As we continue our series on grace, law, and faith I want to continue on our focus on faith. Faith is such an essential aspect of the Christian life; faith opens the door to heaven’s blessings and provisions. Faith is how we “connect” with the Lord. Show More
Defining Faith
When I use the word faith, I’m not talking about faith as in belonging to a particular church, denomination, or group… as in Pentecostal, Evangelical, Baptist, or Catholic. The faith that the Bible talks about is faith in the one who makes the promises in the Bible. Too often, our faith is in the promise and not in the one who makes the promise. Our faith in the one who makes the promise can only come as we seek a personal relationship with the Lord. I know that relationship is often spoken of, but I don’t think relationship is fully understood by many. Jesus is as real as the person who may be standing next to you, it’s just that He’s in the spiritual realm, and because we are spiritual, we must learn to develop our spiritual eyes, ears, and heart to comprehend spiritual things. (1 Corinthians 2)
All that matters to God is “do you know Him, meaning Jesus?” There is no substitute for knowing Him; sacrifices, self-imposed religion, false humility, and acts of piety will not move the Lord. The Apostle Paul warns us against this kind of deception in Colossians 2:4-10, “Now this I say lest anyone should deceive you with persuasive words… 8 Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; 10 and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.”
How to Please God
There is only one thing that will please God, and that is faith scripture says, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6.
In this single verse, we find the key to having access to God, it is by faith! Then we learn what faith looks like; we “must believe that He is” and that “He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Let’s look at these principles.
- Must believe that He is… one must believe that Jesus is real. Jesus is not some ancient person. He is not some historical figure, a statue, or icon. Jesus is God in the flesh and now sits at the right hand of the Father making intercession for us. One must believe that He died for our sins and that we are completely and totally forgiven of ALL our sins, past, present, and future. We have been made righteous and justified by His shed blood, and finally, that because He rose again, we will one day rise up to be with Him forever.
- Rewarder… God gives good gifts to His children. The most important gift, of course, is the gift of Jesus, “for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16. Jesus is the gift, and Jesus also gave us a gift, the gift of the Holy Spirit as a seal that we belong to Him and the Helper or comforter to help us live a Christ-centered life on earth. Then because of the extravagant love of God, the Holy Spirit gave us “the fruit of the spirit (Galatians 5:22, 23) and spiritual gifts outlined in 1 Corinthians 12.
- Diligently seek Him… This means that we are pursuing a relationship with our Lord. We are not casual, absent-minded, or careless about our relationship with the Lord. The phrase “diligently seek” can also mean to worship Him. True worship is to live a consecrated life to the Lord. Which means we are 100% sold out to Jesus.
- Romans 12:1 states, 1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service (or worship). You accept that you are His and He is yours, and you live to be pleasing to Him. That is what true worship is.
- Romans 12:2 says, And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. You are committed to breaking the old sinful habits you’ve developed of a lifetime, with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in you and exchanges them for righteous living which you were created for.
Believer’s Faith – Practical Everyday Faith
Two kinds of faith, Saving Faith and Believer’s Faith.
Saving Faith is that kind of faith that the Holy Spirit puts in a non-believer as an opportunity to come to know Christ. In John 6:44 Jesus says, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.” Apparently, the Holy Spirit draws a person to accept the truth of Christ, that Jesus came to save and not condemn!
Believer’s Faith is the faith that the believer has because of the word of God (Bible) and because the person has put his/her trust in Him, the promise keeper, Jesus Christ. Listen to what Jesus said in Mark 11: 22-24, So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. 23 For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. 24 Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. Keep in mind that Jesus is speaking to His followers or disciples. Jesus is saying that followers have the authority to speak to situations and circumstances, and if they will believe without doubting, they will have what they ask for. The key is to speak in faith without doubting! The disciples in Mark 11 were with Jesus, you have Jesus in your heart; this entire story or parable is about the Believer’s faith! Acts 1:8 says that we have received power because of the Holy Spirit in us, that is supernatural power… do you believe it?!
Faith and Works
The three most common areas in which we seek God’s blessings are health, relationships, and finances. God promises us that all of our needs will be met in Christ Jesus (Matthew 6:31-34), but we must come to Him in faith, that is, trusting that He will provide.
We are trusting in Him to deliver what He has promised because He is faithful and true. We sometimes get off-track and put our trust or faith in the promise and forget about the one who made the promise. We should hope in the promise which produces an expectation, and faith in Jesus who gives us the assurance.
The point that faith requires doing something is well made in the book of James. First, look at James 1:6, “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways”.
We must not doubt or waver in our faith! We must be steadfast in our faith in God. If our faith is in the promise, then circumstances will cause our faith to waver, but if our faith is in Jesus and our relationship with Him, then we will be steadfast. It is very much like being a passenger on a plane, is your trust in the advertising promise that you will have a safe flight or in the pilot to make it a safe flight?
Become a Doer of the Word! The second point is found in James 1:22, “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” If we are not doing or responding according to the Word of God, then we are hearers only! Don’t deceive yourself in thinking that you have faith if there is no outworking of that faith. It is like the person who believes it will rain but doesn’t bring an umbrella along. Let your actions correspond to what you believe!
Justification is by faith, not works! The third point is found in James 2:24-26. This section of scripture is sometimes misunderstood in particular verse 24, which says, “You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.” It is a tragic mistake to think that James is saying that salvation or any other area of spiritual life is by works and faith. In the context of verses 24-26, James is saying that faith must have some evidence or outworking that points to faith in God. Just doing good deeds or good works, while noble and should be encouraged, by itself will not justify you. However, believing in Jesus and as a result, you are led to do good deeds… well, that is the evidence of Faith!
Now there will be times when we must wait upon the Lord to do His part, but this by no means suggests that we do nothing. Resisting the temptation to sin is an important faith action. Resisting doubt and fear is also an important faith action. The Apostle Paul says in Ephesians 6:13, “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” Too many interpret this to mean I do nothing, and God will do it all. Yet Proverbs 16:9 states, “A man’s heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps.” We need to walk it out, or as the Apostle Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:7, “we walk by faith and not by sight.”
The Influence of Emotions and Experiences
The Bible Dictionary defines faith as persuasion, credence, moral conviction, assurance, belief or, fidelity.
The Bible’s definition of faith is: “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”. Hebrews 11:1
Emotions
Notice that in both definitions, there is no mention of feelings or emotions. Faith is a decision and commitment to believing, not a feeling. If you rely on feelings, you will be “tossed” about by doubt. One moment you will feel like you are in faith, then the next you will doubt. Remember, James 1:6-8, “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways“. You must actively avoid those people and circumstances who weaken your faith in life.
Experience
The same is true of experiences. They can be misleading. I am sure everyone has experienced disappointment when you were believing for something to come to pass, and it didn’t! A sick person doesn’t get healed or even dies! A relationship is not restored! Or a financial disaster actually comes to pass!
Faith is easy when everything you pray for comes to pass. True faith comes through the trials and tribulations of life. We live in a “fallen world.” The scriptures are clear that Satan is the ruler of this world in the sense that the world is still characterized by sin. Jesus said. “I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no power over Me” (John 14:30). This title of “ruler of this world” suggests that Satan is the major influence over our world. Scripture teaches that the whole world is in his power. “We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies in the evil one” (1 John 5:19).
Sometimes bad things happen to good people, but despite the evil that sometimes befalls Christians our position must be a position of faith, which is to not doubt God’s Word. We should never succumb to the temptation to “rewrite” the Word of God based upon personal experience.
Conclusion
Finally, what happens when what we are believing for doesn’t come to pass. Sometimes it is just a timing issue. God is always at work, and the promise is on its way. Remember God is not limited by time and space. However, it could be that as it says in James 4:3, “You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures”. In other words, God can’t bless those things that are contrary to His nature of love, forgiveness, and acceptance.
I pray that you will be able to say, in the words of the Apostle Paul at the end of his life, in 2 Timothy 4:7, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”