INTELLECT AND FAITH

One thing that God has been teaching me a lot about lately is the relationship between intellectual agreement upon correct theology/doctrine and faith. I’m very analytical in the manner in which I think. Before I make a decision to do something, I analyze all of the possible outcomes. In fact, I often times find myself searching for certainty. Certainty in and of itself is not inherently wrong, but when that is the goal of our decision making processes, we lack an element of faith.

Take the decision to follow Christ for example. Because I like to think about things intellectually and I like to search for certainty in the outcomes of my decisions, for years I searched for facts that would help me to know 100% that the Bible is true, that Christ is God’s son, and that his death and resurrection provided a way for me to be in right-standing with God. Even with all of the facts and historical documentation out there and even with all of the physical proofs that point to God, I still needed to have faith.

Intellectual assent helps direct us towards faith in Christ, but it does not equal faith in Christ. Look at the ‘hypothetical’ situation that James places in front of us in James 2.

But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! James 2:18-19

The point James is making here (in the context of works) is that you can claim to have faith and really know that Jesus is the Son of God, but until you take a step of faith to believing this and receiving the love and grace that comes from Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, you may not actually have faith in Christ. After all, even the demons believe that Jesus is the Son of God.

What about you? Do you feel a tension between faith and intellect?