Only Believe: The Foundation of Faith

“Do not be afraid, only believe” (Mark 5:36).

“Therefore, as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.” (Col. 2:6-7)

God never intended for His people to be ordinary or commonplace. Does that mean we are better than others? No, we are to regard no one from a worldly point of view. God reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave the Church the ministry of reconciliation. He has committed to us the message of reconciliation that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them (2 Cor. 5:11-21).

1 Corinthians 2:9-10 says there are things that our natural eye has not seen and ear has not heard. Things which have not entered the human heart, all that God has prepared for those who love Him. Faith is the assurance of things you have hoped for, the absolute conviction that there are realities you’ve never seen (Heb. 11:1). Faith brings our hopes into reality and becomes the foundation needed to acquire the things we hope for. It takes effort to build a firm foundation of faith. It requires growing in the knowledge of the truth found in God’s Word and applying it to your daily life. Growing and adding to your faith is a journey and an adventure requiring absolute trust in God.

In the midst of the shaking everything we’ve built our lives upon may seem to be crashing down and being removed like rubble from a vacant lot. It is then and only then Christ can lay a new foundation, and we can begin building upon it day by day through faith in God’s Word. As with any building project, we have a choice about which materials to use. They may all look good on the surface, but the real test of their quality will be revealed when we stand before the judgment seat of Christ to to receive what is just for our conduct (whether good or bad) while we lived in this temporary body. So because we stand in awe of Him, the one true Lord, we should make it our aim to convince all people of the truth of the gospel message.

This may require looking deeply into our own conscience to see ourselves as we really are just as God sees us (2 Cor. 5:10-11). This is sobering considering the current climate we are living in today! Therefore, we should carefully consider what we are using as building materials. The world offers us many philosophies from which to choose. We are told that we can mix a little worldly wisdom with a bit of Scripture and create a suitable Christian life. But Paul warns that if anyone thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, you need to become a fool to truly be wise because the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight.. The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise are futile. “He catches the wise in their craftiness”1 Cor. 3:18-20). God will destroy everything we use that is derived from the world rather than from the truth of His Word. This truth becomes more visible or understood as I observe the current division in the political and church realm.

Building a solid foundation of faith in Christ is a lifelong process.Through prayer and meditation on Scripture, we learn to know and love our heavenly Father and understand what pleases Him. As He transforms our life through His Spirit, our actions and attitudes become increasingly obedient and godly. With so much at stake, our goal should be to establish our life on the foundation of Christ, with righteous actions and attitudes empowered by the Holy Spirit. In doing so, our faith will stand firm in this life and be worthy of reward in the next.

In First Peter, Peter wrote to strengthen the saints to endure persecution from without. Many were suffering and dying for their faith. Peter wanted them to endure and stand firm. But in Second Peter, he writes to strengthen them to withstand what he sees as a growing, insidious threat from within: false teachers who will seduce many into destructive errors. Their lives were marked by sensuality and greed. They promised their followers freedom, but they themselves were slaves of corruption (2:19). They scoffed at the idea of Christ’s coming in judgment (3:1-7).

I am also deeply concerned for the church today. Many of the same challenges the early church faced are apparent in today’s church. Even today, we must be aware of false teachers professing to be Christians, but they are dangerously deceptive.

Although we live in the world, we are not of it. Now that you have welcomed Jesus Christ as Lord into your life, continue to journey with Him and allow Him to shape your lives. Let your roots grow down deeply in Him, and let Him build you up on a firm foundation. Be strong in the faith, just as you are being taught, and always spill over with thankfulness. I encourage you to commit yourself to a deeper faith in Christ!