What is Faith?

What Is Faith? Scripture:

Introduction:

Knowing Christ is where true faith begins. From there we grow through the essentials of discipleship: Bible study, prayer, preaching, worship and Christian friendship and fellowship.

What is faith?

A Sunday-School teacher asked her class one day, “What is faith?” the class sat there quietly - which was a surprise in itself, so the teacher asked again, “can anyone tell me what is faith?” You could see the little minds working and one boy stuck up his hand. The teacher said, ‘Ok Johnny, what is faith?” Johnny answered, “believing something you know isn’t true.”

We may laugh, but the sad truth is that many non-Christians would probably define our Christianity in the same way. Maybe its stated using different words, but many today believe that there is self-deception or unreliability in biblical Christianity. There are even many prominent so-called Christians who publicly deny the very basis of true biblical Christian faith.

Knowing Christ is where true faith begins. From there we grow through the essentials of discipleship: Bible study, prayer, preaching, worship and Christian friendship and fellowship.

Maybe you have heard someone say that the Bible is the most amazing book ever written, perhaps you find parts of it difficult to understand, perhaps you want a greater understanding of the context in which it was written, maybe you desire to learn more about God’s Word to strengthen your faith, maybe you just feel you need to know more.

But the great thing is as we walk with God He will lead each of us to a deeper understanding of His truth and how we can apply it to our lives.

Billy Graham said, “Millions of people today are searching for a reliable voice of authority.

The Word of God is the only real authority we have.

His Word sheds light on human nature, world problems and human suffering. But beyond that, it clearly reveals the way to God.

The message of the Bible is the message of Jesus Christ who said,

John 14:6 The Message

Jesus said, “I am the Road, also the Truth, also the Life. No one gets to the Father apart from me.

John 1:6 NLT

God sent a man, John the Baptist,

“I am the way, the truth and the life” ()

It is the story of salvation; the story of your redemption and mine through Christ; the story of life, of peace, of eternity.

Our faith is not dependent upon human knowledge and scientific advance, but upon the unmistakable message of the Word of God.”

There may be times when you find it difficult to reconcile God’s truth to your own opinion or worldview, God’s truth is eternal, it does not change, our understanding of the truth does change as we allow God to work in our hearts and minds.

Our message is not about opinion, but about learning truth, the truth contained in the Bible, together we are going to focus on how we apply God’s truth, black & white in a grey world. To set godly priorities, grow in Christian character and live according to God’s standards so that we are a living witness to others.

I think its safe to assume that we all consider ourselves intelligent people, maybe you have a different opinion, but the truth is when we became Christians we did not kiss our brains goodbye as we put them in a jar in the cupboard under the stairs.

What shapes/shaped your faith?

__ Parents

__ Television / Radio

__ Bible

__ Teachers

__ Pastor

__ Experience

__ Friends

__ History

__ Music / Worship

__ Books

How did you find that?

We use faith everyday.

Set aside religious faith, it is impossible for us to get through a day without using some kind of faith.

The driver has faith that the car will start in the morning. The commuter has faith that the train will get them to work. The scientist has faith in scientific methods learned from other scientists who assumed they were right. You have faith that when you need bread or milk your usual shop will be open and sell them to you.

Faith, simply put is trust, we all trust in something everyday.

Faith is also only as valid as what it is placed in. Trust an untested food, an unqualified doctor, or a double glazing salesman and the faith may not be valid.

Faith may be well intentioned but misplaced.

Meagre faith placed in something reliable will bring results – if you have weak faith in thick ice the result is positive the ice will hold your weight regardless of the strength of your faith.

Testing the reliability of faith is rational and sensible.

C.S. Lewis said “Wisdom leads us to investigate and know the true facts about our faith. If a clock is wrong, we adjust it. It’s the sensible thing to do.”

C.S. Lewis also said “It is easy to say we believe a rope to be strong and sound as long as we are mearly using it to wrap a box. But suppose you had to hang by that rope over a precipice. You would really want to first discover how trustworthy that rope was.”

Faith is a normal part of our lives.

Our Christian faith is often coloured by our prior thinking. What facts do we know about it? Do we view it as rational or irrational? Relevant or not relevant enough?

First things first

Are there any situations where you have been asked about your faith or challenged about what you believe?

Where did you turn to for answers to these questions or challenges?

Maybe you’ve heard it said “That’s your truth – not mine!” The world today has a broad spectrum of ideas about religion and faith, does the multitude of beliefs that exist make your own intellectual understanding of God more difficult or easier to resolve?

Does the diversity of religion in the world make it easier or more difficult to experience a personal relationship with God in your life?

Sometimes our certainties become diluted and our belief system can wobble – the modern world we live in increases the need to know why we believe and to examine and understand the truth that supports our faith.

In which areas are you crystal clear about your Christian faith and where is your thinking a little muddy?

We live in a world where pluralism is expected. The dictionary defines pluralism as: The belief that there are multiple opinions about an issue, each of which contains part of the truth, but none that contain the whole truth.

Pluralism teaches that:

1 All religions are valid equally.

2 Contradictions between belief systems are acceptable.

3 Absolute truth does not exist.

This morning we are going to be looking at a passage from the book of Acts,

Paul Preaches in Athens

16 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply troubled by all the idols he saw everywhere in the city. 17 He went to the synagogue to reason with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and he spoke daily in the public square to all who happened to be there.

18 He also had a debate with some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. When he told them about Jesus and his resurrection, they said, “What’s this babbler trying to say with these strange ideas he’s picked up?” Others said, “He seems to be preaching about some foreign gods.”

19 Then they took him to the high council of the city.[a] “Come and tell us about this new teaching,” they said. 20 “You are saying some rather strange things, and we want to know what it’s all about.” 21 (It should be explained that all the Athenians as well as the foreigners in Athens seemed to spend all their time discussing the latest ideas.)

22 So Paul, standing before the council,[b] addressed them as follows: “Men of Athens, I notice that you are very religious in every way, 23 for as I was walking along I saw your many shrines. And one of your altars had this inscription on it: ‘To an Unknown God.’ This God, whom you worship without knowing, is the one I’m telling you about.

24 “He is the God who made the world and everything in it. Since he is Lord of heaven and earth, he doesn’t live in man-made temples, 25 and human hands can’t serve his needs—for he has no needs. He himself gives life and breath to everything, and he satisfies every need. 26 From one man[c] he created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries.

27 “His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him—though he is not far from any one of us. 28 For in him we live and move and exist. As some of your[d] own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ 29 And since this is true, we shouldn’t think of God as an idol designed by craftsmen from gold or silver or stone.

30 “God overlooked people’s ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now he commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him. 31 For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising him from the dead.”

32 When they heard Paul speak about the resurrection of the dead, some laughed in contempt, but others said, “We want to hear more about this later.” 33 That ended Paul’s discussion with them, 34 but some joined him and became believers. Among them were Dionysius, a member of the council,[e] a woman named Damaris, and others with them.

Is your faith rational or emotional?

There are two perspectives that could be used to answer this question.

The first is to focus only on experience of God – excluding reason. Someone may say “Just have faith,” not realizing that a reasoned presentation of gospel is not a substitute for faith but a solid basis for faith.

The second is to place all of the emphasis on the mind and try to convince people into believing using logical argument.

Which perspective do you tend to follow the most?

Jesus said “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your mind”

Our whole person, heart and mind are involved in putting our faith in Jesus, mind, emotions and will.

We need a balanced faith – both heart and mind to truly follow Jesus.

Conclusion:

If Christianity is rational and true, why is it that many educated people don’t believe it? The answer is simple. They don’t believe it for the same reason uneducated people don’t believe it. They don’t want to believe it. It’s not a matter of brainpower, for there are outstanding Christians in every field of the arts and sciences. Belief is ultimately a matter of the will.

“Belief does not create truth. Unbelief doesn’t destroy truth. Christian faith goes beyond reason but not against reason.”

Ask God to help you to have a clear understanding of biblical truth, pray that your personal faith, trust and knowledge will be strengthened.

Another verse in our text that I want to leave you with this morning is verse 28.

“In Him we live, and move and exist”.

This verse has been on my heart for the past while and I have been meditating on it because I believe it is foundational to our faith.

I think about Live, Move, Exist

Live - Me and my house we will serve the Lord, Give us this day our daily bread. These are a couple of prayers for the daily life. Dedicating each day of living to Him. Do I live my day for Him?

Move - through health, family, relationships are these connected and moved in Him? Are my actions honourable in His sight?

Exist - We have been created in His image, knit together in our Mother’s womb, He knows us intimately, even the number of hairs on our head. How much am I trying to know Him more?

My prayer is Help us! Lead us! Guide us!

May we accepted the challenge to live for God and follow His path. May we desire to move according to His guidance and direction. Let us see clearly where that is and not allow our own ambition to cloud His leading.

How do we exist in Him? I can’t even walk without you holding my hand. It is not a crutch but a way of life it is faith!

O Lead me… Lead me to the cross where we first met. Find me on my knees so we can talk, let me feel your breath, let me know you’re here with me.