INTRODUCTORY
STUDY
The following topics form the basis of each study on Faith:
Click on each to go
to that section of the study.
WORD STUDY
Several English
words are used to translate the family of words under the topic
of Faith.
The family of Greek words are all built off the same stem, as
can be seen in the following examples:
|
pistis |
fem. noun |
faith, trust,
faithfulness, proof, oath, a pledge, confidence,
conviction |
|
pistos |
masc. noun |
faith, trust,
faithfulness, confidence, etc |
|
pistow |
aorist verb |
be convinced,
feel confidence, feel trusted |
|
pisteuw |
verb |
believe,
trust, be convinced, have confidence, entrust |
When used as
nouns
the best way to
understand this family of words is to translate them in the
Biblical context as
faith, trust, or confidence.
They are used with
the meaning
that we have faith
or confidence in something or someone.
When used as a verb the best way to understand these words is in
the sense of to
believe someone,
or to believe
in someone, to
trust someone, to have
confidence in someone.
In regard to God
and Jesus
Christ to
have faith in them is to
believe that they exist, and to trust in them and what they are doing for
man.
In regard to Scripture
to have faith in Scripture means to
have confidence in Scripture.
One's Faith is sometimes referred to as a
body of doctrine
in the sense of a body of teachings that one believes and
trusts.
Fundamentally, Faith is that in which we have placed our confidence,
that in which we trust.
To Believe in someone or something is to trust that one in such
a manner that one's faith shapes or controls one's life.
We will
notice below when we reflect on a Theology of Faith that Faith
is not a passive body of knowledge, but an active attitude
related to some knowledge that causes some form of action or
response.
IMPORTANT SCRIPTURES
DISCUSSING FAITH
We list below several
texts that we feel should be considered when reflecting on biblical
faith:
|
Heb
11:1-3 |
1Now
faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the
conviction of things not seen. 2 For by it
the men of old received divine approval. 3 By
faith we understand that the world was created by the
word of God, so that what is seen was made out of things
which do not appear. |
| Ps
9:10 |
10
And those who know thy name put their trust in
thee, for
thou, O Lord, hast not forsaken those who seek thee. |
|
Heb
11:6 |
6
And
without
faith it is impossible to please him. For whoever would draw
near to God
must believe that he exists and that he rewards
those who seek him.
|
|
Ps
37:5,6 |
5
Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will
act. 6 He will bring forth your vindication
as the light, and your right as the noonday. |
| Heb
11:8 |
8
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go
out to a place which he was to receive as an
inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was
to go. |
| Heb
11:17 |
17
By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up
Isaac, and he who had received the promises was ready to
offer up his only son, |
| John
8:24 |
24
"I told you that you would die in your sins,
for you will die in your sins unless you believe that I
am he." |
|
John
3:16 |
16
For God so loved the world that he gave his only
Son, that
whoever believes in him should not perish but
have eternal life. |
|
John
3:36 |
36
He who believes
in the Son has eternal life; he who does not obey the
Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God rests upon
him. |
|
John
1:12 |
12
But
to all who
received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to
become children of God; |
| Acts
16:30 |
30
and brought
them out and said, "Men,
what must I do to be
saved?" 31 And they said, "Believe
in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your
household." 32 And
they spoke the word
of the Lord to him
and to all that were in his house. 33
And he took them the same hour of the night, and
washed their wounds, and he was baptized at once, with
all his family. |
| Rom
10:14-17 |
14
But how are men
to call upon him in whom they have not believed? And how
are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? ... 17 So
faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes by the preaching of
Christ. (RSV)
14 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? ... 17 Consequently,
faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is
heard through the word of Christ. (NIV) |
|
Rom
3:21-28 |
21 But
now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart
from law, although the law and the prophets bear witness
to it, 22 the righteousness of God through
faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is
no distinction; 23 since all have sinned and
fall short of the glory of God, 24 they are
justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption
which is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put
forward as an expiation by his blood, to be received by
faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because
in his divine forbearance he had passed over former
sins; 26 it was to prove at the present time
that he himself is righteous and that
he justifies him
who has faith in Jesus. 27 Then what
becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. On what
principle? On the principle of works? No, but on the
principle of faith. 28
For we hold that a man
is justified by faith apart from works of law. |
|
Rom
5:1-5 |
1
What then shall
we say about Abraham, our forefather according to the
flesh? 2 For if Abraham was justified by
works, he has something to boast about, but not before
God. 3 For what does the scripture say?
"Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him
as righteousness." 4 Now to one who
works, his wages are not reckoned as a gift but as his
due. 5 And
to one who does not work but
trusts him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is
reckoned as righteousness. |
| Gal
3:25-27 |
25
But now that
faith has come, we are no longer under a custodian; 26
for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God,
through faith. 27
For
as many of you as were
baptized into Christ have put on Christ. |
| Eph
2:8-10 |
8
For
by grace you have been saved through
faith;
and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God—
9 not because of works, lest any man should
boast. 10 For we are his
workmanship, created
in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared
beforehand, that we should walk in them. |
| James
2:18-26 |
18
But some one will say, "You have faith and I
have works." Show me your faith apart from your
works, and I by my works will show you my faith. 19
You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the
demons believe—and shudder. 20 Do you want
to be shown, you shallow man, that
faith apart from
works is barren? 21 Was not Abraham our
father justified by works, when he offered his son Isaac
upon the altar? 22 You see that
faith was
active along with his works, and faith was completed by
works, 23 and the scripture was fulfilled
which says, "Abraham believed God, and it was
reckoned to him as righteousness"; and he was
called the friend of God. 24 You see that a
man is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25
And in the same way was not also Rahab the harlot
justified by works when she received the messengers and
sent them out another way? 26 For as the body
apart from the spirit is dead, so
faith apart from works
is dead. |
Summary Of Faith Texts
We notice several important facts about Faith:
|
Faith
is essential to a relationship with God and
Jesus. |
|
Without
faith one cannot be pleasing to God. |
|
Faithful
persons of the Old Testament always acted on
their faith. |
|
True
faith is obedient. |
|
One
cannot separate faith and obedience. |
|
Salvation
is dependent on faith in what God is doing
through Jesus. |
|
Salvation
is dependent on faith in Jesus. |
|
We are
justified by faith in what God is doing through Jesus
and not by pour works. |
|
We are
saved by grace through faith and not by our
works, we are saved through faith in what God is
doing through Jesus. |
|
Faith
that does not result in obedient action is a
dead faith which cannot save. |
HOW ONE COMES TO FAITH OR TO BELIEVE IN GOD AND JESUS
CHRIST
In Romans 10:14-17 Paul
explains that faith comes through hearing the message
regarding Jesus.
It is important to note the context in which Paul makes
this statement.
He is "mourning" the fact that the Jews had
rejected Jesus and because this were lost.
The only way the Jews could be saved was by God's grace
and through their faith in what God was doing in Jesus.
The Jews had rejected faith in Jesus and because of this
they were lost.
Notice these two passages, the one from Rom 9:1, the
other from Rom 10:1
| Rom
9:1ff I am speaking the
truth in Christ, I am not lying; my conscience
bears me witness in the Holy Spirit, 2 that
I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my
heart. 3 For I could wish that I
myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for
the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen by race. |
| Rom
10:1ff Brethren, my heart’s
desire and prayer to God for them is that they
may be saved. 2 I bear them witness
that they have a zeal for God, but it is not
enlightened. 3 For, being ignorant of
the righteousness that comes from God, and
seeking to establish their own, they did not
submit to God’s righteousness. 4 For
Christ is the end of the law, that every one who
has faith may be justified. |
Paul
continues his point in Rom 10:14-17.
"How
are people going to believe in Jesus when they have
never heard of him?"
It is
because someone preaches to them, or teaches them about
Jesus that they can come to believe in him.
Faith
in God or in Jesus comes through hearing the Word of God
in some form or fashion.
It
either comes through reading Scripture, or by having
someone teach one about the God of Scripture.
The problem with the Jews was that they had only a
partial knowledge of God and his will, and by rejecting
Jesus they were rejecting the fuller knowledge of God
and Jesus.
One comes to
faith through the hearing of God's Word, and believing
the message of that Word.
HOW
FAITH WORKS IN THE SCHEME OF MAN'S SALVATION AND
CHRISTIAN LIFE
We have seen that faith is fundamental to one's
relationship with God.
Without faith it is impossible to please God!
This means that one has to learn to
have confidence in
God, and to trust God and what he is doing for
man.
Faith means turning away from self and to God in the
confidence that
he has the solution to one's needs.
Through or faith and confidence in God we place
ourselves in a situation where God's gracious love and
salvation are available to us.
In Romans Paul explains that through faith in Jesus
Christ we have access to God's saving grace (Rom
5:1,2).
Through faith we have access to God's powerful gift of saving
work:
|
Eph
2:4-10 But God, who is rich in
mercy, out of the great love with which he loved
us, 5 even when we were dead through
our trespasses, made us alive together with
Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and
raised us up with him, and made us sit with him
in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that
in the coming ages he might show the
immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness
toward us in Christ Jesus. 8
For by
grace you have been saved through faith; and
this is not your own doing, it is the gift of
God— 9 not because of works, lest
any man should boast. 10 For we are
his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for
good works, which God prepared beforehand, that
we should walk in them. |
Faith
works by shifting salvation from a work that we
accomplish to a work that God accomplishes through Jesus
Christ.
Faith is our trusting
in God's promises and working,
not our working.
However,
faith
cannot be blind faith or uninformed faith.
(See Rom 10:1-4).
Faith
must be informed by God's word, or Scripture.
Faith must involve trusting in Jesus Christ and what God
is doing through Jesus.
Faith
is not simply knowing something, but involves trusting
fully in what is known.
Through
trusting fully in Jesus Christ and God's powerful
working
we access his gracious promises and salvation.
TWO
CASE STUDIES
OF DEVELOPING FAITH
Cornelius and The
Philippian Jailor
Cornelius
Cornelius
was a Roman Centurion who lived in Caesarea.
He was a devout man and a believer in God who prayed
constantly to God.
God instructed him to send servants to Joppa and to get
Simon Peter who would tell him words whereby he would be
saved.
Cornelius was a believer in God but not yet a believer
in Jesus Christ.
Peter came to Caesarea and visited Cornelius.
He preached the message of Jesus' death, burial, and
resurrection to Cornelius.
Cornelius believed the message and with his household
was baptized.
The point of this little story which you can read in
greater detail in Acts 10 and 11is that although
Cornelius was a devout believer in God, he still needed
to believe in Jesus Christ and what God was doing
through Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection.
In order to believe in Jesus Christ, Peter had to go to
Cornelius' home and preach the message of Jesus Christ.
| Rom
10:14-17 14 But how
are men to call upon him in whom they have not
believed? And how are they to believe in him of
whom they have never heard? And how are they to
hear without a preacher? ... 17 So
faith comes from what is heard, and what is
heard comes by the preaching of Christ. |
The
Philippian Jailor
When Paul and Silas were thrown into prison for
preaching Jesus.
While in prison they were praying and singing when a n
earthquake destroyed the prison.
the jailor, fearing that his prisoners had escaped, was
about to kill himself.
When Paul told him not to harm himself because they were
all still there, he asked what he must do to be saved.
We do not know all of what went on that caused the
jailor to ask this question, but he must have heard Paul
and Silas praying and have been moved by this to ask
about being saved.
Paul then told him to believe in Jesus Christ and he
would be saved.
But, the man was a pagan and most likely knew nothing
about Jesus, so Paul and Silas preached the message of
Jesus to him. Knowing Paul's preaching, Paul must
have told him of Jesus' saving death, burial, and
resurrection (see 1 Cor 15:1-4).
As a result of Paul's preaching, the jailor obviously believed
in Jesus, for he was baptized the same hour of the
night.
We read this fascinating account of pagan conversion in
Acts 16:25-34.
The point of this story was that the man did not believe
in Jesus, Paul preached the message of Jesus, the man
believed this and in Jesus, and was baptized
immediately.
| Rom
10:14-17 14 But how
are men to call upon him in whom they have not
believed? And how are they to believe in him of
whom they have never heard? And how are they to
hear without a preacher? ... 17 So
faith comes from what is heard, and what is
heard comes by the preaching of Christ. |
A BIBLICAL
THEOLOGY OF FAITH
Biblical faith has reference to an attitude of trusting
God through Jesus Christ.
It involves believing that God exists, that he has
planned for and has been working for man's salvation.
Furthermore, Biblical faith involves believing in Jesus
Christ as the divine son of God, that he was born as a
man in whom the divine was fully present, that he died
for man's sins, was buried, and was raised from the
dead.
Biblical faith involves learning about Jesus' saving
death, burial, and resurrection, believing in this, and
trusting in God's promise to save man by His grace
through his faith in God's powerful working in Jesus
Christ.
Biblical faith which grows out of a Scriptural knowledge
of God and Jesus results in a total surrender of man's
will to the will of God, and a willingness to obey God's
will.
Biblical faith is trusting in God and Jesus and not in
one's own will.
Biblical faith is a Scripturally informed faith, not an
inner emotional experience.
Biblical faith results in obedient action on the part of
the believer.
Faith without believing action is a dead faith, not a
biblical faith, and cannot save anyone.
Biblical faith gives on access into the saving grace of
God in Jesus Christ.
THE
CALL OF FAITH
Faith calls you to believe in God and his son Jesus
Christ.
You can learn about God and Jesus Christ by turning to
the Bible which tells of God's steadfast love for man
and his working for man's salvation which led to Jesus
Christ's death, burial, and resurrection.
When you come to the point of trusting God and believing
what he has done for you, he calls you to surrender your
life to him and obey his will for you.
This does not mean you are working for your salvation,
it simply means you are trusting in God's loving grace
and will, and are willing to do what he asks.
"For
by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is
not your own doing, it is the gift of God"
Eph 2:8
When you are willing to believe in God and Jesus Christ,
and are willing to trust God, He calls on you to
surrender your will and life to him (in biblical
language we call this
repenting),
and to be baptized for the forgiveness of sins and
become a child of his (Acts 2:38, Gal 3:26, 27).
| Gal
3:26, 27 "for in Christ
Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. 27
For as many of you as were baptized into
Christ have put on Christ." |
We must
point out that baptism is not a work you do, it is
submitting to the work that God is doing through Jesus
Christ.
| Col
2:12 "and you were buried
with him in baptism, in which you were also
raised with him through faith in the working of
God, who raised him from the dead." |
God
is calling you through his Gospel message to believe in
Jesus Christ, trust in His gracious saving work, and
surrender your life to him in repentance and baptism.
|
|
