What or who is the object of your faith?
Paul continued his address to the Romans – “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers, making request if, by some means, now at last I may find a way in the will of God to come to you. For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be established – that is, that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.” (Romans 1: 8-12)
The Roman believers were known for their ‘faith.’ The Bible dictionary points out that the word ‘faith’ is used in the Old Testament only two times. However, the word ‘trust’ is found in the Old Testament more than 150 times. ‘Faith’ is more of a New Testament word. From the ‘hall of faith’ chapter in Hebrews we learn – “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.” (Hebrews 1: 1-3)
Faith gives us a ‘foundation’ for our hope to rest on and makes real those things we cannot see. In order to have faith in Jesus Christ, we must hear about who He is and what He has done for us. It teaches in Romans – “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10: 17) Saving faith is ‘active personal trust’ and a commitment of oneself to the Lord Jesus Christ (Pfeiffer 586). It does not matter how much faith a person has if that faith is in something that is not true. It is the ‘object’ of our faith which matters.
When a person trusts Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, ‘there is not only a changed position before God (justification), but there is the beginning of the redemptive and sanctifying work of God.’ (Pfeiffer 586)
Hebrews also teaches us – “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” (Hebrews 11: 6)
As part of their faith in their Lord Jesus Christ, the believers in Rome of necessity had to reject the Roman religious cults. They also had to reject religious eclecticism, where beliefs were taken from a varied, broad, and diverse range of sources. If they believed that Jesus was ‘the way, the truth, and the life,’ then all other ‘ways’ had to be rejected. Roman believers may have been viewed as antisocial because so much of Roman life; including drama, sports, festivals, etc. were undertaken in the name of some pagan deity and began with a sacrifice to that deity. They also could not worship in the shrines of the ruler cult or worship the Roma goddess (personification of the state) because it violated their belief in Jesus. (Pfeiffer 1487)
Paul loved the Roman believers. He prayed for them and longed to be with them in order to use his spiritual gifts to encourage them and strengthen them. Paul may have felt that he would never actually visit Rome, and his letter to them would serve as a great blessing to them, as it is to all of us today. Paul would eventually visit Rome, as a prisoner and be martyred there for his faith.
RESOURCES:
Pfeiffer, Charles F., Howard F. Vos, and John Rea. Wycliffe Bible Dictionary. Peabody, Hendrickson Publishers. 1998.
