By: Dale Weckbacher
Hebrews 11:6
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.
(ESV)
Faith is an important part of our relationship with
God. In fact, Hebrews 11:6 teaches us
that it is impossible to please God without it.
The context of this verse contained in Hebrews 11 which is what some
call the hall of fame of faith. As we
read this passage we see that everyone mentioned lived prior to the birth of
Christ. In other words, their faith was
in the future coming Messiah. Likewise,
those of us following Christ today do so based upon a belief in Jesus who came
to die for our sins based upon a belief of eye witness accounts recorded in scripture, coupled with a faith and belief that Jesus will return to
establish his earthly kingdom on earth.
Unfortunately, there are some misconceptions about what
faith is such as,
1)
Faith is some mystical force only possessed by
an elite few – In the Star Wars movies one of the most famous lines is “may the
force be with you.” This line is in
reference to some mystical force empowering people and holding the universe
together. While there is a miraculous component
to faith that results in miracles of healing and deliverance, the true biblical
definition of faith is a belief in God.
Initially for believers this is a belief that Jesus died for our sins
and rose again providing salvation for fallen humanity (Romans 10:9-10). This faith then grows as we learn to rely on
the promises of God contained in scripture and learn to trust God for our
needs. The mystical force of our faith
does not lie in the quantity of faith we possess but instead is a reliance on
an all-powerful God that can supply our needs.
In other words, faith is available to anyone choosing to believe and
trust in God.
2)
Great miracles require large faith (Matthew17:20) – The violent eruption of Mount St. Helens essentially blew off one side
of the mountain. (1) The movement of this mountain required a
great amount of force estimated to be that of a nuclear bomb. (2) However, this great force only moved part of
the mountain yet Jesus tells us that even faith as small as a mustard seed can
move the entire mountain. It is not the
size or quantity of our faith that matters but who our faith is in for that is
the force behind our faith.
3)
Giving increases our faith – Acts 8:9-25
contains the account of Simon the Magician coming to believe in Jesus as his
savior. Acts 8:14-24 records the account
of Simon witnessing the receiving of the Holy Spirit by some new believers in
Samaria. Witnessing this miracle through
the laying on of the Apostles hands moved Simon to offer the Apostles money so he
too could perform this miracle. Simon no
doubt believed that what he had witnessed was some magic trick performed by the
Apostles that he could purchase with money.
Unfortunately, throughout its history the church has had its share of
charlatans who promise people a miracle if they send them some money. Faith is not something anyone can purchase
for it is a gift from God provided through the death, burial, and resurrection
of Jesus Christ. It is a free gift only
requiring a mustard seed amount of belief and trust.
Instead faith,
1)
Provides us with a new identity – When we place
our faith in Jesus as our savior we receive,
2)
Frees us from loneliness – The second portion of
Hebrews 13:5 contains the promise that Jesus will never leave us or forsake
us. Interestingly the first half of the
verse contains a warning to free ourselves from the love of money, learning to
be content with what God has given us.
In other words, feeling lonely and abandoned is not something satisfied
with having more possessions or money but something attained through faith.
3)
Is based upon what we already have (1 Peter 1:3)
– The power of faith is the divine power of God dwelling in us through the
saving work of Jesus on the Cross.
4)
Trusts God with the future (Jeremiah 29:11) –
Even though in the middle of some trial it may not seem like it, all God’s
plans for us are for our welfare and not evil.
We therefore must trust God with the future (Proverbs 3:5-6).
5)
Does not worry about difficulties ahead – With
the knowledge that Jesus will never leave us (Hebrews 13:5), we can face any
difficulties knowing we are not alone.
Romans 8:28 also teaches us that all the difficulties we may face have
some good purpose for those choosing to love God.
Over the course of the next 4 Saturdays, we will be looking
at faith. In this study we will,
1)
Define faith
2)
Discover the object of our faith
3)
Look at the struggle of faith
4)
Discover the product of faith
We all face struggles and challenges in our life here on
earth. My hope and prayer is that this
study will help us through any struggles we are currently in or may face in our
lives and find victory in Christ.
1. Futurism. Earthquake Swarm Shakes Mount St.
Helens. futurism.com. [Online] Futurism. [Cited: February 15, 2017.]
https://futurism.com/earthquake-swarm-shakes-mount-st-helens/.
2. Huffman, Shea.
The Eruption Of Mount St. Helens Was As Powerful As A Nuclear Bomb. www.allday.com.
[Online] All Day. [Cited: April 22, 2017.]
http://www.allday.com/the-eruption-of-mount-st-helens-was-as-powerful-as-a-nuclear-bomb-2180804606.html.
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