What Does Biblical Faith Really Look Like?

Well, as we prepare for the spring holy days this year, I believe that we should talk about the topic of faith. After all, our justification and our salvation is a result of our faith in the grace of God and for His plan of salvation. As stated in Habakkuk chapter 2 and verse 4, it says, look at the proud, their spirit is not right in them, but the righteous shall live by their faith. So how has our faith been doing lately? As we're coming upon the spring holy days this year, do we need a faith upgrade? Do we need to rekindle some of our faith? Are we challenged with a lack of faith? Have we become skeptical and jaded because of the influence of the world? These are questions I think it's only fair for us to ask ourselves. Paul wrote in Romans chapter 4 verse 3, for what does the scripture say? Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. So you see, faith is very important regarding our personal salvation. Faith is important to God, and it's essential that we retain it and strengthen it. And again, faith can be hard to possess in our jaded, skeptical world of the day. We are bombarded with so much misinformation, false knowledge, and distortions that it's hard for us to know who or what to trust anymore because we have so much stuff being thrown at us all the time through the media and through a culture that is now in a spiritual freefall. So let's begin by defining faith. What does faith look like? What does faith really mean? We'll begin in Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 1, if you will kindly turn there. Again, that's Hebrews chapter 11, and we'll begin in verse 1. Paul was inspired to write, now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. So, brethren, faith is the ability to firmly believe in something with trust and confidence, even when there is no physical evidence of it. We don't need a deep biblical faith if we can detect something with our physical senses. If we can touch it, see it, hear it, smell it, or taste it, then we have physical proof, and we no longer need a deep biblical faith. So faith is when we can't prove it through any physical means, yet we trust with confidence and belief that something is true, like God's promises, then that is the kind of biblical faith that we're talking about. As Jesus told Doubting Thomas in John chapter 20 verse 29, perhaps an ancestor of mine, Jesus said to him, Thomas, because you have seen me, you have believed. You may remember, Jesus said, look, stick your hand in here. There's a scar where there was an impression because of a spear that stabbed, and I have scars where nails were hammered into my hands and my feet. Touch it, see for yourself. And Thomas did, and he said, you believe because you've seen me. Blessed are those who have not seen, yet have believed.

And brother, that's directly referring to you and I. So the word faith here is often used in the New Testament. It's the Greek word pistis, p-i-s-t-i-s, and it means having trust and confidence in God. I'm going to read verse 1 here from the New Century version. Faith means being sure of the things we hope for, knowing that something is real, even if we don't see it. Again, if we do see it, then we wouldn't really need faith. Thomas didn't need faith after he reached his fingers in and his hand in and he saw the wounds of Jesus Christ.

It was proven to him. But for us, we have to have a deep, abiding, spiritual faith that God's promises are sure and that God's promises are true. Verse 6 says, but without faith it is impossible to please him. For he who comes to God must believe that he is. That's really where it all begins. As I was mentioning to Roger a few weeks ago, he's going through baptism counseling. It all begins with the deep faith in God.

If you don't believe there's a God, then nothing else really matters. How can I talk to you about the validity of this if you don't even believe there's a God? Right? That's where it all starts. You have to believe that there's a God, and then you have to believe that God created us for a reason and a purpose. And that leads us to understand that God created an owner's manual for us so that we know how to get the most out of this existence. We know how to get the most out of life, and he reveals that to us in his word that we call the Bible.

But it all begins that we must believe that he is and a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. Not a rewarder of those who, well, you know, this church or religion is kind of like a hobby. I dabble with flowers a little bit, right, and I do some woodworking, and then on the side I do some God stuff. I attend different churches, or I read 15 different types of church literatures, and it's kind of like a hobby.

No, it doesn't say that it says a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. Not give God their hobby time. It's talking about our intent. It's talking about a way of life. There are two key points in these scriptures. Point number one is faith is the foundation of things for which we hope. Faith is the solid, unshakable confidence that God has built upon us a guarantee that he will be faithful to all of his promises. The promise to resurrect us from the dead. The promise to give us eternal life. The promise to make us his children. The promise to put us in positions of service to him and humanity in the world tomorrow.

All of those are parts of God's promises. God will be faithful to all of his promises, and that has to be built on our commitment to faith. The second key point is our faith is the spiritual evidence that God and other unseen things in fact do exist. And this doesn't mean that faith is a blind leap in the dark. Rather, faith is a positive, confident commitment. We often use in our culture the phrase a leap of faith.

Have you ever heard that phrase used? Something's done on a leap of faith. But with biblical faith, it's a leap forward into spiritual light and to greater comprehension of spiritual things. That's what a leap of faith is for us. So to begin our discussion of faith today, we need to realize that faith is both essential and it's important to God, and therefore it's certain that it should be essential and important to us.

God views our faith as a confirmation of our love and trust in him. And we cannot please him if we are skeptical of him or his existence or his word or his promises to us. So the very first thing that we have to keep in mind when we think about faith is that it's based. True faith. Biblical faith. It's based on simple humility. It's not based on crowing.

It's not based on ego. It's not based on someone boasting. Biblical faith is rooted and based on an attitude of simple humility because it's something that's a sincere belief in God, it's childlike. Not a human carnal type of faith that says something to be a braggard or just a sound or look important or feel important because they make bold statements.

Let's go to Matthew chapter 15 and verse 22 and see an example here. Tie in someone who we could say in our culture today had reason to be angry, reason to be offended, reason to be bothered by the things that Jesus said, yet she wasn't because her faith was built upon simple humility. Matthew chapter 15 and verse 22.

Jesus is preaching entire in Sidon. That's obviously outside of the confines of where most Jewish people lived. It says, "...and behold a woman of Canaan," that's gentile woman, came from that region and cried out to him, saying, have mercy on me, O Lord, son of David. My daughter is severely demon-possessed.

And he answered her not a word. Some people would immediately been offended by that. Listen to me. Pay attention to me. Do you hear what I'm saying? Treat me like a human being and respond to me at least. Tell me to go away, but at least respond to me.

But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, they said to Jesus, send her away, for she cries out after us. But Jesus doesn't send her away. He wants to ultimately engage in a conversation with her. He wants to talk to her. Jesus Christ is very social. And he wants to have a conversation with her. But he answered and said, I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. So he had a commission, and that commission was to preach to Abraham's descendants the good news of the kingdom of God. It would be the role of the church, and some of his final statements, where do you are to take this gospel to the whole world? And that would be in a short three and a half so years that they would begin to do that. But his commission, as Jesus Christ, was to preach the gospel to the descendants of Abraham. He never went to the Americas to preach the gospel. There's no record of that, because that wasn't his role. He never went to China or any of the Asian empires to preach the gospel, because that wasn't his mission at the time. That's his church's mission, but that wasn't his mission. Verse 25, as we begin to understand her deep humility, then she came and worshiped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, It is not good to take the children's bread and to throw it to little dogs. The metaphor, the children's bread, he was the bread of life. He wanted to dedicate his time to preaching the gospel to the descendants of Abraham. That's where his priorities needed to lie. There would be plenty of time in human history to preach the gospel to the Gentiles and call and convert many, but that wasn't his role at this time.

Now, some people would have heard that and been offended. How would you like it if somebody referred to your ethnicity as little dogs? Would that make you bristle a little bit? I think it would make all of us bristle a little bit. And she said, Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall off their master's table. Again, I want you to notice her humility. She's not arguing with him. She's not challenging him. She's having a discussion with him. Verse 28, Jesus answered and said to her, because remember, Jesus Christ could read the human heart. And we'll see that in a number of examples we see here today. Oh, woman, great is your faith. Let it be to you as you desire. And her daughter was healed from that very hour. And Jesus departed from there, skirted the Sea of Galilee, and went up on the mountain and sat down there.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this sermon, back up, chapter 2 and verse 4, it says, Look at the proud their spirit is not right in them, but the righteous shall live by their faith. Jesus said, This woman had great faith. Jesus said some words that would be considered sharp in his responses. It would make many of us bristle. But I want you to notice her high level of meekness and how she responded back to him. How would you or I have responded to these words? Would we be offended? Would we say, Well, I immediately demand to talk to your vice president of diversity, equity, and inclusion. I'm offended by what you said. No, it was her unpretentious attitude and simple faith that made it possible for her daughter to be healed. And her daughter was healed. Notice her kind persistence and her reasoned modesty, not arguing with Jesus, not trying to put him down, not trying to get him back in some way or be spiteful to him. And aside from what he says, she doesn't respond in an unkind way.

And I want to emphasize that her humble attitude was a reflection of her great faith. And in addition, her faith wasn't limited to just something, a belief that she had in her heart and her mind. Her faith was demonstrated by her traveling to locate Jesus and ask him for his help and being kind and persistent until she got the response that she hoped and prayed for. It's faith and works. We see faith, her great faith, and we see her effort to find and locate Jesus and not give up, but to be persistent with him and talk with him and reason with him. The faith and works together, God doing his part, her doing her part, are two sides of the same coin. Let's talk about humility a little more. Isaiah chapter 66 and verse 1. Isaiah chapter 66 and verse 1. A number of times in Scripture, though God did have his presence in the original tabernacle and temple that was built where the Ark of the Covenant was located, the Jews unfortunately began to make that the temple an object of worship. Instead of God, they made things an object of worship. They made the temple an object of worship instead of God. They made the Sabbath day an object of worship instead of God. So they began to create all of these things to idolize and put on a pedestal while disobeying the simple commands of God. That's the way, unfortunately, the human mind works. So here's what God says. Thus says the Lord, talking about a temple, heaven is my throne and earth is my footstool. Where is the house that you will build me and where is the place of my rest? God says, I'm big. You can't confine me into a human-made temple created by things like stone and marble and gold. And though those things may be valuable, they can't contain who and what I am. Verse 2, for all those things my hand has made and all those things exist, implying because I made them, God says. But on this one will I look, on him who is poor and of a contrite spirit and trembles at my word. Someone who isn't a know-it-all, someone who isn't looking always for an argument, someone who isn't always trying to express their opinion and their point of view, someone who is poor in spirit, someone who knows they need more of God's spirit and a contrite spirit and who trembles at my word. I'm going to read verse 2 from the translation of God's word for today. I have made all these things. That is why all these things have come into being, declares the Lord. I will pay attention to those who are humble and sorry for their sins and who tremble at my word. The word tremble here is from the Hebrew word karade, and it can be revered. So God has not given us the spirit of fear. He doesn't want us to read his word and literally be fearful and trembling in terror because we read it. He wants us to hold his word in reverence and deep awe and respect that it's something that was revealed from him and preserved for our benefit in our generation. So God's great power is universal, and it's sovereign over everything. Yet, in spite of that, he has chosen to associate with his human creation and those who are humble and poor of spirit, contrite in spirit. God looks with favor towards any individual who admits they need more of his spirit, who are poor in spirit, people who are thoughtful, self-abasing, self-denying, and when our heart truly sorrows for repentance from sin, then God's temple begins to reside in us. We become a living temple of God when his spirit resides in us, and that's really the whole point of this part in Isaiah. Don't worry about a physical temple built with wood and marble and stone and gold and silver and all those things. When you're attitude is right and I fill you with my spirit, then you have become a living temple of mine.

That's the whole point of what he's saying here in Isaiah chapter 66. So let's continue this explanation regarding humility and faith. Matthew chapter 18 verse 1. Matthew chapter 18 and verse 1.

Matthew records, at that time the disciples came to Jesus saying, who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?

Typical. That's the way human beings are, sadly. They're worried about rank. They're worried about social status. Well, I was called before you were, so that makes me superior. Well, I'm related to Jesus. I'm his cousin, so that makes me superior. So Jesus decides to teach them a lesson. Verse 2. Then Jesus called a little child to him, set him in the midst of them, and said assuredly, I say unto you, unless you are converted, hint, hint, you're not now, and you don't act like it, unless you are converted, Jesus said to them, in other words, changed from the way they were, and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. A complete reversal of what's going on in their minds. They're thinking, I want to be superior. I want to be number two. I want to be important. I want to be at the top of the pyramid. And Jesus is saying no. You totally have it in reverse. You need to be humble. You need to take that attitude, that thought sequence you have, and turn it upside down and say, how can I be humble? How can I serve? Not how can I be served. Verse 5. Whoever receives one little child like this in my name receives me, someone who comes into your midst, and it has a simple, humble faith. But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe to the world because of offenses, for offenses must come. But woe to that man by whom the offense comes. It's a warning when someone is new in the faith, when someone is tender in the faith, and they have just a simple biblical faith. They may not have 25 or 50 years worth of church knowledge and understanding of church tradition. Be careful that we don't offend them, that we don't say or do something to offend them, because that would not be a good thing for us. The Believer's Bible study says, quote, child-likeness, not childishness, is essential to conversion and hence to entrance into the kingdom of God. Continuing, it says, children are normally characterized by simplicity, profound trustfulness, and honesty. Such qualities in a man lead him to Christ and conversion. But these unconverted disciples, at this point in their lives, were concerned with how important they were and their rank or their status. And Jesus taught the opposite of their attitude and approach. Instead of being child-like, they were being child-ish. They were being carnal. They were being filled with ego and a desire for rank and a position. And that was not a good thing at all. And it's a very powerful lesson that Jesus taught his very own disciples about having your priorities focused on being humble and being child-like, loving God in a very simple way. And that's one reason we don't have incense and candles and stained glass and icons hanging on walls, because all of those, first of all, many of them would violate God's Ten Commandments, but all of those things are unnecessary. We want to worship God in sincerity, in spirit, and in truth, not through symbols, not through things that attract people because of their color or because they're considered sacred relics or something of that nature. God wants us to have a simple child-like faith. Let's go to Mark chapter two and verse one, if you'll turn there with me. Mark chapter two and verse one.

Mark chapter two and verse one, and again he entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that he was in the house. Some scholars believe this may have been a home that he owned or perhaps not. Verse two. Immediately many gathered together so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door, and he preached the word to them, and they came to him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. And when they could not come near him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where he was, so when they had broken through, they let down the bed, which the paralytic was lying. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, son, your sins are forgiven you. Now let's draw this picture. So Jesus is preaching in a house. It's packed with people. You can't get another soul in there. Even the doorway is clogged with people. They want to hear his message. And here come the four friends of a man who's a paralytic, paralyzed, and they can't get in. Can't get their friend in. So what do they do? They climb up on the roof. They begin to dismantle. Pardon me. That would be like if Jesus Christ were preaching here, we're sitting here, and all of a sudden we hear a keyhole saw.

Big chunk of drywall falls down, and some guy comes out of the ceiling on a cot.

Needless to say, it got Jesus' attention, and he was really impressed with their persistence, with their commitment. So let's continue here. And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts. You can't reason in your heart when you're in audience with Jesus Christ because he can read your heart. He'll tell you exactly what you were thinking.

Why does this man blasphemes like this? They say to themselves, who can forgive sins but God alone? But immediately, when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, when Jesus read their hearts, he said to them, why do you reason about these things in your hearts? Which is easier to say to the paralytic, your sins are forgiven you, or to say, arise and take up your bed and walk? But that you may know that the Son of Man—that's a phrase that has, as we've discussed about it in the past, it's more powerful than the word Son of God—Son of Man has divine connections to it. You may know that the Son of Man has power in earth to forgive sins. He said to the paralytic, I say to you, arise, take up your bed and go to your home. According to very Bible notes, it says, quote, reaching the flat roof by an outside stair, the men dug through the clay and branches that were supported on wooden beams. End of quote. So I want you to notice that the paralytic was carried by his four friends. He was healed not because of his own faith. He was healed because of their faith. And you know, that's important for us to realize, because that's why we need to pray for one another. We may be struggling with something as an individual who may be needing a healing. We might be struggling financially or whatever. And of ourselves, we may really be struggling and not have the kind of faith we need to do that trial. But by sharing our burdens with one another, having other people praying for us, though we may not be at a strong point in our spiritual lives, God may intervene and heal us or bless us because of their faith. That's why we need one another. That's why church congregations need to be there for one another, to support and to pray for one another. But there's something more to this story that we may miss. Their faith wasn't limited to just taking the paralytic to where Jesus was located. They could have just taken him outside and seen all the crowd and said, oh, we got to go to Walmart. We're going to drop you off right here. And maybe when the crowds clear out, someone will carry you in to see Jesus. No, they didn't do that. They didn't simply leave him outside. They didn't give up taking him back because the room was filled up. We gave it to you. Hold college. Try. Let's go back home. Can't get in the door. No, their faith wasn't limited to belief in their hearts or minds that Jesus could heal. Their faith was demonstrated by actively carrying him up on the roof, making a hole in the ceiling, letting him and his cut down into the very presence of Jesus Christ. And what do you see here? You see faith, and you see works, each doing their part, two sides of the same coin. Matthew chapter 8 and verse 5. Let's go there. Matthew chapter 8 and verse 5.

It says, now when Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion, who again is a is a gentile, this would be a Roman military officer, a centurion, usually an officer over 100, came to him, pleading with him. The Greek word is paraglaco, which means invoking, invoking the Jesus of this and just asking. This has emotion in it. This is passionate, his request to Jesus Christ, saying, Lord, my servant is lying at home, paralyzed, dreadfully tormented. You know, that sentence right there says a lot about the character of this centurion. Did you know at this time that 20% of the Roman Empire were slaves? Slaves were a dime a dozen. He just doesn't have an attitude. Well, if he dies, he dies. I can replace him with any one of millions of other slaves. I can probably buy one in the marketplace for nothing. No, he loves his servant. He has great love for this servant. Verse 7. And Jesus said to him, I will come and heal him. And the centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that you should come under my roof. Now that's great humility. We've been talking about how important humility is. And when we connect it with faith, he's demonstrating great humility. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a mam under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, Go, and he goes, and do another come, and he comes into my servant. Do this, and he does it. When Jesus heard it, he marveled, and he said to those who followed assuredly, I say unto you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel. And I say to you, he talks about a prophecy here, I say to you that many will come from the east, many will come from Asiatic nations and Asiatic peoples, when all is said and done and the resurrections have occurred.

Many will come from the east, from all over the world, from ethnicities and peoples, all over the earth, Gentiles, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of God. They'll be there, but the sons of the kingdom, the descendants of Abraham, who had the obvious best chance to be there, but the sons of the kingdom, particularly the religious leaders that tangled and would not believe in Jesus, would not accept him, will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, and Jesus said to the centurion, Go your way, and as you have believed, so let it be done for you, and his servant was healed. That same hour. So in essence, the centurion told Jesus, I believe in your authority. You are in authority over me, and I believe that. You just say so, and I know it'll be done. Jesus says here, he marveled. He's not used to associating with people with such great faith, and such a simple understanding of faith. He's used to people debating with him, asking him questions to try to trick him, to try to make a fool out of him, to try to get him to say something he shouldn't say, to try to get him to perform a mistake. He's used to dealing with skeptical people, selfish people, carnal people, jaded people, and here of all people, this Gentile comes up with this incredible amount of faith, and it was a pure faith. There's no need for oil. There's no need for touching. There's no need for clay mixed with spittle or any other symbol aside from complete genuine faith. Done. He even impressed Jesus who could read human hearts.

Jesus who could read human hearts was still. It says he marveled at the amount of faith this man had. His faith was demonstrated by seeking Jesus and begging for his intervention for a servant who frankly was easily replaceable within the Roman Empire. This centurion faced possible ridicule or punishment if his fellow Roman officers had known that he acknowledged the authority of Christ Jesus and sought the healing powers of a Jewish preacher. Did you ever consider that? How that could have ruined his career? That this was risky that he did this? But he obviously didn't care. Faith and works. Faith in God's promises. Faith that Jesus Christ was his authority. Faith that Jesus Christ was the Son of God and could heal. And his effort to go there. His effort to beg Jesus. His effort to demonstrate to Jesus by his words that he believed. And that Jesus didn't even have to come to his own home. If he just said it, that was enough. And that it would be done. Faith and works. Us doing our part and God doing his part. Two sides of the same coin.

Matthew 9 and verse 18. Let's turn there. Matthew 9 and verse 18.

See a series of healings here. While he spoke these things to them, behold, a ruler came and worshipped him. Again, an act of humility, an act of submission, an act of acknowledging Jesus Christ as an authority over them. Saying, my daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her and she will live. So Jesus arose and followed him. And so did his disciples. And suddenly a woman who had a flow of blood for 12 years came from behind and touched the hem of his garment. For she said to herself, if only I may touch his garment, I shall be made well.

Now Luke's account adds a little something extra. It says she touched him. And Jesus says, who touched me? I felt some of the power, the gift that I have, withdraw from me. It performed a good work. Who was that who literally touched me? And the woman confessed and said, it is I. So back to Matthew's account here. But Jesus turned around and when the woman saw her, he said, be of good, shear daughter. Your faith has made you well. And the woman was made well from that hour. Then Jesus continues his journey to the ruler's house. Verse 23, when Jesus came into the ruler's house, she's not in a coma. She didn't die two minutes ago. This event with Jesus delays him from getting there. This girl is truly dead. When Jesus had come into the ruler's house, and he saw the flute players and the noisy crowd wailing. And if you've ever seen a funeral in the Mideast, you know it can become very emotional. And he said to them, make room for the girl is not dead, but sleeping. And they're thinking to themselves, she's not just simply dead.

She's been dead for hours. She's dead dead. She's not coming back. Make room for the girl is not dead, but sleeping. And they ridiculed him. Now there's a good lesson here for you and I, because those with faith will always be ridiculed by those who lack it. If you don't have biblical faith, you see, you only see the world in one limited physical dimension. And that's the dimension of your mere physical senses. That's the only way you see existence. It's the only way you can understand the world because you don't have a biblical faith. That means you only believe and understand what you can detect with your five basic physical senses. So they ridiculed Jesus. They laugh at him. Verse 25, but when the crowd was put outside, he went in and he took her by the hand and the girl arose and the report of this went out into all the land. When Jesus departed from there, two blind men followed him, crying out and saying, son of David, have mercy on us. And when he had come into the house, the blind men came to him. I want you to notice that they wouldn't quit. He's walking and they cry out to him, son of David, have mercy on us. He keeps walking and he goes into the house. So what do you think they do? We gave it the old college try.

Let's go back home. Let's quit. No, that's not what they do. They follow him right into the house.

They came to him and Jesus said to them, do you believe that I am able to do this? And they said to him, yes, Lord. And he touched their eyes, saying, according to your faith, let it be to you. And their eyes were opened and Jesus sternly warned them. He was talking to carnal human beings, mind you. See that no one knows it, but when he had departed, they spread the news about him in all that country. They said, we don't like to repeat gossip, so listen closely the first time.

So even though Jesus told them, don't say anything, they just can't wait to get out there and tell everyone what happened. And maybe in our own excitement, we would do the same thing. So here in Matthew chapter 9, we've seen a series of miracles, all possible because of faith. In each case, you had faith and works which were combined. These individuals sought Jesus Christ with effort and perseverance. And if he walked by you and went into the house, they followed him. If there were too many people in a room, they cut holes in the roof.

If you were a centurion and you knew that if any of your fellow officers ever found out that you're going to this Jewish preacher and you're acknowledging him as an authority over you, and yet he was persistent, he didn't care, he had a basic biblical faith.

Romans chapter 5 verse 1. Let's take a look at Romans chapter 5 and verse 1.

Paul writes, the congregation in Rome, 1. Therefore, having been justified by faith, so we are made just in the eyes of God because our faith in Jesus Christ, his authority over us, the fact that he is the Son of God, the fact that he walked on earth, and was of such great worth that he could die and shed his blood, and our sins are forgiven, and we acknowledge him as our Savior, that makes us justified in the eyes of God. Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God. We no longer have to feel tormented. We no longer have to relive all the stupid things we did in the past in our lives, all the mistakes we made. We don't need to wind up and rerun those negative episodes all over again. We have peace with God. It's all been forgiven as far as God's concerned. He separates our sins as far as the East is from the West. He doesn't even want to recall them. So why do we continue recalling them? If God doesn't want to recall the dumb things we've done in the past, the sins we've committed, the errors in our life, why do we want to keep looking backward and doing that? Jesus said you have your hand in the plow. Look forward to the kingdom of God in faith, not looking back all over again. Continuing here, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand. This grace is God's favor because of our faith. God looks down upon us and says, that's one of my children. That's a person whom I've called. That's a person who has been converted. And yes, though, they're a work in progress. I love them, and I continue to work with them because they are precious to me and are part of the plan that I have for the future, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. So when we have faith in God, including our belief in Jesus Christ, and His atoning sacrifice, we can be at peace with God. We can let go of all that stuff in the past, and we can look forward in confidence, and I might add, in faith. So, brethren, as we begin to think about and continue to prepare about the spring holy days this year, let us examine our degree of personal faith and our degree of trust and our degree of belief in God and in His promises. I wish all of you a wonderful Sabbath day.