Recently I re-read C. S. Lewis' famous book Mere Christianity. Written nearly half a century ago, this publication continues to obtain a wide reading. In this classic work, Lewis presents the central features of mere (pure, undiluted) Christianity. Once such feature, or attribute, is faith. Lewis devotes two chapters to this subject. He begins by pointing to the faulty assumption he once held that "the human mind is completely ruled by reason" and "will automatically go on regarding [something] as true, until some real reason for reconsidering it comes up" (p. 139). But such is not the case at all. Human emotions and imagination also wield a powerful influence on us. Hence faith can be understood as "the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods" (p. 140).
Beyond this aspect of Christian belief, there is a second and higher sense in which faith is to be understood and recognized, and that is in the face of temptation. Says Lewis, "No man knows how bad he is till he has tried very hard to be good" (p. 142). Our failures show the necessity of faith toward God, for our track record shows that we can never make it to heaven on the basis of our own righteous performance.
These two aspects of faith represent the spiritual ground on which my greatest battles are fought. Though I mentally affirm the doctrines of grace, emotionally and in many other ways I deny them. For instance, if I do well in my Christian walk, I can easily become complacent, self-sufficient, and even self-congratulating. But if I do poorly, I slink before God's presence in prayer, imagining how repulsed he must be at the sight of me. This is not biblical, gospel-centered thinking; hence it must be struck down and destroyed by scriptural truth.
For this reason, I am attempting in my daily prayers and scriptural meditations to follow the maxim of Robert Murray M'Cheyne: "For every look at self, take ten looks at Christ." This is the fight of faith. Rather than being self-conscious in my Christian walk, I am called to be Savior-conscious. As I rejoice in the God of my salvation, I am reminded that I need not spend my life trying to earn God's approval; I live knowing that I already have his approval in Christ.
Beyond this aspect of Christian belief, there is a second and higher sense in which faith is to be understood and recognized, and that is in the face of temptation. Says Lewis, "No man knows how bad he is till he has tried very hard to be good" (p. 142). Our failures show the necessity of faith toward God, for our track record shows that we can never make it to heaven on the basis of our own righteous performance.
These two aspects of faith represent the spiritual ground on which my greatest battles are fought. Though I mentally affirm the doctrines of grace, emotionally and in many other ways I deny them. For instance, if I do well in my Christian walk, I can easily become complacent, self-sufficient, and even self-congratulating. But if I do poorly, I slink before God's presence in prayer, imagining how repulsed he must be at the sight of me. This is not biblical, gospel-centered thinking; hence it must be struck down and destroyed by scriptural truth.
For this reason, I am attempting in my daily prayers and scriptural meditations to follow the maxim of Robert Murray M'Cheyne: "For every look at self, take ten looks at Christ." This is the fight of faith. Rather than being self-conscious in my Christian walk, I am called to be Savior-conscious. As I rejoice in the God of my salvation, I am reminded that I need not spend my life trying to earn God's approval; I live knowing that I already have his approval in Christ.