What Is Faith?

So we see how God designed you and that it was good. But because of sin, it distorted the image, leaving us in brokenness, separated from God.

But through what Jesus Christ has done on the cross and how He lived a perfect life, how He was fully God and fully man, died for your sins that for those that believe in this truth, in this gospel, are no longer separated but redeemed. Saved from death, saved from hell, saved from this brokenness that you feel.

And now we look at the this last portion, Gospel and recovering and pursuing God’s Design, and the best way to truly help you understand this, is to answer the question: What is faith?

Scripture says we are saved by the grace of God but through our faith is how we receive it.

Romans 3:23–25 ESV

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.

It says in another verse:

Ephesians 2:8–9 ESV

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Now that you know of the first two questions, this question can only be answered if your heart is truly humbled by what and who Jesus is.

Let’s pray.

What is faith? Write this verse down as it answer it.

Hebrews 11:1 ESV

1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

Two Keywords Assurance and Conviction

Assurance is like the steadfast trust in Christ's promises that leads you to act even when outcomes are unseen. You have trust and assurance that when God says He will do something, He will do it, even if it does not look like the way you want it. That is key. God often will do things you actually don’t want but it is ultimately for your good. Have assurance in His hope.

Have assurance that Jesus has paid the price for your sins. This can be hard. You may think you’ve thought or felt things that are unforgivable. You may have done things that you can’t even forgive yourself. You are saved by grace. But Jesus Christ has paid for all of that on the cross. He has redeemed you, you need to trust in Him. Trust in that promise. He is the who will represent you to God on judgement day.

Have assurance that heaven is real and greater than this life. That God has prepared a Kingdom for those that have faith in Him.

Conviction, means "proof" or "evidence." or “deeply knowing within you” It indicates that faith provides inner certainty about unseen realities or as the verse states, things not seen.

For instance, you can’t see God, you can’t see God, you may not even see how He is working in your life, but you know within you and you hold on to the truth.

And this is not blind faith, I preached for one of your chapel services last year and God is a God of science and logic and reasoning and you will see. However, it will not always be 100%. This is where that conviction comes in, this is where faith comes in.

What is faith? It is the assurance of things hoped for and conviction of things not seen. This though, should be made evidence in your life.

Faith is not a one time decision but a life-long commitment.

What Faith is not: Acknowledgement or an Insurance Policy

An analogy that I often use and I think we treat Christianity this way, is like an insurance policy or subscription. You pay the monthly fee and you get the benefits. You pay the monthly fee and if you get into a car accident, your insurance will help cover the costs. A relationship with Jesus, however, is not an insurance policy or subscription.

Often, the words "faith" and "believe" seem interchangeable, but they carry different nuances. Belief is more about initially understanding who Jesus is and what He has done for you—believing that it is true. Faith, on the other hand, is a deeper concept. While belief involves accepting the truth of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, faith takes it a step further. Faith is belief that leads to life change and action. Faith is trusting in God and making a commitment to Him, to follow Him. I think of it more as a marriage. Being married that makes it easier for me but the key component is relationship and love. More on that a little later but don’t be fooled into thinking that Jesus Christ died for you to acknowledge that He existed and did the things the bible says. That is not why He died for you. Belief or acknowledgement alone is not enough. Even the demons believe similarly.

James 2:19 ESV

19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!

Why would demons believe in God and shudder? Well they believe He is real but they don’t have faith in Jesus nor do they have a relationship with Him do they love Him, make a commitment to follow Him. Belief is the start as you can’t follow or put your faith into something that you don’t think is real or true. And when you truly believe that Jesus Christ is your Lord and savior, that is tied to your faith in Christ. But I would not be surprised if many of you don’t truly have a relationship with Christ or love Him because this truth is not taught as much, sin isn’t preached on as much anymore, and this may just be hard to hear.

Faith is not just acknowledgement or a one-time prayer. It is a life-long commitment.

Faith is a Life

Faith is Backed by Works

You are into fitness but you never work out or watch what you eat. You might like the idea of fitness, but you are not into fitness. And maybe you are just having a bad slump and thats okay, but you’ve often heard the same thing that fitness is a lifestyle. It takes discipline and focus and good habits.

Faith is no different yet we treat faith like insurance.

I read this verse earlier but lets go back to Ephesians 2:8-9

Ephesians 2:8–9 ESV

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

This is where it seems to contradict. You are saved through faith and not what you do because it is all the work of Jesus Christ. However, that does not mean you get to stay complacent because that would a false faith.

Ephesians 2:10 ESV

10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

So what I am getting at tonight, is not that you are saved by what you do, but a true faith, a real faith, a faith that does save, needs to be backed by the way you live. Don’t just say you have faith, and then do nothing.

In the same passage I just read in James how “even the demons believe-and shudder” mentions this:

James 2:14–17 ESV

14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

Yes, a hard passage, but if you claim to have faith in Jesus Christ, what does it look like?

You are saved by His grace, but in order to be saved, you must have faith in Jesus Christ. And a real faith will be tied to works. Scripture says that it is the evidence of your faith, but the works itself won’t save you.

Think of an apple tree, if alive and doing well, will produce apples. Yes, there will be rough seasons where it doesn’t produce much. However, an alive apple tree, will produce apples. The same is true of our faith. An alive faith, will produce works and you should start to see a gradual progression, in recovering and pursuing your original design. There will be rough seasons where you might be sinning more and not living the faith out as much, but overall, an alive faith should gradually have you look more like Jesus.

The author James, gets it. For those of you that don’t know, James is Jesus’ earthly brother. And James, at the start of Jesus’ ministry, did not believe in him. But later on in James’ life, he gets it. And he doesn’t just “get it” where yeah my brother is the son of God, that’s awesome and goes on his merry way.

He understand who Jesus is and he puts his true faith into the true son of God. A faith that is tied by actions and a faith that is transformative.

Again, In order to be saved, you must put your faith in Christ. Not acknowledgment and mere words but a true faith backed by works. Not faith plus works to save you. But because you are saved, you got work to do. And that’s what James understood. James has relationship with God.

Faith is a Relationship

As you understand faith is more than a one time prayer and that you see we are created for good works, ultimately, you must have a relationship with Him. You must:

Be with Jesus

Simply put, spend time with Jesus.

How are you able to recover and pursue your original design if you don’t spend time with the one who is the perfect image of God? Scripture says that Jesus is the image of the invisible God.

Jesus spent time with God. Jesus is God but also spent time in prayer with His Father.

Jesus spent time with building relationships with His disciples. We need to spend time with Him.

James 4:8 (ESV)

8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.

How do you spend time with Him?

Pray to Him

Read Your Bible

Fellowship with other believers

Remember, a relationship should be filled with love. Do you love Jesus? If you don’t, pray today and ask for His help or talk to me or leaders about how to love Him. If you do love Him, spend time with Him.

Do you think I would be a loving husband if I did not spend time with Ms. Woll? Your relationship with Christ should be no different.

Faith is Transformative

Faith starts by spending time by being with Him but as you develop this relationship, your life should start to look a little different. Faith takes work, sacrifice, and you should start to look more and more like Him. His desires should become your desires. The bible says we are to bear fruit. Those that put their faith and trust in Jesus should look-like or start to look different than a life before putting faith in Christ.

Romans 8:29 (ESV)

29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son

I love this verse, because it circles all the way back to the very beginning of how we were created.

We were created in His image. Sin distorted but through the grace of Jesus, He restored it but to only those who have faith. And real faith, will be transformative.

Real faith recovers and pursues the good image that God created you in:

That starts by being with Jesus. But this goes into more:

Become Like Jesus

We learned a lot about Him last night and there is much more that I could into, but simply put, think of His Character:

Think of His love: A love that is sacrificial and not just in His death, but status, mockery, torture.

Think of His Humility: A humility to leave His heavenly throne and live amongst us to save us.

Think of His Forgiveness: On the cross as He was dying He said “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do”

Think of His Patience, Gentleness, Self-Control, Obedience, and so much more.

We need to imitate this, we need to pray for this, and we need to know more about who God is, who Jesus is, and that’s why we need to read the bible so we can know Him more and be more like Him.

Do What He Did

Turn away from sin.

I’m not asking for you to be perfect, but I am asking you to be better. Don’t give in, turn away. I understand you may mess up from time to time, but are you slowly getting better

Jesus died for your sins over and over again. He wants you to turn away. Jesus turned away from sin and never committed a sin. He was tempted and knows, but He turned away from it.

Do you look at images or videos, you know you should not be looking at.

Are you anxious and depressed, did you know that it’s not God’s desired will for you? He wants you to be free from that and to find peace. Even Jesus was anxious to an extent. But He went to the right source and truly found peace in that and did what God wanted Him to do.

Are you lazy? God wants you to work and it’s important to rest but I know you know the difference of being laziness and leisure.

Are you addicted to something and find that it’s affecting your relationship with Christ?

2. Love others

Jesus’ ministry, although He got mad at those that were supposed to know the truth like the pharisees, the majority of Jesus’ ministry was loving the lost, brokenhearted, and thousands of people who needed love. Jesus had compassion on them and we need to love others.

Don’t just say you love them though, how are you loving them? Are you being kind to your classmates? I’m all for joking, but words can hurt, be careful with your words.

3. Share and Live Out the Gospel

Everything that you have heard from me this retreat, live it out through your actions because we know that your actions speak volumes. But words are very important and you’re gonna need to help explain this to your friends.

Closing

I know this can be a lot and this is not meant to cause you anxiety or fear but the main that I want you to walk away fro this retreat, is to just keep on trying for Jesus. He’s not asking you to be perfect, but He is asking you to try.

Ignorance can be blissful at moments but not when it comes to the truth of gospel. You need to know who Jesus truly is and you need to know what true faith is. Faith is not just about avoiding hell or following rules, but about a personal, transformative relationship with God, marked by peace, joy, and a new way of living. Salvation is a gift from God, received through faith, and it transforms your life, leading to obedience.

Find someone you know who is Christian and ask them questions, maybe it’s a leader at your church, a teacher here at school, your parents, but we are called to live a life of faith and real faith will take work. But man, is it good, is it filled with peace and joy, because you are living out the design that God has created you to be.

Now get ready, you may not feel any different and you may have no idea what to do, would you talk to a teacher, leader, myself, and let us know of this decision because this decision is not just a J-Term retreat thing but a decision that will restore the true reason for why you were created.