Truth and Faith

Mirian Montanari Grüdtner

“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6

“Have faith!” “With faith, everything works out!” You have surely heard these slogans mentioned quite often. It has become fashionable to talk about faith.

Everyone wants to have faith, but few know what it really is … Wishing for something and repeating the phrase “I will receive it” 50 times is not faith; it is positive thinking. Asking for anything without questioning whether it is God’s will and believing that you will receive it is not faith; it is arrogance.

What is faith? Illogical belief in the improbable occurrence and something without evidence and without meaning? No. Faith is our response based on a certain knowledge of the truth.

But what is truth? John 14:16 answers that Jesus is the truth. The knowledge of Him is what causes true faith to spring forth. It also strengthens faith.

We cannot replace such truth with feelings. Feelings do not support faith. Faith needs conviction to be strengthened.

The danger of having faith without knowledge and letting ourselves be carried away by sentimentality makes us victims of believing in anything. The danger with this kind of faith is that we will give God our mediocre feelings. And each time God doesn’t answer us as we think He should, we become disappointed again and again until we no longer find reasons to believe in Him.

That is why we need to be completely grounded in the truth that is Christ. And this is why Satan tries to hinder our relationship with God: He doesn’t want us to seek the truth but to have faith without the use of reason. Following this path, we give him more and more space, and we will distance ourselves from God and end in downfall.

True faith involves the knowledge of God and the appropriation of this knowledge that generates transformation in us. Knowledge and conviction alone are not enough for genuine faith because even demons believe. If you want to have faith, you need to commune with God to know Him, His promises, and His purposes; you need to decide to obey Him and make of it a daily practice, claiming His promises.

We increase our faith as we understand the truth. It originates in a heart touched by God’s gratitude, love, and goodness. The Bible always shows faith as coming from God’s initiatives. Abraham’s faith, for example, was a response to God’s wonderful promises to him. Paul says it is rooted in our perception of what Christ has done for us.

How about if we venture as never before into deepening our faith through the knowledge of the God who loves us, gives us hope for a better world, and enables us to reach Him?