What Is Faith? - PART 3

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)

It always is today. Today is the day of salvation. Yesterday's manna is not acceptable food for man or God. "The just shall live by faith" means we are to be seeking God with diligence today.
Hope is an important component of faith. We are saved by hope. Hope requires much patience on our part. Today we hear the self-centered believers claiming we do not have to wait for God. "If we have faith," they say, "we can get what we want now." This is the opposite of faith. This is human presumption combined with the working of metaphysical principles. It is the False Prophet of Revelation, Chapter 13. Faith deals constantly with the invisible. 

The Gospel of the Kingdom is a glorious hope for the future, not the means of becoming happy and wealthy in the world, as some are teaching. The true saint lays hold on the invisible. He sets aside his life, his hopes, his ambitions, so he may seek without distraction the invisible Kingdom of God. He lives for the Day when Christ will appear and establish righteousness in the earth. This is what it means to live by faith.



We are not suggesting God does not give us joy or fulfill some of our hopes in the present world. We would faint if we did not believe to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. But for those who are walking in stern obedience to God there often are long periods of waiting in which we must cling in faith to the promise of God.

For by it the elders obtained a good report. (Hebrews 11:2)

Hebrews 11:2 shows us that God never has changed and His ways of working with His creatures never have changed. The only difference between Moses and the Christian is that the Christian has been given more Divine grace, more spiritual provisions, more opportunities for Divine Glory.

Moses could please God only by faith and the Christian can please God only by faith. This is why the Holy Spirit, in the Book of Hebrews, is using the "elders," the patriarchs, to teach the Christian the necessity for living by faith.

Through faith we understand the worlds were framed by the word of God, so things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. (Hebrews 11:3)

The man who is walking by faith is not impressed or oppressed by modern "science." He understands and appreciates the spiritual basis of all that exists.

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. (Hebrews 11:4)

Notice that Abel, the second son of Adam, was declared to be righteous (justified) by faith. Justification by faith has been with us from the time of Adam.
Notice also it was what Abel did that obtained righteousness for him. True faith always lives in works. Faith without works is dead. There is no such thing as an abstract faith, a faith not expressed in some kind of behavior.
The eleventh chapter of the Book of Hebrews, the "faith chapter," is a record of works, of what people did.

He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked. (I John 2:6)

Doctrinal faith, a mental assent to theological truth, is not mentioned in the eleventh chapter of Hebrews. The righteous shall live by faith does not mean if we believe and confess certain doctrinal facts we will go to Heaven when we die. This approach to salvation is more like Gnosticism than it is Christianity.

The righteous shall live by faith means just that—it means we are to live with Christ as the Center and Circumference of every thought we think, every word we say, every act we perform. The righteous shall live by faith is speaking of how we live, not of what we believe. The righteous live by faith in God rather than in their worldliness, lusts, and self-willed pride.

The currently held concept is that it is not essentially important how the believer lives because he is saved by faith, he is declared righteous because of his faith. The Christian ministry is contrasting faith and righteous behavior.

Can you imagine the Lord Jesus contrasting faith and righteous behavior? It is no wonder the light of the Church is flickering and going out. Christ is removing our lampstand. He is removing it because He knows our works, and our works are not righteous.
A faith that does not produce righteous behavior is worthless to God and worthless to man.

We hear believers stating today that if we have enough faith we can get what we want in the world. If these ignorant, self-centered believers will read the Scriptures they will discover the blessing of God comes on the righteous, not on those who seek to manipulate their surroundings by "faith." It is righteous behavior that is the emphasis of both the Old Testament and the New Testament. When we walk righteously, we inherit the blessings of the Lord. It is as simple and direct as that.
The current emphasis on magical faith is leading Christian people away from faith in Jesus and into spiritual pride and presumption. It is of Satan, not of God. Magical faith is an attempt to get the blessing of God by a means other than patient, cross-carrying obedience to the Lord Jesus.

It is fashionable for the believers in the so-called "faith message" to consider every thing or event that makes them unhappy as being of the devil. They continually are giving glory to Satan rather than to God.

Our problems actually are coming from the Lord, although He uses Satan to chasten us. When we learn our lessons we will have no more occasion to worry about Satan. God will meet our needs and take care of the demons if we will walk with Him and serve the Lord Jesus Christ in righteousness, holiness, and obedience to God.
If we will spend our days seeking the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, God will deliver us from every devil. When our ways please the Lord He will make our enemies to be at peace with us.

There is a place in the Kingdom of God for casting out devils. The casting out of devils is the first sign to follow the believers. But God wants the emphasis to be on resisting the devil rather than rebuking the devil. We resist the devil by drawing near to God and overcoming temptation through the wisdom and power He gives us. If we will do more resisting of the devil there will not be nearly as much need to cast out the devil.





To be continued.

Copyright © 2014 Trumpet Ministries Inc.


What Is Faith? - PART 2