Simple Faith

We see that very clearly in Mark 1:15: “Repent and believe the Gospel.” If you are not willing to Repent, you are probably not willing to Believe! That is, if you do not have an open mind to changing your belief and your behavior, then you are probably not going to change your belief or your behavior. Repent and Believe go together.

A Simple Definition of Faith

Whenever we use words like faith, belief, or trust, here is what I want you to consider, because I think this will help. When we start talking about faith, or belief, some people will say, “Here is my list of Twelve Fundamental Truths that I believe. Here are my beliefs!” And it becomes a religious exercise, a doctrinal checklist. “Brother Chip! Do you believe in ____ ?” Fill in the blank. That becomes a litmus test. Either I agree and believe the way you do, or I do not; and you either accept me and my belief because it reinforces what you already believe, or the opposite – you do not like the fact that I believe differently than you believe. And so, either you argue, or you simply disappear, and you go look for someone else with whom you completely agree with. We tend to look at things like faith and belief as religious words.

What I want you to try as an experiment is to stop thinking of faith and belief in terms of Religion and think of these in terms of Relationship. Faith, belief, and trust mean something different in a Relationship compared to a Religion. The whole emphasis of The School of Christ is to help people discover the freedom and joy of a Christ-centered faith that is based on relationship, not religion. What kind of a relationship? A Love Relationship. Religion is based on a legalistic relationship. A legalistic relationship with God is Religion. A Love Relationship with God is very different. If you view faith and belief and trust through the lens of a Love Relationship instead of a Legalistic Religion, I think it will help you to better understand the Bible and what the Bible is explaining to us, and why this is one of the 7 Essential Teachings of Jesus: Believe.

Here is the simplest definition I can give you of faith. What is faith? Very simply…

Faith is trusting that
God is Who He says He is,
and that He will do what
He says He will do.

That is faith. Faith is nothing more than trust. That is all it is. Now, there have been entire religious movements – the Word of Faith movement, faith healers, seed faith – you heard that word “faith” thrown around quite a bit in the 1980s, in the 1990s, maybe today. I do not follow any of that now, so I would not know what they are talking about now. Maybe they are still talking about “put your faith out,” believe God for a new Cadillac, believe God for your financial prosperity, or whatever. And they seem to talk about “Faith” the way Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars would talk about the Force: “Faith” is this invisible power that helps you to do things such as get cars and jewels and riches in your bank account. You can look at faith through the lens of Religion, or through the lens of the Word of Faith movement, and get a completely different idea from Scripture.

What I am asking is that you consider faith and trust and belief through the lens of Relationship. Let me ask you a question. Can you have any kind of relationship with someone you do not trust? You can answer that inwardly. You can say it out loud if it helps. Can you have any kind of relationship with someone you do not trust? I guess you can… Maybe a better way to ask the question is: Can you have a healthy relationship with someone you do not trust? I mean, I am in lots of relationships with people I do not trust – and I do not have a choice! Can you have any kind of a healthy relationship with someone you do not trust? Let me get really specific. Can you have a good marriage if you do not trust your spouse, if you do not trust your husband or your wife? Can you have a love relationship with someone you do not trust? Not a healthy relationship; it is impossible without trust.

Your relationship with God is exactly the same way. You cannot have a relationship with God if you do not trust that God is Who He says He is, and that He will do what He says He will do. It will not be a healthy relationship without trust. What will it be? Fear. Legalism. Religion. You are afraid of God, because you do not trust that He really loves you, or you do not trust that He can forgive you after all the things you have done. Or, you are afraid to really put your life in His hands, because you do not know what that will mean. You are afraid to trust that God is Who He says He is, and that He will do what He says He will do, because you have been disappointed in the past.

There are a lot of reasons why people struggle. But I am saying that any good, healthy, relationship (and certainly any love relationship) has to be built on a foundation of trust. And it is exactly the same thing with your spiritual relationship with God. Faith is nothing more than trusting that God is Who He says He is, and that He will do what He says He will do.

If you want to test that simple definition, just check it out in Scripture. You see the people that the Bible talks about having great faith? That is what they did. Abraham believed God, and God considered him righteous.[1] Why? Because Abraham simply believed that God is Who He says He is, and that God will do what He says He will do. There is a whole list of people in Hebrews 11 – people who believed and trusted that God is Who He says He is, and that He will do what He says He will do. Even though they did not always obtain the promises, they still believed God![2]

Fear vs. Faith

Trust is the foundation of any healthy relationship. If you are in a relationship where there is no trust, I guarantee you there is conflict. There is fear. There is certainly a lack of joy and a lack of happiness. For a lot of religious people, that lack of trust, that lack of faith, that lack of belief, accounts for why they are so… I am trying to find a nice way to say it. They just lack joy. They are just not joyful people. They are going through the motions of Churchianity. Maybe they go to church on a regular basis, maybe they tithe on a regular basis. But a lot of it is based on fear. Fear that, if I do not, then something bad is going to happen. God is going to punish me. Or, God is going to remove His blessings from me. They are walking around in fear all the time instead of faith. Can you relate to that?

If that is something that you are going through, or something that you have been through, then I just want to simplify the whole process here. It really comes down just to trusting that God is Who He says He is, and that He will do what He says He will do. Just trust that that is the case, regardless of how you feel, regardless of how you see things going on around you. Trust is the basis of your relationship with the Lord. Without trust, you cannot have any kind of a Love Relationship.

I said this applies to our Love Relationship with the Lord, and it does. Hebrews 11:6 says, “Without faith it is impossible to please God.” Now why is that? Because God is so hard to please? No, not at all. But listen! If I do not trust my wife, do you think she is going to be happy with me? If my wife does not trust me, do you think I am going to be well pleased with her? No, I will be upset. “What? Why don’t you trust me?!? Why are you so suspicious of me?!?” You see this happening in immature relationships; but relationships that have maturity always have trust. The same thing is true of your love relationship with God.

Without faith, it is impossible to please God. Why? Because God is so hard to please? No. Simply because, “He who comes to God must believe that He is….”[3] Right? That God is Who He says He is! That is where I am getting this from. “He who comes to God must believe that He is.” Right. And the second part: “…and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”[4] Meaning, that God will do what He says He will do. That is it!

It is impossible without faith, without trust, or as Jesus would say, without belief. When Jesus says, “You believe God, believe also in Me,”[5] He is saying, “Trust Me.” That is all. Trust Me. “Without trust, it is impossible to please God; for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” In other words, they believe that God is Who He says He is, and that He will do what He says He will do. Very simple.

We will talk about how to build and increase your capacity for faith and trust and belief in the Lord. I believe your faith can grow. I believe trust can grow just as any relationship grows. If the relationship is growing, then trust is overflowing. If the relationship is declining, then trust is probably also declining as well.

Do You Trust Me?

There are a lot of reasons why faith is so important, and why Jesus taught us to Believe. We will look at some of them now. The Gospel of John contains these calls from Jesus to anyone who is listening to Believe. Believe. Trust Me. Trust Me. It is so hard, isn’t it? So hard to trust. But that is the key to any good relationship. Trust Me!

Jesus says, “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also.”[6] See? Trust has to do with knowing. You may be able to trust Chip Brogden; I do not know if you do or not. It depends on how long you have known me and how well you have known me. If you are just hearing or reading me for the first time you might be suspicious. You have your guard up, waiting to see how I might be saying the wrong thing, or whether you really agree with me or not. On the other hand, I have people who have been listening to me and reading for five years, ten years and even longer, 15-20 years. They know me by now, and so, there is a certain level of trust. Right?

Same thing in any other relationship. Same thing in your relationship with God. The longer you are with God, the more you trust God, the more you trust that He is Who He says He is and that He will do what He says He will do.

So it makes sense, then, that if your relationship can grow then trust, faith, and belief can also grow. And it makes sense if that is all tied to relationship, and if the relationship is going bad, usually faith is very low and trust is very low. In John 14:7 Jesus is saying these words to His disciples who have known him for over three years now…

“If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.” Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.” (Jn. 14:7-11)

That is: “If you cannot believe Me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me, maybe you can believe Me based on all the miracles I have done!” God is always demonstrating signs and wonders and miracles and answers to prayer and blessings. Things that most people would call “luck” and “fate” and “chance” and “good fortune” is really God’s grace, revealing Himself (usually) to people who least deserve it, so that they will begin to have faith in God as well, so they will begin to grow in their trust and in their faith in the Lord.

Jesus goes on to say…

“And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.” (Jn. 14:13,14)

That is a pretty open-ended promise, isn’t it? And what He is trying to do is to reinforce this idea that it all begins with your belief. It begins with your willingness, first of all, to repent – to open your heart, open your mind, and change your behavior. And then, believe something that you did not believe before.

You will see many times in Scripture that when it comes to doing a work of healing, or a miracle, or some other breakthrough, Jesus actually asks people: “Do you believe Me? Do you believe I can do this?” Or, He will encourage people: “Do not be afraid, only believe.”

Look at a few examples. In Matthew 9:28, two blind men cried out to Jesus for healing, and He says, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” See? If you do not believe that He is able to do it, He will not be able to do it. If you do not believe it, you are not going to ask for it. If you do not believe it, you are going to be frustrated and upset and discouraged. So many times Jesus gauges their belief in anticipation of the healing. “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said yes. And then He said, “According to your faith, according to your belief, according to your trust, may it be done to you,” and they were healed.

Jairus’ daughter was sick. He went and got Jesus. Jesus is on the way. And here comes the messengers, saying, “We’re sorry, Jairus. Your daughter has died. There is no need to trouble the Master anymore. It is all over. It is hopeless. Nothing can be done. She’s dead. That is the end of it.” And Jesus turned and spoke to Jairus and said, “Do not be afraid, only believe.”[7] And then Jesus raised her from the dead.

To the father of the boy who was possessed by a demon and was having seizures, Jesus says, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”[8]

Jesus says, “Whatever things you ask for when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.”[9]

Again, Jesus says…

“And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” (Mk. 16:17, 18)

The point of that is: the devil will not be able to withstand those whom we call Believers. That is why we are called Believers – because we are people who believe that God is Who He says He is and that God will do what He says He will do!

Back in John 14, Jesus is trying to get His disciples to transfer that same level of belief over to Him.  “Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in Me.”[10] Why? Because, “If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.”[11]

There they are at the tomb of Lazarus. Again, a hopeless situation. The man has been dead for four days. But Jesus tells his sister, “Whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.” [12] And then He questions her directly: “Do you believe this?” It is good question to ask yourself sometimes. What do I believe? I am not talking about your doctrines and your opinions concerning religious teaching. I am talking about asking yourself whether you really, in the depths of your being, believe that God is Who He says He is and that God will do what He says He will do.

What I find looking at myself (and also looking at others – though I am not trying to judge anyone else, but just looking at myself) sometimes I say, “I believe God.” But then I behave as if I do not. You say, “I can’t believe you said that about yourself, Brother Chip!” Yes, that is me. And guess what? That is you, too. Sometimes we have great confessions of faith and belief, but our actions do not really back up what we say.

We need to get our behavior in alignment with our beliefs. Think about this. If you really believed, 100%, that God is exactly Who He says He is, and that God will do exactly what He says He will do, how would that change your day-to-day living? What would you do? What would you attempt? What would you say? How would you live your life if you knew that God is Who He says He is, and that God will do what He says He will do? I will suggest to you that that is the level of faith and belief that Jesus demonstrated in His absolute, 100%, unswerving, unwavering confidence in His Father.

[1] Rom. 4:3.

[2] Heb. 11:39.

[3] Heb. 11:6a.

[4] Heb. 11:6b.

[5] Jn. 14:1.

[6] Jn. 14:7.

[7] Mk. 5:36.

[8] Mk. 9:23.

[9] Mk. 11:24.

[10] Jn. 14:1.

[11] Jn. 14:9-11.

[12] Jn. 11:26.

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