Considering the Five Senses of Faith

Human behavioral experts have concluded that whenever we make important decisions, three factors are involved in the process: our mind, our emotions, and our will. We gather the information we need, let our emotions influence how we feel about making the decision, and then initiate our will in committing to move forward with whatever the decision might be.

 

This is especially true for spiritual matters. Determining to follow Jesus Christ, for example, is typically a three-step process of engaging the mind, responding with the heart (emotions), and then willfully deciding to take the necessary step of faith. However, my thinking about this changed a bit recently while reading a devotional entry by Charles H. Spurgeon, a highly regarded British preacher during the latter half of the 19^th century.

 

In his book, Morning by Morning: Meditations for Daily Living, Spurgeon observed, “Faith in the Scriptures is spoken of as pertaining to all the senses.” How he explained this was so interesting, I’ll quote it directly and then offer some comments. He said:

“It is hearing. ‘Hear Me, that your soul may live’ (Isaiah 55:3). One of the first performances of faith is hearing. We hear the voice of God, not with the outward ear alone, but with the inward ear. We hear it as God’s Word, and believe it to be so….

“Then our mind looks on the truth as it is presented to us…we understand and perceive its meaning. This is sight. ‘Unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation’ (Hebrews 9:28).

“We begin to admire it and find how fragrant it is; that is faith in its ‘smell’…. “All Your garments smell of myrrh, aloes, and cassia’ (Psalm 45:8). Then we appropriate…faith in its ‘touch.’ By faith the woman came behind and touched the hem of Christ’s garment (Luke 8:43-44), and by this we handle the things of the good word of life.

“Faith is equally the spirit’s ‘taste.’ ‘How sweet are Thy words to my taste! Yea, sweeter than honey to my lips’… [Psalm 119:103].”

 

Spurgeon didn’t say it quite this way, but expressed in today’s vernacular, we might conclude that Jesus passes the hearing test, the eye test, the sniff test, the touch test, and the taste test.

 

All five senses are referred to numerous times in the Bible, affirming that committing one’s life to Jesus Christ isn’t a blind leap of faith as some would suggest. For example, after the Israelites had fled from slavery in Egypt, they confronted the vast expanse of the Red Sea. Never fear, their leader Moses assured them: “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again” (Exodus 14:13). For them, believing was seeing.

 

After declaring, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved,” the apostle Paul observed, “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?” (Romans 10:13-14). We come to faith in Christ when we respond to what we hear.

 

Paul also referred to the role the ‘spiritual sense of smell’ plays in one coming to faith: “For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life…” (2 Corinthians 2:15-16).

 

The Gospels give many accounts of Jesus Christ healing people’s maladies by a mere touch when they came to Him in faith. For example, a man afflicted with leprosy approached to Him and said, “‘Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.’ Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. ‘I am willing,’ He said. ‘Be clean!’ Immediately he was cured of his leprosy” (Matthew 8:3).

 

As for the sense of taste, this is referred to several times as well. King David wrote, “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him” (Psalm 34:8). And the apostle Peter exhorted followers of Christ, “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good” (1 Peter 2:2-3).

 

However, in teaching about how our spiritual senses can prompt us to respond to God, the Scriptures also caution against ignoring what we see, hear, smell, touch and taste.

 

The prophet Isaiah, after accepting God’s call to serve as His spokesman among arrogant, unyielding peoples, was told by the Lord, “Go and tell this people, ‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding, be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’… Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed” (Isaiah 6:9-10).

 

We find a similar admonition in the New Testament, warning those who have ‘sampled’ God’s truth but then choose to reject it: “It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance…”(Hebrews 6:5).

In matters both temporal and eternal, there is a time when we must ‘come to our senses’ or ultimately face the consequences. 

Avoiding Sin – by Avoiding Temptation

Over the years, as I’ve met with other men in discipling and mentoring relationships, the subject of sin and temptation has often arisen. I’ve made it a point of explaining an important distinction between the two. Temptation, I’ve pointed out, is being presented with the opportunity to sin. Sin is deciding the temptation sounds like a good idea and acting upon it. 

So, while we need to confess our sins, as 1 John 1:9 teaches, we don’t need to confess being tempted. The Scriptures tell us even Jesus Christ encountered temptation in many ways. “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet He did not sin” (Hebrews 4:15).

 

That’s encouraging to know, but it doesn’t mean we’re free to dabble with temptation. It’s like sticking your foot into a river filled with alligators. Sooner or later, one’s going to grab you. If you’re a recovering alcoholic, it’s not wise to spend your time hanging out in bars.

 

This year I’ve been reading through a classic devotional book, Morning by Morning, by revered British preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon. One recent entry focused on the topic of temptation. He wrote, “A covenant must be made with our eyes not even to look on the cause of temptation for such sins only need a spark to begin with and a blaze follows in an instant.”

 

Spurgeon went on to say, “The wings of a dove are of more use to me today than the jaws of a lion…. [The Bible says] I am to resist the devil and he will flee from me, but the lusts of the flesh I must flee, or they will surely overcome me.”

 

In other words, don’t put yourself to the test. And don’t place yourself in compromising situations reasoning, ‘Well, the Lord will prevent me from falling into sin.’

 

The Bible does teach that, “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out (way of escape) so that you can stand up under it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).

 

Years ago, a friend of mine, Hugh, often referred to this passage when talking about one of his greatest temptations – Krispy Kreme donuts. Being a diabetic, he knew they weren’t good for him. But when he would drive past the shop and see the bright neon sign announcing a new batch of hot, melt-in-your-mouth donuts had been prepared, the temptation was real.

 

For Hugh, the “way of escape” was simply to keep driving down the road, rather than turning into the Krispy Kreme parking lot.

 

We live in a broken, sinful world and as a result, temptations are lurking all around us. But as another old friend used to say in his home-spun wisdom, “I can’t keep birds from flying over my head, but I can keep them from building a nest in my hair.”

 

Spurgeon observed the best way to avoid falling into sin is to steer clear of situations where we might be tempted. We all have our own weaknesses. What tempts me might have no effect on you. The one thing we can’t do is blame God if we do succumb to temptation. “When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire is conceived, it gives birth to sin…” (James 1:13-15).

 

The good news is that whenever we are tempted, maybe even blindsided by it despite our efforts to avoid it, we don’t have to deal with it alone. Hebrews 2:18 gives us this assurance, “Because [Christ] himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted.”