The Bible Book

241

Israelites find in the example given

by Jesus: God sends snakes into

the camp of the Israelites because

they do not have faith that God and

Moses are guiding them on the

best path through the desert.

Active faith

The Bible therefore stresses the

importance of an enduring and

obedient faith. Having faith that

God knows best—because He is

all-knowing and all-loving—is key

to ensuring obedience to His laws,

and throughout the Bible a lack of

adherence to God’s will usually

correlates with a loss of faith.

While assenting to true

statements, and even trusting in

God are salient features of faith

in the Bible, the active nature of

faith (faithfulness) is significant.

The epistle of James, in particular,

deals with the question of whether

or not the faith in God that saves

is mere assent or is naturally active,

producing good works. James

writes “Show me your faith without

deeds, and I will show you my faith

by my deeds. You believe that

there is one God ... Even the

demons believe that—and shudder”

(James 2:18–19). James writes that

it is not enough for Christians to

believe in God, but they should

also show this belief through

their actions—just as, in the Old

Testament, Abraham showed his

faith through his willingness to

sacrifice his son, Isaac.

Paul takes the idea of active

faith even further in his letter to

the Romans, when he tells them

that “whoever has doubts is

condemned if they eat, because

their eating is not from faith; and

everything that does not come

from faith is sin” (Romans 14:23).

While reason and experience

can challenge a Christian’s faith,

they can also vindicate it. Faith

produces the good, loving deeds

that comprise a life lived in Christ,

standing with hope and charity

as one of the three theological

virtues identified by Paul in his

letter to the Thessalonians

(1 Thessalonians 1:3). ■

THE GOSPELS

Darkness and light

In John 3, Nicodemus comes

to Jesus in the night. This

otherwise minor detail is part

of a larger theme in John’s

Gospel and one that originates

at the very start of the Bible:

“Let there be light” (Genesis

1:3). John describes Jesus as

the Light, and those who do

not believe in Him as being

in darkness. Although the

light of faith was available

to all who encountered Jesus

or His teaching, people still

rejected the light. They loved

the darkness that hid and

enabled their wicked deeds,

while hating the light that

exposed them.

Jesus identified Himself

as the “light of the world”

and commanded His followers

not to walk in darkness. The

imagery of light and dark is

also present in the miracle

of healing the man who had

been blind from birth, and

the betrayal, arrest, and

crucifixion of Jesus, when

foreboding shadow prevails.

Yet the triumph of the light

was also evident on the

morning of the resurrection,

and in each person who came

to have faith in Jesus.

Facets of faith

Protestants

identify eight

characteristics of

faith that come up

again and again in

the Old and New

Testaments, from

the stories of the

patriarchs to

the teachings

Facets of the Apostles.

of faith

Assenting

(Matt 9:29)

Penitent(Acts

17:30, 34)

Enduring(1 Pet 1:6-7)

Obeying(Rom 1:5)

Loving

(Gal 5:6)

Given by God

(Phil 1:29)

(Gen 15:6)Trusting

(Jas 2:26)Working

US_236-241_The_nature_of_faith.indd 241 12/10/2017 15:02