The Foundations – Faith Toward God

The elementary principles are foundations; and nothing is more foundational to Christianity than faith toward God. Of the six elementary principles, faith toward God is probably the most commonly taught. Consequently, you may be tempted to take a pass on this one.

So, before you decide to do that, let me suggest that foundation inspections are always good. The worse thing that can happen is you find out you have at least one principle covered. On the other hand, there may be something here that connects a couple of dots for you. Or, you may find a new way to explain this principle to those you are discipling. That is my hope and prayer.

The way the writer of Hebrews phrased this principle is interesting to me. Why not “faith in God”? Make no mistake about it, the Holy Spirit inspired the use of the word “toward”. I suspect this will be key to our gaining a full understanding of the principle. Before we go there, let’s make sure we understand the meaning of “faith”.

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1

This is one of the richest verses in all of Scripture – the definition of faith. In order to understand it fully, we must consider the words God chose to define and describe faith. As we do so, let’s remember that this principle is elementary. It is easy to understand; it is easy to consume.