Righteousness by faith
Working definition of faith…
Hebrews 11: 1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. 2This is what the ancients were commended for.
From here Hebrews 11 expands on the meaning of "faith" using many examples.
Faith, we are told, allows us to believe that the universe was formed at God's command. Because of faith, Able offered a better sacrifice than Cain. In faith Noah built the ark. In faith Abraham, though ancient, finally received his promised son only to be asked to sacrifice him revealing the extent of his faith – God's stayed his hand and provided a substitute (a reflection of Christ's sacrifice to come).
By faith Moses' parents ignored Pharos's edict and trusted God to protect their baby sent down the
Hebrew 11: 32And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, 33who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. 35Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. 36Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. 37They were stoned[f]; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.
Faith is not just the path salvation, though the bible tells us that faith is credited to us as righteousness (Rom
Can anyone think of an example from the bible where God has directly intervened in nature/the world apart from acting though somebody who believed?
A life lived in faith is an exciting, unpredictable, fulfiling life where we become God's hands, feet and mouth. A life without faith is shallow, impoverished and empty and ultimately leads to self-destruction.
So what is faith really? First we need to get rid of the misconceptions. Faith is not a religious notion in fact it is anti-religious and actively opposed by Jesus. Religion is man's way of taming God; faith is sets him free to act for us and through us according to his good purpose.
To different extents we're all attracted to the idea of working out what the rules are so that we can live by them. But this dethrones God and instead lifts up law which in turn, the bible tells us, condemns us. Faith in God, that is placing our trust in him (even though he may smite us – Job 13), removes from under the law. As we are no longer condemned by the law we are therefore righteous before God. This is the great gift – one that we can claim to have received by our own efforts.
Let's look at one of the bible's righteous woman (James
Joshua 2: Rahab and spies
Was Rahab a jew/one of God's own people? Was she a morally upright person? (she was a prostitute) Did she know or practice the law of Moses including the just published 10 commandments? (no evidence of this). Did she love God (no evidence of this but she feared his reputation)?
Yet she is counted as righteous! Wow. It was enough for Rahab to believe in the power of God and then to act on this belief (risking her life and betraying her people) by protecting those that God had shown favoritism to.
Faith that is counted as righteous always goes hand in hand with action. The two are inseparable - faith without works is dead.
James 2: 14What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 18But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. 19You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
We can see the evidence of faith expressing in the actions of our own lives as well as in the actions of others. Here's an example from my own family history.
Parent's story…Dad's initial act of faith – applying to become a Sunday School teacher before he knew Christ….
How do we explain this? Dad had but his faith in the concept of the loving God, never having been properly introduced. He instinctively chose to trust his new son to the invisible God because he perceived that eternal things are the only things that would last, that everything else was temporary and therefore could not be counted on as an inheritance.
Romans 1:20For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
Mum on the other hand took another five years….Graham
How do we explain this…she had no personal knowledge of God, only hearing about him because of Dad's convictions. But, like Rahab it was enough for her to pray (act) on the basis that God was indeed compassionate (believe). At this point the bible tells us that my Mum was counted as righteous.
James 5:15-16 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. 16Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
That this happened should be no surprise to us, as Jesus said:
Mark 11:22"Havefaith in God," Jesus answered. 23"I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. 24Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
My parents faith ultimately became my spiritual inheritance just as the faith seen in the lives of the bible heroes became the spiritual inheritance of the Christian faith.
In the same way that our faithlessness sows destruction in our own life and the lives of others, our faithfulness produces life; a rich harvest for the sake of the Kingdom.
Philemon 1:6 I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.
That is, faith expressed produces in us spiritual maturity; ultimately making us complete in Christ.
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