Beginnings of Faith

.... In the beginning, God created man in His own image and set him in the garden of Eden (Genesis 1:26; 2:15). Woman was also created, and they enjoyed fellowship with God as they walked with Him in the garden (see Genesis 3:8). But we all know what followed as the serpent came and deceived the woman, and the fall of mankind took place:

.... Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?" And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.'" Then the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.

(Genesis 3:1-6)

.... Let’s take a critical look at just what was lost through this fall. For the first time, man had not believed God’s word nor trusted Him. Man showed his first ambition to become independent of God, and to redefine his subordinate relationship of trust. Instead he wanted to become comparable to God, and to depend on his own abilities – even to the point of second-guessing God’s motives and purposes. Furthermore, he opted for the tangible, rather than trusting in a truth that was unseen.

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.... Shortly after the fall of man, the conciliatory role of faith first appeared (Hebrews 11:4). Faith helped fill the void that was created through man’s fall, and to mend the relationship that was strained through it. Faith, in every way, is mindful of God and of pleasing Him:

.... "But 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 diligently seek Him."

(Hebrews 11:6)

.... The same, underlying concept can be seen in this negative application of the same concept:

.... "Of the Rock who begot you, you are unmindful, and have forgotten the God who fathered you . . . for they are a perverse generation, children in whom is no faith."

(Deuteronomy 32:18-20)

.... The true, biblical concept of faith brings us back to trusting in God and believing in His word, even to the point of believing in things unseen. But most importantly, it cannot be separated from the context of a subordinate relationship. We will discuss this further in our next posting.

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Daily Bible Reading: Romans 7