Holy Hormones Bible Study: Teaching — not Entertainment
SOLA FIDES
Faith is the currency of Heaven
It is written in Hebrews 11:6 || “But 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 diligently seek Him.”
So it is important that the Saints learn about it.
Preamble Gambol
Broadly speaking, we all have at least four vocabularies; what is heard, read, spoken, written. The size of each diminishing in that order. Depending on particular circumstances, work/sport/hobbies, there could be sub-sets. Elements of the vocabs are casually caught and not taught so the user ignorantly applies l-o-r-e of meaning rather than the l-a-w. ‘Everyone’ uses the word but, when pinned, the only definition they can give is, “You know …?…” I had personal experience of this fairly recently when making a submission regarding proposed legislation about free speech. The term hate speech was included in a definition. I asked the Crown Law Department to give a definition of hate speech. That was several months ago, their silence has been deafening but I’m sure the term will be included when the Legislation goes to Parliament.
I’m open to correction, but it seems that one of the causes of the state of permoffence (thanks, Angry Penguin) in today’s society is that not many people know the definitions of the definitions they rattle-off with gay (no offence intended. It carried another meaning in days of yore) abandon. No dictionary can be trusted nowadays. They were once the jealous custodians of the meanings of words. Now they take delight in keeping score of the misuse of words. Whenever I see the words Merriam-Webster in a definition of a Bible word in a post, I just skip over that bit. Noah Webster’s Dictionary is another matter. I use his 1828 (yes, 1828) version. Of course, adjustments must be made.
But it has been shown to me that the best definition of a Bible word is found in the Bible — using the original Bible language. There is no reason not to do that these days. There are a number of websites but I find Blue Letter Bible (BLB) the best. (It is one of the best technical books available so slip them the cost of a good Theology text and help them keep afloat.)
A study of the word faith
The word faith, like the word love, is bandied around our Western Culture.
Merriam-Webster (Ooops! Don’t skip.) gives this definition.
Looks impressive, but . . .
The Bible gives a bit more grunt.
It is written in Hebrews 11:1, Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
But the English translation is soooo anaemic.
Remember, these words were chosen by the Holy Spirit
What did the chosen word mean to the original audience?
Let’s look at some Greek.
A possible re-phrase
I’m sure you could do better.
Faith is the conviction about the Holy One, burning intensely hot within me, which is built upon a foundation that actually exists and can be relied upon. The evidence can be trusted because it would ensure a conviction in a court of law. It speaks of a reality which is beyond the spectrum which our physical senses can detect.
A key word
Often overlooked, g1650 elegchos. The Holy Spirit tells us that faith is not blind! He provides evidence for those with the eyes to see.
The first Law of Evidence
Another flaw in the approach of the majority of NT Saints is ignorance of the concept that evidence is not proof. This is fought out every day in (reputable) courts of law under the auspices of Proverbs 18:17 || The first one to plead his cause seems right, Until his neighbour comes and examines him. When you think that you have zinger evidence that you’re sure will make the Atheists want to curl up and die, be sure that you have done your homework to be ready for something he may have. Most Atheists are not stupid — just unwise.
I look out the window and see exquisite design. The Atheist beside me sees accident. The Apatheist doesn’t care.
If you are interested, there is more on this in these two posts.
The forgoing evidence has not been presented to convince any reader but to allow a personal decision to be made. There is much more to know about this subject. Perhaps you’ll pay another visit, sometime.
All Glory to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
(We all have a plank in our eye. It’s bigger than we think.)
