Working By Faith: Real Faith.

THEME:             WORKING BY FAITH

TOPIC:               REAL FAITH

TEXT:                 JAMES 2:17-18

TEACHER:        DCNS. OWOSENI B.

INTRODUCTION:

Faith means having strong conviction, deep trust, (reliance upon), loyalty on God.

Hebrew word for faith is EMUWN which means to trust or to have faith in the New Testament, the Greek word for faith is pistis, which means to trust, believe, have faith or rely upon.

The Biblical definition of real faith is found in the book of Hebrews 11:1 “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen”. The substance is assurance, realization.

Faith is also described in the bible as fruit or quality imparted by God Holy Spirit – Gal.5:22.

 

THE FOUNDATION OF REAL FAITH

The Scripture urges us to “trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding" – Prov.3:5-7.

·         We must also learn to trust in God’s word – the Bible Ps.119, 160; Jn. 17:17. This involves studying, proving and learning to live by every word of God.

·         We must develop real faith in Christ’s message about the coming kingdom of God (Mk. 1:14-15).

·         The Bible warns repeatedly about trusting or following false teacher – Matt.7:15-20; 24:4, 5, 11.

 

WHY DO WE NEED FAITH?

The bible made us understand that we have all sinned Romans 3:23. As a result of knowingly or unknowingly breaking the laws of God, we are subject to a penalty of death for all eternity. However, by putting our faith in the fact that Jesus gave his life as a sacrifice for our sins we are forgiven of our sins. This is what it means to be justified by faith – Rom.3:28; Gal.2:16. In order to put your faith in Jesus Christ, you need to prove that He really exists, that He was who the Bible says He was, that He really did die and that He resurrected.

·        A Christian must also live by faith – Gal.3:11. This means your life is dependent on every Word of God – Deut.8:2-3; Matt.4:4.

·         To follow the example of Jesus Christ and the early church? (Luke 4:16; Acts 17:1-2; Jn.7:1-10).

 

BUILDING REAL FAITH

How do we build real faith?

 

1.     Ask God for more faith – Jesus instructed His disciples to ask, seek and to knock (Matt.7:7-12). James offers the same advice (James 1:5)

2.     Stir up God’s gift – Faith is a gift of the Holy Spirit. God gives his Spirit to those who repent and obey Him. Pray, study, meditate and fast regularly. Doubts will disappear as our faith grows – 2Tim.1:6-7.

3.     Live by faith – Put into practice what you read in the scriptures. Trust God in His word. For example, we risk marriage or we stay single. We profess by faith or we give up before we start. By faith, we move mountains of opposition or we give up before we start.

·         Endure trials that will arise as you strive to live by every word of God.

·         Enduring and overcoming the trials will help us build both faith and patience – James 1:2-4.

·         Don’t compromise or deny the true faith. The Bible warns repeatedly about false teachers who will undermine and overthrow the faith of others by promoting misleading doctrines and ideas – Eph.4:4-6, 12-13; 1Tim.3:15-16.

4.     Faith is important to God – Faithfulness is as important in our physical life as it is for our eternal life. Like the Apostle, Paul saw the end of his life approaching he concluded, ‘I have fought the good fight” I have finished the race, I have kept the faith – 2Tim.4:7-8.

5.     Prove what you Believe – Follow Paul’s admonition (1Thess 5:21) and prove that God exists, that the bible is His inspired word, where the true church is and who are God’s true ministers.

6.     Study what the Bible reveals about faith – Read and meditate on the examples of faith described in Hebrews 11.

7.     Nourish and use God’s spirit – Doubt will disappear as our faith grows (2Tim.1:6-7).

CONCLUSION:

Let us make a diligent effort to grow in faith. Let us hold on faithfully to the truth. Let us strive to build an atmosphere of faith in the living church of God.