Articles
Faith Is Reasonable & Rational
Simply believing something does not make it true. Faith involves more than just wanting to believe something is true regardless of the evidence to the contrary. Yet, this is where many people stand in religious matters.
Some take a non-intellectual approach to Bible faith. They ignore all reason. They are ruled solely by emotions. Their faith is based on whatever feels good to them at the moment. However, it must be realized that God gave us a mind, with the ability to think and reason, and He expects us to use it. We must use our minds the way God intended and not "leave our brain at the door" as a good preacher friend of mine one time wrote concerning this same matter.
There are others who would depend completely on rationality. They rely solely on human reasoning. Though we must use our minds to reason things out, it is important that we don't rely too much on rationality or else we might end up rejecting things in the Scriptures because they don't "make sense" to us. "There is a way that seemeth right to a man, but the end thereof is the way of death." (Proverbs 14:12). "O Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps." (Jeremiah 10:23). There must be a balance. While our minds are to dwell on God's word, as we think and reason from the Bible, we must however allow the Bible to have the final say and not what we think.
Faith is grounded in truth and truth is rational. God's word is truth (John 17:17). God's word, the gospel, is reasonable and not a bunch of myths and fables (2 Peter 1:16). It is always true no matter whether you or I believe it or accept it. Truth is also objective. If not, there is no difference whatsoever between truth and error or right and wrong. God's word is true and there is no middle ground.
Faith does not require a complete understanding of everything. Though we are to believe in God, we do not know everything there is about God. "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord." (Isaiah 55:8). There are many things beyond our comprehension about God but we are still to put our trust in Him. Neither does faith require us to understand why God has done what He has done nor why He requires certain things of us. In Genesis 12, Abraham by faith obeyed God even when he did not know where he was going. His faith did not require him to know everything. People, today, do not obey the gospel because, in their own mind, they don't understand everything about the gospel. I doubt many of us understand everything about our car's engine but that doesn't keep us from driving, does it?
God has given us enough reason to obey without questioning His reasons. When anyone refuses to be baptized because he doesn't understand why God chose baptism, then he is not demonstrating faith.
---E.R. Hall, Jr.
