And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. --Hebrews 11:6
This was the verse on which the pastor spoke at my church on Sunday. His point: God demands faith from those who profess to follow Him and those who follow Him are rewarded for their faith. Just so we’re all clear, this is a two premise statement:
1. God wants faith.
2. God rewards faith.
To this point, my issues are small. However, there is one thing that was said during the sermon that I have serious issues with. Now, admittedly, my mind was wandering to all sorts of places that were NOT the sanctuary of my church, but it came quickly back to the sanctuary when I heard the pastor say that doubters and skeptics could not receive the rewards of God because they did not have faith. See Stephanie. See Stephanie nearly come out of her chair.
Let’s be very clear here. It is my contention that doubt and faith are not mutually exclusive. Questioning is not a vice, and intellectual curiosity (about faith or anything else) is not a reason for God to withhold His rewards from us. In fact, one could argue that God…and Paul expected questions and doubts and skepticism. In Phillipians 2:12, Paul commands the church at Phillipi to “work out your salvation with fear and trembling.” If working out one’s salvation means gaining a deeper appreciation of the demands of the Almighty, I am loathe to believe that anyone can do that without asking questions and going through periods of doubt.
The very idea of working out one’s salvation intimates that it’s a process—one that probably won’t be completed until our death. We are to grow continuously, ask questions continuously, wrestle (sometimes with God) continuously. At times our salvation will seem constricting. We go through growing pains when we feel uncomfortable in our faith, but that doesn’t mean that our doubts are a hindrance to our salvation. Doubts are not a hindrance because faith is not the beginning of this journey.
Obedience is the beginning. Abraham obeyed the Lord and it was credited to him as righteousness. Abraham didn’t have much faith that his son Isaac would be spared, but because of his obedience, he was. Faith can be fleeting. But if we obey, faith will come. This past year has been a huge test of my faith. I have often felt like Job, but in the middle of the story when things were looking bleak. I didn’t often have a lot of faith. But I continued to obey. And my faith came back.
The problem with certain sects in Christianity today is that simple faith—absolute, unquestioning, anti-intellectual faith—is seen as the hallmark of Christian orthodoxy. This is not the case. Real faith involves thinking. It involves asking questions. Yes, it even involves doubts and skepticism. This is not to say heresy should be nurtured. It shouldn’t. However, it shouldn’t be shied away from either. One of my most favorite things about Calvary Baptist Church in Waco, TX is that no question is to heretical, stupid, or difficult to ask. We ask the questions, and we deal with them—in small groups, in Sunday School, as a congregation. But only by addressing one’s doubts and working through those issues with men and women of faith and intellect who can provide counsel and wisdom. And through that act of obedience, one actually finds faith.
So perhaps it isn’t so much that God rewards faith but that faith is the reward. Obedience is the demand. After all, grammatically, faith has not verb equivalent. We have “believe,” but that doesn’t quite compute. One can’t “faith” anything. One can, however, obey. That is what is credited to us as righteousness. In Genesis 12, the Lord commanded Abraham to leave his home and journey south and Abraham went. It was only after Abraham did as the Lord commanded, that it is said that Abraham believed and it was credited to him as righteousness. The first step, the most important step, was Abraham’s obedience.
Is faith important to one’s Christian walk? Of course it is! It should not, however, become the be-all and end-all. We should not understand faith to be so important and strict that doubt and skepticism is looked down upon. Those who doubt often strengthen their faith in dealing with their doubts. Those who doubt are rewarded. They are rewarded with faith—as long as they remain obedient while waiting for their faith to return.
