…that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— Eph 4:14-15
No where in the bible does it teach us to have faith like a child. In fact, it bothers me when I hear people say that we should have faith like a child. Children believe anything that you tell them. And unfortunately there are a lot of Christians that will believe any old thing that some preacher will tell them.
God doesn’t want us to be like that. God wants to be like the noble Bereans, who, when Paul preached to them didn’t automatically believe or disbelieve, but went to study it out for themselves to see if those things that Paul said were true! (see Acts 17:10-12)
The apostle Peter says that we should have an answer for those who ask us for the reason for the hope that is in us (1 Peter 3:15). And Peter doesn’t mean that we should just say, “I just believe.” No, you should have a good reason that you believe.
I believe for the following reasons:
1. The testimony of the Holy Spirit. In Jn 16, Jesus talks about how the Holy Spirit will come and convince the world of sin, righteousness, and judgement (Jn 16:8). He has spoken to my heart of the reality of God and the truths of the bible.
2. The testimony of those who walked with Jesus and those who have walked with God. I have a whole book of different people talking about their experiences with God. Their experiences line up with the testimony of the Holy Spirit to my heart and bear witness that the testimony of the Holy Spirit is true, and the Holy Spirit bears witness that their words are true. (I’m speaking of the bible.)
3. The testimony of the death of Jesus on the cross. The idea that God would come to die for me, his enemy, flies in the face of normal human ideas. It testifies of a divine love that isn’t found in this dog-eat-dog world. Love like this can’t originate from human ideas. Such ideas of forgiveness, grace, and mercy can only come from a divine source.
These together give me a solid foundation for my faith.
The point is: don’t just believe any old thing someone tells you. Don’t believe based off of their emotional appeal. Base your saving faith on the things I listed above, and then base all of your doctrine off of a thorough investigation on what the Word has to say. When you do this you will ‘no longer be children’, but will be grown up in the faith and growing into the fulness of Christ.
The simple believes every word,But the prudent considers well his steps. Proverbs 14:15
Hal Chaffee 