“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.
Faith is an Action
Faith is an action; it is the active choice of the will to believe something that is in the natural unbelievable. You don’t need faith to believe something you can see and understand. Hebrews 11:1 describes faith as “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Faith has its foundation in the “things hoped for.” As Christians, what can we hope for? We can hope for every promise found in the Bible and made available to us through the crucifixion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. All these promises are gifts of grace from the Lord. That grace is not earned or deserved; it is received on the same basis as our salvation; “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast,” Ephesians 2:8-9. You see, God extends grace to us, and we can only accept that grace by faith. The Lord moves first by grace, and then we respond by faith. Show More
Some mistakenly think that grace means I can do anything I want or I can get anything I ask for from God; all I must do is have faith. This kind of thinking is such an abuse of God’s grace. One can only have true faith in what the Lord has said or revealed; grace and faith are bound together.
In Romans 4, the Apostle Paul explains the difference between grace and works. Grace is God’s work provided by Jesus on the Cross of Calvary. Again, Grace is God’s gift and cannot be earned or deserved. From God’s point of view, His Grace is freely given to those who believe the gift of God is available and then act upon the gift being offered. Notice that I said to believe that the gift is available; that’s faith, and acting on that faith, that’s grace fulfilled. It is a challenge to say you believe in God, that’s the easy part, but you must also act or behave as you believe. Faith is not just words; it is an action too.
Abraham is our Example.
The Apostle Paul uses Abraham, “the father of faith,” as an example. Remember, Abraham was in his 90s when the Lord promised that he would be the father of nations. At this time, he still had no children. Now listen to what the Lord said about Abraham, Romans 4:17,”(as it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did;18 who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, “So shall your descendants be.” 19 And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. 20 He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, 21 and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. 22 And therefore “it was accounted to him for righteousness.” The last two verses are so important; Abraham did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief; he was strengthened in faith because he was fully convinced that what God promises God will deliver! Remember 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. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”
Abraham’s testimony was that he did not waver in faith, and because of his steadfastness, Abraham was declared righteous. The same is true for us; look at verses 23-24; now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, 24 but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, 25 who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification. Can you say amen to that!
Jesus Walks on the Sea of Galilee
Now, look at the fifth miracle in the Gospel of John, Jesus walking on water. This event is found in John 6:15, Matthew 14:22, and Mark 6:45. Three accounts of the same miracle from three different perspectives.
John 6:15, “Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone. They tried to make Jesus King, and Jesus would not take glory for Himself. Jesus always gave glory to the Father. We, in like manner, need to be careful that we don’t take for ourselves the glory of what God does through us. We must be mindful that it is not about us, but it is all about Jesus!
16 Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, 17 got into the boat, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was already dark, and Jesus had not come to them. 18 Then the sea arose because a great wind was blowing. 19 So when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near the boat; and they were afraid. 20 But He said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” 21 Then they willingly received Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land where they were going.”
The first thing to notice is that Jesus sent the disciples ahead by themselves; he did not go with them. There are times in our lives when Jesus will allow tests to come into our lives to help us see who we are really trusting in and where our faith lies. While we may feel like the Lord “doesn’t care,” we must assure ourselves that “He will never leave us nor forsake us!” That’s why we should never trust in our emotions when it comes to issues of faith. As a friend of mine used to say,
“Feelings come, and feelings go-
Feelings can be deceiving-
But the word of God is always true-
No matter what your feeling.”
The Gospel of Matthew account gives us additional information about this miracle. In Matthew 14:22,“Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away. 23 And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there. 24 But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary. Jesus sent the disciples away in a boat… Hmmm! Was this a test? Of course, Jesus knew what He was going to do.
25 Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. 26 And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.”
28 And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” 29 So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. 30 But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!”
31 And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, “Truly You are the Son of God.”
At this point, the disciples still did not understand the power and authority that Jesus was anointed with. They caught glimpses of who He was, but in the middle of a crisis, they forgot who He was and what He was capable of. They panicked when they saw a “figure” walking on the sea. It is understandable; it was the night the winds were blowing, the rain was falling, and it was probably impossible to see clearly under the conditions. However, they recognized His voice, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” How comforting it is in the midst of a storm to recognize the voice of Jesus saying, don’t worry, I am still in control!
Of all the disciples, Peter had the courage and faith to say, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” Sometimes in life, you just have to get out of the boat that everyone else is in and trust Jesus. Notice that as long as Peter kept his eyes on Jesus, he walked on water; wow! However, the moment Peter took his eyes off Jesus and looked at the storm around him, he began to sink. That is a lesson for us; when life’s trials and tribulations come, keep your eyes on Jesus!
Peter wavered in faith; he saw the storm with his natural eyes instead of seeing the One who had authority over all of nature with his spiritual eyes. It would be easy to criticize Peter, but how would you do in the same situation? Regardless, Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water! Listen to what Jesus said to Peter, “And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” This was not a harsh rebuke or chastisement but a challenge to Peter and all of us today, when we waver and doubt, not to feel defeated and crushed but to learn to be a better faith-walker.
The storms of life will come to all of us, and the question is, “do you want to be alone in the storm or have Jesus with you? Notice that when Jesus got into the boat, the storm stopped. The safest place to be in life is in the company of Jesus.
From Faith to Faith
In the Gospel of Mark account in Mark 6:51, Then He went up into the boat to them, and the wind ceased. And they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled. 52 For they had not understood about the loaves, because their heart was hardened.” What Mark is pointing out is that they were amazed at what Jesus and Peter had done when they should have realized that this is was normal behavior for Jesus and Believers in Jesus. Normal Christianity is filled with signs, wonders, and miracles for those who can see with spiritual eyes and faith. Mark points out that they forgot about the past miracles, in this case the feeding of the 5000, which was meant to be a building block to see even greater things. The apostle Paul says in Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.” We all start with a measure of faith (Romans 12:3) as we encounter life’s challenges and represent our Lord Jesus. As we successfully face each challenge, we grow in our faith; if we will remember what Jesus has done for us in the past, step by step, faith to faith.
Your faith will grow as you remember that Jesus loves you and that the Lord has a plan for your life, a good plan. Just trust in the Lord!