low-man displays disloyalty and deceives; things become broken or out of order, and our own selves, whom we think we know so well, fall short of the standard set, and our faith becomes nar rower and shrinks back. But faith, even when it receives shocks, is indispensable to life. This we accept. This we believe. But what about the faith con cept of God? Most people believe in a h i g h e r p o w e r , call it “ chance,” “ fate,” “ god,” or what ever one wishes. Faith in such a power is not an active faith such as one uses when a light switch is flicked on. It is a passive, intel lectual faith, a nebulous belief in “ someone or s o m e t h i n g out there.” For all intents and pur poses, it is non-existent except in the person’s own mind. Passive faith, unless it is stimulated to become active faith, is in matter of fact - no faith. Only when faith becomes active can a person be said to have faith. The genuine Christian — one who has seen his need of salva tion from sin, believed that Christ was the only Saviour, and by faith placed his trust in Christ and His Word, and found forgive ness — that person has exercised faith. His is no mere passive be lief in Christ, but an active belief, and as a result, he becomes a new person in Christ. Faith in the Person and work of Christ was the means of trans formation for that individual. Faith is defined for us in the book of Hebrews: “Now faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the title-deed) of the things (we) hope for, being the proof of things (we) do not see and the conviction of their reality—faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses” (Heb. 11:1 Amp. N.T.). Faith believes in a reality that is not discernible to the senses. This is the agent that takes him out from being an unbeliever in to the realm of God’s child. Faith believes that Christ’s blood is ef ficacious to cleanse away personal sin and guilt, and makes one ac- THE KING'S BUSINESS
God.” So faith as defined by the dictionary is basically, “belief or trust in God.” The Muslims have faith in God. They believe in God. Their creed which is the cornerstone of their religion says: “ There is no god but God.” The Hindus believe in gods, as do the Shintoists, the Taoists, and as do adherents of every religion on earth. The dictionary gives the mean ing only; it does not clarify what faith is ; it gives only the outward definition. Faith means many things to many people. One can have “ faith” in God, i.e., that there is a God, and not know the “ god” that one has faith in. Faith can be applied daily; in fact, life could hardly be lived un less a certain amount of faith were displayed in people and things. We press a button “by faith” and the lights come on. But that is not faith, someone says. True, one does it without realiz ing that faith is involved, but that does not change the fact that there is a certain amount of faith in doing so, no matter how auto matic it has become. When one deposits money in the bank, faith is exercised that the bank will keep safely the funds and then pay them out as requested. When one turns the ignition key in the car, it is done expect ing that the engine will start. When one sits down on a chair, it is expected that it will hold one’s weight, and when boarding an aircraft, one believes the pilot knows his job and that the air craft is airworthy, and that they will take one to the desired desti nation. These are da ily matters in which one hardly realizes that any element of faith is being ex ercised. They are so routine that no second thought is given as to how they are done. So daily lives are lived by faith, faith in one self, in one’s fellow-man, and in things. Many times these fa il; our fel
- l 4 o « / M u d u TaSttu "Do T (K U - U mk L ? b y Fred 0 . Acord F “ a i t h ” is A small word: only five letters. “ Faith” is a much- used word, but a little-understood word. Unbelievers use it; “ pray have faith” they say. Have faith in what? Man? The world? The government? In fate? That good will eventually triumph over evil ? They will be hard pressed to an swer, for they are not quite sure themselves. It is a “ saying” and they are not quite sure what this faith involves. The dictionary is a good place to go to find out the meaning of a word. Its first definition is: “ Belief in God, revelation, or the like; as, soundness of faith; esp. orthodoxy in theology; in a practical religious sense, trust in 3«
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