What is Faith? - Dictionary definition.
 |
| Abraham |
2. a specific system of religious beliefs: the Jewish faith
3. Christianity trust in God and in his actions and promises
4. a conviction of the truth of certain doctrines of religion, esp when this is not based on reason
5. complete confidence or trust in a person, remedy, etc
6. any set of firmly held principles or beliefs
7. allegiance or loyalty, as to a person (our loyalty is to Jesus Christ) or cause.
8. bad faith insincerity or dishonesty
9. good faith honesty or sincerity
What the Bible- God’s Word says about faith;
Read Hebrews 11:1 Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.
The whole of chapter 11 of Hebrews is on the faith of ordinary, everyday people called by God.
If you would like to do a study on faith – find a concordance and look up the word “faith” and let God Himself talk to you through the scriptures. The lending library has some concordances; you may have one in the back of your Bible.
So Faith requires a starting point; whatever is your starting point will determine what you believe; as people of God Almighty we have our starting point in His Word:
Read Genesis 1:1 -28
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
 |
| Joseph |
27: So God created human beings[c] in his own image.
In the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
28 Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.”
Unless we trust/have faith that He created the earth and all that is within then we will worship the creation and not the Creator.
We develop a false faith of how we came to be here; And what is our purpose for being here; and where are we going.
 |
| Job |
We develop faith in the things and not the One who actually created the things and that is a false starting point.
Psalm 1 informs us of how a godly person should act and why they will be called righteous; it also tells what happens to an ungodly person- not right with God.
John 1:1-14; God states who Jesus Christ/Yeshua is and what happens for those who trust/have faith in Him.
Romans 4:1-24
In Romans Paul writes of the trust/faith people of the Bible had in Almighty God. People like Abraham and David. Let us see what made Abraham right with God!
Genesis 12:1-3
12 The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. 3 I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”
Abraham was called and he followed, he was not divided in his thinking about what God had told him.
You may be thinking Abraham didn’t always do the right thing – true he was a human and like us sometimes went ahead of God and did and said things that caused problems – however God is faithful in keeping His Word; Abraham came back to God and asked His forgiveness and advice; Abraham had his faith in God and His promises; God was in Abraham’s thoughts and at the centre of his being, that is why he was accounted as righteous. V 22 states he was credited as being righteous; Abraham fully trusted/had faith that his God had the power to do what He promised, even though he did not see all the results of God’s plan; Abraham left that to God and just trusted/had faith in God and His promises – Abraham didn’t have to do it all; he only had to walk with God- not make it happen for God.
Abraham was empowered by his faith in God, people who do not allow their faith in God to develop will be divided in their thoughts and actions causing problems wherever they go – you never know where you stand with a person who is in two minds. (story of J.B.- that is divided thinking or stinking thinking)
Abraham was set on going in one direction and that was God’s – God was always on his mind and in his heart.
Abraham’s God is our God the one and only who through the scriptures explains step by step where we came from, why we are here, and where we are going when we trust/ put our faith in Him and Him alone.
Do you have the right starting point? If so then you are part of the harvest of the promise God gave Abraham; You have the Holy Spirit (Colossians 1:26-27) within to guide and strengthen you; will you ask Him to help you share your starting point with others so they may also be part of the harvest?
God is our Starting point and He promises in Romans 8:28;
And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. Amen
Comments
Post a Comment