This is from “The pursuit of God” by A.W. Tozer, on “Faith”
Let us think of our intelligent plain man coming for the first time to the reading of the Scriptures. He approaches the Bible without any previous knowledge of what it contains. He is wholly without prejudice; he has nothing to prove and nothing to defend.
Such a man will not have read long until his mind begins to observe certain truths standing out from the page. They are the spiritual principles behind the record of God’s dealing with men, and woven into the writings of holy men as they “were moved by the Holy Spirit.” As he reads on he might want to number these truths as they become clear to him and make a brief summary under each number. These summaries will be the tenets of his Biblical creed. Further reading will not affect these points except to enlarge and strengthen them. Our man is finding out what the Bible actually teaches.
High up on the list of things which the Bible teaches will be the doctrine of faith. The place of weighty importance which the Bible gives to faith will be too plain for him to miss. He will very likely conclude that faith is all-important in the life of the soul. “Without faith, it is impossible to please God.” Faith will get me anything, take me anywhere in the Kingdom of God, but without faith, there can be no approach to God, no forgiveness, no deliverance, no salvation, no communion, no spiritual life at all.
By the time our friend has reached the 11th chapter of Hebrews the eloquent encomium which is there pronounced faith will not seem strange to him. He will have read Paul’s powerful defense of faith in his Roman and Galatian epistles. Later, if he goes on to study church history, he will understand the amazing power in the teachings of the Reformers as they showed the central place of faith in the Christian religion.
Now if faith is so vitally important, if it is an indispensable must in our pursuit of God, it is perfectly natural that we should be deeply concerned over whether or not we possess this most precious gift. And our minds being what they are, it is inevitable that sooner or later we should get around to inquiring after the nature of faith. What is Faith? would lie close to the question, Do I have faith? and would demand an answer if it were anywhere to be found.
In scripture, there is practically no effort made to define faith. Outside of a brief fourteen-word definition in Hebrews 11:1. Even there faith is defined functionally, not philosophically; that is, it is a statement of what faith is in operation, not what it is in essence. It assumes the presence of faith and shows what it results in, rather than what it is. We will be wise to go just that far and attempt to go on no further. We are to from whence it comes and by what means: Faith is the gift of God” and Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God”. This much is clear. From here on, when the words “faith is” or their equivalent occur in this chapter I ask that they be understood to refer to what faith is in operation as exercised by a believing man. Right here we drop the notion of definition and think about faith as it may be experienced in action. The complexion of our thoughts will be practical and not theoretical.
From all this, we learn that faith is not a once-done act, but a continuous gaze of the heart at the Triune God. Believing, then, is directing the heart’s attention to Jesus. It is living the mind to “behold the Lamb of God”, and never ceasing that beholding for the rest of our lives. At first, this may be difficult, but it becomes easier as we look steadily at His wondrous Person, quietly and without strain. Distractions may hinder, but once the heart is committed to Him, after each brief excursion away from Him, the attention will return again and rest upon Him like a wandering bird coming back to its window.
Faith is the least self-regarding of the virtues. It is by its very nature scarcely conscious of its own existence. Like the eye which sees everything in front of it and never sees itself, faith is occupied with the Object upon which it rests and pays no attention to itself at all. While we are looking at God we do not see ourselves- blessed riddance. The man who has struggled to purify himself and has nothing but repeated failures will experience real relief when he stops tinkering with his soul and looks away to the perfect One. While he looks at Christ, the very things he has so long been trying to do will be getting done within him, It will be God working in him to will and to do.
Faith is not in itself and meritorious act; the merit is in the One toward Whom it is directed. Faith is a redirection of our sight, a getting the focus of our own vision and getting God into focus, Sin has twisted our vision inward and made it serf-regarding. Unbelief has put self where God should be, and is perilously close to the sin of Lucifer who said “I will set my throne above the throne of God” Faith looks out instead of in and the whole of life falls into line. All of this may seem too simple. But we have not an apology to make.
When we lift our inward eyes to gaze upon God we are sure to meet friendly eyes gazing back at us.
