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Reason and Faith: Difference between revisions

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You say, “''I don’t want to know. I don’t want to know anything about it. I don’t want to know why I need it. I don’t want to know what the effects are. I don’t want to know the side effects. I don’t want to know that. I just want to do it.''”  
You say, “''I don’t want to know. I don’t want to know anything about it. I don’t want to know why I need it. I don’t want to know what the effects are. I don’t want to know the side effects. I don’t want to know that. I just want to do it.''”  


Why do you think Paul says we walk by faith, not by sight? He means as you walk by what you know, you stick with what the truth is, and you tell your moods and your feelings and your fears where to get off. That’s faith. We walk by faith, not by sight. We go on what we know, not by what we see, not on what the appearances are, not on what the feeling is, not on how it feels at this moment. We walk by faith. We know.
Why do you think Paul says we walk by faith, not by sight? He means as you walk by what you know, you stick with what the truth is, and you tell your moods and your feelings and your fears where to get off. That’s faith. We walk by faith, not by sight. We go on what we know, not by what we see, not on what the appearances are, not on what the feeling is, not on how it feels at this moment. We walk by faith. We know.
Three people all say, “Do not fall in love with that guy. He will break your heart.” You believe those people, and they’ve never let you down before, but suddenly you fall under his spell. What have you done? You’ve lost faith in what they said. What happens when he breaks your heart? You wake up, and you say, “Why didn’t I think?” You walked by faith? No, you walked by sight. Faith, therefore, is not the absence of thinking. Not at all. Faith is the highest, and it’s the most complete kind of thinking.
The difference between faith and doubt is unbelief is listening to your heart; faith is talking to your heart.


If you ever hear somebody who says faith is opposed to thinking, faith is a mindlessness, God does not say, “Come unto me and check your brains at the door.” Most of us would agree that it wasn’t until we came to him that we even began to use our brains. Until you become a Christian, you have a tendency to react. You react to things. You say, “I think this way, I do this because I’m Italian, because I’m Jewish, because I’m a WASP. You see? Because I’m from the Midwest, because this is the way my parents taught me, because this is what my friends say, because I’m an English major, and this is how the people in my particular field think.”
God does not say, “'''''Come unto me and check your brains at the door.'''''” Most of us would agree that it wasn’t until we came to him that we even began to use our brains. Until you become a Christian, you have a tendency to react. You react to things. You say, “''I think this way, I do this because I’m Italian, because I’m Jewish, because I’m a WASP. You see? Because I’m from the Midwest, because this is the way my parents taught me, because this is what my friends say, because I’m an English major, and this is how the people in my particular field think.''


You know, you react. You don’t think. When you become a Christian, you say, “Wait a minute now. I have a standard of truth here by which I can judge anything and everything. I cannot just go along.” '''God does not say, “Check your brains at the door.” Faith starts with thinking.'''<ref>Timothy J. Keller, The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive (New York City: Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2013).</ref>
You react. You don’t think. When you become a Christian, you say, “''Wait a minute now. I have a standard of truth here by which I can judge anything and everything. I cannot just go along''.” '''God does not say, “''Check your brains at the door.''” Faith starts with thinking.'''<ref>Timothy J. Keller, The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive (New York City: Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2013).</ref>


=How does one lose faith?=
=How does one lose faith?=