Hope for Humanity
Is God’s hand unable to save? Or can we still trust God and have faith as our guarantee in times of trouble. World War II ended 75 years ago, but the effects of the deaths of over 50 million people are still with us. And in the past 75 years the world has continued on an endless cycle of war – 350 wars or armed conflicts have taken their toll. But is this God’s fault? Isaiah concludes that the iniquity, lies, injustice, evil, violence, and blood shed are the result of choosing crooked paths. People have not known peace because they have not known or chosen God’s ways that lead to peace. The Messiah, Jesus Christ, came as a light revealing the way to peace, and offering himself as a sacrifice to atone for our evil ways. So there is hope for humanity, but it requires change. And that requires faith. But what kind of faith?
Faith: Persuaded by the Spiritual Reality
Jesus came to proclaim the coming of the Kingdom of God — a great political upheaval that would replace the present system that is fraught with violence. Paul wrote of the power of this message of the Kingdom. And the faith of those who were looking forward to the time when the Saviour would rescue the world. This kind of faith, God’s faith, builds upon our own faith. It is our ability to see beyond the circumstances in our present situation and have the assurance that God will fulfill his promises. It is God’s divine persuasion. And it produces in us a great inner conviction of the reality of things that we cannot see. This faith becomes the evidence and proof we need to live faithful lives. It is faith as our guarantee of what is yet future.
Faith: Our Legal Standing before God
This faith is our legal standing before God. It is a title deed and guarantee of our legal inheritance in that future Kingdom. It is the assurance that we are registered citizens with an inheritance in the assembly of the firstborn. And it is this faith that let’s us anticipate with confidence the future reality of the new Jerusalem, and the Kingdom of God. This faith looks forward to a time of peace without end, and God’s government that will last forever. God promises that the world will be transformed and there will be an end to violence. And we who have faith as our guarantee will wait trusting that we will live to experience this time of renewal.
Faith in a Future You Cannot See
Abraham was the Father of the faithful, because he had faith to believe in God’s promise of resurrection. He looked for the future kingdom and had confidence that God was trustworthy. God would fulfill his promises, both physical and spiritual. And if Abraham is our father spiritually, then we share in his inheritance, and we . are heirs of everything that God promised to Abraham. Paul understood that it was this kind of faith that would motivate believers to act in a way that they would enable them to receive the promises. Their vision of the New Jerusalem, and a time without death and war, injustice and pain, would empower them to walk in the way of peace. Now we live in a time of constant war and conflict. But, faith is our title deed to a new world, and an eternal inheritance. This is guaranteed by the Father who loves us, and the Son who died for us. So we can have faith, because they are faithful.
Learn more about faith:
