Faith

Faith: What it is and what it does! Hebrews 11

Let’s take a look at faith…

Ephesians 2:8-9 KJVR

(8) For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

(9) Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Romans 5:1 KJVR

(1) Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

It says here in Ephesians that we are saved by grace through faith. Here in Romans, it says we have peace with God through Jesus because we are justified by faith. But what is faith exactly. The definition of faith is four-fold.

1) The assurance of things hoped for:

2) The conviction of their reality:

3) Believing in God to the point of action:

4) Humanity’s favorable response to God’s revelation:

We are also going to look at how faith affects our daily lives.

Hebrews 11:4 KJVR

(4) By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.

Faith made Abel worship God. Because Abel had faith, he offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. God was pleased with him and his gift, and even though Abel is now dead, his faith still speaks for him. The sacrifice was not better because of anything that Abel did other that his faith. This passage says nothing of the size or nature of the sacrifice, only that it was better. The one and only reason for that was the fact that Abel had faith. The size of the gift, the amount of money you give, the amount of time you give is not what makes one gift better than another. It is the faith and faith alone. I am a full time minister. Does that make the time I spend ministering better than someone who can only give time in the evenings or on the weekends? No it does not. This passage also says that Abel’s faith is his witness and even though he is dead, his faith still testifies today.

Faith made Enoch walk with God:

Hebrews 11:5-6 KJVR

(5) By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.

(6) But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

What a great passage this is. We see here that Enoch was so close to God that he did not have to endure physical death. We saw in the passage earlier that your faith is our witness, and not only is it our witness, I venture to say that it is our legacy of sorts. Our faith can witness to future generations. Let’s look into Enoch in Genesis 5.

Genesis 5:23-24 KJVR

(23) And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years:

(24) And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.

Enoch walked with God. It is my sincere prayer that we not only give our hearts to God, but we actually walk with God. Notice here that it does not say walked for God, or lived for God, but rather “walked with God.” This lets me know that God was with him on his journey through life. God was not a bystander, a role model, or a destination, but a helper and companion on life’s journey. I don’t know about you, but this information is uplifting to me. God is not looking down on us waiting on us to reach the end of our journey. He is by our side helping us on our way. Let’s look into how can walk with God like Enoch.

2 Corinthians 5:17 KJVR

(17) Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

There is a lot in information here from the Apostle Paul on our daily lives. Any man who is in Christ is a new creature and the old creature is no more. I know it is hard to let go of some things, but as we see here, we have to. When we accept Christ into our lives, we must give him complete control. All things must be given to Him. Now we all need to understand that even though we are born again in Christ, we still have the sin nature inherited from Adam. It is not as simple as letting go and letting Jesus have all of our bad habits, actions, and thoughts. We are created new when we are saved, but when we are saved, we have the help of Christ to get us past our sin nature. Remember, Christians aren’t perfect, just forgiven. We still struggle with our sin nature, but with the help of Christ, we can overcome it.

In Hebrews 11:5 it says of Enoch “for before his translation (before he was called into heaven) he had his testimony, that he pleased God.” My question for you today is does your life please God? Do you have a testimony of faith?

Here are some questions to ask yourself to find out:

	Is God pleased with the places you go for recreation?
	Is God pleased with the books you read or the television shows that you watch?
	Is God pleased with the words that you speak?
	Is God pleased with the plans you have for the future?

We have seen how faith makes a person worship God and walk with God. Now let’s look at how faith makes a person work for God.

Hebrews 11:7 KJVR

(7) By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

The story of Noah is found in Genesis chapter 6. This passage is a tragic story of the decline of humanity into sin. I venture to say that we are living in such a time today. Here is what it says:

Genesis 6:5-7 KJVR

(5) And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

(6) And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.

(7) And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.

The wickedness of man was great and the thoughts of his heart were evil continually. That does sound like the world in which we live. The actions of men grieved God’s heart. I’m sure that He feels the same today. But, there is good news found in verses 8 and 9.

Genesis 6:8-9 KJVR

(8) But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.

(9) These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.

Noah found grace with God. Not because by himself, but by his faith, for Noah walked with God. There it is again- “walked with God.” Because of his faith and testimony, Noah and his family were found to be without blemish (perfect in his generations). That is not to say that they were truly perfect, but forgiven by the grace of God though faith. Let’s look at the rest of this passage.

Genesis 6:11-13 KJVR

(11) The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.

(12) And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.

(13) And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

The earth was corrupt before God, filled with violence. All flesh had corrupted His way on the earth. This is the result of sin nature. Such things go on in the world today. God says he will destroy the earth. In this instance, He will do so with water. Earth will be destroyed again, but not by water, by fire. That is another lesson. Let’s see how faith manifested itself in the actions of Noah.

Genesis 6:14-22 KJVR

(14) Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.

(15) And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits.

(16) A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it.

(17) And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die.

(18) But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee.

(19) And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female.

(20) Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive.

(21) And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them.

(22) Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.

God told Noah to build an ark (really big boat). Let me inject a bit of history here. At this time in earth’s history, there had never been rain. The earth received water by the dew. Noah was told to prepare for something that the earth had never seen. This took faith in the Lord! If God spoke to you today and told you to put house on stilts to survive the upcoming flood would you? If he said to sell your car and buy a boat would you? That is faith. Doing what He tells you to do without explanation. Noah did this. Every swing of Noah’s hammer says “faith.” Every swing of Noah’s axe says “faith.” Does every one of your actions say “faith?”

Faith still makes us work today. Every person you care for shows faith. Every person you share with shows faith. Every person you witness to shows faith.

My question for you today is has faith begun in your life? Have you made the first step in living by faith?

If you have not, I would like to share with you how to be saved by grace though faith in Jesus Christ. If you have not accepted Christ into your life, all it takes is a simple, but heart-felt prayer. Here is an example: "Lord Jesus, I need You. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive You as my Savior and Lord. Thank You for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of the throne of my life. Make me the kind of person You want me to be."

If you have been saved by grace through faith in Jesus and you are not living up to your potential because you are not living by faith, it is my earnest prayer that this lesson will help you to return your life to God’s path for your life.

What has faith changed in your life. Have you taken a step of faith in following Christ in your life? Are you willing to build an ark just because God says to?

And in conclusion, where are faiths evidences in your life? Can others see the testimony of your faith in every day life? Remember, the best testimony you have for the world is your actions when you think no one is watching. Your testimony is your life as you live it all day, every day, not only what you do on Sunday morning, but also what you do on Saturday night.

Lord, I pray that you take this lesson and touch hearts with it the way that you touched mine in the writing of this lesson. I thank you for the opportunity to share your words with others.