February 14 – LD 7, Day 3: Faith has Conviction of Truth

John 17:3, “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”

Once we are engrafted into Christ Jesus by faith, our hearts are filled with His love.  His love for us and our responding love for Him affects our minds. Under the influence of that love, “we hold for truth all that God has revealed to us in His Word.” 

Knowledge of the universe is exploding around us every day. In our high-tech generation, we pride ourselves in being able to gain access to information. We cannot possibly retain in our human brain all the things which we learn through reading, television, computer research via the internet, on and on. It is not so much what we know but where we can find it. Most of this information we view as “formal knowledge’, objective truth. As Christians we learn this and process this as any other human being.

But the knowledge of faith is different. From a heart that loves God, we view this information in the light of God’s divine revelation, the Bible. The center of this knowledge is God, the Creator and Sustainer of the universe. Apart from Jesus, the knowledge of God works terror and judgment. But, the knowledge of God through Jesus His Son, brings purpose and direction to this fallen world. We know that Jesus is Savior of His people and is now exalted and reigns over all things to bring them to their conclusion in His kingdom in the new heaven and earth. We learn the truth of history, science, medicine, etc. in the light of the Word of God.

More than that, we love God and are thankful that Jesus is OUR Savior and Lord. The truth of the Bible is personally embraced and precious to us. As quoted above, “this is life eternal”.  We personally know God and His Son, Jesus.

This knowledge which we hold for truth as Christians sets us at odds with the unbelieving world about us. Those who do not have Christian faith, limit their focus upon “things seen” and do not have the ability to “see with the eyes of faith which are illuminated by the Word of God.” The difference is the knowledge of faith and knowledge limited by unbelief.

As a Christian, do you have conviction of truth, both objective and personal?