Oxymorons are figures of speech in which two seemingly opposite ideas are joined together to create a contrasting effect. For example, the terms “jumbo shrimp,” “act naturally,” and “sanitary landfill” are oxymorons.
Some would suggest that the concept of “reasonable faith” could be considered an oxymoron as well. The word “reasonable” can be defined as having sound judgment or being rational. It implies intelligence and coherence.
The word “faith” denotes a belief or trust in something or someone. It requires an object of that confidence. In other words, a person of faith is considered to be someone who is religious or someone who believes in a higher power, often without any tangible or physical proof of the actual existence of that power.
There are those who would advocate that faith is in itself not rational — that putting one’s trust in God is not based upon sound judgment, but instead is seen as a “leap in the dark.” Faith is a belief in something or someone that cannot be necessarily proven by logic or intellectual prowess.
What Does the Bible Say?
The Bible, however, is clear that a person’s faith in the Almighty God is based on an understanding of things that “are visible” (Hebrews 11:3). In other words, God’s Word teaches that “faith” is indeed “reasonable” because trust in God is grounded on “substance” and “evidence” (Hebrews 11:1). Faith in God makes sense. It is rational because of the character and nature of God Himself.
The entire “Hall of Faith” chapter in Hebrews 11 presents account after account of people who accomplished great things for God because of their faith. They believed that God was God, and this passage explains how He used each of them because of their faith in Him. These were real people who had “reasonable faith.”
Even a cursory reading of this chapter reveals that these individuals were not emotionally driven, religious fanatics who accomplished these amazing feats out of some irrational, uneducated belief in a distant and unproven deity. They each acted out of their trust in the God of the Universe because that faith was established on “substance” and “evidence” that only God could provide.
Biblical Factors That Produce a Reasonable Faith
There are five important truths about God in the Bible that can help produce a reasonable faith in the lives of His followers. Each of these five certainties requires God’s people to look carefully at the character and nature of God and see what He has promised to those who have put their trust in Him.
1. Look at. Only the Word of God can truly produce a reasonable faith in the lives of God’s people. Rational, logical faith in an Almighty God can only be produced and developed by God Himself.
Romans 10:17 says, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” It’s important for people to understand that the source of this kind of faith is found in His Word. Saving faith in God cannot be drummed up by any kind of human effort. God uses His Word to bring people to Christ and He also uses the same tool to help His followers grow in Christ (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
2. Look in. Once people have put their trust in Christ (Romans 10:9), they are given the Holy Spirit who dwells in them (Romans 8:11). That is why it is so important for people to also look in their own hearts to see the work of God in and through their lives.
Romans 8:16 puts it this way, “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.” The Holy Spirit of God living inside of believers gives them the genuine confidence they need to see the hand of God in their lives.
3. Look around. The presence of God with His people is another incredible comfort for believers. Just before He returned to glory, the Lord Jesus Christ assured His followers, “…I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).
Believers only need to look around to recognize the fact that God is there, present with them as they go through their daily lives. Psalm 139:7-16 also affirms and confirms God’s omnipresence as well. That text provides a great assurance that God is there — and is actively involved in the lives of His followers today.
4. Look out. Romans 1:20 says, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.” This passage is clear about the fact that creation shouts the reality of a Creator. Notice again the phrase “clearly seen.”
All one must do is “look out” into the world to see the clear evidence of God. This same truth is articulated in Psalm 19, where King David begins, “The heavens declare the glory of God…” The object of faith is a Creator God who made the entire universe merely by speaking (Genesis 1). The existence of the universe itself is proof of a living God. Faith is so much more than an irrational belief in something that isn’t tangible.
5. Look back. There is one other place to look that visibly demonstrates the existence of a very real and very alive God. In Psalm 78:7, God’s people are told to, “…not forget the works of God.”
When people look back throughout the pages of their lives, they will undoubtedly see the hand of God — leading, guiding, and sustaining them along the way. That is exactly why the nation of Israel was told to remind the “generation to come” (Psalm 78:6) of what God had done for them.
What Does This Mean?
Reasonable faith is absolutely not an oxymoron. The Bible is clear that faith in God has substance and is based on real evidence. Having faith in God is not based on human intelligence or intellect but is produced and developed by God through His word. All one has to do is look.
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