Un/Belief – “Faith’s Vital Step” 

In this series we’ve defined faith, generically, as “living out what I believe” – and, specifically, the Christian faith is “living out what I believe to be true about Jesus.” We’ve seen that our faith begins and grows in three stages: we grow in our understanding about what is true, then we develop a conviction about that truth, then finally we make a commitment to live out that conviction. This final step in the process is the key: our commitment is sealed (and our faith then grows) when we take a step of faith.

1.  We Can Do Without Knowing (Hebrews 11:8-9)

• Of all the Biblical characters referenced in Hebrews 11, Abraham gets the most ink – and rightly so. He was a giant of faith, and his story clearly illustrates how important taking a step of faith is to God’s process of growing our faith. Hebrews 11:8 gives us the key to what this step of faith looks like: “He went without knowing…”
• This idea of taking a step of faith without knowing for sure where that step will take us isn’t contradictory to our concept that understanding is the first stage of faith development, because understanding always has limits. Understanding can’t take us to certainty; it can only take us to probability. There must always be a step from conviction to commitment for our faith to become real.
• The problem we have is that we’re addicted to certainty. We want to know what the outcome of our decisions will be before we commit. Then, while we wait for certainty, we lead anxious lives, and when that anxiousness becomes chronic we give up hope that we can ever be certain about anything.
• Certainty is like a drug – it promises us a “high” and it traps us in a prison of anxiety. But faith acts – it steps out and surrenders and commits – before there is certainty in our circumstances. And that commitment (without certainty) fuels hope – real hope that is independent of our circumstances.

2. When We Find a New Way of Seeing the World  (Hebrews 11:10, 13-16; Genesis 15:8)
   
   • How is that “uncertain step of faith” possible when we’re addicted to certainty? How was Abraham able to leave everything and everyone he knew behind and head off into an unknown wilderness? The next verses in Hebrews 11 give us a beautiful answer: “He was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God.”
   • We might make the mistake of thinking that Abraham was just looking forward to heaven – the wonderful place where all the “good stuff” is and where those who do what God tells them to do go after they die. But that wasn’t God’s promise to Abraham – nor is it the promise of our Christian faith.
   • The “heroes of the faith” in Hebrews 11 weren’t waiting just for heaven – they were waiting for the promised Messiah, the one who would bring the Kingdom of Heaven here to earth. They trusted in that coming Messiah and committed themselves to him and his promise, and “it was counted to them as righteousness.” Their belief looked forward; our belief looks backward to what Jesus did for us.
   • Like God demonstrated to Abraham in Genesis 15, he is our promise and our guarantee and our certainty – a certainty that only comes when we look to Jesus Christ, the one we can confidently place our trust, our hope and our certainty in. Our commitment to him – our “step of faith” in trusting what he’s done for us – is all that really matters.

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE

These passages may provide additional insights related to the subject of this week’s message. All verses are NLT unless otherwise noted.

Psalm 37:1-5; Proverbs 3:5-6; Proverbs 16:1-3; John 8:56-58; Romans 12:1-2; Ephesians 1:15-18

Video of the Week: Faithful by the Bible Project

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION

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1. When you made the decision to trust and follow Jesus (assuming you have), would you say that it was a small-ish step, a big step, or a giant leap of faith that brought you to that decision? Explain your answer.

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2. The message offered the idea that our decision to take a step of faith (i.e., to make a commitment based on our conviction) actually serves to grow our faith as well. In your experience, how does that process play out?

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3. Read Hebrews 11:8-9 again. Why is our commitment to trust God and his promises always a step (or leap) of faith – a step that goes beyond (and doesn’t require) certainty?

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4. It seems mildly counterintuitive to say that “commitment without certainty fuels hope”; what are some examples of how that statement has been true in your life (your faith life or your day-to-day life)?  

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5. By your understanding (there’s that word…), how is our common concept of “heaven” different from the promise of “the Kingdom of Heaven” that the ancients looked forward to and that Jesus spoke about?

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6. Which would you say your hope, faith and certainty are currently invested in: a place called “heaven” that we’ll go to after we die, or a “Kingdom of Heaven” that is eternal and among us (and in us) now?  Explain your answer. 

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