"Now Faith is the
substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things now seen." Hebrews 11.1
I am currently working on a Branches lesson which deals in part with the Gift
of Faith. It seems like I end up teaching or writing on faith when my own
faith is being tested. But in the process of studying about faith, I ran
across some valuable lessons from the two words in this scripture translated
"substance" and "evidence."
For those of us with formal logic training, a rhetorical or scientific
background faith can be difficult. I can appear to be contrary to logic and
irrational in the extreme. There are times when I viewed faith as something
akin to wishing on a star or a spiritual version of those positive thinking
courses. The most difficult thing about faith is that it seemed to be based on
nothing.
I drew these conclusions from the lives of Christians and the well-meaning,
but erroneous sermons which taught a baseless faith. What I missed, and what
they missed, is that faith is not baseless, but is the basis upon which
everything, even my much vaunted logic rested. Indeed, one cannot live daily
life without a measure of faith. I must believe the floor will hold my weight
or I wouldn't get out of bed.
This scripture, more than any, other illustrates this fact. The word for
"substance is the Greek word hupostasis . It comes from two words which
mean "under" and "standing, stable resting, foundation." The word is most
rightly translated in this instance as "the reality which rests under and acts
as a foundation for" So, it is true that Faith is without foundation. However,
this is because Faith is the foundation itself. One does not try to place a
foundation under bedrock.
Of course, what we are talking about is Faith in God (which also comes from
God). Human faith is a rather weak foundation. All reasoning proceeds from
self- evident premises. This are ideas which are accepted by everyone and
which do not need to be proven. The conclusions reached are only as strong as
the premises used to reach them. If my premise is "By using my own faith and
believing that good things will happen they will happen," then my results will
be faulty. Just "keeping a good thought" or believing in the abstract doesn't
help. My premise must be "I believe that God is in control and that he will
work everything out for my eternal good."
The second word is elegcos which is translated "evidence." It means
"proof, information by which a thing is proved, conclusive evidence." Again,
the reasoner asks the question "Where is your proof for Faith?" However, the
answer is surprisingly, "Faith is the proof by which invisible things are made
evident." For instance, you have received a prophecy of healing. Faith is your
conclusive proof that what you have not received yet (your healing) will in
fact come about.
So, let's retranslate this famous scripture and see where it leads us, "Faith
is the underlying reality which acts as a foundation for things we are
expecting. It is the conclusive proof of things we cannot now see."
I may be as much a child of Aristotle as I am a child of Abraham, but that is
one premise that will never lead to a faulty conclusion.