Intro: Paul the Apostle wrote to the Corinthians, and told them of three great virtues. The greatest of these is love, but love is closely followed by hope and faith. Every human being is called on every day to exercise faith to some degree. You can't live without faith. When you wash your face in the morning, you exercise faith. You turn the faucet, and you have faith that water will flow from the spigot. When you drink a glass of water you exercise faith. You drink the water, and you trust that the water company has treated it, and made it safe to drink. When you sit down at the breakfast table, you are exercising faith. You don't think about it, you just sit, and you believe that your chair will hold you up. This is an everyday sort of faith. This is faith based on experience. Most of the time we have faith, or believe something, because of reason, science or experience. But why do we believe in the Bible? Why do we believe in Jesus Christ? This is a different sort of faith. Christian faith is supernatural and comes from a source outside of ourselves, even outside this world. Science, reason and experience may strengthen our faith in Jesus Christ, but we do not believe because of science, reason and experience. The Westminster Confession puts it this way, "The grace of faith, whereby the elect are enabled to believe to the saving of their souls, is the work of the Spirit of Christ in their hearts." In the final analysis, we believe in Jesus because of the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 2:8 says,

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--
Eph 2:9 not by works, so that no one can boast.
Eph 2:10 For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Christian faith makes us certain of what we cannot see, certain of what we cannot hear, certain of what we cannot touch or prove by experience or reason or scientific methods.

Hebrews 11 teaches us that there are
Three vital elements in Christian faith:

I. Christian Faith is supernatural faith in the existence of God (Hebrews 1:6).
A. Many people have tried to develop rational proofs of the existence of God that will be so logical, and so powerful, that every atheist or pagan will be overwhelmed and forced to admit the existence of God. There are four proofs that are used most often:

The proof from creation; the proof from design; the proof from morality; and the proof from prophecy.

The proof from creation, simply stated, is this: The universe exists. Why does it exist? Nothing comes into existence with out a cause. Therefore the believer says there must be a Creator. But the confirmed atheist says, "Maybe the universe DID come into existence by itself, from nothing." For example, Paul Davies, a leading astronomer, wrote an article in Sky and Telescope magazine in 1993, called "What Hath COBE Wrought?" In the article he said, "When the Big Bang theory became popular in the 1950's, many people used it to support the belief that the universe was created by God at some specific moment in the past...however...it is possible to imagine the universe coming into being from nothing entirely spontaneously...there is no need for an external Creator."

The proof from design says: The world is so complex, yet it all works and holds together, there is evidence of design. If I look at my watch, it is obvious to me that it didn't come into existence without a designer and a builder. So the true believer says, there must be a wise God who designed the world. But the confirmed atheist says, "Evolution did it. Given enough millions and billions of years, all that we see around us could have developed by accident, apart from any Designer."

The proof from morality says: Everyone around the world, even criminals and those who do evil, acknowledges that there is such a thing as right and wrong, fair and unfair. Many a prisoner would tell you, "I'm here in jail because I deserve to be punished for my sins." The true believer says, the fact that everyone believes in morality, proves that we all must come from a great moral Creator. But the confirmed atheist says, "Over the millions of years of evolution, mankind has simply developed morality as a survival technique. Right and wrong are merely conventions, but morality is useful because it enables us to live with one another, and to survive as a species. Besides, we all disagree about many aspects of morality. What's seems immoral to you and me may seem immoral to a tribal person in Africa."

The proof from prophecy says: Look at the Bible. There are hundreds of prophecies there that have come true. So the true believer says the Bible must be God's book, and there must be a God. But the confirmed atheist says, "Most of the prophecies in the Bible were not really prophecies. Moses didn't really write the Penteteuch, and Daniel didn't really write Daniel. They were ghost-written by anonymous people after the events, to make them seem as if the future was foretold. It's all made up. And the rest of the prophecies are just coincidences. Besides, anyone who foretells the future will be right some of the time. Even the latest psychic on the Oprah show must be right sometimes."

B. My point here is certainly not that the atheists are right, but that Christian faith is supernatural. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink. You can argue religion all day long with an unbeliever, but you cannot argue him into the Kingdom of God. He cannot understand, and he doesn't want to understand. We read this in I Corinthians chapter 2:

1 Cor 2:13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.
1 Cor 2:14 The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.

Paul teaches us in Romans that the ultimate underlying reason people are atheists or idol worshippers, is that they have a moral problem. They are unwilling to bow the knee and submit to the Word of God. (Romans 1:18-20)

Rom 1:18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness,
Rom 1:19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.
Rom 1:20 For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

On judgment day they will not be able stand before God and honestly say, "I did not know. I did not understand."

C. Furthermore, Christian faith is not just belief in the existence of any God, but faith in the existence of Jehovah, the God of the Bible. We read in Psalm 96:

Psa 96:5 For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the LORD made the heavens.
Psa 96:6 Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and glory are in his sanctuary.
Psa 96:7 Ascribe to the LORD, O families of nations, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
Psa 96:8 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; bring an offering and come into his courts.
Psa 96:9 Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness; tremble before him, all the earth.
Psa 96:10 Say among the nations, "The LORD reigns."

The capital letters, LORD, indicate that the Hebrew word is Yahweh, or Jehovah as we say it in English. This word is not just a generic word for God. Jehovah is the only God there is. In John chapter eight, Jesus claimed to be Jehovah in the flesh.

All the other gods of the nations (Buddha, Allah, Krishna, Baal, Zeus, Thor, and so on) are non-existent legends, imitations, fakes and fairy tales. Christians believe in Jehovah, and Psalm 96 calls the world to abandon their false gods and worship Jehovah.

Ps. 96:5 Brings us to the second element of Christian faith....

II. Christian faith believes that God created everything out of nothing (Heb. 11:3).

Theologians like to use two Latin words to distinguish this doctrine: Ex Nihilo. This simply means, "from nothing." God made all that there is from nothing. He did it by His power. He spoke it into existence. Jesus is the living Word of God, and the Bible says that when the Triune God created the universe, it was done through the agency of Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:15-17):

Col 1:15 He (Jesus) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
Col 1:16 For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.
Col 1:17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Jesus not only created all things, but He sustains all things. He keeps the universe in existence on a day by day basis. God in his providence, keeps it all from falling apart.

Astronomers have developed several theories to explain the origin of the universe by natural means, apart from God. The "steady state theory" was developed by Cambridge University astronomers Hermann Bondi, Thomas Gold and Fred Hoyle. They held that the universe existed because it is normal and natural for matter to continuously come into being from nothing, and that this is happening constantly everywhere. This theory is not very widely held, because no one has ever seen matter come into existence from nothing, and it is difficult to image it doing so.

The second theory was originally called the "evolutionary theory," and was developed by Georges Lemaitre in 1931. Lemaitre's theory says that all the matter in the universe at one time about 15 billion years ago was compressed into a single tiny particle smaller than an atom; and that this particle exploded in an unimaginably powerful explosion. That exploding particle has now been expanding for 15 billion of years, thus creating the universe as we know it today. Astronomers cannot account for the existence of the first particle, other than to guess that it came into existence from nothing. Fred Hoyle mocked Lemaitre's theory, calling it a "big bang," and the name has stuck, and the big bang theory is now accepted as true by most astronomers.

I like what the old country preacher said when asked if he believe in the big bang theory. "Well sir, yes I do," he drawled. "I believe God said let there be light, and BANG there it was!"

The Bible is not a text book on astrophysics. It does not attempt to get into the nitty-gritty mathematical details about God's creation. Genesis was written by Moses 3,500 years ago, and we know more astronomy now than Moses and the Egyptians ever dreamed of. But when the Bible tells us that God made everything, it does tell us two things that are essential for us to know:

First: The Bible is teaching us that it was Jehovah who made everything. No other God is responsible.
Second: The Bible is teaching us that nothing came into existence spontaneously, naturally, all by itself, apart from the Creator.

Christian faith believes that God is our Creator, not some sort of evolution. And that leads to the third element which is evident in Christian faith.

III. Christian Faith Is Obedient to the Commands of God.

If God is our Creator, then He also has the right and wisdom to be our Commander. He obviously knows best how we should live, and He has the divine authority to TELL us how to live. The Christian is glad to give obedience to Him.

When Nissan develops a car called the Maxima, it has the right to tell you how to operate the car. Nissan knows what kind of care is necessary to keep the car in good running condition. You can disobey the manual for your car, but if you do, you have no one to blame but yourself when it quits working and leaves you stranded beside the highway.

Hebrews 11:4,7 and 8 tell us about Abel, Noah and Abraham, who are examples of obedience that springs from faith in God.

Heb 11:4 By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.
Heb 11:7 By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
Heb 11:8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.

Faith that does not bring about obedience is not real Christian faith. The book of James says:

James 2:14 What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?
James 2:15 Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.
James 2:16 If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?
James 2:17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
James 2:18 But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.
James 2:19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that--and shudder.

Even the demons believe the facts. A Christian is not a person who merely believes the facts that God exists, that He is our Creator, and that Jesus died on the cross for our sins. A Christian is a person who believes in such a way that he has committed himself to Christ. He has become a follower of Jesus, a disciple of Jesus. Faith without works is dead faith, not saving faith. You cannot be a Christian without being a disciple of Jesus, unless you are a Christian in name only. Jesus said, "If you say you love me, then keep my commandments." The apostle John wrote about this in I John 3:7-10, where he said,

1 John 3:7 Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.
1 John 3:8 He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work.
1 John 3:9 No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.
1 John 3:10 This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.

Conclusion: So, what is Christian faith? It is faith in the existence of Jehovah. It is faith that God is our Creator. It is faith that shows itself in obedience to God's commands. The author of Hebrews, after finishing the roll call of the faithful in chapter eleven, emphasizes the action aspect of faith in the first verse of chapter twelve:

Heb 12:1 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.

May the Lord give each of us the gift of Christian Faith, and may we all stay engaged in the great race, serving the Lord as best we can! Amen.