Fleshly Faith and Spiritual Faith
Fleshly faith cannot bring salvation. We must have true faith, which is spiritual faith, so that we may be recognized by the Lord God.
Reading: Hebrews 11:1–3 (NASB)
“Now faith is the certainty of things hoped for, a proof of things not seen…”
The faith that the Lord God recognizes is more precious than any treasure. It is the key that solves all problems and opens the way into the spiritual realm. Without faith, we cannot please God, we cannot receive answers to prayer, and we cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Faith is also the special privilege that allows us to meet the Creator God anytime and anywhere. But there are two kinds of faith: spiritual faith, which God accepts, and fleshly faith, which He does not accept.
1. Fleshly Faith
Fleshly faith is the faith that believes only when something can be seen, checked, or matched with human knowledge or experience. This is why it is also called knowledge-based faith or rational faith. It believes only in “something made from something”—that is, creating with what already exists. Anyone can have this type of faith. From birth, a person receives many kinds of knowledge in the memory of the brain. Much of this knowledge is not truth but untruth. Many things that were once called “truth” later turned out to be wrong. This shows that human knowledge is not perfect. But the Word of the Lord God is truth and never changes. Most people do not know the truth, so they learn untruth as if it were truth. For example, people learn evolution and learn only about creating something from something. Because of this, they cannot believe that the Creator God made heaven and earth from nothing, by His word.
The Bible shows that the Lord God created everything from nothing. Jesus, the Son of God, opened the eyes of the blind, made the lame walk and run, and even raised Lazarus, who had been dead for four days. But a person with fleshly faith cannot believe such works because he does not believe in creation from nothing. Even if he receives the Lord Jesus, he struggles inside because his own thoughts conflict with the Word of God. For example, the world teaches that you must take revenge to be righteous. But God says, “Love your enemies. If someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also.” Because this conflicts with fleshly thoughts, the person doubts and cannot obey. Even if he says “I believe,” he cannot receive answers to his prayers. As James 2:26 (NASB) says, “faith without works is dead.” Fleshly faith is dead faith, and a person with such faith cannot receive salvation.
2. Spiritual Faith
Spiritual faith is different. Spiritual faith believes that the Lord God created everything from nothing. It believes every word of God even if it cannot be seen and even if it does not agree with human knowledge. It also obeys the words that God has spoken: “do,” “keep,” “do not,” and “cast away.” A person with spiritual faith believes that God created all things from nothing by His word. He believes that when God said, “Let there be light,” there was light. He believes that God is alive and rules life, death, blessing, curse, and the history of the world. He also believes that Jesus, the Son of God, came to this earth two thousand years ago, died on the cross, rose again in three days, and will come again to take us.
A person with spiritual faith trusts God in all things, so he receives answers and solutions to every problem. This is why Jesus said in Mark 9:23 (NASB), “All things are possible for the one who believes.” But spiritual faith is not something we can gain by our own effort. Romans 12:3 (NASB) says, “God has allotted to each a measure of faith.” Each person can have only the measure that God gives.
If people could gain spiritual faith by their own effort, then everyone would receive any answer they wanted. Someone would pray, “Lord, make me the president,” and it would happen. Someone who dislikes a person would pray, “Lord, punish that person,” and it would happen. Then the world would fall into chaos. Because God is love and justice, He does not give spiritual faith to everyone. He gives it to those who cast away darkness and walk in the Light. Spiritual faith is the gift that God gives from above. This faith always brings actions, and those actions always bring answers that give glory to God. This is why spiritual faith is also called living faith or faith with works.
3. How to Receive Spiritual Faith
Hebrews 11:6 (NASB) says, “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for the one who comes to God must believe that He exists, and that He proves to be the One who rewards those who seek Him.”
To have spiritual faith—the faith that pleases the Lord God—we must believe that God truly exists and that He rewards those who seek Him. We must also keep His commandments, obey His word, and quickly change ourselves into truth.
However, the untruthful knowledge we learned from the world becomes a great hindrance to gaining spiritual faith. Worldly knowledge makes us use fleshly thoughts and brings doubts. Unless we cast out this untruth from our hearts, fleshly faith cannot become spiritual faith. Therefore we must read and hear the Word of God often, and we must pray with a burning heart so that untruth is removed and replaced with truth.
Romans 10:17 (NASB) says, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”
So first, we must listen to the Word of God with diligence and receive teaching. If we do not store God’s Word in our hearts, we do not know the truth and cannot practice it.
But only listening is not enough. If a person keeps the Word only as knowledge, his faith remains fleshly faith. We must take another step and practice the Word we know. To change fleshly faith into spiritual faith, action must follow.
For example, imagine someone wants to become a great pianist. If he reads a piano textbook one hundred or even one thousand times but never practices, can he play the piano? Of course not. Even if he knows all the theory, he cannot play because he has no practice. In the same way, when we take the Word of God as our spiritual food and practice it, then the Lord God gives us spiritual faith.
Abraham also became the “friend of God” and “the father of faith” because he showed perfect faith through his actions. When God told Abraham to offer his son Isaac as a burnt offering, Abraham would not have become the father of faith if he had refused. But because he trusted God completely, he obeyed and proved his faith through action.
When we receive spiritual faith, we receive God’s love and recognition. Our soul prospers, and everything goes well, and we become healthy in both spirit and body. May you receive the spiritual faith that pleases the Lord God. And may you not only receive salvation, but also press on toward the most beautiful place in the Kingdom of Heaven, the New Jerusalem.
Plus
Who was Isaac?
Isaac was the son of Abraham and Sarah, born when Abraham was one hundred years old and Sarah was ninety. When God commanded Abraham to offer Isaac as a burnt offering, Isaac obeyed and followed without resisting. But the God of love prepared a ram to take his place. Isaac later married Rebekah, and they had twin sons, Esau and Jacob.
Memory Verse: Hebrews 11:1 (NASB)
“Now faith is the certainty of things hoped for, a proof of things not seen.”
Reference Verse: James 2:26 (NASB)
“For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.”
Hebrews 11:3 (NASB) says, “By faith we understand that the world has been created by the word of God, so that what is seen has not been made out of things that are visible.”
