Written by Pastor Jack Wellman– Alister McGrath
It is Substance
The author of Hebrew writes that “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Heb 11:1), and the Greek word used for assurance is “hypostasis” which is a scientific word and means “something that is firm” or “foundational” and is just the opposite of a theory or hypothesis, so our faith isn’t a hope-so faith but a know-so faith.
A Conviction
The word “conviction” as in “the conviction of things not seen” is a legal term and it what the Greeks would have used when submitting evidence worthy of rendering a conviction or verdict in a court of law. The word “conviction” comes from the Greek word “elegchos” which means “a proof, that by which a thing is proved or tested,” so faith is a proven reality since it’s evidence or a conviction about something.
Creation
A painting demands the necessity for a painter just as the creation demands the necessity of their being a Creator, and we believe “the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible” (Heb 11:3). We don’t question the creation because the Bible tells us God created the heavens and the earth (Gen 1:1), and even the heavens proclaim this glorious truth (Psalm 19:1).
Without Excuse
The Apostle Paul writes that we are without excuse if we deny the existence of God. He writes that mankind’s nature is to “suppress the truth” about God (Rom 1:18), however “his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse” (Rom 1:20).
Conclusion
Alister McGrath understood that the faith is substantial, it is evidential, and it is a conviction. We know that God is the cause of the universe and that whoever denies this is denying the most obvious evidence in the world…the universe itself (Psalm 19:1-2; Rom 1:18-20).
