Why is it necessary
to have faith in God? Since so many of us question
whether God exists, wouldn’t it be simpler if He just showed Himself? In fact,
if God would transport us to heaven and hell, we would have no more doubts, but
would have the complete assurance to live a Christian life. Then, we would
serve Him, obey Him, and love Him without wondering if we are wasting our time,
right? The Bible informs, “without faith it is
impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and
that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6). Faith is by
definition the “conviction of things not seen” (NASB), the “evidence of things
not seen” (KJV), and involves being “certain of what we do not see” (NIV). But,
why is it necessary to believe in someone we cannot see?
What if God showed
Himself?
In fact, God has shown
Himself to people previously and, on these occasions, some believed God and
others did not:
· Adam and Eve had no
question of God’s existence whatsoever. The Bible states, “They heard the sound
of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and
his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of
the garden” (Genesis 3:8). Clearly, they knew God was walking in the garden and
other verses detail conversations between Adam and God. So, Adam was certain
God existed, but still chose to disobey and rebel.
· All of the Israelites
who were led from Egypt by Moses saw very convincing displays of God’s
presence. For example, God “did not take
away the pillar of cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before
the people” (Exodus 13:22). In addition, He supplied the manna miraculously
every morning for 40 years (Exodus 16). The people believed in God, but even
so, trusted Him only up to a point. They still grumbled, disobeyed, and failed
to trust Him completely.[1]
· Many people saw the
miracles performed by Jesus Christ as well as the greatest miracle – His
resurrection from the dead – and yet some chose to reject Him. For instance,
Judas Iscariot was a disciple of Jesus for three years, saw the miracles, and still
decided to betray Him. Are we so sure we would make the right decision if we
had no doubt of God’s existence? Jesus addressed this issue by stating, “If
they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even
if someone rises from the dead” (Luke 16:31).
God has given some
faith to all people.
The Bible
states, “God has allotted to each a measure of faith” (Romans 12:3). And, every
person knows there is a God, as Romans 1:20 indicates: “For since the creation of the world His invisible
attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being
understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.” Also,
all people have a knowledge right and wrong (Genesis 2:9 and 3:22) as well as a
conscience: “For when Gentiles
who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not
having the Law, are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law
written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts
alternately accusing or else defending them” (Romans 2:14-15). So, every person
instinctively has some understanding of God’s existence and of a natural moral
law.
Why speak in
parables?
Asking why God does
not clearly reveal Himself is similar to a question the disciples asked Jesus:
“Why do you speak to them in parables?” His response was:
“To you it has been
granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not
been granted. For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an
abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from
him. Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not
see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand” (Matthew
13:10-13).
Jesus
indicated that truth will be revealed to those who truly desire to know, but
that insight will not be revealed to those who have chosen to reject whatever
truth they have. This principle is also evident in the parable Jesus told of
the talents in which the master said, “’take away the
talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.' For to
everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from
the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away” (Matthew
25:28-29). This may sound unfair, but the amount of truth we receive from God
is based on our sincere desire for truth. God said to His people, “But from
there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you search for
Him with all your heart and all your soul” (Deuteronomy 4:29). Jesus indicated
the same principle when He stated, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and
you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks
receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened”
(Matthew 7:7-8). It is a Biblical principle that, if we act upon the small
amount of faith we have, more will be given.
Why would God not
show Himself?
In addition to
Biblical reasons, there are also philosophical explanations that help us to
understand why God seemingly remains hidden. If He unmistakably revealed
Himself, that action would have the result of turning Him into a cosmic
policeman, from whom we could never escape. In doing this, God would subject us
to pervasive coercion. Michael J.
Murray, Professor at Franklin & Marshall College, explains that coercive
pressure undermines the ability of humans to experience morally significant
freedom. He details five factors which lead to varying levels of coercion:
1.
The
strength of the threat: that is, how bad the threatened consequence appears to
be.
2.
The
“imminence” of the threat. This factor has three elements:
a)
Probabilistic:
the likelihood that the threatened consequence will actually be carried out.
b)
Temporal:
how quickly the threatened consequence will be carried out.
c)
Epistemic:
the extent of the “felt awareness” of the threatened consequence.
3.
Threat
indifference: the extent to which the person threatened fells indifferent to
threats.[2]
If we feel little or
no coercive pressure from a God who sees our every move, we are then free to
act as we wish and make free choices. As we tell our children, one of the
highest virtues is to do the right thing even when no one is looking.
Conclusion:
choice.
Blaise
Pascal said, “In faith there is enough light for those who want to believe and
enough shadows to blind those who don't.” (Though he only lived 39 years, Pascal
had many other insightful observations regarding belief in God.[3]) Most of those who have
chosen unbelief do so not for intellectually honest reasons, but for moral or
emotional ones. A non-believer may have been offended by someone in the church.
Or, one may have had some faith, then a negative experience or tragedy
destroyed that faith. Possibly the most common reason for non-belief is
moral: “If I believe in God, I must
admit that some area of my life is sinful and I don’t want to give up that sin”.
We owe it to ourselves to be honest about our true motives. Faith in God is
ultimately a matter of choice and some simply refuse to believe regardless of
the evidence, reason, or their conscience. As Neo and the Architect ultimately
concluded in the Matrix, “The problem is choice.” If one does not wish to
believe, he will find enough reason to doubt. On the other hand, if one’s mind
is honestly open to the truth, there is sufficient evidence and reason to
believe in God.
(Biblical
references are from the NASB version.)
[1]
“Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, ‘We should by all means go up
and take possession of it, for we will surely overcome it.’ But the men who had
gone up with him said, ‘We are not able to go up against the people, for they
are too strong for us’” (Numbers 13:30).
“Then all the
congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night.
All the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron; and the whole
congregation said to them, ‘Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or
would that we had died in this wilderness! ‘Why is the Lord bringing us into
this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become
plunder; would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?’ So they said to one
another, "Let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt’" (Numbers
14:1-4).
[2]
Michael J. Murray, “Why Doesn’t God Make His Existence More Obvious to Us?” Passionate Conviction, Eds. Paul Copan
and William Lane Craig (Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 2007), 48.
[3] “Those
whom we see to be Christians without the knowledge of the prophets and
evidences, nevertheless judge of their religion as well as those who have that
knowledge. They judge of it by the heart, as others judge of it by the
intellect. God himself inclines them to believe, and thus they are most
effectively convinced. I confess indeed that one of those Christians who
believe without proofs will not, perhaps, be capable of convincing an infidel
who will say the same of himself. But those who know the proofs of religion
will prove without difficulty that such a believer is truly inspired by God,
though he cannot prove it himself. For God having said in His prophecies (which
are undoubtedly prophecies) that in the reign of Jesus Christ He would spread
His spirit abroad among nations, and that the youths and maidens and children
of the Church would prophesy; it is certain that the Spirit of God is in these
and not in the others. Instead of complaining that God had hidden Himself, you
will give Him thanks for not having revealed so much of Himself; and you will
also give Him thanks for not having revealed Himself to haughty sages, unworthy
to know so holy a God. Two kinds of persons know Him: those who have a humble
heart, and who love lowliness, whatever kind of intellect they may have, high
or low; and those who have sufficient understanding to see the truth, whatever
opposition they may have to it.” Blaise
Pascal, Pensees, Section IV, paragraphs 287-288, from Christian Classics
Ethereal Library, <http://www.ccel.org>
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