Shifting Perspectives - Biblical Conversations about Topics that Matter - Episode 11 - Blind Faith?

welcome to shifting perspectives

biblical conversations about topics that

matter let's get to

[Music]

it hey everybody welcome back to another

episode of Shifting perspectives and

we're we're on this journey on why is

the Bible trustworthy why is the Bible

believable and ultimately why do we as

Christians put such a high value on it

you know it is the Cornerstone of what

we've got and if we don't understand not

just from okay it's the Bible we believe

it but the why of why we believe it if

we don't have a good Cornerstone faith

in that and understanding of that then

it becomes easier for us to be led

astray by someone presenting uh

scriptures out of context or um you know

U some of the myths that are going

around so if we don't understand the the

Bible where it come from what is why we

believe what we believe you know it can

it can expose us to uh you know some

potentially challenging conversations

and and you know ultimately that doubt

so it's it's important for uh for um

experienced Believers to deepen their

understanding of Bible Bible background

where it came from what it means as well

as for new Christians to begin that

journey and realize how this thing is

really Dynamic and why they say the word

of God is alive because it is dynamic it

fits different molds and different

situation so we need to all be growing

in our understanding realizing we're

probably never going to get to that

complete growth right uh but it is a it

is a it's a journey not a destination

that's right and so last time we talked

about um you know we talk about what the

Bible is really we just kind of went

through what is the Bible um this week

I'd really like us to talk about um a

topic that I

think resonates both with those who um

are Skeptics or those who have not come

to Faith and also those who have come to

Faith and that's the idea that since you

can't really know and you can't really

trust you have to accept whether that's

accepting Christ or accepting what's in

the Bible on what we call Blind Faith um

Blind Faith is a philosophical under a

philosophical term it's called fism okay

um ISM basically says that um your faith

is built around uh two things an

experience and a shared relationship so

my experience I had I had some kind of

an experience maybe I got some

butterflies I I I got goosebumps and I

and I had an experience that caused me

to caused me to believe um and that

experience is a shared experience

through relationship that there are

other people who have had experiences

and because of of that um you have to

take it on faith um and the Bible talks

a lot about faith um and so from

statements like um the just shall live

by faith right the just shall live by

faith comes from habach chapter 2 and

out of habc chapter 2 it's quoted three

different times in the New Testament in

the book of Hebrews the book of

Colossians um and the Book of Romans um

all talk about that we live by

faithh um first Corinthians chapter 5 2

1 Corinthians 5 · chapter mention 2 Corinthians 5 · chapter mention

Corinthians chapter 5 see I it again 2

2 Corinthians 5:7

Corinthians chapter 5 verse 7 says that

we walk by faith and not by sight so

here's the question then is it Blind

Faith that we just haphazardly fall into

yeah and that I think is that I think is

a a teaching that is out there is God's

The Authority don't question him just

just do you know and and I I kind of

grew up um understanding a little bit of

that was you know don't ask God why

right you know but then as you study the

Bible and this is why the Bible teaches

you and grows you through my lifetime it

became the the relationship between me

and between God and and the believer is

not that of yes he is the authority over

us but God's not waiting for us to make

a mistake or do something wrong just to

crack the hammer yeah exactly you know

the the Bible teaches if you study in

context the whole thing

that of a loving father that you know

and and it talks about us being the

adopted children of God that once we

become the Believers that's not the

relationship that a father and a child

has you know and as I come to to grow

through some tough experiences in life

which we've all had whether you believe

or not you're going to go through hard

times it's just easier to go through

than when you do believe but the belief

needs to have faith and that's what

we're talking about is Faith was stru

was with with a with a foundation

underneath it so yes it's blind faith

that Blind Faith becomes because of

experience and things I know so going

back to that to that example that I was

talking about is don't question God

don't ask God why okay as a father

whenever my children were young I

encouraged them to ask me why I wanted

them to know okay why does Dad or Mom

make the decision why are we doing

things this way why are we why is this

happening because that allows me to

teach them and understand and and and

provide understanding to them so the

question of why is not they're

questioning my for

the question of why is I want to

understand I want to grow and I want to

know deeper I think as Christians

whenever we ask God why he wants us to

know the same thing the challenge is his

ways are so much higher than our ways

that sometimes we can't understand you

know it's kind like I've always said

it's kind of teaching you know um

teaching algebra to kindergarten right

you know you just can't do it sometimes

you have to say this is the answer and

that's okay because you can't understand

the complexity So Blind Faith is is I

trust the Bible I trust God I trust him

because

I understand the Cornerstone and the

scriptures and the principles to the

best of my ability which he's revealed

to me over over a 50-year timeline of of

being on this Earth You know it's it's

it's interesting that you would you

would bring up that why component to

this the very first mention of the

gesture I liveed by faith that verse

that I was talking about is in habach

Chapter 2 and it is God's response to

habach asking the question of why yeah I

too grew up hearing that that you know

you don't tempt God you don't test God

you don't ask God why you know it's just

God and you just kind of kind of kind of

go with it and and I wrestled with that

because I did too I'm not a guy that

stomachs very well just do it and I and

I think here's the reality um humans in

general are not ones who are inclined to

just shut up and do it right none of us

are I just got to in my throat that just

came on but but so so if we're supposed

to live by faith and we're supposed to

walk by faith um is that the the is that

the stopping place then we just say oh

well I'm just supposed to accept this

and I think you answered that very well

with we asked the questions of why and

much of that comes from studying this

word right that's where it comes from it

absolutely yeah and so we can't build

our faith on a foundation so that we can

live by faith so that we can uh walk by

faith and not by sight if this is not

believable correct So Blind Faith is not

the answer to the skeptic who's saying

well you just accepted that and you're

just believing that

blindly um the answer is we're really

not um you know the Bible says in Psalms

34 and verse 8 it says taste and see

that the Lord is good both all of those

things are experiential in nature right

um and we experience the love of God but

we experience the love of God based on

God's nature God's nature is revealed in

his word how did you know um that God

wasn't the ogre or the or the one that

was just sitting back looking waiting

for you to make a mistake so that he

could correct you well he goes back to

you know it goes back to what we talked

about it's what is written in this book

and you know we have to be very careful

because we pull pieces and parts out the

book as a whole teaches that loving

fatherly nature of God I mean he took

his people out and yes they face

challenges as we Face challenges but he

never failed them right he has never

failed me right and so you know we talk

about what we believe in I believe in

what I see and what I've experienced yes

I went through things that at the time I

was going through them

look like God do you know understand and

I I I heard I heard a guy say this one

time and it has resonated my heart so

much you're in the middle of the test

you're you're praying you're doing the

things you're searching scripture and

you feel like you're

alone and I had a guy tell me one time

well the you know the teacher doesn't

talk during the test right you know it's

after you get through the test and you

get through the other side and you

continue you you reach that wall and say

I'm either going to crash into this wall

that I see in front of me and by the

time you run up to it the Wall's only

two inches high you step over into

something so much better and so much

nicer but whenever you're approaching it

it looks like that wall is 20 foot tall

and 40 foot thick right and whenever you

get to that wall it's just I'm going to

run into it by the grace of God and with

the faith and you find out that this

Faith thing really does work right it

really does it really does work and but

it's got to be based on that book that

we study it it's his principles his book

that lovingly father relationship I'm

not going to hurt you I'm not going to

put you in things that are not uh that

are not good for you I'm going to teach

you something from a hard time yeah and

by the way Hard Times exist I'll I'll

emphasize this point whether you're a

Christian or not hard times exist we

will go through hard times so don't

blame a hard time just on God they

happen to everybody yeah and so here's

what Blind Faith doesn't lend itself to

Faith itself correct Blind Faith lends

itself or leads to

doubt because if you can't trust the

word of God you can't put your faith in

the promises of God you can't put your

faith in the nature that he's a loving

father and so what do you do if you

can't put your faith in the nature of a

loving father you begin to live in one

of two identities and those are either

the fear-based identity which is uh I

better do those things that they're

telling me that I'm supposed to do you

that I'm not even sure are really true

because I I don't have a foundation of

of the Bible but but some Christian told

me I need to live this way or I need to

be this way and if I don't God's going

to punish me so I'm afraid of the

consequence or you live in this other

one which is the what we call the

performance-based identity that says I

really want to do well because I really

want God to be happy with me at the end

of the

day he's our loving father Yes who

already Delights in US

and so how do we combat Blind Faith so

that it doesn't become doubt that leads

us away from faith and into unbelief but

rather moves us towards faith and that's

in the foundation of this Bible and

believing that it's true and knowing

that we have historical facts behind

it there goes that tickle again as we

you know as we look about and you think

about Blind Faith blind being I can't

see you know really what what to me over

my over my my years of study have been

you know it's kind of like putting a set

of binoculars to your eyes and they

being as far out of focus as I can get

so when I use set of binoculars I have

to turn them all the way to the right if

you turn them all the way to the left

you look all you see is patterns and

some you know if you're looking outside

it's some greens and some yellows you

can't make out anything and as you turn

the that that little dial everything

starts coming into Focus right and I

think that that little dial is spending

time in prayer in the world in the word

in life experiences in trusting God to

handle the hard times even though it's

hard when you're going through them

leaning on your brothers and sisters in

Christ having a strong church family

around you all those things we talked

about in the first eight or 10 of these

videos as you turn that dial all of a

sudden Faith becomes not blind but much

more clear exactly and it doesn't get

Crystal Clear till we get to meet Jesus

face to feet but you know as we turn

that dial on the earth we get to

experience a little bit more of of the

clarity that God God provides to us and

that's why he gives us that book so it's

not just blind it's these are the

experiences now I can look back and see

how God has walked me through my life

absolutely and that was a fabulous

illustration that describes the

difference between Blind Faith and faith

that becomes clear as we walk with God

through his word I don't think we could

add anything else so with that we'll

close this one and you know now comes

the maybe the exciting part in the next

one maybe the boring part but next time

we're actually going to talk about some

some statistical facts to why the Bible

is trustworthy and believable as a as a

as a true historical document about God

and His Story we'll see you all next

Friday have a great week have a great

week