Faith In Faith
Truth is often found in the most unexpected places. For generations now gospel preachers have been hammering away at the old, old false teaching that "it doesn't make any difference what a man believes, just so he is honest in it." It has been shown over and over again that the important and vital thing is the content of one's faith, not the mere act of believing. A few days ago we ran across a syndicated column in a metropolitan daily which shows that this truth has found a place at last in the minds of men other than gospel preachers or members of the Lord's body. The following column by Sydney J. Harris appeared recently in a number of newspapers under the caption: "Faith-In-Faith Fanatics Our Time's Real Heretics":
"Much of what is loosely called the 'religious revival' in America today is looked upon with doubt and distaste by many thoughtful clergymen of all denominations.
"I share their feelings, for it seems to me that 'faith' is becoming an end in itself, which is a perversion of the right goal of religion.
"What we have today is not so much faith in God, or faith in a creed, as faith in faith. We believe that it is good to believe, no matter what the content of this belief may be.
"Such an attitude may masquerade as religion, but is really a combination of superstition and sentimentality. Faith is a means; it cannot properly be made into an end.
"As a parallel consider the subject of love. Love must be directed toward an object, and the object is most important. To love peace and justice is good; to love war and cruelty is bad.
"If we fall in love with a person who turns out to be a fraud, what is the virtue of our love?
It matters intensely who and what we love, or else we are continually the victims of illusion.
"When a young girl, for instance, becomes infatuated with a dashing cad, we commonly say that she is not in love with the man, but 'in love with love'.
"To be in love with love is dangerous nonsense — for then we are capable of the most absurd and fatal errors. Love is a means of appreciating and serving an object, and if the object is unworthy, the love soon curdles and dies.
"Likewise, to have faith in faith is precisely the opposite of true religion. Faith must be rooted in some objective standard of virtue, or else the faith of the savage in collecting the heads of his enemies is as valid as the faith of the Western man that God commands us to walk humbly and deal justly with our fellows.
"The real heretic of our time is not the atheist or the agnostic (who are often good and decent people with a respect for reality and human dignity), but the faith-in-faith fanatics, who murmur, 'It doesn't matter what you believe, as long as it makes you feel good'.
"This turns religion into a wholly subjective matter, like taste in food or furnishings, and thus robs theology of its claim to ultimate truth. Nobody is bound to accept this claim, of course — but those who worship faith-in-itself have no right to call themselves 'religions'."
A man's behavior is determined by his beliefs. If he truly believes that he is in danger for his life and that by fleetness of foot he can escape the danger, he will flee with all his might. If he truly believes that his life is endangered, but that by remaining absolutely quiet and still he can most likely escape the danger, he will be as still as a mouse. His beliefs determine his action. This is so obviously true that we suppose no one will question it. It is not the act of believing that determines the man's behavior, but the content of his faith — what he believes. He is a believer in either case, whether he flees or remains motionless. But what he believes determines his response.
This is surely true in a man's relationship toward God. The act of "believing" is meaningless unless we know what a man believes. The devout Moslem, believing with all his heart in the truth of his religion, will turn his face toward Mecca and pray each day at the appointed hours; a Saul of Tarsus, verily believing that he was doing service to God, could persecute Christians with a holy and exalted passion; Henry XIII of England, fully persuaded that he was doing God's will, could execute two of his wives, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, with complete confidence in the righteousness of his course. All of these men were believers — but the thing believed was what caused the particular action.
Jesus Christ died on the cross and thereby made possible humanity's redemption from sin. If a man truly believes in Christ, he will do the things Christ declared necessary to become a partaker in the blessings thus secured. Among these things are repentance and baptism. (Luke 24:47; Mark 16:16.) A man may say, "I believe with all my heart that Jesus Christ is the Son of God," but if, at the same time he either refuses or fails to do what Christ commanded, one of two things is obvious: (a) he does NOT believe that Christ is the Son of God, or (b) he does not understand that Christ has commanded him to do the things under question.
Let us have faith in Christ, not merely "faith in faith." The content of faith is the thing that is important, not the existence of faith. "Ye shall know the truth; and the truth shall make you free." The gospel is God's power to save. Believing error will no more save a man spiritually than eating saw-dust will give him physical strength. It is not the act of eating, but what one eats, that gives strength. It is not the act of believing, but what one believes, that brings the proper obedience, and hence salvation.
— F. Y. T.