Conversion
Faith

In last month's article, we discussed the basic principles involved in conversion. Briefly, they were:

1. Conversion means that a change takes place in a person's life.
2. Conversion involves the forgiveness of a person's sins.
3. Jesus Christ is the means by which a person is converted.
4. Conversion cannot take place without a person's obedience.

We now begin to discover what this obedience includes. Specifically, in this article, we begin with faith.

Faith is Necessary. Without faith, it is absolutely impossible to please the God of heaven. (Heb.11:6) The eleventh chapter of the New Testament book of Hebrews brims with examples of those who pleased God because of their abounding faith. Such faith is necessary of those who would be converted to Jesus Christ. In particular, one must believe that Jesus is the Son of God. He Himself said, "Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins." (John 8:24) So one must believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, in order to receive the blessing of conversion. (Matt. 16:16-17)

What Faith is Not. Faith is one of those words that has become an ecclesiastical term. More plainly, it's become a "church word". The term is mostly heard in religious contexts; thus it is considered a religious term. And as is true with many "religious" terms, people want to make the concept of faith more difficult than it needs to be. Some have the idea that faith is some kind of supernatural and celestial concept that cannot be described. Most people in the religious world believe that faith is a mystical process by which a person accepts or receives Jesus into his heart. Good reader, think it not rude if I tell you that the Bible nowhere teaches this concept of faith. The good book of God nowhere teaches that faith is some experience that can be felt, but not described.

What Faith is. According to the Bible, faith is that which involves the conversion of a man's intellect. Nothing more. Nothing less. Faith involves the changing (converting) of a man's knowledge. It's that which entails a change in the understanding that a person has; in this case, his understanding about spiritual things. And it is a completely normal and natural concept.

In different places while preaching on this subject, I generally ask the audience to indicate if they have been to New York City by raising their hands. Few raise their hands. I then ask for those who have not been to New York City. More raise their hands to this question. I then ask for all those who believe that there is such a place as New York City. Without fail, everyone raises their hand to this question. Now this is simple. The ones who have never been to NYC, probably believe there is such a city just as strongly as the ones who have been. But they simply believe for a different reason. They raise their hands to that last question on the basis of faith. The ones who have been there probably believed there was such a city before they went but now that they've been, they believe because of sight. (Compare 2 Cor.5:7)

Faith is that which causes a person to believe a thing before they've seen it. "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." (Heb.11:1) Even though I personally have not seen New York City, the evidence (notice that word in Heb.11:1) in support of such a city existing is so overwhelming that it cannot be denied. That's what faith is all about - - believing in light of evidence that is so strong that you just have to believe or deny the obvious. So it is with Jesus, the Christ. A person's understanding changes. They accept evidence they have learned and believe in Him on the basis of that evidence.