The Doctrine of Faith

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Lesson #07

• The Doctrine of Faith
  • Faith is a noun that is used in two ways:
    • =1= Faith is used as a noun to describe one’s body of religious belief. It, therefore, can mean one’s religion. “I have my faith, so don’t try to persuade me to yours.”
    • =2= Faith is used as an active spiritual ingredient that produces results. “I am going to use my faith to believe that God will supply this need.”
  • Introduction:
    • Read Heb 11:6
      • This verse gives us the reason why we must understand exactly what faith is.
      • If we do not understand faith, we come short of pleasing God.
      • If we do not please God, He cannot reward us for something we do not have. The result is a defeated Christian life.
    • Read Heb 11:1
      • Hebrew 11 is called the faith chapter because it gives us the definition of faith and the many examples of faith from the Bible.
      • “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
        • The substance of faith is the spiritual reality that we do not see present in our little personal world. There is a spiritual world behind this physical world. Paul said in 1Cor 13 that we see through a glass darkly. (1Cor 13:12)
        • The evidence of faith is when, in that moment of time, that which we hoped for becomes a physical reality in our little personal world.
        • The two worlds in which the believer lives:

=1= There is a spiritual world behind the scenes in which the powers and presence of God and His angels operate.

In this spiritual world that we cannot see, there is God’s perfect will.

In this spiritual world that we cannot know, there is God’s perfect timing.

Read Mat 6:10

Jesus Christ said that we must pray that the spiritual world would come to this physical world.

It is by faith that we can pray the existence of this spiritual world to be a physical reality.

=2= There is a physical world in which we live marked by the constraints of time and controlled by the god of this world, Satan. (2Cor 4:4)

• • • • • The believer in Jesus Christ is caught between these two worlds, living in the physical world but having a future inheritance and a present reality in the spiritual world by faith through Christ.

Read Eph 2:6

It is faith that links the believer in this physical world with the spiritual reality of the other world.

We cannot see the spiritual world. We cannot know the all details of God’s perfect will that are outside of His Word.

Therefore, God has designed the aspect of faith as the means of communication between the two worlds. This faith in prayer.

• • Faith in the Old Testament
    • In the Old Testament the following words express what we call faith:
      • Belief
      • Trust
      • Loyalty
    • There are six Hebrew words that express faith:
      • =1= The root word bth expresses a personal feeling of safety and to feel secure. Extreme security is achieved by a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
        • Along with security, there is a fear of the Lord mixed with obedience to His Word, and a reliance on God.
        • Read Isa 50:10
      • =2= The word hsh expresses the condition of being in need of help from another for protection.
        • Read Psa 7:1
        • Seeking refuge and protection is a desire for love, acceptance, and salvation.
      • =3, 4, and 5 = The words gwh, yhl, and hkh express the idea of a persistent hope.
        • Read Psa 33:22
        • Therefore, patience and persistence are expressions of faith.
      • =6= The word ‘mn express firmness and stability that cannot be moved.
        • Therefore, besides faith for the moment, there is the long term aspect of faithfulness.
        • Because of stability in God, the aspects of a persistent hope and perseverance result in a life of faithfulness.
    • Abraham is considered to be the father of faith because through his story in Genesis, we see how faith develops over time.
      • Read Heb 11:8-19
        • God called Abraham, living in Ur, to take his family to the Promised Land.
        • Abraham believed the call was from God.
        • Abraham expressed his belief or faith by actions of obedience.
        • However, when he finally arrived in the Promised Land, there was a famine. Because of his lack of faith, he left the Promised Land and went to Egypt for food.
        • We can see many tests of Abraham’s faith but the greatest was the offering of Isaac to God as a sacrifice.
      • The faith of Abraham is therefore, the belief in the promise even when obedience requires the believer to put to death the promise that God made through Isaac.
        • This is a key concept to understanding how faith works.
        • One does not put his faith in faith as some teach. If Abraham had placed his faith in faith, he would not have agreed to offer Isaac because Isaac was the means by which God would fulfill His promise to give generations of descendants to Abraham.
        • Because Abraham’s faith was in God, the death of Isaac would not have been important to God’s fulfillment of the promise of descendants. God would have fulfilled His promise some other way.
  • Faith in the New Testament:
    • From the Old Testament Hebrew words for faith, only one carries over into the New Testament. It is the word, ‘mn. It is translated into Greek as pisteuein or pistos.
    • The meaning is, therefore, firm trust based on a confidence in the promises of God expressed in His Word.
      • Jesus Christ is the Word in the flesh. (Joh 1:1, 14)
      • Therefore, we are to listen to Him. (Mat 17:5)
    • The urgency in the New Testament is to hear and believe because the Kingdom of God is at hand.
      • Read Mar 1:15
    • Connected to belief or faith is the aspect of repentance whether overtly stated or not.
      • Before people were asked to believe in Jesus Christ, John the Baptist called people to repentance of sin.
      • Then when they repented, John pointed them to Jesus Christ as the object of faith to follow Him.
        • Read Heb 6:18-20
        • The other side of the coin of faith is hope.

Hope in the Bible is not, “well, I hope God will answer my prayer.”

Hope in the Bible is a certainty that God will answer, but the timing of the answer is unknown.

It is only with hope added to faith that the believer can endure years of asking God for the same petition in prayer and not seeing an immediate answer.

• • • Faith must be firm and enduring over time according to the parable of the sower and the seed.
      • Read Luk 8:12-13
        • To hear is the first step to faith.
        • To believe what you hear is the next step of faith.
        • To speak faith is a necessary ingredient to bringing the reality of the spiritual world to the physical world.

Read Rom 10:10

Notice that the mouth speaks the faith that is in the heart and not the faith that is in the head.

• • • • • To abide in faith without wavering is the fullness of faith.

=1= Faith is like a seed that must first be planted in the heart.

Read Luk 17:6

This seed of faith grows.

=2= Faith must be nourished to grow so that there is root to your faith.

=3= When a root is established in the Word of God, faith puts forth a fullness of leaves and fruit.

The leaves of faith are a changed life.

The fruit of faith is power in service to God.

• • • • Read Jam 2:17-26
        • James is clear that faith must produce the fruit of good works in service to God or it is not true, abiding faith.
        • Therefore, it is one thing to hear and believe in the head that the message is true. It is another thing to hear and believe in the head and then believe in the heart. It is in the heart that faith produces a root and a foundation on which to grow.

Read Jam 2:19

Satan and his demons believe but they have no faith. Their faith is only a mental agreement and not a heart commitment.

• • • • • Faith in the head does not produce a responsive action, while faith in the heart produces a commitment to good works.
    • The responsive action of faith:
      • The responsive action of faith is always obedience to God.
      • Without obedience, faith has no fruit to justify the existence of that faith.
    • Jesus gives us examples of unbelief and of faith:
      • Unbelief:
        • Read Mar 4:38-41
        • Fear is the evidence of unbelief.
        • Read Mar 6:50-52

A hardened heart prevents the required response of belief. (The first step of faith)

A hardened heart defeats the establishment of a root of faith in the heart. (The second step of faith)

A hardened heart produces nothing but dead works. (Heb 6:1)

• • • • Faith:
        • Read Mar 11:23-24

Spiritual power is the result of faith. This is power to serve God. It is not power to make your life easier or to lavish blessings on yourself.

Notice that doubt in the heart defeats the power of faith.

• • • The focus of faith:
      • As we have already learned, Jesus Christ must be the center and focus of our faith.
      • However, from the book of Acts we see that faith is more than confident trust in the promises of God.
        • Read Act 11:21
        • Faith is then more personalized in a belief in the power and person of the Lord Jesus Christ, that Jesus is who he said he was. Therefore the central focus of faith is the Lord Jesus Christ and his will.
      • In the book of Acts, the evidence of faith is:
        • Water baptism (Act 8:12-13)
        • Confession of faith (Act 19:18)
        • The forgiveness of sin (Act 10:43)
        • Grace to live the Christian life (Act 15:11)
        • Healing (Act 3:16)
        • The presence of the Holy Spirit (Act 19:2)
        • Justification (Act 13:39)
        • Purification (Act 15:9)
        • Sanctification (Act 26:18)
      • In the book of Acts, the result of faith is:
        • A commitment to faithfulness to a fellowship of believers (the church) (Act 5:12)
        • A commitment to serve others (Act 2:44-45)
        • A commitment to witness to others (Act 1:7-8)
    • Faith in the New Testament Epistles:
      • Salvation comes by faith in the crucifixion and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
        • Read Rom 1:16-17 (Saving Faith)
        • Notice that faith to live the Christian life comes gradually (“faith to faith”) in verse 17.

It is important to know that faith is not generated by man for that becomes “works” by which no man can boast. You cannot work up your faith by mental exercise.

Faith is given by God to every believer at the point in time of his acknowledgement of Jesus Christ as his savior.

Read Rom 12:3

Because God initiates faith, He receives the glory for its growth and productive fruit.

Faith is like a muscle.

It develops gradually when exercised.

When the believer exercises his faith to believe God for little things in his life, his faith grows just like an exercised muscle.

Then when big problems come to your life, you have a developed muscle of faith to trust God for the big things in your life.

The faith that does not develop is a faith that does not receive exercise.

Read Rom 10:17

There is only one way that faith develops. It is by the Word of God.

People usually think that faith develops by seeing miracles. No. Miracles do advertize the gospel but they do not develop faith in the heart of the observer.

Read Luk 16:27-31

• • • • Faith is not only the key to salvation, but it is also the key to everything in the Christian life.
        • Read 2Cor 5:5-7
        • It is the Holy Spirit living inside of the believer that maintains one’s faith to the end.
      • Only with a strong, firmly rooted faith can a believer be an overcomer and live victoriously through trials and tribulations. (Heb 10:35-12:12)
        • Read 1Joh 5:5
      • In Paul’s New Testament writings, correct doctrine becomes instrumental in maintaining a strong faith and living the Christian life.
        • Read Tit 2:1
        • Read 2Tim 3:15
        • Therefore, false doctrine produces a misplaced faith that is not centered in Jesus Christ and His word.

Faith comes by hearing the Word of God, which is truth.

When one does not hear the truth but listens to false doctrine, true faith is not developed. (Rom 10:17)

• Conclusion:
  • There is much confusion over faith in Christian circles and much false teaching. Therefore, it is important to remember these major points:
    • God initiates faith in the human heart.
    • The object and focus of faith must be Jesus Christ and His will in your life.
    • God expects you to exercise your faith by reading and studying the Word of God and using it to live the Christian life victoriously so as to glorify Christ.