Faith - A Way of Life

I've come to the end of this series of teachings concerning this subject of Faith.  The series is entitled "The Journey of Faith".  Our lives are a journey that can be lived on a number of different levels - but Faith is the absolute necessity if we're going to discover "fullness and freedom" in living.

We started with a simple premise:  Hebrews 11:1
¹  Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen...

What was crucial for me to get across is that “Faith Is”… It’s the natural (Spiritual) outcome of our heart’s desire to want God to be at work in all areas of our lives.

We explored Faith in the lives of several Old Testament stories: 

      ·        Creation,

      ·        Worship with Cain and Abel,

      ·        Commitment with Enoch

      ·        Work with Noah

      ·        Learning to be Led by God with Abraham

      ·         Abraham shows us what it means to live by Faith and Hope and Wait for      God

      ·        Abraham he demonstrates Faith in Testing, when our lives get tough

      ·        Faith in Moses’ life as the fulfillment of Parents who trusted in God.

Faith is indispensable for our lives if they are to be lived in a relationship with God - and for that matter, others also.  

Faith is how God receives us.

So let's begin this last segment on Faith as a Journey with a quick reminder:

The Most Basic Thing Is Our Lives Lived By Faith

First,  Hebrews 11:6
⁶  And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

Living our lives by Faith is believing that God is a Person, and He desires for us to put our Trust in Him alone, and therefore live our lives ordered by that trust in Him.

Second, Ephesians 2:8
⁸  For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,

We don’t earn Faith…Faith is a GIFT, not something we get because we deserve it.  It is God's gift to our movements towards Him.

Third, Romans 1:16-17
¹⁶  I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.
¹⁷  For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."

What our faith does, is it makes us “righteous” before God. 

We gain God's Righteousness - his forgiveness, mercy, grace, and salvation because of that Faith, Trust, and Commitment in Him.

This is so crucial to understand:

1^st, We come to God by Faith, NOT gaining righteousness by good works, or by trying harder, or performing our way into God’s favor…but by putting our life’s trust completely in God…and it’s God’s declaration that we are righteous before him because of what he’s done for us in Christ Jesus.

2^nd, We come by Faith, and we learn to live by Faith...gaining knowledge of God and of our own personal self.  Salvation is just the beginning.  What God is after is that we learn to live out that Faith in everyday knowledge.

Faith enters into our lives to help us Learn; to gain Knowledge about God, and also Knowledge about ourselves.

This is crucial to grasp…especially in this area, because it’s so easy to substitute religious beliefs as knowledge. 

Faith is knowing Christ…and that knowing then translates itself into our lives as a knowing of self…why we do what we do…what we behave like.

Our soul:  Heart, Will, Emotions, Motives, Attitudes…knowing ourselves as it relates to Christ.

When we divorce our Faith from the knowledge of ourselves in everyday living, we end up trying to do things…or get people to do things…apart from the knowledge of God and self.

It becomes a part of religious duty instead of life as “Faith Is”...

Faith is so crucial to our lives:

2 Corinthians 5:7
⁷  We live by faith, not by sight.

Galatians 2:20
²⁰  I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Faith operates in the reality of daily life…"the life lived in the body".  Faith covers every aspect of our being:  Relationships – Marriage, Kids, Family - Work, Worship, Temptations, Vocation/Jobs, Recreation…everything.

When we have our Faith Knowledge right, we become whole walking in the life of Christ by Faith…and what does it do for us?

Our Faith is the means in which we experience freedom before God.

Ephesians 3:12
¹²  In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.

You see the point, we have to discover Faith in all areas.  Faith intersects our lives when it comes to God in all things.

This is what we need to discover…the freedom, the joy, and easy aspect of living when done by faith…

Jesus said this in the form of an Invitation…

Matthew 11:28-30
²⁸  "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
²⁹  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
³⁰  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

I don’t want to live in such a way that I wake up sometime down the road and say, “If Only…” or, “I wished I had”…

NOW when we look at the history of mankind, it’s always FAITH that makes the difference – whatever the outcome.

NOW, that does not mean that life's ups and downs demonstrate the levels of our faith.  We need to be careful that we don't define Faith by our circumstances.  We'll dive into this next time as we finish this up.

Peace