Faith

Faith

The serpent told Eve “God knows that when you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God…”

The allure of knowledge is incredibly powerful and deadly.  As Eve stood in the garden - momentarily contemplating a future “unhindered” by incomplete knowledge - she surmised “it was desirable for obtaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it.”

God created humanity in Their image of eternal Tri-Unity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit). God created the entire universe to function as a cosmic temple within time and space so that humanity could enjoy life, which can most accurately be defined as freedom to fellowship in the presence of God. Aspirations for independence through the allure of knowledge utterly ruined that relationship and brought literal death (not metaphorical or mystical) to all humanity.

In Genesis 12:1 God told Abram (not yet Abraham) to “Go…” The Bible tells us in 12:4 “Abram went…” This wasn’t because of knowledge, but faith in God. In 15:2 Abram asked God how he could be certain that the LORD’s promises were true, so in 12:5 God showed him countless stars and said “Your offspring will be that numerous.”  Abram didn’t have quantifiable scientific knowledge that what God said was true, but we still read, “Abram believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness.”  That is faith.

Unlike Eve, Abram didn’t question the character and integrity of God. Unlike Eve, Abram didn’t aspire for knowledge but rather authentic relationship with his Creator.  Abram came to understand that if God says it then it must be true because of His inate character, nature, and essence.  Abram came to understand that faith trumps and transcends knowledge - even that of the experiential variety.

In Genesis 22 we read about the pinnacle of Abraham’s faith when God commanded him to sacrifice his son of promise - Isaac. Abraham was neither a sadistic murderer nor a religious fanatic, but instead he was a man who was so intimately connected with God that Abraham trusted that both he and Isaac would return home that day (see Gen 22:5).  Faith transcends reason and knowledge and always manifests itself as simple obedience in action.

In Ephesians 2:8-9 we read “For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift— not from works, so that no one can boast.”  We are not saved by knowledge, but by faith. If we could be saved by knowledge then there would be no need for God's grace, no need for Christ or the Cross. Depravity would be solely upon the shoulders of wretched humanity to recognize and resolve, which would be the epitome of futility. Christianity would be reduced to a form of gnosticism, i.e. saving knowledge that may be attained by a select few who know who, what, when, where, why, and how long to look for it.

At the close of the Sermon on the Mount Jesus shared with His disciples what salvation through faith looks like in stating, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord!’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of My Father in heaven.”

There are those who believe that knowledge is sufficient for salvation, but Jesus shattered that notion in stating it is not about what we believe or know, but our faith in – and faithfulness to – God Almighty that matters. Jesus tells those whose confidence is in their knowledge and personal lifetime achievements (casting out demons, performing miracles, prophesying in Christ’s name, building children’s hospitals, feeding the hungry, visiting prisoners, etc.), “I never knew you; away from me you lawbreakers.”

Assuming that knowledge is sufficient for salvation contradicts Scripture. Considering knowledge as sufficient for salvation equates to faith in self - since you figured it out - not faith in Christ and His work at the Cross.

Human knowledge is limited by our senses, intellect, experiences, culture, geography, opportunities, etc.  Faith is perfectly transcendent because it is a gift from our transcendent Creator.

Salvation by knowledge would be a works-based salvation synonymous with human merit. Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. Abraham didn’t have empirical data to support a hypothesis, but he did have a promise from God Almighty that, when married to God's gift of faith, manifest itself in Abraham’s life as simple obedience - even when tested with offering up his precious little boy.

Blessings,

-Kevin