Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Faith is more than what we think.
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[Steve Myers] Christ said something startling as He was preaching the GospelThe good news of God's everlasting kingdom to be established on earth after Christ's return and how we may be a part of that kingdom. This message was central to the teaching of Jesus Christ and the apostles. The term is used about 100 times in the New Testament .. He gave parables—different stories—that were to make a point. And after one of the parables that He told about an unjust judge, He said something really amazing. It's over in Luke chapter 18 and in verse 8 He said, "When the Son of man comes, will He really find faith on the Earth?" (Luke 18:8).
[Gary Petty] That's a startling statement.
[Steve Myers] It really is an amazing thing. We're supposed to be faithful. Christians are faithful, aren't they?
[Gary Petty] Well, I think part of the problem is people don't understand what the word faith actually means. We think faith means belief. Well, the ApostleAn exclusive ecclesiastical role historically held by very few; literally "one sent," but for a particular purpose: to deliver a message. In the New Testament this refers to a special envoy or messenger of the gospel; a special messenger from God (Luke 11:49; Revelation 18:20); more specifically the original 12 (Peter, John, Andrew, etc.) plus Paul, Barnabas and a few others. Jesus Christ is called the Apostle (Hebrews 3:1). James writes one of the most startling statements in the entire New TestamentThe 27 authoritative books of the apostolic writings: the four Gospels of Christ, Acts (a history), 21 apostolic letters and the book of Revelation.. It's very sarcastic. He said, "You believe there is one God? You do well. Even the demons believe there's one God and they tremble" (James 2:19). And of course the point he's making is you can believe in God and be no better off than Satan and the demons. They know there's a God. They've talked to God. They've seen God. We have to realize that really faith is a whole lot more than belief. It's trust.
[Steve Myers] It is trust. In fact, if you go over to Hebrews chapter 11 it lists a whole array of biblical characters, people who lived in the BibleThe books (Greek, "biblia" ) that are acknowledged as canonical (authoritative) by the early Christian Church. It includes both the books of the ancient Hebrew prophets and those of the apostolic witnesses to Jesus Christ. and they lived by faith. And that chapter begins by saying, "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1). But it really is pointing more directly to an absolute confidence, not just "Oh, I believe it," but that "My belief changes who I am and it changes my behavior and it really is a representation of my absolute confidence in God."
[Gary Petty] It's a complete giving of your life to God that you trust He is going to fulfill His purpose in your life and He's going to take care of you.
[Steve Myers] There's so much to talk about on this subject of faith. We'll be addressing it in a number of BT Dailies , but that'll be it for today. We'll see you next time.
