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

By looking at the above definition of faith we see that it involves both belief and conviction. That is to say there is something to believe in, and that belief is real. We can turn to the Heidelberg Catechism Q/A #21 for a further definition. The catechism, in speaking of true faith, speaks of Aa sure knowledge" and "a hearty trust." This reflects the fact that to have faith is to have something to believe in. There is a body of information. And there is a conviction about this information. One cannot believe in nothing, and one cannot believe and be totally unsure of what he believes.

So what do we believe? The Apostle Paul says in Romans 10:9 "if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." That is not very complicated. It gets right at the heart of what the gospel is. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, by His sacrifice paid for your sins and rose again. By His death and resurrection your sins are paid for and you have new life in Christ. This simple truth is reality for those who have faith. This is what we believe.

It would seem that this should be quite easy. Anybody should be able to figure this out. The problem is that due to man's fall into sin it is impossible for anyone to see this simple truth by themselves. The apostle Paul says in Romans 1, that man is born with a knowledge of God, but because of sin "their foolish hearts were darkened." It is impossible for the natural man to come to faith in Jesus Christ by himself.

The good news of the gospel is that faith is part of the gift that we have in Christ. In the book of Ephesians the apostle Paul again says this about faith: "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God." (Eph. 2:8) It is through the Holy Spirit working in the heart of man by means of the Word of God that God's people come to faith.

That does not relieve anyone from the responsibility of believing. God calls all to hear and receive the gospel. We must really believe. We must seek the help of the Holy Spirit in our belief.

It is indeed a great joy to know that we are not left to our own ability. God does call us to faith and he does provide for the eyes of our hearts to be opened so that we are able to believe. That is why the Heidelberg Catechism says that we have a "hearty trust.@. Certainly there are times when the temptations of the world cause us to have some questions about what we believe in, but Jesus has promised that the work which the Father sent Him to do will be accomplished. He will not fail to provide a sacrifice for sin and will work saving faith in the hearts of anyone whom the Father gave Him to save.

Not only does this provide assurance for us who believe, but it is important to know that when we witness the truth of salvation to the lost we do not have to depend on them to come to faith on their own. We know that the Word of God will cause faith in the hearts of those whom God seeks to save by the power of the Holy Spirit. We cannot talk anyone into believing or even force them, but when the Holy Spirit is at work, the message of the gospel is effective.

How great it is that we can know Jesus Christ as our Savior and believe that His work on the cross has accomplished salvation for us.