SOLVING THE PROBLEM OF FAITH
Solving the Problem of Faith.  What do you do when you have a problem?
“I ask someone who has the right kind of knowledge to help me. If it is a money problem, I ask someone who is good with finances. If it is a car problem, I ask someone who knows about cars. If it is an electrical problem, I ask someone who knows about electricity.”
Solving the Problem of Faith. Well, I have a problem. In some form or fashion, I have been confronting this problem for about 50 years. So I want to put the problem before you. I do not know if any of us will have the answer, but the problem is much more likely to be addressed in our individual lives if we are aware that it exists.
“So, what is this problem we need to be aware of?”
Solving the Problem of Faith. It is a faith problem. The problem is very old. It is so old that it predates the existence of Christianity by over a thousand years. It is a problem that existed in Israel in both the Old and New Testaments. But this problem definitely exists in Christianity today.”
“What is this faith problem that has existed for such a long time?”
The problem: how do you encourage Christians to place faith in God instead of placing their faith in something they substitute for God and calling it faith in God?
Perhaps the problem is best understood by using illustrations.
Illustrations #1: let’s begin by asking a Christian we have never met a simple question: “Religiously, what are you?” The person answers, “I am Church of Christ. My family has been Church of Christ for at least three generations. My father was an elder in the Church of Christ of my teen years. My grandfather was a preacher in the Church of Christ. We are just a Church of Christ family.”
Question: is your faith in a religious organization called “The Church of Christ,” or is your faith in the living God who always has been active in His creation?
Perhaps you ask, “What is the difference?” You see the difference far too often. When a congregation of the Church of Christ behaves poorly, it is amazing to note how many people just quit. They do not worship. They make no effort to serve God. They are very ambivalent about what they believe. Often they become religiously bitter and religiously negative. They did not belong to God.
They belonged to the Church of Christ. Their confidence was in the Church of Christ, not in God. They substituted faith in the Church of Christ as a physical religious organization for faith in God.
Illustration #2: we ask a Christian we do not know a series of questions. “Do you go to church here?” Yes I do. I have been coming here for a couple of years. In fact I rarely miss.
“What do you think of worship?” Oh, I rarely miss, but I hardly ever am in the auditorium. I am always here, but I am rarely part of the worship assembly.
“What do you think of classes?” Oh, I am always here, even on Wednesday nights, but I do not go to a class. There is always someone else to talk to or somewhere to go.
“If you do not worship and you do not go to class, why are you here?” I believe it is essential to come. I would not dream of not coming. Being here is very important to salvation. I just do not think it is necessary to worship or go to class.
This person’s confidence is in being at a geographical place at the right time, not in God to be praised and trusted to direct our lifestyle.
Our God Is An Awesome God

* As I said, misplaced confidence is a very old yet very real problem.

* It was a frequent problem in Old Testament Israel.

* Listen to the words of Amos in Amos 5:21-24.