Why does God require faith?
God has spoken and made Himself known, and the question of how a creature should answer Him lies underneath everything else in the Bible. Commentators trace the demand for faith back to two things: what God is, and what man is not.
The Response God's Word Demands
When God speaks, believing Him is not one option among several. One writer puts the point in terms of the Bible's own authority, and adds that understanding follows believing rather than the reverse:
William J HockingSeeing that the Bible has divine authority, as being the word and words of God, what does it demand from us? Faith, unconditionally. God speaks, and we are bound to listen with reverence. What He tells me, I must accept because He says so. It is no question of waiting until I understand before believing. On the contrary, faith is the very means by which we do understand.
Refusing to Believe Accuses God
The seriousness of the demand shows up in what happens when it is refused. Unbelief is not a neutral gap in a person's opinions:
The Bible TreasuryIn the presence of such testimony, not to believe God is to make Him a liar. How grave, how solemn, how wicked, to dishonour Him in this way! In far less important matters we accept the witness of men. Is not His witness greater? … Unbelief dishonours God and robs man beyond measure.
Faith Puts Each Party in the Right Place
Faith is required because it is the only attitude that tells the truth about both sides of the relationship. It leaves God everything and the creature nothing:
Numerical Bible NotesMan then is put in his place, and God in His; God is glorified and man is blessed; his ruin is owned and his redemption found: and the faith that brings us there can therefore suitably be counted for righteousness; it is a faith that makes God all, man nothing.
The same thought is pressed as the reason nothing else in human life honours God the way faith does — and, surprisingly, as the reason faith is good for us:
C. H. MackintoshThe only thing in all this world that really glorifies God is the faith that can trust Him and use Him and praise Him; and since faith is the only thing that glorifies God, it is also the only thing that gives man his proper place, the place of complete dependence upon God, and this ensures victory and inspires praise — unceasing praise.
Not a Price We Pay
A natural objection is that God is asking for something after all — that faith is our contribution. One writer raises that objection directly and answers it:
H H SnellBut some may ask, Why by faith? Is not faith an act of creature-merit? We reply, No; faith is not a work of the flesh, but a fruit of the Spirit. Faith is the gift of God. Faith is always self-renouncing; it brings a broken, empty heart to receive and welcome God's gracious gifts. Faith, therefore, gives all the glory to God.
Others warn against a common misreading of the demand, where faith is treated as a fee handed over at the door:
Other AuthorsMany people regard faith as something they have to take to God as the price of their salvation, just as they would take a fee to their doctor. Faith is the simple appropriation of what God freely offers.
The Principle That Silences Boasting
Because faith only receives, it removes the one thing a proud heart wants to keep. This is also why the message is resented:
Michael HardtOnce you have believed, this is the sweetest thing ever: you deserved nothing, you received everything, and all this out of pure and free grace. Yet at the same time it explains why the gospel of grace is so unpopular with anyone who does not want to bow before God: you have to admit failure, bankruptcy and complete inability to save yourself before you are free to benefit from grace. Grace excludes boasting because it gives all the glory to God, and natural man wants (at least some) glory or boasting for himself.
Why It Is the Only Thing That Pleases Him
Scripture states plainly that "without faith it is impossible to please him" (Hebrews 11:6). One commentator explains the sentence by what faith actually is at bottom — and notes that the verse does not stop at bare belief:
Leslie M. GrantIf someone does not honestly believe that God exists, then his apparent religious approach to God is thorough hypocrisy. Faith is simply a true recognition of God, and certainly nothing less than this can please God. This is the elementary essential, while the last part of the verse shows the active working of faith, that is, diligently seeking God, which is certainly to be rewarded, in keeping with the faithful nature of God.
Summary
- God speaks. Because the Bible carries God's own authority, faith is the answer it demands — and believing comes before understanding, not after it.
- Faith receives. It is not a fee, a merit, or a work; it is an empty hand taking what God freely offers.
- Self empties. Grace can only be enjoyed by someone who admits he cannot save himself, which is exactly why proud hearts dislike it.
- God is glorified. Faith makes God all and man nothing, putting each in his true place — the one attitude that truly honours Him.
- Man is blessed. The same faith that gives God His glory gives man his proper place of dependence, and God rewards those who seek Him.