Questions and Answers
by Editor(s)

Q. What is faith? Some of my Christian friends use that word and I don’t know exactly what it means.

A. Hebrews 11:1 says. "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."

Faith is action. By faith alone can a man act.

Consider faith’s place in human behavior. Is there one single act that one single man has ever taken, from the trivial to the sublime, which has not as its driving force and faith as its method of performance? A man eats. Because he wants to. Love, desire is the motive power. How then he eat and what? He sees some food which is both pleasant and nutritious, he believes in its value, he takes, masticates, swallows, digests, every action of which is pure faith and nothing but faith. At any moment, in any of these actions, if his faith in the food were shaken, if he were caused to change his faith into its reverse believing that it was bad for him–he would immediately and automatically cease to take, masticate, swallow, or even digest (if he could). Faith is human action. Faith is the God implanted, natural and only way by which a man can go through all the processes of doing or obtaining the things he desires.
The Law of Faith, pp. 16-17

Q. When I think about God, Jesus Christ, and the Bible–Spirit things in general, I realize that I can’t prove any of it to be true. It feels very scary. Can you help me with my thinking on this?

A. Most people at some point have thought this very thing. The following excerpt from Who Am I? sheds some light on this. "We can’t prove a thing. We have the Scriptures, we have the witness of changed lives, but they are no final proof. They are only pointers. It is only when desperation drives us beyond reason that we will make such a leap as this into the invisible. But we do! From our inner spirit-center, we make our faith-choice. We will take the risk and take Him at His proffered word–that God did send His Son, that He did die for us, did rise, is alive and does fulfill the promises He gives. We have to take it on faith."

Q. How do I know when I am crossing the line between what is properly dealing with rebellion or unbelief in my children and what is abuse?

A. When intense feelings of anger and frustration come up in me as a result of my children’s rebellious behavior or unbelief, I may feel like lashing out at them either verbally or physically. I have to ask myself or someone else why is this situation causing such intense feelings? I Gertainly do not want to inflict my excess baggage and old issues upon my children.. I constantly remind myself that my children, who have accepted Christ, are Christ in their form, but they are bei ng misused by Satan. I remind myself that Christ as me has the perfect solution.

I then make a choice to deal with the unbelief, , and apply an appropriate consequence if one is required. I believe first who I am (Christ in my form), and then who my children are. I want only to make my children’s desire to make the wrong choice unbearable. I am not on this earth to be my children’s best friend. In the end they will either love me and Jesus Christ or they will hate me and Jesus Christ.

God was very severe at times with consequences. Moses was not allowed to enter the promised land because he hit the rock a second time to bring forth water instead of speaking to the rock as God had commanded (Numbers 20:7–13).

God was also merciful as He was to the repentant robber on the cross (Luke 23:39-43).

What separates proper discipline from abuse is the desire for the child by the parent; the belief or spiritual condition of the parent at the time of the action; and who (Christ or Satan) is the driving force in the disciplinary action.