We are going to take a look at Faith. 

What faith is, what it means to have faith,
 and how easy it is to question it. 
Not necessarily in that order,
 but I will try lol. 


There are 231 instances in the bible 
relating to this subject, and I know 
this is going to be one that we look at
 for quite some time! 


Because......I honestly believe this 
is one of those area's where we tend 
to question or gage our relationship 
with Jesus Christ on how much we have 
or don't have so to speak. 


Eastons Bible Dictionary explains 
Faith as follows.... 



Faith: Faith is in general the persuasion 
of the mind that a certain statement
 is true (Phil. 1:27; 2 Thess. 2:13).
 Its primary idea is trust. A thing is true,
 and therefore worthy of trust.
 It admits of many degrees up to full
 assurance of faith, in accordance with
 the evidence on which it rests. 


Faith is the result of teaching 
(Rom. 10:14-17). 
Knowledge is an essential element 
in all faith, and is sometimes spoken 
of as an equivalent to faith 
(John 10:38; 1 John 2:3).
 Yet the two are distinguished 
in this respect, that faith includes 
in it assent, which is an act of the 
will in addition to the act of the 
understanding. Assent to the truth 
is of the essence of faith, and the
 ultimate ground on which our assent
 to any revealed truth rests is the 
veracity of God. 



Historical faith is the apprehension 
of and assent to certain statements 
which are regarded as mere facts of history.

 

Temporary faith is that state of mind
 which is awakened in men (e.g., Felix) 
by the exhibition of the truth and by the 
influence of religious sympathy, 
or by what is sometimes styled the common 
operation of the Holy Spirit. 



Saving faith is so called because
 it has eternal life inseparably 
connected with it. It cannot be better
 defined than in the words of the 
Assembly's Shorter Catechism: 
"Faith in Jesus Christ is a saving grace,
 whereby we receive and rest upon him alone 
for salvation, as he is offered to us 
in the gospel." 


The object of saving faith is the
 whole revealed Word of God.
 Faith accepts and believes it as 
the very truth most sure. But the 
special act of faith which unites to 
Christ has as its object the person and
 the work of the Lord Jesus Christ
 (John 7:38; Acts 16:31). 


This is the specific act of faith 
by which a sinner is justified before God 
(Rom. 3:22, 25; Gal. 2:16; Phil. 3:9; 
John 3:16-36; Acts 10:43; 16:31).
 In this act of faith the believer
 appropriates and rests on Christ alone 
as Mediator in all his offices.


This assent to or belief in the truth
 received upon the divine testimony has
 always associated with it a deep sense
 of sin, a distinct view of Christ,
 a consenting will, and a loving heart, 
together with a reliance on, a trusting in,
 or resting in Christ. 


It is that state of mind in which
 a poor sinner, conscious of his sin, 
flees from his guilty self to
 Christ his Saviour, and rolls
 over the burden of all his sins on him.
 It consists chiefly, not in the assent 
given to the testimony of God in his Word,
 but in embracing with fiducial reliance 
and trust the one and only Saviour whom 
God reveals. This trust and reliance is 
of the essence of faith. By faith the 
believer directly and immediately appropriates 
Christ as his own. Faith in its direct 
act makes Christ ours. It is not a work
 which God graciously accepts instead of 
perfect obedience, but is only the hand 
by which we take hold of the person and 
work of our Redeemer as the only ground 
of our salvation.

 

Saving faith is a moral act, 
as it proceeds from a renewed will, 
and a renewed will is necessary to
 believing assent to the truth of God
 (1 Cor. 2:14; 2 Cor. 4:4).


 Faith, therefore, has its seat 
in the moral part of our nature 
fully as much as in the intellectual. 
The mind must first be enlightened by 
divine teaching (John 6:44; Acts 13:48; 
2 Cor. 4:6; Eph. 1:17, 18) before it can 
discern the things of the Spirit.

 

Faith is necessary to our salvation 
(Mark 16:16), not because there is 
any merit in it, but simply because
 it is the sinner's taking the place
 assigned him by God, his falling in
 with what God is doing. 


The warrant or ground of faith 
is the divine testimony, not the 
reasonableness of what God says, 
but the simple fact that he says it.
 Faith rests immediately on,
 "Thus saith the Lord." But in order to 
this faith the veracity, sincerity, 
and truth of God must be owned and appreciated, 
together with his unchangeableness.
 God's word encourages and emboldens 
the sinner personally to transact with 
Christ as God's gift, to close with him, 
embrace him, give himself to Christ, 
and take Christ as his. That word comes 
with power, for it is the word of God who
 has revealed himself in his works, 
and especially in the cross.
 God is to be believed for his word's sake,
 but also for his name's sake.

 

Faith in Christ secures for
 the believer freedom from condemnation, 
or justification before God; a participation 
in the life that is in Christ, 
the divine life (John 14:19; Rom. 6:4-10;
 Eph. 4:15,16, etc.); "peace with God" 
(Rom. 5:1); and sanctification 
(Acts 26:18; Gal. 5:6; Acts 15:9). 


All who thus believe in Christ will
 certainly be saved (John 6:37, 40;
 10:27, 28; Rom. 8:1). 


The faith = the gospel 
(Acts 6:7; Rom. 1:5; Gal. 1:23;
 1 Tim. 3:9; Jude 1:3). 


Vines expository : 

Faith: 
primarily, "firm persuasion," 
a conviction based upon hearing
 (akin to peitho, "to persuade"),
 is used in the NT always of 
"faith in God or Christ, or things spiritual." 
Strongs# 4102 Greek = pistis 



Hebrews 11:1 Says this: 

Now faith is the substance of
 things hoped for, 
the evidence of things not seen. 



Which, I know I have said this before...
for me it is the best definition there is. 
Short and simple. 



We have all at one time or another
 heard the example when trying to explain faith... 


When you go to sit on a chair, 
you have faith that it won't fall
 down or over, right? 


I suppose when I was a child, 
that was good enough for me. 
So the question is, did I complicate 
the issue instead of keeping it simple, 
or did I need a better example of
 what faith really was? 


Then there is the game or example
 where you stand in a room with
 a person behind you and 
you are to fall backwards and 
hope they catch you. 
They always use a stranger or someone 
you really don't know when they do that too!
 hmmm So I am to trust and have faith that 
this person isn't going to let me fall?

 
*I played this game with my group
 of kids in class, and I'm here to tell 
you that unless you make 
absoloutely sure that they understand 
they are to CATCH you? 
Don't try it! {cringe}* 


Point to that one? What?
 That you HAVE to trust someone?
 Something? That our lives are based 
and revolve around some element of faith? 


Most people if you ask them,
 much is taken for granted that it
" will be", until you get to something 
serious. Then, the "faith" thing 
gets a bit shakey. 


So, for starters, I want you to 
make a list of all the things
 that you naturally have faith in..... 

ie: I have faith that.......... 

My bed will hold me up when I lay down. 
My car will start when I turn it on. 
I will wake up today. 
When I open my eyes, I will be able to see. 
When I eat at a restaraunt, I will not be poisoned. 

Get my drift? Just simple things, 
that are part of our everyday lives, 
but very very necessary. 
For without them, we would never move
 out of the spot we are in. 


Keep adding to the list as you go.
 And don't throw it away! 
We will be using those examples shortly. 


Ok, that's that for now. 

Have a wonderful day in our 
Lord Jesus Christ, and I look forward 
to seeing you all back here 
very soon!




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