The dictionary defines faith as confidence or trust in a person or thing that is not based on proof. The Bible agrees. “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1 ESV).
Now God tells us in the Bible we must have faith in order to go to heaven. “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6 ESV).
Why does God require faith? It is because God made us finite. As we detailed in my first book, The Renovation of Our Soul, we are very limited in our ability to determine what is true; we can only objectively know what is true for events that occur in our space and time. The problem is that many of the decisions we must make depend upon events that have occurred in the past or will occur in the future. And that includes our belief in Jesus and his redemptive work on our behalf.
If God is not willing that any should perish (2 Peter 3:9), why would he require us to believe in something for which we cannot obtain certain proof? Over the next months we will explore some reasons.
