What is faith?
The apostle Paul carefully explains in his letters to the Christians in both Rome and Galatia, that a person can find a right relationship with God.
This relationship is not through his own good deeds.
It is only through faith.
Genuine faith means having confidence and complete trust in God.
It means that I believe that God is totally trustworthy and that I am confident in this knowledge - that I can entrust my life entirely to the Lord Jesus Christ.
As sinful people, we can do nothing to save ourselves.
WE HAVE TO DEPEND TOTALLY ON WHAT GOD HAS DONE FOR US, THROUGH THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, WHEN HE DIED ON THE CROSS TO SAVE US.
God is satisfied with the Lord Jesus Christ.
The big question is,
Am I satisfied?
Am I really satisfied with what the Lord Jesus did to secure my salvation?
Am I willing to accept Him as my very own personal Saviour and entrust my life to Him entirely?
No one can be certain of living rightly before a Holy God by their own efforts.
We have to believe that the Lord Jesus, by His Holy Spirit which He gives us at our acceptance of Himself as personal Saviour, will enable us to live the Christ life.
Live a life that will please God and that brings honor, glory and praise to His Holy Name.
This life of utter dependence on God, goes right back to the beginning of God's dealings with mankind.
We have this marvelous record in Hebrews chapter eleven.
Hebrews 11:4 "By faith, Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of His gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh."
God had revealed to the two boys that they should bring a sacrifice - the lamb pointed to Christ.
This verse tells us clearly that Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain.
"Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God."
Both boys were obedient in that they brought a sacrifice to God. But, Cain ignored God. He brought what he wanted to bring, the work of his own hands.
Cain brought that which he had raised, but Abel brought a lamb and slew it.
If you had asked Abel why he brought a lamb, he would have told you that God had told them to bring a lamb.
This is pure belief in God - I will do what God says I must do because I believe He is greater than me - demonstrates to us to this day absolute faith in God.
Abel believed that God was who He said He was.
It is a blood sacrifice that God requires.
The blood of the lamb pointed to the coming Saviour, the Lamb of God who would die on the cross, to take away the sins of the world.
"Without shedding of blood there is no remission of sins."
We can only come to God on one basis, and that is, that we are sinners - the penalty of our sins must be paid.
That is the reason that the lamb had to be slain.
That lamb could not take away sin, but it pointed to the Lord Jesus Christ, who is The Lamb of God.
John 1:29 " ... who taketh away the sin of the world."
God Himself provided a lamb for Cain and for Abel.
And He has also provided Himself, for each and every one of us, as the Lamb of God.
He died, once for all, a sacrificial death on the cross of Calvary so that our sin, that deserved a penalty, could be paid for in full.
He died on the cross in my place.
I am a sinner, and I deserve death.
But God, sent His own, One and only Son, into the world, to save sinners.
He is willing to save you.
GOD IS WILLING TO SAVE EVERY SINGLE PERSON WHO WILL HEAR HIS VOICE - HIS CALL - AND COME TO HIM, BELIEVING THAT HE IS GOD AND ACCEPT HIS GIFT OF SALVATION OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST AS SAVIOUR.
God has made it very clear to us that Christ is the way to Himself.
CHORUS. There's a way back to God.
Played by Losinda
There's a way back to God,
From the dark paths of sin.
There's a door that is open,
And you may go in.
At Calvary's cross,
Is where you begin
When you come as a sinner
TO JESUS.
AMEN
IT IS THE BLOOD OF THE LORD JESUS, THAT MADE ATONEMENT, FOR THE SIN OF THE WORLD.
Abel illustrates to us,
The only way of faith - the blood sprinkled way.
HYMN:
Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling,
Calling for you and for me.
Patiently Jesus is WAITING and WATCHING,
WATCHING for you and for me.
Chorus.
Come home,.....Come home,.....
Ye who are weary come home;....
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,
Calling O sinner, COME HOME.
Verse 2.
Why should we tarry when Jesus is pleading,
Pleading for you and for me?
Why should we linger and heed not His mercies,
Mercies for you and for me.
Verse 3.
Time is now fleeting, the moments are passing,
Passing for you and for me;
Shadows are gathering, death beds are coming,
Coming for you and for me.
Verse 4.
Oh for the wonderful love He has promised,
Promised for you and for me;
Tho' we have sinned, He has mercy and pardon,
PARDON FOR YOU AND FOR ME.
AMEN.
Hebrews 11:5 "By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God."
The Bible tells us that Enoch had a testimony.
He pleased God because he walked by faith, not by rules and regulations.
Enoch believed in God and the manner in which he walked, proved his belief.
This is the first rapture of a man recorded in the Bible.
Enoch was removed from the earth and taken away.
Enoch walked by faith - he believed in God.
Enoch's life teaches us about
The walk of faith - the only way to walk is in Christ Jesus.
SALVATION IS NOT A REWARD, IT IS A GIFT.
Salvation comes by faith, and
the walk of the Christian, is also by FAITH.
HYMN:
Verse 1.
IN HIM redeeming grace;
IN HIM my daily manna,
IN HIM my hiding place.
IN HIM there is atonement,
IN HIM eternal life;
IN HIM a full salvation,
IN HIM an end of strife .
Chorus.
IN HIM! ... IN HIM! ...
THERE'S FULLNESS OF BLESSING IN HIS SERVICE SWEET;
IN HIM! ... IN HIM! ...
I AM IN HIM COMPLETE.
Verse 2.
IN HIM I now am resting; The half I cannot tell
Of all the priceless blessings which make my heart to swell
With thankful adoration, As day by day I find
HIS peace and grace sufficient to keep both heart and mind.
Verse 3.
But when I see thee, JESUS, When face to face we meet -
Then in Thine own dear image It will be far more sweet,
Oh then I'll sing my praises For all I found in Thee;
And give to HIM the glory Who has redeemed me.
AMEN.
Hebrews 11:7 "By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith."
Noah feared God - he believed God was who He said He was.
Noah's life teaches us about
The witness of faith - our obedience to God proves that Christ Jesus dwells in us.
Noah led every one of his own family to Christ.
Isn't that wonderful?
This man Noah believed God when God told him that He was going to destroy the earth by a flood.
God gave Noah the instructions of how to build the ark, and Noah obeyed God and did just what God told him to do.
Noah had a marvelous witness because his three sons came home to help him.
They believed their father and they honored God.
Oh how important it is for those around us to see that we have a living faith, that God is real in our lives, and that we trust Him.
Noah won his entire family to the Lord.
No one outside Noah's family believed in God, but Noah's whole family believed, because they knew their father - his witness.
In these 3 characters Abel, Enoch, and Noah, we see the way of faith, the walk of faith, and the witness of faith.
Hebrews 11:6 "But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him."
Is there any merit in faith?
The only way that man can ever come to God is by faith.
Romans 12:3 "For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith."
Galatians 2:16 "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified."
Hebrews 11:1 "Now true faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."
This tells us that faith rests on a sure foundation, and that foundation is Christ Jesus.
Our hope is in Christ Jesus alone.
The faith we exercise, is to believe that, the Lord Jesus Christ came to this earth to die; that He died in a human body on the cross of Calvary; that on the third day after He was buried, He rose bodily from the dead, and that right now, He is seated at the right hand of God the Father in heaven.
Our eternal hope is, that Christ will one day come again and receive unto Himself, Rapture, those whom He has called, those who are His Own.
FAITH IS NOT A LEAP IN THE DARK THAT WE TAKE WITHOUT THINKING.
Faith, is absolute trust in God, whom we believe, is perfectly trustworthy.
Is faith mystical?
Some people seem to think that faith is a great mystery, a sixth sense, some intuition into the spiritual realm or that it is an open sesame to a new world.
Faith to these people, is like belonging to a secret order into which they are initiated and they then believe that there are some mystical works that God will accept in lieu of good works if they believe hard enough.
This is quite ridiculous!
The demons also believe in God and they are not saved.
Faith is not a good luck charm that you hang around your neck or carry around in your pocket.
It is not your hold on Christ that saves you,
It is Christ who saves you.
It is not your faith in Christ that saves you, though it is the instrument -
It is Christ's blood and His merit alone that saves us - every single one of us that comes to Him and receives Him as their personal Saviour.
There is no merit in faith.
In Romans chapter 4 of God's inspired Word, we read that
God saved Abraham by faith alone.
Abraham was justified by faith in the resurrection.
There was nothing around Abraham in which he could trust - nothing that he could feel, and nothing that he could see.
All Abraham did was to believe God.
The Word of God says,
"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved."
This is very important to see.
Read verse 20,
"He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God."
Abraham was not a double minded man.
He simply believed the promise, in spite of the fact that the circumstances nullified it.
Abraham placed his confidence in the One who gave the promise, and in this way, he gave worship to God.
The only way that we can truly worship God and give glory to Him, is by believing Him, taking Him at His word, and being obedient to it.
HYMN. Played by Caryl.
Verse 1.
Once far from God and dead in sin,
No light my heart could see,
BUT IN GOD'S WORD
THE LIGHT I FOUND -
NOW CHRIST LIVETH IN ME.
Chorus.
Christ liveth in me,
Christ liveth in me,
O what a salvation this -
That Christ liveth in me.
Verse 2.
As rays of light from yonder sun,
The flowers of earth set free,
SO LIFE AND LIGHT
AND LOVE CAME FORTH
FROM CHRIST LIVING IN ME.
Verse 3.
As lives the flower within the seed,
As in the cone the tree,
SO, PRAISE THE GOD
OF TRUTH AND GRACE,
HIS SPIRIT DWELLETH IN ME.
Verse 4.
With longing all my heart is filled,
That like Him I may be,
AS ON THE WONDROUS
THOUGHT I DWELL,
THAT CHRIST LIVETH IN ME.
Daniel W. Whittle, 1840 1901.
AMEN.
Are you in Christ Jesus?
Are you satisfied in Him?
Only when we are in Christ Jesus is God able to accept anything at all from us.
Galatians 2:20 "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me. I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain - died to no purpose."
In
Christ alone my hope is found
He
is my light, my strength, my song
This
Cornerstone, this solid Ground
Firm
through the fiercest drought and storm
What
heights of love what depths of peace
When
fears are stilled,
when striving’s cease
My
Comforter, my All in All
Here
in the love of Christ I stand
In
Christ alone, who took on flesh
Fullness
of God in helpless babe
This
gift of love, and righteousness
Scorned
by the ones He came to save
Till
on that cross as Jesus died
The
wrath of God was satisfied
For
every sin on Him was laid
Here
in the death of Christ I live
There
in the ground, He’s body lay
Light
of the world by darkness slain
Then
bursting forth, in glorious day
Up
from the grave He rose again
And
as He stands in victory
Sin’s
curse has lost it grip on me
For
I am His, and He is mine
Bought
with the precious blood of Christ
No
guilt in life, no fear in death
This
is the power of Christ in me
From
life’s first cry, to final breath
Jesus
commands my destiny
No
power of hell, no scheme of man
Can
ever pluck me from His hand
Till
He returns, or calls me home
Here
in the power of Christ I’ll stand
AMEN.
When we disobey God's Word, we do the exact opposite of what God desires.
It is the inspired Word of God, the Bible, that will transform our lives.
God expected Abraham to believe, that life, would come from the dead womb of his wife, Sarah.
Sarah would have a son and they would call him Isaac.
God Himself declared Abraham righteous because Abraham believed the promise that God would give him a son.
Romans 4:20 "Abraham staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God."
God today promises eternal life to those who believe that He has raised His only Son from the tomb of Joseph of Arimathaea, the place of death.
PRAYERFULLY MEDITATE ON:
God speaking to us about Abraham in
Romans 4:23 tells us, "Now it was not written for Abraham's sake alone, that it was imputed to him, But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on Him that raised up Jesus our Lord, from the dead; Who was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification."
Are you willing to make a conscious decision to accept Christ Jesus as your Lord and Saviour?
Reply to Caryl@cherith.co.za.
THIS PAGE UPDATED: 29-4-2007.