October 17, 2022 • 3 mins
our trust in God is based on what we know about him. Stated differently, saving faith is not arbitrary; it is grounded in concrete reality—absolute truth. Christians keep saying we believe and that we have faith but tend not to say we know anything; but we do know some things—quite a few things actually. We say things like "I just believe there is a God", or "I believe there is a God by faith." You don't just believe there is a God. You know there is a God. The problem is that you just don't know that you know or how you know. We may not know that we know this, but we do know it. We believe in or trust in or have faith in God because of what we know about him.
One of the reasons why there is so much confusion on this matter is because many Christians don't understand that it's one thing to know there is a God and that the bible is true but quite another thing to prove there is a God and the bible is true. The point of this chapter is to help us understand that we know what we know. Proving there is a God and that the bible is true is called apologetics, and there are plenty of great books already out there about apologetics; So, I’m focusing on the importance of knowing that we know what we know not on showing how we know what we know.
People wonder why their born-again, Spirit-filled church members aren't on fire for Christ and moving mountains. It’s because they don't know that they know what they know; consequently, they lack confidence; and thus we have the phenomenon of the “undercover Christian,”—Christians who don’t want people to know they are Christians.
Part of the confusion is caused by anti-intellectual Christians who tell people, "Don't think, just believe." This, of course, is contrary to scripture (see 2 Corinthians 10:4, 5; 1 Peter 3:15). Lots of Christians say, "I believe by faith." Well, then why not believe in Islam by faith, or Buddhism, or Confucianism, etc.? This is anti-intellectualism and contrary to scripture. This is also very oppressive to thinking people; and Christians are supposed to be thinking people (1 Peter 3:15, 2 Corinthians 10:4, 5). We believe what we believe because of what we know. We trust in, have faith in or believe in God because of what we know about him .
To say we believe by faith, as many do, is to say we believe by believing, which is to say nothing at all. It is a tautology. Furthermore, Faith is always in something. To say I believe by faith is to say I believe in God by believing in God or I have faith in God by having faith in God. The statement contains no information.
One of the reasons why there is so much confusion on this matter is because many Christians don't understand that it's one thing to know there is a God and that the bible is true but quite another thing to prove there is a God and the bible is true. The point of this chapter is to help us understand that we know what we know. Proving there is a God and that the bible is true is called apologetics, and there are plenty of great books already out there about apologetics; So, I’m focusing on the importance of knowing that we know what we know not on showing how we know what we know.
People wonder why their born-again, Spirit-filled church members aren't on fire for Christ and moving mountains. It’s because they don't know that they know what they know; consequently, they lack confidence; and thus we have the phenomenon of the “undercover Christian,”—Christians who don’t want people to know they are Christians.
Part of the confusion is caused by anti-intellectual Christians who tell people, "Don't think, just believe." This, of course, is contrary to scripture (see 2 Corinthians 10:4, 5; 1 Peter 3:15). Lots of Christians say, "I believe by faith." Well, then why not believe in Islam by faith, or Buddhism, or Confucianism, etc.? This is anti-intellectualism and contrary to scripture. This is also very oppressive to thinking people; and Christians are supposed to be thinking people (1 Peter 3:15, 2 Corinthians 10:4, 5). We believe what we believe because of what we know. We trust in, have faith in or believe in God because of what we know about him .
To say we believe by faith, as many do, is to say we believe by believing, which is to say nothing at all. It is a tautology. Furthermore, Faith is always in something. To say I believe by faith is to say I believe in God by believing in God or I have faith in God by having faith in God. The statement contains no information.
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