Faith

Necessary Gift of the Servant Believer

By Michael K. Farrar, O.D.

© God’s Breath Publications

 

The Time Periods of Our Faith

 

The Past: Foundation for Our Faith

 

The first time period of Christian faith is the past. This is the point where our faith had birth. This is the point where we accepted Christ as our Savior.

 

The Future: Hope of Our Faith

 

The second time period of Christian faith is the future. The point in time, we all trust and hope will come, when Christ will come in all His glory to take us home.

 

The Present: Expression of Our Faith

 

The third time period of faith is the one we currently live in. This is the faith we are living out each day. It is a time of testing, of purifying, of maturing.

 

The Three Tenses of Our Salvation and Our Faith

 

Our Salvation has three tenses.

 

1. We were saved from the penalty of sin.

 

2. We are being saved from the power of sin in our lives now.

 

3. We will be saved from the ongoing presence of sin in the future.

 

Faith also has three tenses.

 

1. We must have faith that Christ died for our sins and accept His sacrifice.

 

2. We must live by faith as new creations, as adopted children of God.

 

3. We must hope in our faith that Christ will return one day.

 

Notice the three tenses of faith in the following scripture:

 

Romans 5:1-2

“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.

 

And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.”

 

Other scriptures also attest to the three tenses of the Christian life.

 

 

PAST: Foundation for Our Faith

 

Ephesians 2:8

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith– and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.”

 

PRESENT: Expression of Our Faith

 

2 Corinthians 5:7

“We live by faith, not by sight.”

 

Galatians 2:20

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

 

 

FUTURE: Hope of Our Faith

 

Galatians 5:5

“But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope.”

 

 

Faith’s Origin

 

How do you obtain faith? Faith comes from hearing God’s message of salvation through His Word.

 

Romans 10:17

“Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.”

 

Christ commanded us to share the gospel to all the nations. He knew what would happen if the message of His death and resurrection was not shared with others. He knew that in order for people to come to Him, become His children and live in His presence, they must have a saving faith of who God is.

 

God’s Word is very important to living a life of faith. Scripture contains the message of Christ’s life, death and resurrection. It contains examples of people living with and without faith and the consequences that result from either choice. God’s Word tells us how to obtain faith as well as how to cultivate it.

 

Faith comes from hearing the gospel and then responding to it.

 

James 1:22

“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”

 

Faith does not have a complete birth unless there is a response to God’s Word. You can read the Bible daily and attend church every Sunday and Wednesday night. You can be a Sunday school teacher, a Deacon, a Pastor or a Missionary. You can give your material possessions, your finances and your time to God. But until you respond with your heart, mind and soul (your whole being) to Jesus, faith is not born and will fail to develop.

 

Faith is not necessarily what you do, or even what you believe, it is the essence of who you are as a child of God. We may have faith in doctrines and we may express our faith in actions, but ultimately, true faith is the condition of our heart and soul. Our faith is actually a manifestation of our relationship with our Lord and Master Jesus Christ.

 

 

Faith originates, ultimately, from our Heavenly Father.

 

Romans 12:3

“For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.”

 

The Specific Gift of Faith

 

Scripture mentions a specific gift of faith. This special gift of faith is what might be called an extra ability to trust in the promises and power of God. A person with this particular gift has the ability to trust God in ANY emergency and in ANY situation. They never falter or question whether God will supply or work. They know that God will supply the need and work in the situation to bring glory to His name.

 

1 Corinthians 12:8-11

“To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.”

 

So while all of us have saving faith, and all of us need to cultivate and seek to build our faith, some Christians have a specific gift of faith that has been given them.

 

Faith’s Object

 

Faith of any sort is only as good as the object to which the faith is given. Biblical faith is no exception. Because the object of our Christian faith is the Person and Work of Jesus Christ, we have stable and unshakable faith.

 

The Bible never says “Believe,” it says Believe in Jesus Christ.

 

The Bible never says have “Faith,” it says Have Faith in Jesus Christ.

 

The Apostle Paul knew that people needed to trust the message of Jesus and the power that comes from the Holy Spirit. He knew that the object of our faith lies not in

 

 

Man’s wisdom and clever words, but in God Himself.

 

1 Corinthians 2:4-5

“My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.”

 

Christ is the object of our faith because He is the ONE who has gone before us in example, suffering, and victory.

 

Jesus is called in scripture “the one who has gone before,” in the Greek, prodromos. The prodromos was a person who headed a patrol in military maneuvers. He was the one who went ahead and made sure the way was open. He was what is called in the army “The Point Man.”

 

Hebrews 12:2

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

 

Faith in Jesus’ death and resurrection is central to our Christian experience.

 

1 Corinthians 15:14

“And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.”

 

Jesus possesses many attributes and characteristics that verify Him as someone reliable to have faith in.

 

Attributes of God – the object of our faith.

 

Eternal: He has always existed and always will. Exodus 3:14

 

Immutable: God never changes. James 1:17

 

Omniscience: God knows all things. Psalm 147:5, Proverbs 15:3, Isaiah 40:14, I John 3:20

 

Wise: God is wise beyond comprehension. Psalm 104:24, Romans 11:33,

 

Omnipotent: God is all-powerful. Genesis 1:1, Psalm 65, Jeremiah 32:17

 

Omnipresent: God is present everywhere, always. Psalm 139:7-10, Jeremiah 23:23-24

 

Faithful: God is always perfectly faithful. Psalm 36:5, Psalm 89:5,

 

Good: God is full of goodness. Psalm 33:5

 

Just: God is righteous and always fair. Psalm 11:7, Hebrews 6:10

 

Merciful: God loves all people because of their need for His love. James 3:17, Ephesians 2:4

 

Full of Grace: Completely undeserved favor and mercy. Ephesians 2:4-5

 

Love: God is pure love. 1 John 4:8-9

 

Holy: God is without sin, perfect in every way. Peter 1:16

 

Sovereign: God rules over all creation. Psalm 93

 

Because God has these attributes, He is absolutely worthy of being the object of our faith. We can have absolute trust that God can be relied upon to provide and to care for us. God will give us the faith we need to handle anything that comes our way. The only requirement is that we be willing to receive His gift and allow Him to develop it in our life.

 

Faith’s Substance

 

Romans 1:17

“The righteous will live by faith.”

 

Hebrews 10:38-11:1

“But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him. But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.”

 

In Hebrews chapter 11 we have listed the Faith Hall of Fame. A list is given of examples of faithful servants of God down through the ages who faced different situations, but responded with the common element in their lives: Faith in God. Through their examples we learn something of the makeup of someone who has faith in God and what faith in God really is.

 

Hebrews 11:1

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”

 

2 Corinthians 5:7

“We live by faith, not by sight.”

 

The substance of faith is not living by what you can see in front of you.

 

Faith is living your Christian life trusting in the invisible, the God who is there, but who is not physically present.

 

The substance of faith is being confident and sure of the object of our faith, God. It is being certain and positively convinced of those things which we cannot see, but believe exist and are true.

 

Christian faith encompasses both faith in God’s existence, as well as His will for our lives.

 

Faith is trusting that what God tells us in scripture. It is trusting that God loves us and wants what is best for us.

 

Matthew 17:20

“I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

 

Jesus picked one of the smallest seed he could imagine for an example of the faith it would take to move a huge mountain. This is a humbling statement to ponder.

 

Mark 4:39-41

“He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Quiet! Be still!’ Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, ‘Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?’ They were terrified and asked each other, ‘Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!’”

 

Jesus criticized the disciples for having a lack of faith. He challenged them in their failure to believe that God would protect and provide for them. Even after this confrontation, they failed to comprehend who He was. How seriously do we take Jesus?

 

Hebrews 11:6

“Without faith it is impossible to please God.”

 

Faith is required to please God. We cannot amaze Him with our good deeds. We can’t impress Him with our possessions. We can’t seduce Him with our good looks. We can’t win Him with wonderful words. Faith is the only thing that can please God.

 

Ephesians 6:16

“In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.”

 

Faith can provide spiritual protection for us and protect us from the attacks of Satan.

 

While faith is crucial to the Christian life, it is not the most important thing to possess.

 

1 Corinthians 13:13

“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

 

Love for your Christian Brother or Sister, for your fellow man, for those different from you, for those who are hard to love, for those who are unlovely, this is the most important thing to possess.

 

1 Corinthians 13:2

“If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.”

 

Faith’s Product

 

What are the rewards and benefits of having faith in God?

 

 

Righteousness

 

Romans 3:22

“This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference,”

 

James 2:22

“You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. “

(This passage is speaking of Abraham offering Isaac his son as a sacrifice.)

 

Justification

 

Romans 5:1

“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,”

 

Galatians 2:16

“A man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ.”

 

Access to Grace

 

Romans 5:1, 2

“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.”

 

Promise of the Holy Spirit

 

Galatians 3:14

“He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.”

 

Sons of God

 

Galatians 3:26

“You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus,”

 

Salvation

 

Ephesians 2:8

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith– and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.”

 

Christ in our Hearts

 

Ephesians 3:17

“so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,”

 

Spiritual Growth and Love for One Another

 

2 Thessalonians 1:3

“We ought always to thank God for you, brothers, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing.”

 

Boldness to Witness – 2 Corinthians 4:13

 

Good Works Titus – 3:8, James 2:14-17

 

Drives Away Fear – Mark 5:36

 

Appropriates Victory – Galatians 2:20, Ephesians 6:16, I John 5:4,5

 

Produces Bodily Healing – Matthew 9:22-29, James 5:14-15

 

Allows Us to Inherit The Promises of God – Luke 1:45, Hebrews 6:12

 

Makes Real, A Glorious Future – John 11:25, I Thessalonians 4:14, I Peter 1:8,9

 

Faith’s Development

 

God is very much interested in developing your faith, and He’s the perfect educator. He knows the ideal curriculum to conform you to the image of Jesus Christ.

 

God will bring you blessings to encourage you in your faith. He will also allow problems to occur at times to provide situations that will mature you in your faith. He does this because He loves you.

 

“It has been said that God loves you so much he not only accepts you as you are, but He loves you so much he will not allow you to remain that way.”

 

Faith is not static. True Christian faith is always changing, growing, being tested and therefore is dynamic. Too often we tend to believe that faith is something we receive or do at the point we accept Christ as our Savior. Once acquired at this point, we add it to our bag of spiritual possessions, rarely to be used again.

 

James 1:2-4

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

 

Trials we face builds stronger faith. Biblical faith is a developmental process.

 

James 2:14

“What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?”

 

Also read Romans 5:1-5

 

James 2:17

“In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”

 

Faith without service and ministry is not true faith. Good works do not give you salvation, but they are proof that you have truly been saved and validate your faith.

 

Your deeds are the evidence of your faith.

 

James 2:18-19

“But someone will say, ‘You have faith; I have deeds. Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that– and shudder.’”

 

Satan and His demons know the facts of the Bible and believe God exists.

 

Unless we strive to build our faith by obeying God’s Word and ministering to others in love we are no different in our faith than the demons.

 

1 Timothy 1:18-19

“Timothy, my son, I give you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight, holding on to faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith.”

 

1 Timothy 6:11-12

“Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”

 

We are commanded, instructed and encouraged to hold onto our faith, to let God mature it and develop it as He works in our lives.

 

2 Timothy 2:22

“Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.”

 

1 Corinthians 16:13-14

“Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. Do everything in love.”

 

Faith’s Enemies

 

False Teachers

 

1 Timothy 4:1

“The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.”

 

Galatians 1:8-9

“But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!”

 

Love of Money and Material Possessions

 

1 Timothy 6:10

“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”

 

Doubt Leading to Unbelief

 

Romans 14:23b

“everything that does not come from faith is sin.”

 

1 Corinthians 10:31

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

 

Conclusion

 

John 20:29

“Then Jesus told him, ‘Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’”

 

Jude 20-25

“But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear-hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh. To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy- to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.”