FAITH

So, I settled in with my NASB concordance this morning and looked up the word faith. There are at least six verses I believe that clearly indicate that faith originates from God, not us.

Here they are:

Hebrews 12:2 – “Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith…”
2 Peter 1:1 – “…who have received a faith of the same kind as ours…”
Philippians 1:29 – “For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him…”
Acts 3:16 – “And the basis of faith in His name…and the faith which comes through Him…”
Ephesians 2:8 – “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves…”
Romans 12:3 – “…as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.”

It is God who energizes faith in the believer’s heart. What is our part in faith? That is one of my questions. Paul talks about the obedience of faith. (Romans 1:5) After God energizes faith into our hearts we are to choose to be obedient to our Lord. With the choice of obedience comes blessing, with the choice of disobedience we set ourselves up for our Heavenly Father's discipline. Jesus said that he who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him. (John 3:36) Faith and obedience go hand in hand.

I've mentioned Pastor James MacDonald's definition of faith before.

Here it is again:

"Faith is believing the Word of God and acting on it, no matter how I feel, because God promises a good result."

Do you see the element of obedience in that definition? Faith is believing the Word of God, and then acting on it...

Did you know that Romans has the most references to the word faith? Over forty! Is it any wonder? This is the book in which Paul says the righteous man shall live by faith. (Romans 1:17) Once God energizes faith into our hearts, this is the sphere from which we are to operate. The writer of Hebrews says that faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Do we always exercise faith? The obvious answer is no. We have weak faith sometimes. Romans 4:20 says that Abraham grew strong in faith. Faith can be strengthened. Paul gave thanks for the Thessalonians because their faith was greatly enlarged. (2 Th. 1:3) Faith can grow. Faith takes root in the heart with the hearing of the Word (Romans 10:17) and then grows as we let the Word dwell in us…as we keep our eyes fixed on the Word, the Author and Perfecter of faith. We take in the Word - our view of God enlarges and our faith enlarges. How important it is to be in the Word!

I've just barely scratched the surface and this is a study that is inexhaustible, but that's where my thoughts have been as of late.

Have a great day pondering...