Lesson No. 7

Lesson No. 7 The Foundation of The Christian Faith

Before concluding this chapter, I wanted to present the topic of Christian faith, as it is a matter of vital importance for students of the Holy Bible.

Faith is a gift from God, a virtue that implies certainty, trust, and security; it makes us believe in something that exists or is going to take place, although the reason for its existence or the way of its realization is beyond the limit of our understanding.

This is a fundamental factor for every believer, especially for Christians. It is practically impossible to conceive Christianity without taking into account that living faith, which must be demonstrated through the practice of the works that give evidence of it. As conceived by James in his Epistle universal. See James chapter 2: verses 14 to 26.51 Now, since it is fundamental for every believer, it is very important to have a well-defined conviction about Christian faith, which has its origin and foundation in the evidence of God's manifestations to His people, revealed in the Holy Bible.

For a better understanding of what I wanted to express, we will take into consideration some portions of the sacred account related to men who have a marked trajectory of faith, biblically recognized. Let us first reflect on the case of Noah. God said to Noah: …The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth. 14Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch. 17And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die. 18But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee. 22Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he. (Genesis chapter 6: verses 13, 14, 17, 18, and 22).51

We believe that Noah would never have subjected himself to building an ark like that, under such inexorable circumstances, preaching the future of an inconceivable flood for the humanity of that time, if he had not perceived the voice of God. Who spoke to him audibly and gave him orders about everything he had to do, also working in his heart in the way that only He knows how to do to convince man and fill him with that glorious faith.

We also have the case of Abraham: Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: 2And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. 4So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran. (Genesis chapter 12: verses 1 to 4).51

We understand that Abraham would not have exposed himself to such a sacrificial and dangerous adventure as the one he undertook if it hadn't been for the inspiring, clear, and detailed manifestation he received directly from God. But his obedience to the divine command allowed him to reach a higher degree of faith and greater evidence of the power and faithfulness of the Supreme Creator. In such a way that he has been biblically called the father of faith. And each of the words received in that memorable revelation have been fulfilled completely.

Let us see what the Scriptures say textually about Moses:

Exodus chapter 3: verses 1 to 5: “Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. 2And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. 3And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. 4And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. 5And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground”.51

Following this event, the Lord said to Moses: Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God. 7And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; 8And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey… 10Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt. (Exodus Chapter 3: verses 6 to 8… and 10).51

According to the details of the account in Exodus chapter 4: verses 1 to 7: And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The LORD hath not appeared unto thee. 2And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod. 3And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it. 4And the LORD said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand: 5That they may believe that the LORD God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee. 6And the LORD said furthermore unto him, Put now thine hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom: and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow. 7And he said, Put thine hand into thy bosom again. And he put his hand into his bosom again; and plucked it out of his bosom, and, behold, it was turned again as his other flesh.51

The truth is that Moses wouldn't have appeared before the king of Egypt to demand that he let a slave people leave his land if he hadn't had such evident proofs from God as the Lord showed him on Mount Horeb. This enabled him to take the people out performing great signs and wonders through the faith he had received.

Among many of the illustrious characters of faith, related in the history of the Holy Scriptures, I have chosen these three great men of God, from whom we can take example to demonstrate on the foundation of their experiences and attitudes the principles of Christian faith.

They have a brilliant record in the history of faith. Undoubtedly, they knew of God through oral tradition; but none of them would have thought to carry out actions similar to those related in these biblical passages simply by their own ideas, but their decisions were founded on the conviction they received through great revelations from God.

This is the faith that through the ages has germinated in the hearts of the true children of God. The one that made it possible for Moses to extend his rod over the Red Sea, as the Almighty ordered him, and the waters divided so that His people passed the sea on dry land. While all their pursuers drowned. It is the one that made it possible for the three Hebrew children to accept being thrown into a blazing furnace, from where they emerged unscathed, rather than worship a false god depicted through a golden statue (see Daniel chapter 3: verses 1 to 27).51 It was the potential that the prophet Daniel received to submit himself to being thrown into the lions' den, from where he emerged without harm, rather than cease worshiping the only true God (see Daniel chapter 1: verses 1 to 7).51 It is the same virtue that made it possible for many other men in biblical history to launch into the conquest of great successes and emerge victorious. Because the faith of these men was not based on mere creations of the human mind, like that of other religions, but on the evidence of real and convincing facts that have always consisted of great manifestations of God to men.

Therefore, it has always been said that if the men in Christ's time hadn't perceived the miracles and signs He performed in the presence of many people, they also wouldn’t have believed that He was the Sent One of God, nor would they have had faith in His words. But, to culminate with the evidence of His divine origin, after having died, He resurrected on the third day, as He had told them before; and appeared to them on several occasions giving them commandments, until He ascended to heaven in their presence.

However, Thomas, one of His disciples, who was not present on the first occasion when the Lord appeared to them while the others were together, expressed himself saying: ...If I do not see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the mark of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe".

However, when the Lord appeared to him and showed him His hands and His side pierced by the spear, then he believed and said, "My Lord and my God!" See John chapter 20: verses 25 to 28.51

I hope that through this exposition, students have been able to understand that Christian faith is not based on mere creations of the human mind, like the faith of other religions, but that its principles and foundations are based on real facts and evidences.

These are the reasons that made it possible for the faith of those disciples to grow to such an extent that not even the most fierce persecutions, imprisonment, tortures, nor martyrdom could achieve that Christians retracted from such glorious conviction.

Note that in all these details three essential elements concerning faith are manifested. First: that biblical faith is to believe in the truth. Second: that this truth includes total reality, which comprises both the invisible and visible world. Third: for that faith to be genuine, we must live according to that truth in which we have believed. Such is the faith of the Christian.

Conclusion: Thus, I conclude this chapter, hoping that it has fulfilled the objective of my most noble purpose that the students may achieve to obtain a basic concept about the Holy Bible, which helps them trust fully in it. Knowing the divinely inspired origin of its writings, its character of eternal permanence, its divine provision as a means to instruct man for every good work, illuminate his mind darkened by sin, and teach him how to make practical use of prayer. Also, how to understand its sacred writings and that in it is contained the foundation of the Christian faith.