Walking By Faith
Notes
Transcript
Doxology:
This is my Bible. It is God’s Holy Word. It is a lamp unto my feet, a light unto my path, and I will hide its words within my heart, that I might not sin against God. Amen!
Last week, we spoke on the topic of faith. We discussed how our faith is directly connected to our awareness of God’s power and authority in and over our lives.
Today, I want to revisit this concept of faith and take it a step farther.
7 For we walk by faith, not by sight.
Context
Context
To have faith in something, means that we believe in that something:
1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
As we saw last week, there are multiple levels of belief that can be placed in something.
Though each person we spoke of acted upon their belief in varying levels, there was one constant between them all: They all acted.
When the Bible speaks of having faith in Jesus, it is always in the context of a faith that produces action.
Matter of fact, the Bible in several places speaks of an empty faith/a dead faith. Every time it speaks of this type of faith, it is because that faith produced nothing.
We have the parable in Matthew 13. The sower sowed His seed, and it fell onto 4 types of ground. The only seed that lasted and remained was the seed that ended up producing fruit.
In James 2, we see another example of this:
14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?
James presents the question of whether or not an intellectual faith alone is enough to save someone.
He answers his own question just a few verses later:
20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?
James says that a faith that does not produce any works, is a dead faith. In other words, it has no life.
James is painting the picture of a spiritually vegetative state. From time to time, someone in the physical sense has something happen to them that leaves them in what is known as a vegetative state.
This means that the person is technically alive. Their heart is still beating, their blood is still flowing, and they are technically alive.
Outside of simply existing, there is no other signs of life. They cannot talk, move, interact with others, eat, smell, hear, etc.
Every person that I have personally talked to concerning this type of life has agreed, that it is no way to live.
James agrees.
Now someone might ask, what about vs. 23?
23 And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God.
It says that Abraham simply believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness. If that is the case, then why does James also say that faith must produce works?
That is a great question, but the better question is, “What does this word ‘believe’ actually mean?”
21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar?
22 Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?
When it says Abraham believed, it is saying that he believed to such a degree that he acted upon his faith by taking his son up to the mountain as God had commanded.
A person of faith is a person who has looked upon the Lord Jesus Christ and:
believed that Christ can and will save them.
Counted Christ worthy of their trust and therefore placed their confidence in Him and His Word.
Entrusted their salvation into the hands of Jesus.
Committed their life to Christ.
This is what is pictured in God’s Word of having faith in Jesus. It is always this and more, as we will see, but it is never less.
1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
2 For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.
I want to focus on vs. 2 today and really dive into what it means for us.
Content
Content
The Past Examples of Faith
The Past Examples of Faith
As you journey through what has been called by many the “Hall of Faith”, you will find that they all had one thing in common: They lived out their faith in God.
Go through the Chapter and give examples of how these people “Walked By Faith”.
The Present Encouragement of Faith
The Present Encouragement of Faith
Therefore is a transitional word. It means, “Because of what has been said, now...”
These men and women have left an amazing witness unto us so that we might follow their example. They serve as an example unto us on how we are to accomplish a life of faithfulness.
See using the words of modern day English, it is one thing to have faith, but it is another to be faithful. When the Bible speaks of faith, these two words are combined. To have faith is to be faithful. There is no other kind of faith, not that has life as James told us.
We are encouraged to live out our faith in life as they once did.
As they walked by faith, God blessed them tremendously. He used them on a monumental scale as they were willing to move forward, driven by their faith in God and His Word.
What does this look like, you might ask.
It means that we are willing to lay aside every weight that brings resistance into the race. We are to let go of every sin that causes a separation between us and God, so that we might run our race well.
We are all in the race for eternity. If we are going to make it, we must walk by faith. Not because our works brings about salvation, but because if there is no works, there was never really any salvation to begin with.
Works does not produce salvation, but salvation will produce works. James says that if you are not walking by faith, there is no faith. Your faith is dead.
The word translated as faith is “Pis-tis”. It means “To be faithful, trustworthy, Reliable, loyal, and dependable.” It means “To be devoted and to have an allegiance.”
That is what it means when it says here in vs 1, that we are to “run with endurance the race that is set before us.”
True faith in God means that we are devoted to God completely. We will not quit serving God just because we have a bad day. We will not quit believing in God just because something didn’t turn out the way we thought it should. We will not quit seeking God, just because there are some things that we do not understand.
Having this understanding helps to explain many other verses throughout Scripture:
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.
7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;
8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
1 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand,
2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.
13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved.
To have faith in God is to be completely sold out to Him. It is to have an allegiance to no other.
This is why we must suffer to the point of hitting rock bottom sometimes in life. It is at that point that we have extinguished all hope in everything else and we must completely rely on Him for deliverance.
These great men and women of faith succeeded in this because they gave themselves over completely.
The Eternal Weight of Getting It Right
The Eternal Weight of Getting It Right
6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
True faith, the faith that is committed to action, is the the key ingredient to pleasing our heavenly Father.
The best example of all was Jesus Himself.
2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
3 For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.
He went all the way. He suffered as much as one could, but did not stop shy of completing His faithfulness.
He gave everything. He held back nothing. Because of His complete allegiance to God, this is what we hear God say of Him:
17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
He walked by faith and it pleased God.
16 But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.
God was not ashamed to be called their God, because they walked by faith.
Commitment
Commitment
Do you truly want to please God? I hope that you do!
In order to do that, you must walk by faith. But in order to walk by faith, you must first have faith in God.
Maybe you have come before, but when you came before it was simply because you did not want to go to hell. You said the prayer and announced you had been saved, but since then you have very seldomly walked with God, if it all. In other words, it did not change your life in any way. You are making zero spiritual impact in your own life, let alone the lives of others around you.
If that’s you, I think it’s time you had another conversation with God. You now know that salvation is more than just skipping out on hell. You now know that salvation has to do with God’s love for you here and now. You now know that salvation leads to a changed life in Christ here so that we might be an encouragement to others.
Listen to me, I believe that there are many here this morning that need to give their lives to God so that they might experience true faith in Christ. There is no shame in doing this. It does not matter how long you thought you were saved. It does not matter how long you have been a member of the Church.
All that matters is that you get this right. We are talking about the eternal security of your soul. Please do not let Satan trick you out of getting what you need.
“Maybe I am saved. Maybe I am a believer.” Listen, you do not need to be gambling eternity on mights and maybes. You need to know. You need to have an assurance in your salvation.
5 Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified.
If you are ready to completely give yourself to God, would you raise your hand?