This chapter raises a crucial question. Is living by faith mandatory for every believer, or is it an option to be exercised by only a few? If living by faith is optional, we could understand that those who want to pursue the specific virtue of faith would be free to do so, while others could concentrate on different aspects of Christian living as their unique specialization.

    However, if faith is mandatory for all believers, then each of us must carefully evaluate that part of our Christian experience.

    Before I continue, there are two qualifications that I must make for both this chapter and the remainder of the book. I will often state information in as concise a way as possible. The book would become bulky and confusing if I tried to include every shade of Christian experience. For example, in the heading "Faith and salvation" (see below) two components are identified as the basis of salvation. This does not mean that every individual coming to Christ must verbalize these two steps in order to be saved. The intent is merely to identify the biblical requirements for salvation accurately and concisely.

    Christian maturity also brings the ability to look back with greater insight than was possible at the time the growth was taking place. I will often summarize faith from the perspective of this later maturity.

    The second qualification deals with the uniqueness of individual believers. God has given each of us distinctive life experiences and unique personalities. As we will see, He wants us all to grow in faith, but that does not discount God's leading in our individual lives. Because I am so forcefully stressing the mandatory nature of faith in this chapter, you must remember this important qualification: God will not lead all of us to the same intensity in our faith or prayer life, and He certainly will not lead us all to exercise our faith in the same way.

    I have purposefully used illustrations depicting costly faith. However, anything you contemplate doing in faith must be carefully and individually considered before the Lord. Never mimic the illustrations in this book as being models of perfect faith.

    Learn from this book where possible, but do not be too quick to agree with its content before comparing it with Scripture.

    Let's continue with our question, "Is faith mandatory for every believer, or is it an option to be exercised by only a few?"

Faith and salvation

    The new life of the believer begins at salvation. That experience and awareness will vary for each individual. There are, however, two components that Scripture teaches must be a part of every believer's transformation from a lost sinner to a redeemed child of God.

1. Repentance. Repentance means that there has been a radical change of mind. It does not necessarily imply grieving over sin, a highly emotional experience, or any of the other human responses that are often associated with this word. It means that an individual must change direction from being a self-sufficient sinner to one who is dependent on Jesus for salvation. In Acts 2, Peter delivered a powerful sermon authenticating Jesus as Israel's Messiah, verified by His resurrection. There were many in the crowd who had been involved in Jesus' crucifixion. When some of these individuals realized Jesus' identity, they asked Peter and the other apostles, "'Brothers, what shall we do?" And Peter replied, 'Repent and be baptized^[1] in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.'" (verses 37-38). They needed to change from being ones who had rejected Jesus as their Messiah to becoming ones who would rely on Him as their Savior.

^[1] Peter's statement "be baptized" loses much of its significance if we understand it as merely a Christian rite in a comfortable church setting. The Greek word baptizo meant "to be dipped." An important secondary sense resulted from the word's use for dipping fabrics into dye. Baptizo came to mean "to be identified." In Peter's day, the white fabric was baptized as it became "identified" with the color of the dye. Peter was not telling Jesus' former antagonists to merely participate in a religious ritual. He was telling them to "Change direction (repent) from their past response of rejecting Jesus and to become fully identified by His name as Israel's Messiah (Christ)." This was a powerful response to those who had recently rejected Jesus because He claimed to be God (Messiah). (For baptizo used of dying fabric, see Dictionary of New Testament Theology, Zondervan, Baptism, Volume 1, page 144.)

2. Faith response. The second element is a response in faith. This is not a vague "belief in Jesus." Salvation comes by relying on Jesus' righteousness as the sole means of entrance into God's presence and fellowship. This transfer of Jesus' righteousness to the believer (imputed righteousness) and freedom from the penalty of sin was provided for in His death and resurrection. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, "God made [Jesus] who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

    Paul described salvation in Romans chapters 2 through 5. He was writing to both Jews and Gentiles who understood the Old Testament Law, and were prone to misapplying the law to a salvation based on human merit. Throughout this passage Paul is stressing the importance of faith in the complete and sufficient sacrifice of Jesus on our behalf. In Romans 3:21-22 and 27-28, Paul wrote,

    But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested…even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe….Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith. For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law. (NASB)

    In Romans 5:1, Paul gives a partial summary when he says,

    Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. (NASB)

    Thus, we see that faith is mandatory for salvation. Faith is a required response for everyone coming to Christ.

Faith and growth after salvation

    What happens after salvation? Do we grow by faith, or is there an alternative principle that can be applied? This was the debate Paul addressed in the book of Galatians. Look at his statement in Galatians 3:1 3 (NASB):

    You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified? This is the only thing I want to find out from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?

    Scripture clearly teaches that we continue our lives as believers by faith. The maturing process which Paul calls "being perfected" is accomplished by "hearing with faith."

    Thus, both conversion and continued growth ("perfection") are dependent on faith. That is, from a biblical perspective, we can say that faith is always mandatory for these two elements of the Christian life.

Pleasing God

    Throughout all of Hebrews 11, the writer asserts the preeminence of faith. Hebrews 11:6 boldly states that pleasing God is impossible unless there is faith.

    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.

    This verse states a timeless principle. Living by faith was mandatory in the time of the Old Testament saints. Living by faith is also mandatory for us today.

    We cannot please God unless we evidence active and growing faith.

Jesus' displeasure with faulty faith

    In Chapter 1 we saw Jesus' pleasure with the centurion's faith in Matthew 8. Matthew 17:14-18 records another time when Jesus reacted with strong displeasure. Some time shortly after taking Peter, James and John to the Mount of Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-8), Jesus rejoined the remaining disciples:

    When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. "Lord, have mercy on my son," he said. "He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him."

    Jesus then directed a sharp rebuke toward His disciples, though this presumably did not include Peter, James and John:

    "O unbelieving and perverse generation," Jesus replied, "how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you?"

    That must have stung. These were His own disciples—His personally trained men. Jesus called them an "unbelieving and perverse generation." Later, "the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, 'Why couldn't we drive it out?'" They were still embarrassed. This was not an issue they wanted Jesus to air in front of a listening audience!

    [Jesus] replied, "[You could not cast the demon out] because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."

    Look at the word picture Jesus was painting. Even small faith the size of a mustard seed could move a mountain. Yet these men did not have enough faith to heal an epileptic. How truly small Jesus was portraying their faith to be. Don't miss Jesus' irony. He was not telling the disciples how to move mountains. He was rebuking them for their extremely inadequate faith.

    However, the lesson that we cannot miss is that Jesus is not the least bit pleased by small faith. Is He any more pleased today with those who claim to be His children but find it more prudent to trust insurance policies, doctors and prescription medicine, pension programs, or whatever else they place their trust in rather than Him?

The problem with idolatry

    Why was God so concerned with idolatry in the Old Testament? The book of Hosea has generated much debate. In Hosea 1:2-3 we read:

    When [Yahweh] began to speak through Hosea, [Yahweh] said to him, "Go, take to yourself an adulterous wife and children of unfaithfulness, because the land is guilty of the vilest adultery in departing from [Yahweh]." So he married Gomer...and she conceived and bore him a son.

    Gomer apparently returned to prostitution. She became so broken that she was sold at the slave market where Hosea bought her to take home again (Hosea 3:1-2).

    [Yahweh] said to me, "Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as [Yahweh] loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes. So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and about [10 bushels] of barley.

    Why did God use the example of Hosea's wife Gomer—a former prostitute who forsook her faithful husband and returned to the debauchery of prostitution—as an example of Israel's idolatry? Because Israel was "guilty of the vilest adultery in departing from [Yahweh];" because "turn[ing] to other gods" and participating in the pagan festivals by offering "raisin cakes" was the antithesis of trusting God. Israel placed her faith in idols rather than in her own true God. This act of trusting something else rather than God was an offense that could only be illustrated by a betrayed husband buying his adulterous wife back in the slave market.

Faith is mandatory, not optional

    Scripture as a whole emphasizes the place of faith in the believer's life. The examples we have given certainly indicate that living by faith is mandatory for every believer. Faith is not an option that only a few spiritually gifted believers may exercise. Many other passages of Scripture would reinforce this truth. (As we will see in the next chapter, however, the gift of faith is given only to a select few.)

    Consequently, learning how to grow in faith is necessary for every believer. There is no excuse for dismissing faith growth. This does not mean that every believer will develop the same intensity of faith. And it certainly does not mean that each believer will follow a similar pattern in living by faith. But it does mean that every believer must take seriously his or her responsibility to trust God in every aspect of life.

    Do we have any idea how offensive our lack of faith is to God? When I trust in other things rather than my Savior, am I reducing my attractiveness to Him to that of a prostitute for sale in a slave market? Have the things that I trust rather than Jesus become my idols like the Baals were to Israel? We can understand why Jesus' rebuke was so harsh when His disciples had such meager faith. What would He say about my faith?

The cost of faith

    What did it cost so that we might live by faith? Look carefully at Hebrews 12:1-3:

    Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

    The cloud of witnesses were those individuals listed in the Faith Chapter of Hebrews 11. This includes well-known characters such as Abraham, Isaac, and Moses. It also includes the nameless individuals at the end of the chapter who were tortured and maligned for their faith. In each case, however, the objective of the writer of Hebrews in citing these witnesses was to encourage us to live by faith.

    The writer now exhorts us to lay aside everything that might weaken faith. He particularly entreats us to forsake the sin that will so quickly entangle us and prevent faith growth.

    He then makes his strongest appeal, telling us to "Fix our eyes on Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith." It is Jesus who is the author—the very source—of our faith. It is Jesus who will also perfect our faith.

    How, then, did Jesus "author" and "perfect" our faith? Our faith was so important to Jesus that He considered the events of His brutal death to be a "joy set before Him [so that He] endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

    If the opportunity for our faith growth was this costly to Jesus, what should we as believers do now? The writer of Hebrews tells us to "Consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you may not grow weary and lose heart." How could we ever face Jesus if we allowed ourselves to "grow weary" or "lose heart" in our pursuit of faith?

Lord God, I confess my sin of faithlessness. I have never before realized how much it offends You. Nor have I ever realized how much the provision for my faith cost You. I want to become a believer who truly pleases You with active faith. But in myself, Lord Jesus, I am so weak—You must help me to trust You.