The Grace of Knowing

And they that know Thy name will put their trust in Thee… Psalm 9:10a

I know Whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day. 2 Timothy 1:12

“Faith is an intelligent grace; though there can be knowledge without faith yet there can be no faith without knowledge.” – Thomas Watson

This thought struck me…for I had never really thought about it. I grew up in a Christian home. I grew up being encouraged to know God. To understand Who He is. To know His attributes, read His word, stand on His promises and to pursue these things heartily. Because while an finite being like myself can never truly know an infinite being like God, the more I knew the more I would trust Him. The more I knew, the more I would come to know. The idea that faith could be without knowledge never crossed my mind.

And yet it is a very real thing. Thomas Watson goes on to say, “A blind faith is as bad as a dead faith…  Devout ignorance damns; which condemns the church of Rome, that think it a piece of their religion to be kept in ignorance; these set up an altar to an unknown God.”

I asked Ed, a former Catholic, if this were true. He agreed it is very much so. It is why the mass was once (and still often is) said in Latin. It’s why in the Catholic church reading the Bible for yourself is discouraged; the priest can tell you everything you need to know. There is no encouragement to actually know God – you’re to simply believe that whatever the priest, or bishop, or pope says is good. Which goes a long way in explaining why the present pope has publically stated he doesn’t believe in hell, Adam and Eve or that the Bible is more than an ancient book of moral writings (many of which are out of date). He doesn’t know God. So, in the end, he has no faith.

For faith “is the substance of things hoped for” the writer of Hebrews tells us. Faith isn’t some mythical vapor floating about that is impossible to catch (like Emry’s bubbles that pop every time she attempts to touch one). Faith has substance. And anything with substance can be known. Just try to imagine having faith in God but not knowing Him. Not knowing that He is both merciful and just. Not knowing that He is both gracious and to be feared. Not knowing that He is sovereign, holy, kind, loving, omnipresent, powerful and good. If He isn’t all those things (and so much, much more) then what is your faith in?

It’s a frightening thought to believe in something you don’t know anything about. To blow yourself (and many others) up in a suicide bomb for a god and heaven you hope exists but aren’t really sure. Or do devote yourself to endless hours, days and years of prayers, fastings and confessions to an unknown god you helplessly hope to appease. What hope do you truly have? What guarantee? What salvation? In a word: none.

Oh, the wonderful grace of our God who not only calls us to faith but shows us what we have faith in. Who tells us about Himself, and gives us His precious promises with a “yea and amen” and never, ever changes. That is the God I know. The God in Whom I believe. The substance of my faith. Amen and amen!