Walking With Christ

Ephesians 2:8-9
(8)For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, (9)not a result of works, so that no one may boast.(ESV)

This message is a bit long and is probably going to be a bit dense. Feel free to simply read the main verse if you don’t have time to read this now. I usually highlight all of the verses that I use in these messages for those people who only want to read the actual verses for the day.

The message yesterday (below) left me with questions. First, I need to start with this absolute statement: we are saved by grace alone, through faith, and unto good works. There is no other path to salvation. There is nothing we can do to bypass this path or create our own way. The third part isn’t a requirement, but serves as proof for what came before. As James said in James 2:17, “So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead”(ESV). A tree that refuses to produce fruit defies its own design.

Demons believe. Belief and knowledge are not the same thing. Just as trust and faith are not the same thing. It’s the latter pair that needs discussion today. I often hear trust and faith used interchangeably to the point that it almost makes it seem as if the two are synonymous. But are they really?

Trust vs. Faith

The simple answer is that trust is not the same thing as faith even if there is a lot of overlap between the two. Only one will get you to heaven. “By grace through faith”, not by grace through trust or belief. If belief was enough then there would be no demons.

What is faith and how do we get it?

What is it:

Hebrews 11:1
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.(ESV)

Where does it come from:

Romans 12:3
For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.(ESV)

How do we get it:

Romans 10:17
So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.(ESV)

We have to have a saving faith to enter heaven. We know that faith is a deep trust in something we hope for but can’t see and is a gift from God that comes by hearing. Clear as mud.

In Romans 10:14-16, it basically says that people can’t call on Him if they don’t believe and can’t believe if they’ve never heard. Then it goes on to say that hearing doesn’t automatically mean believing. It’s the work of the Holy Spirit in us that helps us to believe when we hear.

So, if I believe then I’m good, right? No. Remember that demons believe. That’s not enough. Hearing the truth is the moment the seed is planted. Believing that truth is the moment the seed germinates. It has to be watered by the Spirit to reach the light. Use the double meaning here. Jesus is the word, He is even called the word. The word\seed is planted and has to die for the plant\faith to germinate. The plant\faith has to be watered by living water from the Spirit to break through the soil of our hearts in search of the light. In the beginning, the plant may not be able to produce much, if any, fruit. The roots will be working to loosen the soil around it, and it will be hungry for more nutrients to grow with. The plant\faith will lead to a personal transformation of the garden\person.

Ok, I heard and believed. That means the I’m good now?

Not so fast. Not all words\seeds are good words\seeds. The Manson family heard what Charles has to say and believed him. They trusted him to the point that it got people killed. The seeds he planted sprouted and caused some real transformation in the people who listened to him. They became monsters by most standards. Weeds grow in almost the exact same way that the good seeds do. The bad seeds have to be planted and watered. They require the same trust to sprout.

So far, trust and faith are really hard to tell apart. Both can be defined by a deep rooted belief in something, even if you have no proof of it. They are definitely not the same thing. Can you be saved without faith? No. Can you be saved without trust? Yes. Can you trust in God and His promises without having faith? Yes, look at Matthew 7:15-23. Can you have faith in God and His promises without trust? Yes.

Trust without faith is much easier to describe and identify. In brief, if your trust in God is transactional then it’s not complete. This tends to turn God into a coin or prayer operated wish vending machine and you’ll stop using it when you stop getting what you want. The trust is superficial and conditional. Trusting God might mean agreeing that God is real, the bible is true, Jesus does for our sins, and Jesus is the only way to eternal life. This doesn’t mean there is any depth to it. This trust can still be entirely external. This type of trust will also typically go away. This is the rocky soil in the parable of the sower. A biblical example of this would be the Pharisees who trusted in the letter of the law and had no faith in the spirit of the law. The only trust that can transform a person’s life is relational trust such as the type found in marriage or close friendships. Yet, no matter how much you trust your partner or friend, that won’t open the gates of heaven. This will be key in just a bit.

Faith without trust is far bigger problem for actual Christians. I’ve always been told that faith is one of my spiritual gifts. Why people say that is beyond me, but I’ll take it. Trust is where I’ve always had a problem though, and is probably the reason for this message today. With faith, you are saved. Good. Faith without trust can lead to a complex tangle of problems.

Faith can begin with nothing more than an intellectual assent to truth or a decision made in desperation. It requires little to no trust in God to acknowledge truth. Desperation requires no trust at all. It’s a decision made because of a lack of perceived options. This is just the starting point, however. The thief on the cross (Luke 23:42-43) had saving faith even though he met Jesus while on the cross. He hadn’t developed a relationship with Him that included love and trust over years. Trust develops over time. Trust can easily be damaged. Trauma can make it extremely difficult to build trust at all.

Faith without trust can lead to obedience without confidence. You go through the motions of obedience—attend church, pray, read your bible, try to live a moral life—but there isn’t a deep sense of reliance on God. Faith feels more like an obligation or duty than a trusting relationship.

Without trust, you are more prone to anxiety and worry because you are trying to control the outcomes of events instead of trusting in God to be there through these events. Saying “God is real” isn’t the same thing as trusting in His provision and sovereignty through these events.

Trust requires letting go of control, and the fear that comes from a lack of trust will make it a lot more difficult to let go of control (looking in the mirror here). This often manifests as a lack of peace because it always feels like something is out of control, such as finances, relationships, or personal plans.

Lack of trust can lead to moral living without joy. Being so focused on obeying commands and living ethically, while missing out on the joy and freedom that comes with fully trusting in God’s love and grace, makes life feel rigid, dutiful, and even dry or dull spiritually because it leaves you in a place where you are relying on your own strength to live faithfully, instead of trusting and resting in God’s grace and strength.

The Israelites in the wilderness and Peter walking on water are just two examples of faith without trust. The Israelites had enough faith to leave Egypt and go into the desert because they were desperate to get out of the conditions they were living in. They had the form of faith, but lacked trust in God to actually completely take care of them. Peter had enough faith to get out of the boat, but as soon as he saw the storm again his trust faltered and he went for a swim.

Both of these examples show that trust can take time to develop. The Israelites took an entire generation for the trust to begin to match the faith. This shows us that we might not have the trust we should in God, but our children and those who follow us will build upon the foundation that began with us.

Now, remember the key that I mentioned a bit earlier. The key difference between trust and faith is the object of that trust or faith. We can trust in anything. We can believe anything. A saving faith can only have one possible focus: God. It doesn’t matter what form or aspect of God’s nature that is being referenced. We can have faith in God’s Word, God’s promises, Christ’s redemptive work, God’s faithfulness, God’s justice, God’s provision, God’s sovereign plan, and even in the body of Christ in that Christ is alive through His bride (He is alive in me).

Summary:
Unless I missed something, faith is only associated with God, while trust can be associated with basically anything. Faith is the plant that produces the fruits of the spirit that we will ultimately be judged by on judgement day. The seed of that faith is planted by grace so that the fruit of the kingdom comes from grace through faith. Trust isn’t really required for salvation, but faith is. A lack of trust is usually caused by unhealed trauma and nearly always limits our ability to produce healthy fruit. In the fight between trust and faith, faith should win every time.

I know this was long. If you made it this far, thank you. I hope this made some sort of sense to you. This is just the kind of question I wrestle with most days. I don’t usually feel the need to write it out, but this seemed to be the only way for me to make sense of it all.

As always, I welcome questions, comments, correction, and clarification. I’ve read through this a dozen times or more, and I know I’ll have to read it at least a dozen times more before it really sinks in. The dividing line between trust and faith is so thin and I have long struggled with any form of trust, so this is a vital question for me to be able to answer. I see the evidence for my faith. I also see evidence that says I still have trust issues that need to be addressed. I’m a work in progress, I thank you for walking down this garden path with me, and I thank God for being faithful to complete the work He began.