20/20 Faith

In this episode we wrestle with the truth about faith in difficult circumstances. While there are many ideas about faith, and while many consider it a 50/50 coin-toss, when we explore the scriptures we find that faith is being able to "see" things clearly with 20/20 spiritual vision because of a close relationship with God rather than a gamble you take when you try to figure it out for yourself.

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20/20 Faith

Intro (welcome message)

Welcome to the Scripture Talk podcast, where we make sense of trending viewpoints, important teachings, and eyewitness testimonials relevant to Christianity today. My name is Jason, and today we’ll be evaluating a trending Christian viewpoint against the light of Scripture.

Cold Open (setting the stage)

So something came up in a conversation I had with fellow believers a little while back. It was the end of a prayer meeting, and we were sharing some last minute testimonies. I was sharing a bit about faith and what God does for those who put their trust in Him. It sparked a conversation, and someone brought up the account of Jonathan and his armor bearer. From that story, the conclusion was that having doubt and uncertainty were just as important as having faith. Another chimed in, relating a couple of points from a sermon that commented on this passage and centered around the word “perhaps” to highlight the doubt and uncertainty that they believed Jonathan must have had. We got to the end of our prayer meeting, said our goodnights, and blessed each other as we parted ways for the evening.

Hook (pointed question)

Now I got to admit, I was a bit astonished by this take on faith. Does the Bible really teach that doubt and uncertainty are a part of faith? And it got me to thinking: how does this view measure up against Scripture, and just what is the best way to express faith in God?

What’s trending (you’ve heard it said)

Let’s start by getting a grasp of what I encountered, and what’s driving it at its core. There’s a sermon titled “50/50 Faith” by Steven Furtick. He wrestles with the difficulty of faith in the face of situations when, as he puts it, “God goes dark”. He brings up 1 Samuel 14:6, a passage he’s preached on before, and says that he not only sees “confidence that we can have in Christ and in His promises”, but also “uncertainty and self-doubt”. He reads the verse, and then shifts focus from the phrase: “come, let’s go over” to the word: “perhaps”. It’s this word that leads him to a “make-it-up-as-you-go” kind of faith. He says that God doesn’t say a single word and that Jonathan and his armor-bearer had to figure things out on their own, act on an impulse, and move on a maybe. He embraces the “coexistence of uncertainty and confidence” and assures his listeners that they too will be making it up as they go along. So when we boil it down, 50/50 faith is a gamble, a coin-toss. Maybe it’ll work, maybe it won’t. But at least you tried.

What’s true (but God says)

Now is this true? Is faith just a doubt-filled bravado? Does it all come down to a coin-toss? Here’s what God says via James: “the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways”. Now wait just a minute. Steven says it’s ok to have self-doubt and uncertainty as long as you’re confident, but God says that the one who doubts is double-minded, unstable in all his ways, and shouldn’t expect to receive anything from the Lord. So what’s going on here? Was God saying something different in 1 Samuel 14:6, or is there something that’s being overlooked?

Only one way to find out. Let’s go ahead and revisit that passage:

1 Samuel 14:6 - Jonathan said to his young armor-bearer, “Come, let’s go over to the outpost of those uncircumcised men. Perhaps the LORD will act in our behalf. Nothing can hinder the LORD from saving, whether by many or by few.”

Let’s stop here for a moment. Here is where we see the word “perhaps”. But the very next sentence begins with the phrase: “nothing can hinder”. There’s certainly no doubt expressed here in God’s ability. In fact, Jonathan is expressing absolute certainty about God’s ability. So what about God’s willingness?

Let’s continue with verses seven through ten:

1 Samuel 14:7 - And his armor-bearer said to him, “Do all that is in your heart. Do as you wish. Behold, I am with you heart and soul.”

1 Samuel 14:8 - Then Jonathan said, “Behold, we will cross over to the men, and we will show ourselves to them.

1 Samuel 14:9 - If they say to us, ‘Wait until we come to you,’ then we will stand still in our place, and we will not go up to them.

1 Samuel 14:10 - But if they say, ‘Come up to us,’ then we will go up, for the LORD has given them into our hand. And this shall be the sign to us.”

Ok, so let’s unpack what we just read. Jonathan’s armor-bearer expresses agreement, loyalty, and encouragement. But Jonathan doesn’t respond by simply taking his armor-bearer’s advice. No, instead, he sets the stage for establishing certainty. He tells his armor-bearer that they will go over to the Philistines, and resolve this “perhaps” decision based on one of two possible responses. Either they say “wait until we come to you” and it’s a no, or they say “come up to us” and it’s a yes. He was certain that if the Philistines responded with “come up to us” that it was a definite “yes” from the LORD and that they would have certain victory. This is very, very important! This was not a perhaps of doubt: it was a perhaps of epiphany and opportunity! It was a perhaps of faith. It was a thinking outside the box kind of faith. And with the two anticipated responses he put forward, he positioned himself to get an answer from God and thereby remove doubt. Jonathan wasn’t depending on the people around Him, but on God Himself for direction on how he would proceed. And not only was God able, He was also willing as we will see in the next couple of verses.

Verses eleven and twelve:

1 Samuel 14:11 - So both of them showed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines. And the Philistines said, “Look, Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they have hidden themselves.”

1 Samuel 14:12 - And the men of the garrison hailed Jonathan and his armor-bearer and said, “Come up to us, and we will show you a thing.” And Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, “Come up after me, for the LORD has given them into the hand of Israel.”

Now let’s take a moment and appreciate what just happened here. The Philistines said exactly one of the two things that Jonathan put before the LORD. But how is that? What if they hadn’t said either of those two things? They could have said any number of things that weren’t either of those options. They could have laughed, ridiculed them, or said something else. They could have said nothing at all and just attacked them or maybe even ignored them. And that would have destroyed any simple human strategy. But Jonathan trusted God enough with his “perhaps” of faith, that he was certain that only those two responses were the ones that God would give. The Philistines said “come up to us”, and God, not the armor-bearer, gave Jonathan the green light, and the two of them went up to kill twenty Philistines. Twenty. Again, this is a real life scenario: if you’ve ever fought or sparred in real life, you know how serious it is. Now imagine getting in the ring with an MMA fighter or a professional boxer. Take it one step further and imagine you have to fight against an armed member of the Navy Seals. Now imagine there’s twenty of them. Ten men each for Jonathan and his armor-bearer. Two miracles happened here. One, the Philistines actually said the exact phrase that Jonathan put forward, and two, Jonathan and his armor-bearer actually killed all of them. This was certain victory. Jonathan didn’t move on a doubt or uncertainty: he removed doubt by putting a choice before God, and acted on God’s chosen response rather than the advice of the people in his life.

We see here that Jonathan demonstrated a faith without doubt and a faith that relied on God’s direct input. What we read here in 1 Samuel illustrates a faith that is no different than the kind we are called to. It’s the exact same faith that we see written about in the book of James.

Now if Jonathan was in line with the scripture from James, how was his faith different from a coin toss? Let’s get a little clarity from the book of James. James chapter one, verses five through eight:

James 1:5 - If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.

James 1:6 - But let him ask in faith, without doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.

James 1:7 - For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;

James 1:8 - he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

Don’t embrace doubt and instability. Ask God and it will be given to you. In his own way, Jonathan was asking God for a clear path forward. Jonathan didn’t flip a coin: he put on eyeglasses to see clearly. He lacked the wisdom for how to deal with the Philistines, but by asking God for a sign, he received wisdom from God on how to proceed. He didn’t doubt, he had faith. And he didn’t have a 50/50 faith: he had a 20/20 faith.

Why it matters (our need for Christ’s power)

20/20 Faith. A faith of clarity and a faith of certainty. A faith that involves God rather than excludes Him. A faith where God doesn't stay a mystery, but where He reveals Himself to us. It is the only kind of faith that pleases Him, because it’s the only kind that acknowledges that God exists and that He rewards those who diligently seek Him. We need to acknowledge Him and seek Him, and we need the eyeglasses of God’s revelation to have 20/20 faith.

Takeaway (how to be a doer of the Word)

So where do we go from here? The biggest takeaway from today’s discussion is to remove doubt and gain faith. Ask God, and He will give you wisdom. Doing this will give you 20/20 spiritual vision. Ask, don’t assume. He will answer you. Here’s a scripture you can meditate on as you walk with God:

Proverbs 3:5 - Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.

Proverbs 3:6 - In all your ways acknowledge Him, and he will make straight your paths.

Outro (parting words)

Well that’s it for today’s discussion. I’m glad you made it here to Scripture Talk, and I pray that you gained insights that will deepen your faith and love in Jesus Christ. Until next time: God bless you and keep your eyes on Jesus!