Commentary: We walk by faith

Let us continue trusting Christ Jesus and walking by faith, for we know that one day everyone will see Him.”

The Apostle Paul says, “For we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7). He had just also declared that while we are alive (“at home in the body”), we are absent from the Lord. (2 Corinthians 5:6). This simply means that no one can physically see Christ today; we must trust what the Bible tells us. Jesus told Thomas, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29).

Christians have waited for two thousand years for the return of our Savior. Unbelievers scoff and ask, “Where is He?” One good answer is, “In our hearts.” Paul also reminds us, “For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18).

So much of what we know comes down to faith, defined as “belief, trust, and loyalty to God” (Merriam Webster). What one believes has a great deal to do with both his upbringing and all influences in his life. We are all influenced by other people and, in fact, by everything we encounter, and much more than we realize.

That is why Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:33, “Do not be deceived: Evil company corrupts good habits.” He adds, “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14). Faith is fragile, and Paul recognized the fact when he warned us about threats to it in this life.

We sometimes wonder why some find belief in the truth, such as the gospel, while others find faith impossible. The answer of course is election. God has already chosen those who will believe in Christ and trust their souls to Him for salvation. But we also know that everyone still has a choice in the matter because of 2 Peter 3:9, where Peter tells us that God is long-suffering and unwilling that any should perish, but instead should come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9).

Many people, leaning on their own (limited) understanding, will scoff and declare the impossibility of this paradox of election and free will. This is because we are incapable of understanding paradoxes, two opposite things that seem to us mutually exclusive and are yet true because God said so. Because of our limited understanding, we are wise to take Proverbs 3:5 to heart. It says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding”.

Scoffers will also claim that our faith in Christ is futile and made-up stories. But Peter declares, “For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty” (2 Peter 1:16).

So, let us not be sidetracked by anyone, however brilliant or persuasive. Let us continue trusting Christ Jesus and walking by faith, for we know that one day everyone will see Him.

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Ralph Fudge is the pastor of Big Ochlocknee Baptist Church in Coolidge, Ga., and has a Master’s degree in theology from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.