Chapter 7: You cannot know God without faith. A person is not born with faith. The Apostle Paul says that faith comes through hearing the Word of God. How will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how will they believe on Him of whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? And how will they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who publish glad tidings of good things." Romans 10:14-15.
Notice how Paul ties faith and hearing together. He shows that the preaching of the apostles leads to faith in the Son of God. The benefits of faith. One benefit of faith is that it enables us to learn from God. The game of ball illustrates how this works. Playing ball depends on two things. The first player must throw the ball with skill, and the second player must catch it with dexterity. Similarly, teaching is best accomplished when those hearing have faith.
The very best instruction is useless without a receptive student. Even prophecy is of no avail without a believing listener. This same principle is seen in God's creation. Seeds can't grow without the productive power of the earth. A fire is not easily started without a bundle of dry twigs. Just like a magnet attracts steel, faith attracts instruction. Another benefit of faith is that it brings about repentance. Unless a man believes that the thing to which he is addicted is sin, he will not abandon it.
He will not reform unless he believes that punishment is imminent for sinners and that those living by the commandments will receive salvation. The divine Logos cries out, calling all mankind together. He knows perfectly well who will not obey. Nevertheless, to obey or disobey is in our own power, provided we are not ignorant of the options. God justly demands from each of us according to our ability. Some are not yet able to obey, but they are at least willing.
Others who practice in purification are both willing and able to obey. The soul has power to will, but it cannot act without the body. Furthermore, God doesn't evaluate actions by the results alone. Rather, He also looks at the degree of free choice in the action. For example, one person might help his neighbor because he wants to. Another may do it only because he was forced to. There is a difference between repentance and innocence. Repentance comes when a person recognizes a transgression after he commits it.
But innocence means that a person has knowledge of right and wrong beforehand, and so he doesn't transgress. Another benefit of faith is that it leads to hope, for hope is based on faith. A person has hope when he actually expects to possess the good things promised. This expectation comes from faith. What it means to be faithful. A person who is faithful safeguards the things that have been entrusted to him. He doesn't betray the trust.
We Christians have been entrusted with the divine utterances and the divine commands. We also have the obligation to obey them. The one keeping this trust is the faithful servant who will be praised by the Lord. When it is said, "God is faithful," it means that He can be believed no matter what He says. We believe God and can place our confidence in Him regarding our salvation.
We confide in Him because we know He will not fail to do the things He has promised to us, nor fail to give us the things He created for us. To have charitable generosity is to want someone else to have good things. God needs nothing, so His generosity and goodness are directed to us for our benefit. Christians are saved by faith. Abraham's faith was considered righteousness. Since we are his descendants, we must also believe through hearing. We are Israelites being convinced by hearing, not by signs.
The prophet said, "Rejoice, childless ones, break forth and cry. You who did not go through the pain of childbirth, for the children of the desolate will number more than those of the woman with a husband." Isaiah 54:1. The apostle says in his letter to the Romans, "For the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith." Romans 1:17. So he taught about the one salvation that is perfected from the prophets to the gospel by one Lord.
He says, "I commit this task to you, my son Timothy, so that in agreement with the prophecies before you, you might fight a good battle holding both faith and a good conscience. Some who have put away these things have made shipwreck of their faith, because through unbelief they have stained the conscience given to them by God." 1 Timothy 1:18-19. So faith cannot be belittled as simple and common. If it were a mere human trait as the Greeks assumed, it would have passed away.
But because it grows and flourishes everywhere, I assert that faith is something divine. It cannot be torn apart by friendship, nor dissolved by the presence of fear. Love makes men believers because of its connection with faith. Faith, the foundation of love, introduces the doing of good. Faith is truly the first step toward salvation. Faith, fear, hope, repentance, self-control, and patience—these things lead us to love and knowledge.
The apostle Barnabas says, "From what I have received, I have been diligent to send bit by bit to you, that with your faith you may also have perfect knowledge." Fear and patience are helpers of your faith. Patience and self-control are our allies. Continuing in purity, these are accompanied by wisdom, understanding, intelligence, and knowledge. These virtues are the things that make up knowledge. So actually, faith is more fundamental than any of these virtues. It's as necessary to life as breathing is.
Just as it's impossible to live without air, so it's impossible to acquire knowledge without faith. In short, faith is the foundation of truth.