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WHAT IS THE BASIS OF GODLY FAITH?

Godly faith is based on evidence, provable facts. God never expects or wants blind faith. He has given us proof of his existence by what he has made (Romans 1:20). Jesus confirmed his deity by miracles (John 10:25; 14:11; 20:30–31; Acts 2:22). The words of Jesus and the writers of the New Testament were confirmed by miracles (Mark 16:20; Hebrews 2:3, 4). This is why godly faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Without faith, it is impossible to please God. First, we must believe that God exists and rewards those who earnestly seek him (Hebrews 11:1, 6). We must believe that his Son became human (Jesus), taught us about God, and then died for our sins. We must believe the Bible was inspired by God so that humans wrote only what God wanted them to. Many scriptures attest to this (Galatians 1:11–12; 1 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Timothy 3:16; 1 Peter 1:12; 2 Peter 1:20–21).

Hebrews 11 is called “the faith chapter” and it gives us many examples of Godly faith in action. First, we must believe God's promises and act on them, like Abraham did when he drew his knife to sacrifice Isaac. Godly faith is always obedient and active. Second, we act on what we know to be God's will according to the Bible. Our biblical convictions should affect how we act and use our time at home, with our family, on the job, and socially. We should always base our choices and decisions on God's will according to his Word, but sometimes choosing between what is good and what is best takes wisdom and godly advice.

We must remember that credible science is provable and fact-based. Science gives us the knowledge to help us survive. God has blessed humans with the mental capacity to solve problems and find solutions to our needs. Science achieves medical breakthroughs that allow us to overcome disease and illness. We should thank and praise God that science could make safe and effective vaccines to combat COVID during the global pandemic. We should listen to sound medical advice but avoid “religious” people who use “faith” as a reason not to listen to medical experts. God has never promised to keep us safe and well if we foolishly reject credible, proven medical treatments designed to keep us safe and well. “Faith over fear” is a false “faith” and, in reality, creates fear and confusion, causing great harm to those encouraged to reject sound medical advice.

— Cynthia Clayton

Picture credit:
© Julie Marcussen

Scripture links/references are from BibleGateway.com. Unhighlighted scriptures can be looked up at their website.