Developing Faith To Do

Introduction

Exegetical Question: What have you been trusting God for, but have not recieved it, and now have given up? Is that how faith Works?

Hebrews 10:38–39 (KJV 1900)

Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.

A. Having introduced the theme of faithfulness in 10:38–39, the author celebrates the character of faith throughout ch. 11 (compare Heb 6:12–15). The author draws examples from the OT and applies them to the present generation. Faith is determined by hope in God’s promises

B. Principals to live by

1. Heb 4:1–3; - Only the faithful receive the promise and enter into his rest

2. Heb 6:1; Only the faithful grow and Mature

3. Heb 11:6, Only the faithful please God

4. Heb 6:17–19, Only the faithful know God can’t lie

5. Heb 11:17-19 Only the faithful trust God facing death.

6. Heb 11:29, Only the faithful receive the promises of God. You have to destiguise the promises of God from, the mercy of God. Matthew 5:45

Matthew 5:45 KJV 1900

That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

Faithlife Study Bible Faith

Faith

While the Bible’s theme of “faith” can be understood in a variety of ways, it can be summarized as active trust and belief displayed through obedience. Faith does not suggest mere intellectual or cognitive belief in a proposition, doctrine, or even a person, though it does sometimes entail doctrinal belief and theological understanding (e.g., that Jesus is the Messiah and the Son of God who has come in the flesh). Faith is typically understood as involving the whole self—mind, heart, and body—in a relationship with God that expresses trust and a grateful response to His loving initiative.

Faithlife Study Bible (Faith)

1. While faith is more than intellectual assent, it necessarily involves a declaration, a promise, and ultimately, a person.

1. The Bible commends a variety of expressions of faith, including belief in

A, covenant promises,

B. submission to divine commands,

C. worshipful attitudes toward God, and adherence to doctrine.

In the Bible, faith moves from Old Testament trust in the usually unseen God (Yahweh) to New Testament belief in and active submission to the person of Jesus, God in human form (

John 1:14, 18

; Col 1:15;

Heb 1:1–3).

Folk what makes God so powerful, is the Fact that He is Always True, and secondly He has a whole cloud of witnesses who can attest to How Good and Great He is; Just remember the 2 G’s.

Faithlife Study Bible (Faith)

In the Old Testament,

1. faith is best understood in the context of covenant relationship to God, who is the supreme example of faithfulness.

2. Whereas God consistently reveals His faithfulness (trustworthiness, steadfastness, and consistency of character), people often fail to be faithful to God and to each other.

3. Faith is an attitude of trust that shows itself through the people’s obedience to God.

A. Noah demonstrates faith in God by his willingness to believe God’s promise of protection through the coming flood and his obedience in constructing the ark in accordance with God’s instructions (Gen 6).

B. Abraham’s trust in God’s covenant promises was validated as “righteousness” (Gen 15:6) and was ratified on Mount Moriah when he was willing to sacrifice Isaac, the son of the promise (Gen 22:1–19).

C. Issacc is the ultimate in faith, he is the picture of the Son, who is completely obiedient to the father to the point of Laying down his life

D. Moses displayed faith in God through his commitment to serve as the instrument of God’s provision of freedom and deliverance, leading Israel out of Egyptian captivity (see the book of Exodus). The prophets expressed faith in God through their belief in the word of Yahweh that they had received and their willingness to proclaim that word to the kings of Israel and Judah, as well as to surrounding nations. Habakkuk proclaims, “the righteous shall live by his faith” (Hab 2:4). The connection between righteousness and faith suggests faith is the means by which to abide in God’s favor.

In the New Testament, however, we see that faith is not only a personal action; it is a divine gift bestowed by God’s grace (Eph 2:8).

Faithlife Study Bible (Faith)

In the New Testament, the noun “faith” (pistis in Greek) and the related verb “believe” (pisteuō) both occur over 200 times, while the adjective “faithful” (pistos) is used over 60 times.

1. The New Testament authors primarily view faith as belief in the incarnation and in Christ’s death and resurrection, such that a person’s life is shaped by those beliefs.

A. Genuine faith differs from mere conceptual belief: even the demons believe Jesus is the Son of God “and shudder” (James 2:19).

B. In the Gospels, faith often reflects a disposition of trust that God (through Jesus) will heal, save, or otherwise empower someone in the face of difficulty. Jesus proclaims that the practice of faith enables (or, when lacking, prevents) healing

i. (Matt 13:58;

ii. Mark 5:34).

C. In the book of Acts, faith takes on the meaning of assurance of doctrinal and theological belief, and, in particular, belief in Jesus Christ as the Messiah and Son of God

i. (Acts 4:12; 6:7; 13:8; 14:22; 16:5; 16:31).

D. Epistles Paul, emphasizing that faith in Christ is based on God’s grace rather than on the works of the law, refers to Abraham’s faith as the precedent (Gal 3:6–14).

i. James also cites the example of Abraham, though he argues for the complementary idea that genuine faith includes active obedience (Jas 2:20–24).

ii. Hebrews lists Abraham and others as heroes of faith, which they showed through their actions (Heb 11).

iii. The common assumption that faith is primarily intellectual agreement to verbal propositions has led to a sense of indissoluble tension between Paul’s understanding of faith (“we are saved by grace through faith”; Eph 2:8; Rom 3:22; Gal 3:11) and

iv. James’ warnings that faith unaccompanied by action is not genuine (Jas 2:24, 26).

However, this tension is resolved when faith is understood as active trust in the covenant grace of God and the personal Lordship of Christ. Paul’s emphasis on the grace nature of faith—as a gift in the context of covenant relationship with God—agrees with James’ insistence that faith be underlined by and expressed in obedient works.

The Lexham Bible Dictionary (The Three Dimensions of Faith)

The Three Dimensions of FaithThere appear to be three distinct concepts of faith in Scripture:

covenantal faith; epistemological faith; and eschatological faith.

These concepts regularly overlap, and multiple dimensions of faith can be found in the same passage.

The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Covenantal Faith: Faith as Covenantal Commitment)

1. Covenantal Faith: Faith as Covenantal Commitment The biblical language of faith concerns a relationship of faithfulness and cooperation (Leclerc, “Faith in Action,” 184–95). The concept of the covenant, which is especially explicit in the Old Testament, informs the biblical writers’ use of the language of faith. To have faith in God or Jesus is to be faithful to a covenantal bond, which is initiated by God and bound according to appropriate promises and expectations on both sides. The command for Christians to have faith is not merely a cerebral exercise or eager wish, but a command with the expectation of fidelity and trust.

A. This definition of faith is apparent in Josh 24:14: When the Israelites renew their covenant to the Lord after taking possession of Canaan, Joshua demands, “Now therefore revere the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord” (NRSV).

2. Epistemological Faith: Faith as Spiritual Perception

A. New Testament authors like Paul promote a concept of faith that is opposed to the common phrase “blind faith.” For example, Paul affirms that Christians live “by faith and not by sight” (2 Cor 5:7 NRSV). With this phrase, he refers to Christians’ capacity for a kind of spiritual perception that allows them to interpret the world in a godly way. God’s people are able to see and perceive His work in the world, while the rest of the world ignores or rejects it (Hays, “Salvation by Trust,” 218–223).

B. In Romans 6 Paul is clear about the point of understanding that we do not live in ignorance but God has called to a faith, that we can know God and comprehend his Word!

3. Eschatological Faith: Faith as the Living Eschatological Expression of Christian Hope While faith in the present involves seeing as God sees, eschatological faith is necessary because sin has corrupted human understanding (Rom 1:18–32).

Eschatological beliefs refer to beliefs about death, judgement and the final destiny of individual souls and humankind1. It is a branch of Christian theology dealing with the biblical study of end times prophecies and the events of the last days2. Eschatology includes beliefs concerning the Second Coming, the resurrection of the dead, or the Last Judgment3. Christianity teaches that there is some form of life after death, and that heaven is a perfect place where they will be united with God4.

To see properly is a dimension of present faith, but God promises that all that is hidden will be revealed when Christ returns (at the Parousia; 1 Cor 4:5). On the day of judgment, the righteous will be honored and rewarded, and the reprobate and corrupt will be exposed and punished. Part of Christian faith, according to Scripture, is living in light and anticipation of that “day of illumination.”

The Lexham Bible Dictionary (The Concept of “Faith” in the Old Testament)

Brueggemann stresses that the language of “faith” in the Old Testament is everywhere associated with covenant. Within that theological construct, “faith” has less to do with particular ideas than it does with the integrity of a relationship. He states,” ‘Faith’ concerns attentive engagement in a promissory relationship. Only rarely does the Old Testament suggest that ‘faith’ is a body of teaching that Israel is to ‘believe.’ Israel’s faith does not necessarily lack normative substance nor is it vacuous, but the relationship is more elemental than the substantive teaching which reflects upon that relationship. That in the Old Testament faith is regarded as ‘trust in’ is more elemental than ‘assent to’ is a matter often discounted in formal theological articulations, but ‘trust’ is not to be understood primarily in emotive terms. Trust is a practice that entails obedience to Torah [the law] and its specific requirements. Israel’s fidelity to Yahweh, not unlike fidelity in marriage, thus consists of concrete acts that take the other party with defining seriousness” (Brueggemann, Reverberations of Faith, 78).

Nijay K. Gupta, “Faith,” ed. John D. Barry et al., The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016).

John D. Barry et al., Faithlife Study Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012, 2016), Heb 11:1–38.

I. What Faith IS - Heb 11:1-3

A. Faith is determined by hope in God’s promises (see 4:1–3; 6:1; 11:6, 17–19, 29).

John D. Barry et al., Faithlife Study Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012, 2016), Heb 11:1–38.

II. What Faith Does - Heb 11:4-19

III. What Faith Changes - Heb 11:20-22

IV. What Faith Requires - Heb 11:23-29