Most “Statements of Faith,” Make Me Nervous

When I say Statements of Faith, I mean those lists of what various churches or ministries believe the Bible teaches about God, humans, Jesus and his gift to us of salvation and the promise of eternal life. You know – those lists of truths you’re asked to affirm in order to join a church, or work for a ministry. It’s not the truthfulness of that information that makes me nervous – it’s actually calling that list of what essentially are doctrinal truths, a “statement of faith.”

It may even be dangerous to say that our church has a “statement of faith.” Because, doctrine we believe only on an intellectual level, even if we have faith in the, still is not faith as God sees it. It leads many to falsely assume that if they agree with those statements of truth, that they then have faith – which they very well may not have. (On Thursday, I’ll post a blog with an actual statement of faith, I think you’ll like!)

Faith is like Fire
Faith – true faith is a lot like fire. Let’s assume I was able to write the definitive book on fire, The Complete Book of Fire. And, let’s also assume it was a thoroughly, accurate description of the chemistry of combustion, with lists of all the elements you need to have a fire, how to start a fire, keep it going, cook on it, put it out – a complete book of fire. You would still not actually have fire. Why?