Acts 1:3 To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God.
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
Our faith is (or should be) based on convincing proofs. Anything less is just wishful thinking or, as the world accuses us of, blind faith. The world’s faith is constantly changing – evolution, the big bang, the age of the universe, the sanctity of life for unborn children, the definition of what it means to be a woman or a man … Their faith changes because the evidence keeps changing through new scientific discoveries and/or because the wishful thinking of what is right and wrong is constantly evolving.
The cross and the resurrection is the cornerstone of our faith. Without the resurrection, we are still in our sins (1 Cor. 15:17). For the apostles, who would go on to bring a revolution of faith to the world, they received many convincing proofs to stand on and propagate faith to others. We have the internal witness of the Holy Spirit within us who testifies that we are children of God (Romans 8:9-16). We also have the testimony of the apostles through the Scriptures handed down to us through the ages and historical evidence. Throughout the centuries countless testimonies have been given through believers of Christ – men and women who in human terms were weak and insignificant, but by the resurrected Christ became victorious saints – even in death.
What evidence is your faith based on? When I was a fervent unbeliever, Dennis gave me the book “More Than a Carpenter” to read. As I read the “proofs” of Jesus – His cross and the resurrection – I said to myself, “All these arguments use the Bible as their source but I don’t believe that the Bible is true”. However, the Holy Spirit mysteriously “spoke” to my heart showing me that the Bible is indeed true! This convincing proof has been the foundation of trusting the Scriptures and receiving multiple other proofs as I walk with God.
