Faith in Christ

Faith is all-important indispensable to the soul. Without faith, the writer of Hebrews tells us, it is impossible to please God. "Without faith there can be no approach to God, no forgiveness, no deliverance, no salvation, no communion, no spiritual life at all," says A. W. Tozer. The Bible does not give us a philosophical definition of faith. Tozer writes:

The Lord Jesus Christ Himself explained to His hearers how they may be saved. He tells them that it is by believing. . . "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3:14-15).

. . . "Looking" on the Old Testament serpent is identical with "believing" on the New Testament Christ. That is, the looking and the believing are the same thing. And he would understand that while Israel looked with their external eyes, believing is done with the heart. I think he would conclude that faith is the gaze of a soul upon a saving God.

. . . . Our Lord Himself looked always at God. "Looking up to heaven, He blessed, and brake, and gave the bread to His disciples" (Matt. 14:19). Indeed Jesus taught that he wrought His works by always keeping His inward eyes upon His Father. His power lay in His continuous look at God (John 5:19-21).

. . . . In the Hebrews epistle we are instructed to run life's race "looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith." From this we learn that faith is not a once-done act, but a continuous gaze of the heart at the Triune god.

Believing, then, is directing the heart's attention to Jesus. It is lifting the mind to "behold the Lamb of God," and never ceasing that beholding for the rest of our lives. At first this may be difficult, but it becomes easier as we look steadily at His wondrous Person, quietly and without strain. Distractions may hinder, but once the heart is committed to Him, after each brief excursion away from Him the attention will return again and rest upon Him like a wandering bird coming back to its window.

I would emphasize this one committal, this one great volitional act which establishes the heart's intention to gaze forever upon Jesus. God takes this intention for our choice and makes what allowances He must for the thousand distractions which beset us in this evil world. He knows that we have set the direction of our hearts toward Jesus, and we can know it too, and comfort ourselves with the knowledge that a habit of soul a forming which will become after a while a sort of spiritual reflex requiring no more conscious effort on our part.

Faith is the least self-regarding of the virtues. It is by its very nature scarcely conscious of its own existence.Like the eye which sees everything in front of it and never sees itself, faith is occupied with the Object upon which it rests and pays no attention to itself at all. While we are looking at God we do not see ourselves. . . . stop tinkering with your soul and look away to the perfect One. While looking at Christ the very thing you so long been trying to do will be getting done within you. It will be God working in you to will and to do.

. . . Faith is the redirecting of our sight, a getting out of the focus our own vision and getting God into focus (The Pursuit of God).

". . . He Himself has said, 'I will never desert you, nor will ever forsake you,' so that we confidently say, 'The LORD is my helper, I will not be afraid. What shall man do to me?'" (Hebrews 13:5-6).