faith as act
before coming to calvary community i was thinking about how i was making the decision to come here. "make the decision by faith." i started thinking about the nature of faith....how we set it against "works" as though any work means not having faith; that they are mutually exclusive. i think they are intimately connected.
re: paul and romans, we treat faith as something like intense trust... and works as something that betrays trust. i think it's a much more covenant thing--faith (which God gives) is the only sign of being in covenant, not circumcision or anything. God's covenant is not found in a certain heritage anymore (wasn't before, either, but that's another discussion). salvation by grace through faith is not because Paul was afraid people would try hard to earn God's favour, but because the gentiles were now God's covenant people...and didn't need to stop being Gentiles.
anyway, back to faith. i think faith is necessarily an act. there is no faith removed from action. faith does not simply precede an action (though it does--because acts have preceded decisions which are connected to action), but most importantly abides with an action. my decision to come to Calvary Community was not just made in faith, but now continues in faith. there are few right or wrong decisions, i think, discerned by tossing "faith" into the decision rubric. rather, there are only people of little or great faith living out their decisions. the important thing is not to make the right decision by faith, but to make the decision right by faith; not to make the decision by faith, but to live the decision in faith. i'm glad little faith is all that's needed.
this did not come out nearly as clearly as it was in my head, but i'm too tired to re-write.
re: paul and romans, we treat faith as something like intense trust... and works as something that betrays trust. i think it's a much more covenant thing--faith (which God gives) is the only sign of being in covenant, not circumcision or anything. God's covenant is not found in a certain heritage anymore (wasn't before, either, but that's another discussion). salvation by grace through faith is not because Paul was afraid people would try hard to earn God's favour, but because the gentiles were now God's covenant people...and didn't need to stop being Gentiles.
anyway, back to faith. i think faith is necessarily an act. there is no faith removed from action. faith does not simply precede an action (though it does--because acts have preceded decisions which are connected to action), but most importantly abides with an action. my decision to come to Calvary Community was not just made in faith, but now continues in faith. there are few right or wrong decisions, i think, discerned by tossing "faith" into the decision rubric. rather, there are only people of little or great faith living out their decisions. the important thing is not to make the right decision by faith, but to make the decision right by faith; not to make the decision by faith, but to live the decision in faith. i'm glad little faith is all that's needed.
this did not come out nearly as clearly as it was in my head, but i'm too tired to re-write.
posted by Aaron Perry at
12:44 AM
6 Comments:
As Gavel would say "clear as mud"
hey ap, there seems to be some dichotomous thought here: "not this, but this" i say, why can't it be both? and "only" why not 'mostly'? why does it have to be cut and dry? wouldn't it be beneficial to leave a little room for an 'x' factor? just a few thoughts. this is not an attack or a 'position' or anything, just my natural reaction.
i think you're right, jo. faith is both attitude and action. the attitude of faith requires action, but i'm tempted to think the action does not require the attitude. if that's what you're addressing, then i think you're right.
say more about what you have in mind with the x factor.
the "x" factor is simply leaving room for the mystery of God....
not a "mystery button" to push when we don't understand, but just an acknowledgement that there might be some things that we just do not know (yet). epistemic humility if you will.
hey jo, thanks for saying more. let me try to say better what i tried to say before.
faith assumes faith in something or someone. the act of faith only makes sense (or doesn't make sense) considering its object. we tend to put faith in the object of the decision itself. "this is the right decision." i want to say that faith is necessarily an action (primarily) whose object is God. in other words, there is no "faith in God" without act. the whole life of faith is lived only by God's Spirit; if lived in true faith, God is in the whole. so, in some ways the whole thing is epistemically humble because faith is not in my ability to discern the right decision, but only to live by faith--which is the gift of God, done only by God's Spirit.
ah. i see. i had misunderstood.
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home