Got Faith? Where Is It? Part IV

Posted by anointedplace on April 1, 2012 · 7 Comments 

Romans 5:8-11

English Standard Version (ESV)

⁸ but ^(A)God shows his love for us in that ^(B)while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ⁹ Since, therefore, ^(C)we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from ^(D)the wrath of God. ¹⁰ For if ^(E)while we were enemies ^(F)we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by ^(G)his life. ¹¹ More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received ^(H)reconciliation.

Romans 8:31-33

English Standard Version (ESV)

God’s Everlasting Love

³¹ What then shall we say to these things? ^(A)If God is for us, who can be^[a] against us? ^32 (B)He who did not spare his own Son but ^(C)gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? ³³ Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? ^(D)It is God who justifies.

In the first post we established that our faith comes from God as he gives all a measure of it.   Our faith in itself is not a product of our own will.  The seed of faith planted in our heart is solely the byproduct of the work of the Holy Spirit on us through God the Father’s will.  Secondly, We discussed how our faith can take a wrong turn to the dark side when we feel that faith is a product of our own doing.  When we feel as if faith is nothing more than our hopes for our own glory.  Thirdly, we talked about the object of our faith that being Jesus Christ.  We saw that the size of faith has no bearing on our executing faith.  In the parable of the mustard seed was not pointing to just how little faith is needed to move mountains but the size of who are faith is in.  Just as in the story of Jesus calming the storm, the disciples should have had faith that they were safe because Christ was with them.  We also saw how Jesus never asked his disciples to follow him or believe in based purely in
“blind faith“.

So where do we go from here?  Where do we go with this information the Word of God has given us?  How does this all affect our faith?

John 14 ¹¹ Believe me that ^(T)I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else ^(U)believe on account of the works themselves.¹² “Truly, truly, I say to you, ^(V)whoever believes in. me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I ^(W)am going to the Father.

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.

Without faith we can’t please God and we can’t have faith unless God gives it by grace.  But God grants us faith in order to believe in Jesus Christ who the Son of God.  This belief in the Son is for our salvation.  This salvation reconciles us to God and we are justified before him through Jesus.  Thus we are covered in the blood of Christ our redeemer, who lived for us and died for us.  Now we may enter the holy of holys and bow before the throne of grace.  Now by Christ, the Father may look upon us and see his Son.  By this we can please God.   But wait there is more to come.  How does this help our faith in the time of trouble?   How is our faith to stand the fiery trials?

Let’s answer that with a question,  why do we trust people?  Why do we believe what others say?  What makes a person trustworthy?  What causes you have hope in a person?  Their character, their integrity, their honor, their abilities, their actions, their words and deeds bearing witness to each other.  They present proof of who they are and don’t fail to deliver.  But still in all we have to want to trust them and that is something that happens when you look into the eyes of a person.  There is something that says trust me…

When we look at Christ, he preached with authority unlike anyone before.  He performed miracles which included raising Lazarus from the dead.   He came not for his own glory but the glory of the Father.  He told his disciples that if you don’t believe in me, look at my works.  God has provided the ultimate proof of his character.  God has shown to be faithful, even when we are not.  So when we place our faith in Jesus, he will make good on it as God is not like man.

In Romans 5:8-11, Paul reminds us that while we were sinners Christ died for us.  When we were at our lowest, God did something for us that we couldn’t appreciate then.  Even as I speak now, I do not believe we can even appreciate it now. Do we really know what it means to have salvation? Paul goes on to say that now that we are justified by Christ, that his love has saved us from God’s wrath.  We are saved and loved even more now that we have been reconciled back to the Father.  Look at this faithfulness, this grace, this love, this mercy that God has displayed.  Even when we where not hoping, “having faith” or even praying for life; God delivers us to life.  We never think about the fact that all of mankind is born under the wrath of God.   We worry about having faith to move mountains not realizing that there isn’t a faith in the universe to move the wrath of God.  There is nothing more difficult than overcoming the wrath of God.  We cannot hope to come up with a situation as complex as overcoming a wrath that is eternal.

Let’s not stop there, in Romans 8:31-33 Paul makes the point even clearer as he states that God the Father didn’t think twice about giving up his Son for us.  God went all in to save us from himself to make good on a promise given to Abraham, to make good on a promise made to Satan in the garden of Eden.  And Paul adds, if God wouldn’t spare his son for you how will he not give graciously ALL THINGS with Christ?  So our salvation serves as the ultimate witness to believe in.  Our reconciliation is the ultimate witness to God’s faithfulness in all things.  Our salvation is the ultimate mustard seed, it is Jesus on the water calming the storm, it is our Lord feeding us when we have nothing, it is our Lord healing us when we doubt.  To get to the point where we stand boldly on our salvation and on the Gospel we have to first die to self. We have to know we are not the powerful ones.  We have to be broken and weak.  We have to become the earthen vessel of clay holding inside the great treasure.  We must decrease so He can increase.  When we follow Christ, He can live for us and through us.  We just need to have faith in our salvation and be assured in it.  We have to actually believe that we are saved and belong to God.  To do so we have to stop believing that we saved ourselves; which means we are not perfect and are not in control.

John 3: ⁵ Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born ^(J)of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. ^6 (K)That which is born of the flesh is ^(L)flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.^[c]

John 6:⁴⁴ No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me ^(BJ)draws him. And ^(BK)I will raise him up on the last day. ⁴⁵ It is written in the Prophets, ^(BL)‘And they will all be^(BM)taught by God.’ ^(BN)Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me—

Romans 8:⁵ For ^(K)those who live according to the flesh set their minds on ^(L)the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on ^(M)the things of the Spirit. ⁶ For to set ^(N)the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. ⁷ For the mind that is set on the flesh is ^(O)hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; ^(P)indeed, it cannot. ⁸ Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

Ephesians 2:1 ^(A)And you were ^(B)dead in the trespasses and sins ^2 (C)in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following ^(D)the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in^(E)the sons of disobedience— ³ among whom we all once lived in ^(F)the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body^[a] and the mind, and ^(G)were by nature ^(H)children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.^[b] 4 But^[c] God, being ^(I)rich in mercy, ^(J)because of the great love with which he loved us,⁵ even ^(K)when we were dead in our trespasses, ^(L)made us alive together with Christ—^(M)by grace you have been saved— ⁶ and raised us up with him and ^(N)seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, ⁷ so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable ^(O)riches of his grace in^(P)kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. ⁸ For ^(Q)by grace you have been saved ^(R)through faith. And this is ^(S)not your own doing; ^(T)it is the gift of God, ^9 (U)not a result of works, ^(V)so that no one may boast.¹⁰ For ^(W)we are his workmanship, ^(X)created in Christ Jesus ^(Y)for good works, ^(Z)which God prepared beforehand, ^(AA)that we should walk in them.

Related articles

• Got Faith, Where Is It? part I (anointedplace.wordpress.com)
• Got Faith? Where Is It? Part III (anointedplace.wordpress.com)
• Ministry (anointedplace.wordpress.com)
• Stand Tall In Faith (snowwhitedove.wordpress.com)

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