The Closet Professor

Now faith is the realization of things hoped for, the confidence of things not seen.

–Hebrews 11:1

Dictionary.com defines faith as a strong or unshakeable belief in something, especially without proof or evidence. The Bible defines faith as in  Hebrews 11:1 where we see that the central feature of faith is confidence or trust. In the Bible, the object of faith is God and his promises. Genuine biblical faith expresses itself in everyday life. In James 2:17, James tells us “Faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” In James 2:24, he goes on to say “You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.”

Faith works through love to produce tangible evidence of its existence in a person’s life. In Galatians 5:6, Paul writes, “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.” Put another way, the obedience that pleases God comes from faith. Romans 1:5 says, “Through Him, we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name.” If we live selflessly and show kindness and generosity to others, we show our faith through our good works.

Sometimes, we put our faith in something, such as the rule of law. We have faith that the U.S. Constitution will guarantee we remain a free and democratic country. However, if we go by faith alone, that’s not going to be true. To make it happen, we have to go vote and vote for a candidate that upholds the virtues of the Constitution. The Preamble of the Constitution says, “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” However, we cannot just live as though these words will protect us. We have to actively pursue these ideals, whether it is at the ballot box, by writing those who represent us in Congress, or by petitions and protests.

Just as James wrote that faith without works is dead, we cannot take it on faith that democracy will survive any more than Christianity will survive through only faith. The United States has more people who do not believe in religion than people who do. It is because our churches have relied on incorrect and dogmatic representations of faith that do not follow Christ’s teachings. They push out and persecute those who do not conform to their narrow interpretations of God. How many LGBTQ+ individuals do you know who still have faith in God? The number is not the majority of the LGBTQ+ community and that is because they have been consistently persecuted by churches and family and “friends” who do not follow what Christ actually taught. They are not accepting of the fact that we are how God made us. They cannot believe in their narrow minds that God created someone who they think is wrong and so they persecute what they do not understand and what causes them fear. They fear a loss of control of the mind, body, and soul. Because of this, people have lost their faith because the “faith” of others is not backed up by their works.

So remember, we have to work to show our faith in what we do, how we live, and how we treat others. If we do not do that, how can others have faith in our beliefs?