Static or Dynamic Faith?
In my post, Spiritual Hearing Aids Needed, I make this statement —
"Learning to hear God and experience the presence and life of the Spirit of Jesus have been replaced in today's American church with believing the right doctrines, defending the faith against cultural infidels, supporting God's chosen political party, and cult-like conformity to "our camp." The sad fact is all these things become noise interfering with the ability of God's people to hear, really hear, the life-giving words of Jesus."
I want to follow up on that statement in a series of posts as I describe the difference between static and dynamic faith. The above list, of course, is not meant to be exhaustive. It's simply some of the more obvious characteristics of many churches and Christian denominations or camps. Let's begin with the first thing on that list —
Believing the right doctrines.
If our faith depends on believing correctly, we are all in big trouble. Here's why. Because a faith that is anchored on believing correctly about God is a misplaced faith. Through the words of the prophet, Isaiah, God makes it very clear that "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."1
God is not confined or limited by our understanding of Him. So when we start reducing the eternal creator and sustainer of the universe to doctrines, we aren't limiting God; we are limiting our ability to let God be God. This results in a static, frozen faith. Even worse, it tends to make a mental image of God, and that is idolatry.
"Dan, please tell me you are not suggesting doing away with doctrine." No. I'm saying that faith is not based on correct belief. Faith is a radical trust in the God, whose thoughts and ways are beyond our ability to fully understand. In fact, that's what faith is. Maybe you've heard faith described as a leap. It is. But as Christians, we trust that when we make that leap, it is not a leap into the dark. Rather it is a leap into the open arms of a loving God.
And for the record, that leap is not a one-time thing. It is a leap we make over and over again as we follow Jesus. And that, my friends, is dynamic, moving, and ongoing. Definitely not static.
One of the reasons for this misplaced faith in doctrines about God rather than in God is found in our understanding of the word faith. Faith, belief, trust - all three of these words are English translations of one Greek word. Pistis. Bible translators must choose which English word to use whenever they come across this one Greek word.
I applaud the efforts of these translators and the many Bible translations they have produced. But I want you to think about something with me. Of the three words, faith, belief, and trust, which sounds more personal, more intimate? Trust. Right?
Faith and belief have become religious words. To say, "I believe in God" does not carry the same intimate, personal warmth as saying, "I trust God." One sounds like an intellectual acknowledgment, and the other speaks of a relationship.
I'm not advocating doing away with all translations using the words faith and belief. I am saying that in today's English, they are religious, churchy words. Words that tend to be more associated with "what" rather than "who." And when our focus is on what we believe rather than who we trust, our "faith" is misplaced, and a dynamic relationship is replaced with a static belief system.
There is a lot more I could say, but I'm going to stop here.
No, wait. Actually, there is one more thing. Over the years, my belief system has experienced some changes. There are some teachings/doctrines/interpretations of Scripture that I once held to fiercely, but now not so much. There were doctrinal hills that I once was willing to die upon, but now, I'm open to other ways of understanding. That's normal in an ongoing, dynamic relationship with God. In fact, it's a sign that the relationship is ongoing, and that as a disciple (the word literally means learner), I am growing.
We'd see more unity among ourselves as followers of Jesus and would be far more attractive to a lost world of spiritual seekers if our focus was on trusting a loving God than in believing the right things about that God. I'm pretty sure Jesus made that point when he said that loving God and loving others was the fulfillment of Scripture.
In Christ,
Dan
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Isaiah 55:9.