Monthly Archives: September 2013

faith

“Fifth, faith in Jesus has a transforming effect. It receives what Jesus offers, namely a relationship with him based on forgiveness. Since it puts us in relationship with him, it commits us to obey him. The surgeon may cure you despite your faith; but it certainly follows that even the smallest faith will commit you to follow his instructions in after-care. Thus, for example, we are committed to keep Jesus’ great command about love – to love our neighbour as ourselves. That is, faith in him, because it is faith in him, becomes the impetus for fruitful obedience to him. If it is a genuine trust in him, it will be the source of a life of service to God and service to others.”

P.F.Jensen, The Future of Jesus (ABC Books, 2005)

faith

“Fourth, faith in Jesus is not mere ‘belief that’ but ‘trust in’. While there is an unavoidable  intellectual element, there is also an unavoidable relational element because the object of your faith is a person. That is why is Jesus’ teaching, repentance and faith are joined. Repentance is not mere sorrow over some failure; indeed, it is more than mere sorrow linked to a desire to change behaviour. When Jesus talked of repentance he was talking of the fundamental relationship between human beings and God. The invitation to repent is a summons to change your attitude to God and to put yourself under his rule or, to use the language of Jesus, to enter his kingdom. Faith in Jesus involved putting him in charge of your life, and completely depending on him in life and in death.”

P.F.Jensen, The Future of Jesus (ABC Books, 2005)

Emmaus Pilgrims, by Rembrandt

“Third, faith in Jesus may be mere superstition and hence useless or dangerous. The only way to avoid this is by the proper use of reason, discrimination, experience and common sense. There is an indispensable intellectual element in faith; it is not the opposite of reason, although it is not the same as reason. In my view, if we are assessing Jesus, it is relevant to have a sense of history, an awareness of the Old Testament teaching about the kingdom of God, an experience of human nature and a feeling for what makes morality. To lack these things is equivalent to assessing the works of Rembrandt without any thought or knowledge about art or history. You lack the requisite tools to respond appropriately, and you would benefit from having someone with you who would help you see what you are in fact observing.”

P.F.Jensen, The Future of Jesus (ABC Books, 2005)

faith

“Second, it is not the amount of faith in Jesus that is important, but the object of our faith, Jesus himself. Jesus talked about faith as small as a mustard seed being able to do great things (Luke 17:6). It is, of course, not the faith or even the amount of faith that accomplishes the great things; it is the one in whom we have our faith. This is why faith and doubt can, and for many of us do, co-exist. Faith takes us beyond reason because reason itself is so weak. But faith may still be misplaced; our judgement may well be faulty. Faith does not answer all questions, and it may well be tested, refined, even refuted by further facts or logic. All this is essential to the nature of faith, and hence faith and doubt are often found together. But the power of faith is not in the size of our faith; it is in the power of the person in whom we have our confidence. Small faith in a competent surgeon can lead to just as good a cure as full faith in the same surgeon.”

P.F.Jensen, The Future of Jesus (ABC Books, 2005)

faith

“First of all, faith in Jesus does not arise because a person is better than others, or more naturally religious. It arises from a study of Jesus, not a study of faith. The person who trusts Christ does so because he or she is persuaded by hearing or reading about him that Jesus makes sense of experience and may therefore be trusted. This study of Jesus uses human reason, but it must use reason appropriate to the object of the study. I do not think, for example, that a determined atheist could make an appropriate study of Jesus because he or she would have inappropriately rejected much of the evidence a priori. Any object has to be studied on its own terms if we are to understand it and relate to it reasonably. Mere prejudice is not a substitute for reason.”

P.F.Jensen, The Future of Jesus (ABC Books 2005)