Sometimes we fail to understand faith and the role that it plays in our lives. Thankfully, the Bible describes the source of our faith as coming from what God says. Paul says, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom. 10:17). This is why the Great Commission Jesus gave just before His ascension is so important. He told the apostles to preach the gospel to every creature, and those who heard the message and believed it and were baptized would be saved (Mark 16:15-16). Faith, trusting in God, is our response to His plan and why it is so important to see the role it plays.
Faith does not come because we have used our own minds to find God. However, to know only intellectually what God wants to do is far different from trusting with all our hearts and doing what He says, even if we may have no other reason for doing it. Sometimes small children can understand intellectually and see why they should obey parents. When a parent tells a child to be watchful and careful about walking down steps, a child can understand what mom or dad said. They may not know the “why” until they ignore what was said, and after tumbling down those steps, they begin to listen when told not to touch a hot stove. Faith is trusting and doing what a parent says, even though we are too young to comprehend anything about hot stoves.
Faith in God is not seen when we only do those things we can comprehend why God wants us to do it. The faith of Abraham is seen most vividly when he takes Isaac, binds him up, places him on an altar and raises the knife to kill him (Gen. 22). Abraham is not doing this horrendous act because Abraham understands why he is doing it. Had Isaac asked him why are you doing this, there is just one answer. You know what that answer is, and it is sometimes the one answer we can give for some things we do in serving God. Abraham’s faith and our faith is seen most vividly when we respond with one answer, “Because God told me to.”
After God intervened and kept Isaac from being killed, He said, “Now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me” (v. 12). God knew and Abraham knew. We also read this, and we know about faith and its place in our salvation and the vital role it plays in our obedient service to God.
Why do we dip people in water? Why do we eat unleavened bread? Why do we give back to God what is already His? Why do we turn the other cheek? Why do we love our enemies? Why do we…? Why do we…? Why do we…? The one answer is the same one Abraham had—because this is what God told me to do! And these nine words define faith. Faith is doing what He told me to do every time, all the time!