BellaOnline Forums Religion and Spirituality Bible Basics what is faith and can everyone have it?

I once heard a pastor say that faith is "acting on what you believe". (Do you believe that your direct deposit will be in on Friday and thereby mail your checks out the Tuesday before?) We all have faith in something. The question is whether we have faith in God. As a matter of fact, Jesus says to have faith in God (Mark 11:22). As for asking for faith, FIRST you have to believe that God exists and that He rewards those who diligently seek Him. If you don't believe that then no amount of asking will help you to get some (faith). ----------------- Dave

Why in your "belief" system does "He reward (only) those who diligently seek Him" regardless of the here and now life one lives rather than rewarding those who lead moral and ethical lives whether or not they "diligently seek Him?"

@Les: If I knew the answer to "why", then it is not faith. It is not my place to concern myself with those issues. All I have to do is believe.

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Dave

Dave,
Everyone has to start somewhere. Please don't discourage people from asking for faith! "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." (Ephesians 2:8) Faith is a gift from God. God does not desire that anyone should perish, and we should definitely ask for the gift of faith, because He will absolutely give it. In fact, asking for faith is evidence of tentative belief. Even if you've been taught there is no God, what have you got to lose by a genuine plea for Him to grant you faith? You have nothing to lose and all eternity to gain. Jesus marveled at people's faith and lack of faith, but never spurned one who was seeking Truth, even if they had no faith yet. Ask and you SHALL RECEIVE.

Les,
May I chime in? Moral and ethical have no meaning apart from an absolute standard. That standard is perfect goodness. Since God can be defined as 'that which there is nothing better than,' God is the standard for morality and ethics. I don't know how you could live a moral and ethical life that didn't include seeking absolute good. If someone sets their own standards and lives accordingly, they are rejecting the absolute Good, rejecting God, and so would have no logical reason to expect any reward from Him.