Faith and Sin are Opposites!

Why is it that so many people don't have faith in God? Why is it that so many people don't think that they are sinners? This is how I discovered the answers to these questions.

After more than 60 years of trusting Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, it finally dawned on me that faith and sin are opposites. If you had asked me "What is the opposite of faith?", I would have said "doubt". And if you had asked me "What is the opposite of sin?", I would have said "righteousness", or "obedience". But although those answers are correct, there really is a way that faith and sin are opposites. Now that I understand how faith and sin are opposites, I think I understand why so many people don't have faith in God, and why so many people don't realize that they are sinners.

It began when I pondered the question "What is the essence of sin?" Disobedience? But why do I disobey God? (Sin may often harm other people, but it's always against God.) It's because I want my own way. It's because I want to be in control. Why is that? It's because I know for sure that I want what is best for me, but I'm not so sure that others want what is best for me. Don't you feel the same way?

If I don't know God, then I may think that not even God may want what is best for me. God might want me to do things I don't like. Have you ever felt that way? What are we feeling? We are not trusting God, isn't that what it is? So the essence of sin, the thing that makes us sin, is distrusting God.

Now let's consider the question "What is the essence of faith?" First of all, faith needs an object, just like love needs an object, doesn't it? If you love, it must be that you love somebody or something. And if you have faith, it must be that you have faith in somebody or something, even if only you are having faith in yourself. So, to be perfectly clear, the faith that I'm talking about is faith in God.

So, what is the essence of faith in God? It seems that some people think that faith in God is the same as believing in God, that is, believing that God exists. If that is so, then it must be that having faith in yourself is the same as believing that you exist. But that's silly; when people say that they have faith in themselves, they mean that they trust themselves. So the essence of faith in God is trusting God. When the Bible talks about the kind of faith that satisfies God, it explains that the Devil believes in God (he knows that God exists), but he is nevertheless doomed, because he doesn't trust God.

So, the essence of faith (in God) is trusting God, and the essence of sin (against God) is distrusting God. And just as distrusting God leads us to disobey Him, so does trusting God lead us to obey Him.

This agrees with the Bible. For example, Abraham's faith was counted as righteousness (Genesis 15:6). And "whatever is not of faith is sin." (Romans 14:23)

For some one accustomed to distrusting God, it must seem to be a huge step to begin trusting God. But Psalms 34:8 says "Taste and see that the Lord is good." And Jesus spoke of having "faith as a mustard-seed". By trusting God a little bit and finding Him trustworthy, your faith can grow. The critical point is when you stop running away from God and start seeking to know Him more. As you know Him more, you will trust Him more. And as you trust Him more, it will be natural to obey Him more.

And loving God more -- that comes naturally along the way. I know that when I was a young Christian, I heard people talking about loving God, but I realized that it was just words to me. I wondered about the reality of those words. Now, many years later, I realize that I have grown to love God -- and so intensely that I have no words to describe it.

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