Walking by Faith

Articles

Derek Long
02/09/20 - Faith

Walking By Faith
By Derek Long
2 Corinthians 5:7 says, “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” What does it mean to walk by faith? Are we people who walk by faith or do we instead walk by sight?
Walking by faith means we live our lives in harmony with the word of God. Romans 10:17 tells us, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Bible faith can only be produced by us hearing the word of God. To walk by such faith means we must follow what the word of God teaches. Do we walk by faith when it comes to the type of husband or wife we are going to be (Ephesians 5:22-33)? Do we walk by faith when it comes to the type of parent or child we are going to be (Ephesians 6:1-4)? Do we walk by faith when it comes to how we will worship God (John 4:24)? Do we walk by faith when it comes to the work the local church is to be engaged in? Walking by faith means in these and in all other areas of our life we live based upon what God’s word teaches us to do. Colossians 3:17 says, “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” Doing all in the name of the Lord Jesus means we do everything by His authority. His authority is revealed in the word of God. By following the word of God we are walking by faith and not by sight. Walking by faith means we allow the faith (the body of doctrine to be believed and practiced) to determine what we will believe and do (Jude 3; Ephesians 4:5).
Walking by faith means we do not trust in ourselves or our own feelings as our guide. Proverbs is filled with warnings against trusting in ourselves and our own wisdom. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” Proverbs 14:12; 16:25 say, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” Proverbs 28:26 says, “He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, but whoever walks wisely will be delivered.” People who trust their own wisdom and feelings more than the word of God are not walking by faith. Naaman is a good example of someone who almost failed to walk by faith. In 2 Kings 5:9-14, when Elisha tells him to wash seven times in the Jordan and he would be cleansed of his leprosy. Naaman began reasoning about there being better waters back in Damascus he could wash in. The problem with such reasoning is it is looking at things by sight rather than by faith. Faith would say God instructs me to wash in the Jordan seven times. If I do not understand why or how it will work, it does not matter because I am going to trust what God says and do it. Are we people who second guess what God commands us to do? Do we fail to do certain things God’s word requires us to do because we don’t see the reason why? If we fail to trust God and instead want to do what makes sense to us, we are walking by sight instead of by faith.
Walking by faith means we do not have to see everything we believe in. Hebrews 11:1-3 reminds us faith deals in the realm of things we cannot see. It says, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.” We do not see things like the creation of the world. Faith trusts God did what He said based upon the evidence around us and acts based upon our conviction of who God is.
Walking by faith means our faith is more than a mere mental assent. Just saying we believe without acting upon our belief will not save us (James 2:14-26). God expects us to have a living, active, obedient faith (Romans 1:17; Galatians 5:6; 1 Thessalonians 1:3).