Rooted in Faith

Colossians 2:6–7 NKJV

As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.

A Crisis of Faith

We are living in perilous times.

We are living in a broken world with broken people.

Everything that can be shaken is being shaken.

Winds of false doctrine are blowing.

Floods of iniquity are rising.

Waves of doubt are unsettling.

The spiritual ground beneath us is shifting.

Are you experiencing a crisis of faith?

Has your faith been tested?

Are you disoriented in your faith?

Have you lost your spiritual compass?

Are you trying to find your true north?

Rooted in Faith

We are likened to trees

Trees of righteousness (Isaiah 61:3)

Fruit Trees (Matthew 7:15-20)

We are to bear fruit unto God.

Fruit rather than works.

We are not saved by works but we are saved unto good works (Ephesians 2:8-10)

We must be well-rooted in Jesus.

Are you firmly connected in a relationship with Jesus?

We must be built up in Jesus.

Are you growing in your relationship with Jesus?

We must be established in “the faith”.

Are you established in what the word of God says is true?

The Faith: Know What You Believe

“The Faith” refers to the truth of the gospel passed down to us (“as you have been taught”).

Matthew 28:19–20 NKJV

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

Acts 2:41–42 NKJV

Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.

Jude 3 NKJV

Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.

We must know what we believe. (The core teachings or doctrines of the faith, i.e., the gospel.)

The gospel in a nutshell.

John 3:16 NKJV

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Belief in the God of the Bible.

Belief in the love of God for broken people.

Belief in Jesus Christ as the only begotten Son of the living God.

Belief that God gave His Son to die on the cross for our sins.

Belief in hell (“perish”) for those who refuse to believe.

Belief in eternal life for those who choose to believe.

Faith: Believe What You Know

It is not enough to know what we believe. We must believe what we know.

True faith is evidenced by faith-filled works (the fruit of faith).

James 2:26 NKJV

For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

Ephesians 2:8–10 NKJV

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Our Faith: Overcomes the World

1 John 5:4 NKJV

For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.

Faith must become our own.

Response to the Word

Become Rooted in Faith

Know what you believe.

Believe what you know.

Through faith, live in victory over the world.