong religious belief” or “trust in another’s ability to do what is promised.” The examples given show just how strangely we use the word: “The company must retain its customers’ faith.”
“We’ve lost faith in the government’s promises.”
“Her friend’s kindness has restored her faith in human nature.”
“I wouldn’t put too much faith in what she says.”
“He has blind faith in doctors’ ability to find a cure.”

But none of these describe faith as richly as God’s Word does. The Heidelberg Catechism helps us define Scripture in Q. #21:

True faith is not only a sure knowledge by which I hold as true all that God has revealed to us in his Word;¹ it is also a wholehearted trust,² which the Holy Spirit works in me³ by the gospel,⁴
that God has freely granted, not only to others but to me also,⁵ forgiveness of sins, eternal righteousness, and salvation.⁶ These gifts are purely of grace, only because of Christ’s merit.⁷

¹ John 17:3, 17; Heb. 11:1–3; James 2:19
² Rom. 4:18–21; 5:1; 10:10; Heb. 4:14–16
³ Matt. 16:15–17; John 3:5; Acts 16:14
⁴ Rom. 1:16; 10:17; 1 Cor. 1:21
⁵ Gal. 2:20
⁶ Rom. 1:17; Heb. 10:10
⁷ Rom. 3:21–26; Gal. 2:16; Eph. 2:8–10

Here, faith is given (by God the Spirit in the gospel); it has knowledge (notitia), assent (assensus), and “wholeheared trust” (fiducia); and there is an object of faith – namely Christ and His promised benefits. Faith in Scripture cannot be said to be “blind,” or a mere conjecture or hope, nor is it a logical deduction.

When faith is defined properly, it also helps us to carefully evaluate when we question, doubt, or are skeptical. Reformed pastor Eric Alexander helpfully reminds us:

“Doubt is not the same thing as unbelief. Unbelief is an act of the will that refuses to trust and obey Christ. Doubt is often asking questions or voicing uncertainty; and, it may well be from the standpoint of faith. And doubt which is smothered or ignored can often be the precursor of many problems in Christian experience. Doubt which is confessed and faced and fought through can be a growing thing in someone’s Christian experience. It is not the same thing as unbelief or skepticism…’a healthy understanding of doubt should go hand in hand with a healthy understanding of faith.”

When Mary asked the angel Gabriel “how can this be, since I am a virgin?” (Luke 1:34), her questioning was not denounced as skepticism or a lack of faith. Christians can distinguish our genuine doubts from skeptical unbelief; we distinguish “faith seeking understanding” from a rebellious unbelief.

Many of us who attended the roundtable were very thankful to Caleb R. for his hard work behind the scenes. Stay tuned for more information/resources from the roundtable, as well as future opportunities.