"and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death," (Philippians 3:9-10)
I have read a lot of books on the historicity of the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. Lee Stroebel, Josh McDowell and others have used their intellect and biblical knowledge to teach and help us gain knowledge that assures us of the truths of Christ. Evidence that without a doubt proves His deity. While I find those books stimulating and challenging to my intellect, I am reminded that Christ also requires faith and that all things are not known through intellect. Acceptance of Christ does require some faith and as Paul wrote in the above passage, "the righteousness from God depends on faith."
Imagine that you are out in the middle of a lake and there are two rowboats and you are standing with one foot in each boat. One boat, however, suddenly begins to fill with water and is sinking fast. It is obvious that unless you do something you will soon be in the lake. The boat with the holes represents ourselves with all of the leaks caused by sin and doubt. The boat without holes represents Christ. It should be obvious that with one foot in each boat we shall end up in the water just like we would if we had both feet in the boat marked “self.” The only safe place to be is to have both feet firmly planted in the boat marked Christ. That is how knowledge interacts with faith. We can certainly see the profound evidence of Christ historically and in the lives of others and maybe in our own life and yet we sometimes cling to what is not seen (sin in our lives) because it is comfortable and known. It does take faith to place both feet firmly in the boat that won’t sink because at some level we just aren't sure: even though we can see for ourselves that boat with Christ is not sinking we question the safety of that boat. Our relationship with Christ is often just like that. We know Christ, we see Christ in our lives and in the lives of other but that final step of faith that says, "He must be my Lord" is not reached. We cling to the old us thinking that is enough because we accept and see Him but not with our lives.
Where is our relationship with Christ. Do we rely solely on the intellectual Jesus or have we moved to understanding that the righteousness God bring us can only rely on our faith in Him as the redeemer. In other words, have we moved from the head knowledge of Christ to the heart knowledge of His salvation. Tough questions, tough choices. Let's spend some time pursuing faith.
Much love
Preach
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