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What is faith from a biblical perspective? Biblical faith is a response to the Word of God. (067)
This is a critical point because the religions of men, which operate under the guise of Christianity and keep their followers under bondage all their lifetime, invariably add something to the Bible as a valid object of faith. Some religions unabashedly add other books (the Koran, the Book of Mormon, etc.) and exalt them over the Bible. Other religious groups exalt tradition up to the same par with the Bible (the ancients did it this way and we believe in the legitimacy of their behavior). These groups invariably will say something like, "Now the Bible doesn't specifically teach this, but...". None of these groups is operating in a biblically defined faith. And without such a faith, it is impossible to please God. So, those who follow such systems are not going to be accepted by God in the Day of Judgment. You can always tell whether the particular religion is deceptive by the way they insist that you cannot understand the Bible without their instruction.
This brings up a crucial question: what does God do to the ignorant? How does God respond to those who are afraid to pick up the Bible and challenge their religious heritage? Since faith is critical, and faith is a response to God's Word, what does God do to people who refuse to get involved in the study of His Word?
The answer to those questions is not hard to find in the Bible. For example, note Proverbs 1:32: "For the turning away of the simple shall slay them...". Here the Bible says that God will ultimately kill those who turn away from His Word. Also note Proverbs 13:13: " Whoso despiseth the word shall be destroyed: but he that feareth the commandment shall be rewarded." Here it says that God will destroy those who think so little of His Word that they will not study it. Then, note Proverbs 29:1: "He, that being often reproved hardeneth [his] neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy." Here we are told that if someone is told many times to do what is right (like studying the Word of God) and refuses, the day will come when he will be destroyed without remedy.
There are a goodly number of similar references in the Bible. They all tell us pointedly that we cannot trust in religion in order to be accepted by God. We must, instead, trust in God according to His Word. The apostle Paul wrote Romans 10:17: " So then faith [cometh] by hearing...the word of God." That same apostle commanded in Colossians 3:16: "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." This was not written to rabbis, priests, and preachers. It was written to the children of God. It requires us to let the Word dwell in us so that we may teach each other. How can you teach the Word of God if you don't know what it says? Anyone can teach religion classes. Only those who know the Bible can teach Christianity.
Our world is reeling out of control. Violence and immorality are increasing every day. What is God going to do?