What is Faith - Part 1

If you turn on the television most Sunday mornings, you'll hear quite a few evangelists talking about the word faith. You'll hear phrases like, well, have faith in Jesus or I'm in the faith. Well, sometimes they speak of faith as an object or a thing to be gotten. They seldom explain just what faith is or where it comes from or how it's to be used. In much of our modern religious talk, rather than the word faith is just that, it's commonly accepted and it's overused to the point where it seems it's lost much of its former meaning. Faith is a concept. It's a word that has tremendous meaning, and it's loaded with lots of power when we understand what God was communicating through those that wrote about it in the Scriptures. The title of the message today is, What is Faith? What is faith? In preparing for the last few weeks for the Young Adult Seminar, which was held a couple of weeks ago, and this was my assignment to talk about faith, and as I began to get an in-depth study of what it was, I began to realize I was going to be frustrated because the topic is so much bigger than what I could share with the young adults during a 50-minute seminar. It's like many topics that once you dive into it, you begin to realize in Scripture there's a lot more there than what you thought, and that was what happened here in this particular study. So this will probably be the first of the two or possibly even three-part message on the topic or the subject of faith. Let's ask some questions as we begin. How important is faith? How important is it? And how important is it to you and me? And how important is it to God? Let's begin by turning to something that our older brother talked about. Let's go over to Matthew 23. Matthew 23 will be the first scriptural reference. And where we find this happening here is it's towards the end of Jesus Christ's earthly ministry. And Jesus is very strongly correcting, maybe even chastising is the word we could use, the religious leaders of the day. He chastises them because they were focused on seeking righteousness and salvation through the works of the law. And they thought that they could attain it through the works as well as simply by being of the line or the seed of Abraham. And so he chastises them for this because they didn't understand that although the law is holy and righteous and good, that that law of and by itself cannot bring about salvation, cannot make one righteous in the eyes of God. And they were ignoring something that Jesus refers to here in Matthew 23, verse 23, as the weightier matters of the law. So let's look here. Let's pick it up in Matthew 23 and verse 23. Pretty familiar scripture here. It says, Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you pay tithe of mint and anise and common. So these were small little things. They were very, very careful about paying tithe on some of these things. So they were fulfilling the works of the law and history has shown, even scriptures show, they were attending the synagogue every Sabbath. They were observing the annual in the weekly holy days. They were tithing. They were doing many of the things that it talks about in the law, doing some of the works of the law. But notice our older brother goes on to say this, but you've also neglected the weightier matters of the law. And then Jesus identifies what those weightier matters are, justice and mercy. And of course, the one we're focusing on today, and faith. Now, he doesn't say that you should not do those works. He goes on to say, now these you ought to have done, but without leaving the other undone. So Jesus is referring to these as weightier matters. And the word weightier is an interesting word. In the original Greek, it's a five-letter word, barous, B-A-R-U-S.

Which means not only translated weightier matters, but of grave importance. And so when something is of grave importance, when we say it's something that we're saying that it is extremely important that this is a life and death issue. And those life and death issues, as Christ himself, our older brother, identifies here, are the weightier matters. The justice, the mercy, and the faith. And while the law is holy and just and good, and it has a purpose, a very important one. That's why it's there. But apart from the weightier matters, apart from faith, that can lead only to self-righteousness. And as we shall see, God's righteousness is achieved through faith.

But what does that mean? What does that mean? Well, hopefully we'll cover that as we go along. And we ask, what is faith? We understand it's a weightier matter. We understand that our Savior Jesus Christ says it's important. It's of grave importance. And it basically frames everything else and puts everything else into context. But what is it? What is this life and death issue? Because if it is a grave important life and death issue, I need to know what it is. I need to understand what it is. So what's God trying to teach us here? You know, on three separate occasions in the New Testament, in the book of Romans, in the book of Galatians, and in the book of Hebrews, and we know Paul wrote Galatians, we know he wrote the book of Romans, and many of us believe that he also wrote the book of Hebrews.

In these three different places, Paul is saying something to those who are a part of the New Covenant, to those who wish to be justified, to those who wish to be saved, to those who wish to have everlasting life. And the particular statement that is written three different times in the New Testament is this, the just shall live by faith.

Now that's pretty encompassing here. This particular statement explains to us or gives us insight into the importance of this topic, that faith just isn't something that you and I do now and then. Faith is something that we live by, and it must thread through every single aspect of our lives. It becomes a part of the way that we live, of who we are and how we live.

That's part of what Paul means when he writes that the just shall live by faith. It's a foundation as we're coming to see that we need to base our lives and which we need to live our lives. So in order to adhere to the admonition of our Savior Jesus Christ, an older brother who talks about weightier matters, and Paul who says that the just shall live by faith, God wants us to have a clear understanding of what faith is.

Let's notice something now over in 2 Peter. Let's go over to 2 Peter 1. 2 Peter 1, and we're going to begin in verse 1. Now this actually begins a remarkable set of Scriptures here in 2 Peter. We've heard from Jesus a little bit. We touched on what he feels. And in Paul, now let's hear what Peter writes to us here. 2 Peter 1, verse 1. Now Peter here is writing to the faithful. Let's take a look at what it says here. 2 Peter 1, verse 1.

Simon Peter, a bond servant and apostle of Jesus Christ. So it's pretty clear who the author is here. It's the apostle Peter. And he says, a bond servant, which could also be translated slave, a slave and apostle of Jesus Christ. Notice to those who have obtained like precious faith. Now here God is revealing through Peter that this faith is precious. It's precious. And it's something that we have obtained. And it's the same faith in a sense because he says, you have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ. So God, the Father, Jesus Christ are involved with us obtaining this faith, which is precious.

Verse 2. Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. I think the New Living Translation puts verse 2 this way. May God give you more and more grace and peace as you grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord.

Many believers want an abundance of God's grace and peace, but they're unwilling to do the effort to know them better through Bible study and prayer. Getting our nose into the Word of God to see what it has to say. So this is more than just a greeting to the churches here. Verse 3. As His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life, I think we're talking about eternal life in this context, and godliness, we're talking about the divine nature in this context.

Through the knowledge of Him who has called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises. So there's that word, precious again. Precious faith, precious promises. That through these you may be partakers of the divine nature. That's where God's taking you and me.

Can you imagine what that's going to be like? To be totally a son or a daughter of God, not being able to sin. Having the character of the Father, having the character of an older brother, Jesus Christ. That's where they're taking us here. That you may be partakers, verse 4, of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption. And we heard in the first message how lawlessness basically is corruption. It leads to lawlessness. And we've escaped that, escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

But notice verse 5, this is really one I wanted to focus on here. But also for this very reason, for some of the things we just read about, giving all diligence, and we'll touch on that word, diligence, as we go along today, add to your faith virtue, and then add to virtue knowledge. So God expects us to be faithful. He expects us to have faith.

And then to build on this faith. So this is a foundation. Faith. It begins with faith. But what is this foundation? Well, that's what we're talking about today. It's faith, but what is it? Let's continue reading verse 5. A remarkable set of scriptures here. Add to your faith virtue. To virtue, add knowledge. So we're adding on, we're building on, we're putting on. Some translations talk about putting on clothing, putting on a garment. To knowledge, verse 6. To self-control, perseverance.

To perseverance, godliness. To godliness, brotherly kindness. And to brotherly kindness, love. And there's a sermon, really, in all of these different facets here in verses 5-7. In fact, that's what we talked about in the Young Adults Weekend that we had, is that all of us were taking facets of these particular scriptures from verses 5-7. And I started off with faith. Quite a progression here. It starts with faith, and where does it lead?

Ultimately, to love. Agape. Which is, of course, we know the scripture that God is love. And that's where He's taking His children as well. Quite a progression here that begins, in a sense, with verse 5, with this foundation of faith. Now notice verse 8. For if these things are yours, these things He's just talked about here, if they're yours and they are abounding, you will neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

But He who lacks these things is short-sighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that He was cleansed from His old sins. Therefore, transitional word, verse 10, brethren, be even more diligent, so there's that word, diligent again, to make your call and your election sure. Because if you do these things that we just read about, you will never stumble.

And notice verse 11. An entrance is going to be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Wow! Do we trust these words? Do we trust what God is revealing through Peter? You know, as we travel down to the road to our destiny, and maybe you've been like me every once in a while, you say, God, I don't know which way to go. I don't know what to do. You know, just make it clear. We ponder about the way. Just make it clear to me. You know, if you make it clear, then I'll do it.

Just show me the way. Just point me in the right direction. And your brethren, verses 5 through 11, are like a road map, aren't they? They're like a blueprint. They're like building blocks. They're like a pathway that if we follow this road map with diligence, then an entry will be supplied to us abundantly into the everlasting kingdom.

Now, most of us know people that have given up, have fallen away, and hopefully just temporarily distracted for the moment. That's our hope. But nonetheless, right now, they're seeking their own way. They're seeking their own avenue. They're seeking their own wills. They're walking in a different direction, other than the calling, which they were led to by God the Father Himself, because He's the one that opens up our minds and brings us to Christ.

Let's notice verse number 10 here. It says, Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things, you will never stumble. So we have to work. We have our part, don't we? I think the New Living Translation says, work hard. Work hard if you've got the New Living Translation. That's what it says. Work hard to prove. In verse number 10, I think, to prove that you really are among those that God has called and chosen.

Do these things, and you will never fall away. Then, of course, verse 11, the promise of an abundant entrance into the everlasting kingdom. So God gives us a blueprint, gives us a roadmap, but it begins with faith. So what is it? Well, let's go to Hebrews 11. Hebrews 11. Many of us know that that is the faith chapter.

We couldn't really talk about faith without spending some time here, for sure. Let's go to Scripture, and let's take a look at what God begins to reveal to us. This is His inspirational self-disclosure of what faith is. Hebrews 11 and verse number 1. It says, now faith is the substance of things hoped for, and it's the evidence of things not seen. Now there's a lot here, just in this one Scripture.

Now the Greek word that's translated into English substance could also have been translated. It's the concrete essence. It's the confidence. The concrete essence of things that are hoped for. And then the word evidence here, the Greek word that's translated in English, evidence could also be translated proof. It's the proof of things not seen. Now this goes directly opposite of what most humans think about, that proof only comes about through seeing, through eyewitness seeing.

But this is God's self-disclosure. It's a spiritual definition. This is God revealing what faith is, and it says it's proof of things that you and I have not seen. This makes no sense to most people. Let's look at the dictionary definition of faith for a moment. I found one that I think is one of the best that I've seen. It's from Webster's, not from Collegium, but this is the new international Webster's, new international dictionary. It's got three different definitions.

I'll start with the first one, which is a little bit longer than the others. I think it's a good one, though. It says, faith is the act or the state of wholeheartedly and steadfastly believing in the existence, the power, and the benevolence of a supreme being. Going on, the first definition. Of having confidence in his providential care and being loyal to his will as revealed or believed in.

It's a long definition, but I think it's a good one. The second one goes on. The second definition says, Firm or unquestioning belief in something for which there is no proof. The third one, an assurance, a promise, or pledge of fidelity, loyalty, or performance. Action.

Basically, acting upon what you believe. We don't use that word fidelity a lot anymore, but we talk about in a husband and wife, if someone is committed infidelity, then they haven't been faithful to the promise that they made. Where fidelity is being faithful. It's action. It's performance. It's loyalty. So some of the things that we can derive here from these definitions of faith are these. Faith is wholehearted belief in and complete trust and loyalty to a supreme being.

It involves sincerity of intention. It is something that is believed in with strong conviction. Without doubt, it involves fidelity, which means acting upon one's faith, or being faithful.

The main words here in this definition are belief, conviction, trust, loyalty, being faithful, and acting on one's faith. All aspects of what we're talking about when we talk about what is faith. When we look at these words, in a sense, they conjure up issues of the heart and of the mind.

Now, there is an intellectual component of faith that is called belief. I believe in the existence of God. I believe it. There is an internal component. But faith also goes beyond that. It includes more than that. It goes beyond that to issues of the heart. Yes, besides an internal intellectual component, there is also an external component to faith, which we'll refer to as action or obedience or service, being a servant. We might condense this definition by simply saying, well, faith is to believe in someone or something to the point that we have complete trust and we act accordingly.

If we want to condense that even further, we might say, faith is belief that leads to trust, that leads to obedience. Brethren, if there's anything I hope to get across in the message today is those three components. Because it all is a part of what faith is. Faith is belief that leads to trust, that leads to obedience.

So again, faith in its fullest and most common complete sense includes those three main components. You know, intellectual belief is a component of faith, but that's not all that faith is. Trust is a component of faith, but that's not all that faith is. And obedience to God or service to God or royalty to God is all a part of faith, but that's not all that faith is. Faith goes beyond a mere intellectual belief, and sadly, that's what many people believe that's all that it is today. But it is, in fact, brethren, a place where faith begins. Intellectual belief is really where faith initially begins. It has to begin somewhere, and that's where it begins in an intellectual sense.

And then it begins to grow, begins to change. But faith doesn't end with merely an intellectual belief, as some believe. It ultimately has to manifest itself in order to be real faith, in order to be a biblically revealed faith, of what God says that faith is. It has to manifest itself in action, or as the Scripture refers to it, as obedience or service or loyalty. So this is a helpful definition from this particular Webster's International. But now let's go back to Hebrews 11 and verse 1.

Hebrews 11 and verse 1, it tells us simply, if I can paraphrase, that faith means being sure of the things that we hope for, and knowing that something is real, even if we don't see it. That's what God is telling us here. Let me ask you a question, brethren. According to the Bible, according to Scripture, what do you hope for that you cannot see?

What do you hope for that you cannot see? And you are totally certain, though. Think about that. You might want to even write down something on your notes. What comes to mind? What do you and I as Christians hope for that we cannot see? Write down something. Something that comes to mind that you hope for that you cannot see. I'm not sure what you wrote down in your paper, but here are some of the things that came to my mind. The kingdom of God. The kingdom of God.

That's still out there, isn't it? We look at all the examples in Hebrews 11 of people that looked for that, but none of them in their physical lifetime really saw the literal kingdom of God. They saw it, I suppose, at a far off, but they believed that it was coming to come, even though they hadn't seen it, and they acted accordingly.

What else did you come to mind when you think about things that you hope for that you haven't seen? The resurrection? That's our hope. The resurrection. Being apart, being resurrected, but not only being resurrected, but also being transformed into the image of our Father spiritually, not just physically, but spiritually.

And a wedding supper that's ahead of us still. You know, a marriage of being able to be joined, and not just where two become one flesh, but two become one Spirit as co-heirs with Jesus Christ. We hope for that, don't we? We haven't seen it, though, but that's what we hope for. Being a bride. A bride. Right now betrothed, but ultimately a bride. Let me ask you some questions here. How many of you believe, without doubt, that God exists? It's okay to raise your hand.

Okay? That God exists. Okay. All right. How many of you believe that Jesus Christ is His Son? Okay, yet you haven't seen Him. You believe in God the Father, and yet you have never seen Him. You believe that He has a Son, and yet you've never seen Him. You never saw Him walk the streets of Jerusalem. You never heard, actually with your own ears, the things that He spoke about. You didn't see Him crucified. You didn't see Him resurrected eventually after His death.

And yet you believe and have faith in His life, and His death, and His resurrection, and that He is an older brother that brought a message from God the Father to teach us things. That's the first part of faith, is believing with certainty things that you cannot see. But it goes beyond that. It goes on then to acting upon that belief. Let's keep going. How many of you believe that God is interested in you? That He knows the number of hairs on your head?

And that He's calling you right now to be a son or a daughter of His, as one of the first fruits. How many of you believe God has a standard? We heard about that in the first message. A way of life that He expects His sons and daughters to live by. Some in this room might say, I'm not sure I have faith, or enough faith. But as you can see, there is faith in this room. You believe about things with certainty that you have not seen.

That's a start, but there's more. So faith is the substance, the confidence of things that are hoped for, and it's the evidence, the proof of things that have not yet been seen. What other scriptures can we turn to to show how important the scripture reveals that faith is? We've touched on Christ, saying it's a weightier matter. We've touched on Paul, who's saying that the just shall live by faith. And we've touched on what Peter has said. It's precious, and it's a foundational thing on our journey towards the Kingdom of God. Well, let's look at where in Hebrews 11, let's just go over to verse number 6.

Hebrews 11, verse 6. Again, a pretty familiar scripture, but without faith, without what we've been talking about, it says it is impossible to please God. That's a pretty strong statement, isn't it? That God is telling you and me, without faith in Him, belief and trust and action, without that type of faith, it says we cannot please our Father.

We can't please our Maker. You know, I think as parents, we can understand that a little better. You know how it is when you have a child that says, Dad, Mom, I'm going to trust you. You've been around longer than I have. And I'm going to put my faith in you. I'm going to listen. I'm going to act. I'm going to respond. You know, how are you feeling as a parent when you've got a child that says that? You're pleased. So God's no different. It says, without faith, it's impossible to please Him, for He who comes to God must believe that He is, even though we haven't seen Him, must believe that He is, must believe that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Now, God reveals a lot here in verse 6, doesn't He? What does He reveal to us in this verse? Well, we've already touched on it. One thing, we can't please our Father unless we have it. The components of faith here, many of them are here in this verse.

Belief and trust. And notice the action part. Action. Seeking, diligently seeking Him is an important component to faith, which is often missed. You have to seek God. You and I have to do that. It's a part of what faith is. Jeremiah, I just referred to Jeremiah 29, verse 13, You will seek Me, and you will find Me when you seek Me with all of your heart. That's a promise. If you seek Me with your whole heart, you will find Me. It's a part of what faith is. It involves action. Let's look at this verse 6 a little bit closer.

Just a couple of things I want to point out. Get into the Greek a little bit here. Hebrews 11, verse 6. But without faith, let's look at that word faith. It's a Greek word. It's a noun. And it's a 6-letter word. In Greek, this word faith, the English word faith, comes from the Greek word pistis. I'll spell it for you. P-I-S-T-I-S. 6 letters. P-I-S-T-I-S.

Brethren, this occurs a lot in the New Testament. Over 240 times. 244 times in the King James Version we see this word. It's scattered all over the place.

It can also be translated not only faith but persuasion. All of these components here. Persuasion, conviction, assurance, confidence. What's God trying to tell us here? I think it's clear. And let's keep reading here. But without faith, it is impossible to please Him for He that comes to God must believe. Let's look at that word for a moment. Believe. Now that comes from a Greek word, which is a verb. It actually comes from the root word pistis. It's pistuo. Pistuo. Spell it seven letters. P-I-S-T-E-U-O. P-I-S-T-E-U-O. It's a verb. So we talk about a noun on the first, on one hand, and we talk about a verb on the other. And we know that verb means action. Now this word pistuo also comes into play over 240 times in the New Testament, in addition to its root word. 248 times in the King James Version. So we have a noun and we have a verb. Now in the definitions of the Greek word pistis, which most English translations translate as faith, there's a common theme of trust and of confidence. It's a kind of confidence, but it's almost a calm confidence. A steadfast, calm confidence.

You know, in our society today, because this word faith has been so overused, the word trust possibly conveys much more power and has much more fortitude to help us to understand what God is saying here when He uses this word pistis is trusting. Because of the overly used word faith, we have maybe lost some of the meaning over time. And I'm sure our enemy would just love for us to lose some of that meaning. Now some translations of the Bible use the word trusting in place of the word faith. The complete Jewish Bible by David Stern is one of those. So I'm going to read just a few scriptures from this particular translation in Hebrews 11. Just a few to give us a flavor here. A few scriptures that use this word trusting, beginning with verse 1 of Hebrews 11. Verse 1. It says, trusting is being confident in what we hope for, convinced about things we do not see. And it says whether we use the word faith or trusting or trust, we can see that God's definition is all about confidence and conviction. Verse 3. By trusting, we understand that the universe was created through a spoken word of God, so that which is seen did not come into being out of existing phenomena. Verse 4. By trusting, Abel offered a greater sacrifice than Cain. Because of this, he was attested as righteous. With God giving him this testimony on the ground of his gifts, having trusted, he still continues to speak, even though he is dead. So we are told that faith is important, it's foundational, and we can't please God without it.

Now, there is a verse in Scripture that reveals that faith is involved with our salvation.

It's a memory Scripture for some, and maybe some of you even have it in mind, as I ask you to turn to Ephesians 2. 8. Ephesians 2. 8. The Bible reveals that faith is involved with your salvation and mine.

In a way, Peter has touched on this thought already, where he said, faith is the foundation as we go through this progression towards the kingdom of God. The Apostle Paul confirms the importance of faith in our salvation with what he writes here, in Ephesians 2, verse 8. It says, For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. So, grace is very important in our salvation, isn't it? I mean, the law has its place, no doubt. But grace has its place, too. But notice, it's by grace we have been saved through faith. And so, faith is very important. This happens through faith. Grace is involved, and faith is involved. Let's go over to another Scripture here, 2 Timothy chapter 3, verse number 15.

2 Timothy chapter 3, verse 15. We've seen what Paul has written to our brothers and sisters at Ephesus. Let's see what he writes to Timothy here. 2 Timothy chapter 3, verse number 15. Again, a pretty familiar Scripture here. Many of these are pretty familiar. We try to weave them all together here on this topic. 2 Timothy chapter 3, verse 15. Paul is writing to Timothy, and he's saying that from your childhood, you've known the Scriptures. And of course, at that time, there was no New Testament Scriptures. Everything that Timothy had been taught from a young boy had come from what we call today the Old Testament. And that from childhood, you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith. So, faith is involved again. And notice, faith, which is in Christ Jesus. So, our Father is inspiring Paul to write that these Scriptures are able to make us wise for salvation through faith, which is in Christ Jesus. We talked in the past about how God the Father gave Jesus Christ an important role in the family. He's an older brother. Older brothers typically set an example. Follow my example. I'm bringing a message from the Father. Live as I live. I will lead you back to the family. I will lead you. He had a pretty big responsibility. As Jesus said, not with his nose high in the air, I am the way. I am the truth. I am the life. I have been given these responsibilities by our Heavenly Father, our common Heavenly Father. And so, God the Father says, you need to have faith in your older brother. Listen to him. Believe him. Act upon what he teaches you. He's teaching you my words. Follow him. Perform. Have action. Now, brethren, we cannot be saved without faith. And as it begins to point out here, it is through faith which is in Jesus Christ. I didn't write this. This is God the Father that's inspiring this. So we can't be saved without faith which is in Jesus Christ. Now, according to the Bible, as we touched on in Hebrews 11.1, faith is being sure of what we hope for. It's certain of things we don't see.

And in other words, faith is knowing that what God, that he exists and that what he says is true. We can trust it. And therefore, we trust God with our whole heart and mind and soul. And it's not just something in our heads as some proclaim. It's not just an intellectual belief. It includes that. But that's not all that it is. There's more. Brethren, if we truly know what God has said is true, and if we really believe it with our whole being, then we'll behave accordingly, won't we? We'll act accordingly. We'll respond accordingly. We can't fool God. We can intellectually say, I believe in you. But if the way we live our life doesn't show that, then that's not real faith. It's not complete. It's not having all the components. We can't fool God by believing something in our heads, but not behave in a way that shows that we really and truly believe it and are living it.

So faith in God, in a sense, reveals itself, doesn't it? It reveals itself in how we live our life. It's manifest. It can be seen by God. It can be seen by others.

We show God our faith by how we live.

So faith is a belief that leads to trust, assurance, and confidence in God. It is shown by the way we live. It's shown by our actions, in our obedience, in our service to Him, all of these things.

So we see that faith is the foundation for our journey towards the Kingdom of God, as we read in 2 Peter.

Without faith, we cannot please Him. The just will live by faith, and the components of faith are belief that leads to trust, that leads to obedience.

It's the substance of what we hope for. What do we hope for? The Kingdom of God, salvation, the divine nature, justification of being reconciled back to God and being made right with God and taking on the divine nature of being born into His Kingdom.

It's the substance of faith, of His family. Those are things that we hope for. And faith is the substance of all of that. It's a weight of your matter, isn't it?

It's the substance of all of that. It's the support. It's the concrete essence. It's the underpinning of all that you and I hope for.

It's a spiritual underpinning of our hopes. It's a concrete essence. I think we can understand why Paul says, the just shall live by faith.

Weaved throughout our whole life. It's solid. Solid as concrete. Solid as a rock. And maybe we'll see that here. Let's go over to Matthew, chapter 7.

I think this ties in very well with what Christ addressed on the Sermon on the Mount.

The Sermon on the Mount. Let's go over to Matthew, chapter 7. We're going to pick it up here in verse number 21.

Matthew, chapter 7 and verse 21. Now, although Christ does not use the word faith in this context, I think when we understand what faith is, and when we read through this, we're going to understand that what Christ is actually talking about is faith here.

He's actually describing what faith is. Matthew, chapter 7. Picking it up here in verse number 21.

Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven. What are we hoping for? The kingdom of heaven.

He says, not everyone that just has an intellectual understanding of who I am proclaims my name or my title is going to enter that kingdom.

See, that's not faith. That's not an underpinning that leads to salvation. Merely an intellectual belief in Christ is not enough.

And many say that's all you have to do. Your Christ is telling us very clearly, not everyone that has this intellectual component, and yes, there is an intellectual component.

And it's very important. But he says to simply have that intellectual component, you won't enter the kingdom. It doesn't lead you and I there.

He goes on to say, and yes, there's the intellectual side, but then he comes back to the concept of obedience, of service, of law-keeping, in a sense.

Let's take a look at that. But he who does the will of my Father in heaven. So here's the action part. Here's the obedient part of faith. It's not enough to just do the intellectual, internal. We must have the component of the will to do.

Doing the will of the Father. We must act on our faith. We must be faithful. We must be obedient. We must be a servant.

So again, our older brother Jesus Christ identifies a couple of components. The internal, the belief in Christ, but also the external component of the matter of will. The will to do, the will of the Father.

And of course of an older brother Jesus Christ. To obey. To serve. To act accordingly.

We're going to continue here, but I'm just going to refer to James chapter 2 verse 19 before we go on to verse 22.

James chapter 19, you may remember this in verse 20, and it talks about this concept of simply believing.

And we're told in that context, even the demons believe. They believe in God. They've seen God. I haven't, and I don't think you have either. They know God exists. They believe. But we wouldn't say they have faith, would we? Because they don't trust. And they certainly don't obey.

And you can even question, you know, do they really have faith? Because as Jesus talked about Thomas, remember that story when Jesus, after His resurrection, He came amongst the 11 of the 12. Thomas wasn't there.

And then He appears in the room, which has a way of taking you back a little bit. And the doors were closed, and the windows were closed, and all of a sudden Christ is there.

And remember, Thomas wasn't there, and the other 11 told Him about it later, and He says, you know what? Unless I see, I won't believe.

Or unless I put my finger into His side, I won't believe.

And if you remember the story, then later on, the same similar thing happens again. And this time, Thomas is there.

And Jesus said, Thomas, come over here. Put your finger in my side.

And of course, Thomas is awestruck at what he's witnessing. And then remember what Jesus said, you know, blessed are those who believe that don't see.

You believe because you see. But blessed are those who do not see, and yet they believe.

Now, this is a concept that's coming from our God, from our Creator. Evidence of things not seen.

We're called to have a real faith. And a real faith involves belief without seeing, and it also produces works of faith.

Let's notice that here in Matthew 7, verse 22. This is our older brother speaking to you and me.

Matthew 7, verse 22. Many will come to me in that day, and they'll say, Lord, Lord.

So here's that intellectual acceptance and acknowledgement of Christ as Lord, of who He is.

Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord. And then He actually lists some of the things.

And they say, well, haven't we prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and done many wonders in your name?

Haven't we acknowledged who you are, even to the point of actually doing some works?

But what's the problem, brethren, here? The problem is identified in the very next verse.

Verse 23. And I will declare to them, I don't know who you are.

That's a scary thought.

I never knew you.

What was the problem? Didn't they confess Him? Didn't they acknowledge Him? Didn't they believe that He existed as Jesus, as Lord, as Savior? Yes.

But He said, I never knew you. Depart from Me you who practice lawlessness.

Boy, we heard about that in the first message, didn't we?

Lawlessness. Sin. You see the works, the actions that we have, don't lead to lawlessness, they lead to obedience.

Following the rules of a family, the family of God, actions need to lead to obedience.

We have to have faith that leads to obedience. That's a scary thing to realize that Christ can look at individuals and say, I never knew you.

I don't know who you are.

To not have a belief that leads to trust, that leads to obedience or service, to not have that, is to not know Christ. Or maybe even more importantly, to not be known by Christ.

If we want to know Christ, we want to be known by Christ, then God says you need to have faith.

And it includes all of these components from Scripture that we're beginning to put all together here.

A belief that leads to trust, that leads to obedience.

So again, believing is not enough.

We talked earlier back in Hebrews how it talks about how faith is the substance.

It's not the substance that's the underpinning, the concrete foundation upon which our hopes rest.

Let's continue to read what Christ has to say in this context here in Matthew 7, verse 24.

He says, therefore whoever hears these sayings of mine, so there's an intellectual component you have to hear, you have to understand, you have to acknowledge who I am and what my teachings are, whoever hears these sayings of mine and does them.

So that's the other side, or we should say that's the whole picture.

There's the obedience, there's the action, there's the issue of the will to do.

Whoever hears these sayings of mine and does them, then I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock, built his house, built his foundation, this individual built his foundation, this individual's faith is built on the rock.

Of course we could cross-reference in 1 Corinthians 10, verse 4, which tells us, which identifies who the rock is.

The rock is Jesus Christ.

He says, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock.

And with this faith built upon the rock, built upon Jesus Christ, what happens?

No problems come.

The rain descends, the floods come, the winds blow, they beat on that house.

In other words, there's going to be challenges, there's going to be trials that come around, don't they?

And come around they do.

Challenges and trials, the wind, the rain comes, the wind descends, we get blown around, we get buffeted.

We're not called to an easy life.

But when those trials and those challenges come, what does Christ say here?

When those trials and challenges come and all of that happens, Christ says the house will not fall because it was founded on the rock.

Its faith was so sure and so strong and solid that the trials of life could not dissuade that person, couldn't destroy that individual.

Brother, do we get beaten up at times? Well, yeah, you bet we do.

The challenges, the trials that come our way, do we feel bruised and battered?

You know, you bet we do.

But we're not destroyed because we built our house on the rock.

We believed, we trusted, and we obeyed the one that the Father sent.

The Father, of course, we do the same, and Jesus Christ, we do the same.

We built our foundation on Jesus Christ.

Again, this is possibly what Paul meant when he said that just shall live by faith.

So Jesus talked about this wise man who had his faith, both belief and obedience.

But there's another side of the coin, verse 26.

But everyone who hears these sayings of mine, so there's the intellectual component, I believe in Christ, I believe he's my Lord and Savior and Master, they hear these sayings of mine, but they do not do them.

A belief that doesn't lead to action, doesn't lead to complete trust.

Christ likens this person to a foolish man who built his house on what? He puts his trust on what?

Not on the rock, not on the sure concrete underpinning or foundation, but on shifting sand.

And the trials of life will come, doesn't matter who you are, they'll come. Verse 27.

The rain descends, the floods come, the winds blow, and they beat on that house, and it fell, and great was its fall.

What was its foundation built on?

Maybe trust in something else. Trust in money. Trust in a spouse. Trust in a husband. Trust in a wife. Trust in a friend.

Trust in maybe being in the right church. Maybe trust in our own selves or in our own opinions.

You see, those things are not our foundation. Our foundation is Jesus Christ.

So again, the main point I want to get across today in addressing the question, what is faith?

That faith is a belief in the existence of God and of the truth that it reveals and the promises that he makes that leads to trusting him explicitly.

And that leads to the point of obedience, no matter what the trials or challenges may be. That's faith.

Now, none of us have perfect faith. I don't. You know, I believe. But sometimes I fail to trust.

And sometimes I fail to obey. Sometimes I fail to serve.

Remember the statement that one man made? He didn't quite have the faith to believe that Jesus Christ could heal his son.

He says, you know, Lord, I believe. But help my unbelief.

Maybe that's where some of us are from time to time. We don't have perfect faith. But that's what we're striving for.

And that's where God is taking us. We are to grow in that faith throughout our lifetime.

Let's go over to James 2, verse 14. James 2, verse 14.

What does the Apostle James call faith that doesn't have works? That doesn't necessarily have action?

Let's take a look here. I think we'll see that Jesus and James are on the same page.

We've heard from Jesus. We've heard from Paul. We've heard from Peter. Now let's see what James has to share with us, or what God has to share with us through James on this topic of faith.

What does the Apostle James call faith that doesn't have works? Let's look at James 2, verse 14.

James 2, verse 14. He says, What does it profit, my brethren? If someone says he has faith but he doesn't have works, can faith save him?

Pretty familiar part of Scripture here. There were things that were developing in the first century where people were beginning to think that faith was just an intellectual thing.

And God had to straighten that out, and he uses James to do that.

James, we've talked about before, is very direct. A lot of imperatives. He says a lot in very few words and chapters in his short book.

God reveals something to him in the first century, and I think it's good for us to read.

What does Scripture reveal here about works or actions or obedience or service as a component of faith?

As we'll come to see, I think James speaks about a dead faith, and he speaks about a living faith.

God reveals to James a clear definition of real faith. It's a faith that is proven by what you do with what you know.

Two aspects of living faith. Two aspects. There is I know and there is I do. There's an intellectual and there's an active. And God through James doesn't separate them. Some people like to claim their belief is all in their knowledge, not with what they do with that knowledge.

But if you believe something so deeply that it goes down to the tips of your toes, you're going to act on that belief is what God is saying real faith is.

It will translate into how you live your life. And again, it can be seen. So belief will translate into what you do.

Because you believe in the Sabbath, because you believe in the annual Sabbath. You assemble because part of that command is a holy convocation that God gives to us.

And because you believe that to your core, you're going to come and appear before God. It's part of the command. You believe the scripture. You believe that that's what God wants you to do.

But they're holy convocations. You believe. So you assemble. You act upon that belief when you're able to be there. Now, there are times when we get sick and we're afflicted.

I'm not talking about that, but when you are able to be there, you're there according to the command. You act upon that belief.

If you believe you shouldn't steal, you don't steal. Your actions follow your belief. When you honor your father and mother, it's not just with words, but your actions follow.

So again, James reveals two aspects of faith. You're intellectual and action. Faith and works. Let's take a look.

Verse 14, we touched on what does it profit my brethren? If someone says he has faith, but he doesn't have works, can faith save him? Can you just think about it?

Can you just, with what you believe in your head, is that enough? This is what James is asking. Some people are beginning to believe that. It's still around today.

James gives an example in verse 15. If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, Well, depart in peace and be warmed and be filled. You know, I'll pray that your heat gets turned back on, even though it's 30 below. I'll pray about it.

You know, it's cold out there, so I'll pray that your heater is restored, or I'll pray that your heat gets turned back on.

Or they're naked and destitute of something, and you just say, well, depart in peace and be warmed and filled.

But you don't give them, you don't act upon what's going on. You don't give them the things which are needed for the body. What does that profit?

If you say, I'll be thinking about you, what does that really do? What does that profit?

You know, are they going to be filled and warmed just because we say that they should be? Or do we do something for you to have the ability to do that?

So again, God through James is showing the principle that you show your faith by what you're doing. Not just what's in your head, but what you do with it.

Verse 17, but also faith by itself, if it doesn't have works, is dead. Do we understand what God is saying?

Faith without works is dead. God through James is talking about an active faith, not an inactive faith. This faith I know and I do. They're together.

Not I know and I don't do, or I do and I don't know. They're together. That's what his God-given understanding of faith was.

If you have an intellectual faith, then that's it. It's not real faith at all. It's dead. It's not worth anything.

You know, there's a story here. I don't know if I've told it here over the years. This is a quote by Lee Taney. He talks about a story of two oars.

There was a Scottish person that had the responsibility or job of making a living by rowing people across a body of water.

And so one person one time was in the boat and he noticed that of the two oars that this gentleman had, I don't know, have I told this story?

On one of the oars was the word carved in, the oar was faith. And on the other oar, it had a word carved in that was works.

So he asked the Scottish man, well, why is it that you've put these two words on these two different oars?

And so the old man, being a Christian, basically said, well, I'll show you. So he pulls up one of the oars that has the word faith on it, he puts the other one down, which has the word works on it, and he starts to row, and all he does is go around in circles.

So then he pulls up the works oar, he puts the faith oar down, and he starts to row again, and guess what? He's doing exactly the same thing going in the opposite direction.

Then he puts both oars down, and he begins to row. And of course, now the boat is going straight, and he's making progress.

And that's what God is simply sharing with us through the Apostle James. Faith includes works. It includes obedience. It includes action. It includes service. We act upon what we believe, not just head knowledge.

Verse 18, but someone will say, you have faith. Just kind of talking about the intellectual component, and I have works, which is talking about just the works portion.

Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.

So they're both involved. Keep your finger here, because we're going to come back, but let's go over to Mark 2 and verse 4.

There's an example where they actually showed their faith. We've been talking about action. We've been talking about faith can be seen. How do you show your faith? Let's take a look at an example here.

You can say, well, I believe in tithing, but I don't tithe. But I'm not showing my faith, because we show our faith by what we do.

Or if I believe we have to be careful to be moderate drinking, or I believe that I should dress modestly, or I believe that I should be careful with my words, and how I treat other people.

Yes, I believe, but unless our actions go along with our belief, then we really don't have faith. It's only a dead faith, because faith can be seen by how we live. Faith is seen by what we do.

Let's notice an example here in Mark 2, verse 4.

Now, there were many people who wanted to be healed by Jesus Christ. In this particular context, he was surrounded by...he was in a house, and he was surrounded by so many people. People couldn't get to him.

So for one ill man, a paralytic, he had some help with four other men. They helped him to get down. They opened the roof. They kind of lowered him like a stretcher. Can you imagine the scene here?

Jesus is probably teaching, and all of a sudden there's this noise above, and all of a sudden there's this bed that slowly starts coming down by the ropes and into the room where Christ is.

Let's take a look here in verse 4, Mark 2.

Notice verse 5. When Jesus saw their faith. Faith can be seen. Faith can be seen. Well, I thought faith was just intellectual. No, of course it's not. God's telling us it's not. It's more than that.

These people believe so strongly that Jesus Christ could heal. That they took action. They lowered the man into the proximity of Jesus Christ.

And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic son, your sins are forgiven you. Jesus saw their faith. Why did he see it? Because they did something with what they believed. Faith with works.

Okay, let's go back to James. Hopefully you kept your marker there. James 2, verse 19. That's what these people did in Mark 2, verse 5. They believed. They acted.

James 2, verse 18. But someone will say, You have faith and I have works. Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe there's one God? Good for you. You do well. But even the demons may trump some of us. Even the demons believe. They have this intellectual understanding and they tremble. Even with what little belief that they do have, they tremble. Do we? Verse 20. But don't you know, O foolish man, God is trying to straighten us out. Don't you know, if you have this understanding that you believe intellectual belief is enough, it's considered foolishness. Don't you know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead. It's dead.

God emphasizes this again through James, let's jump to verse 26. He talks about it again. Verse 26. Whereas the body without the spirit is, notice the word that he uses, he doesn't say the body without the spirit is sick, the body without the spirit is weak, the body without the spirit is infirmed. He says the body without the spirit is dead. There's nothing there. It's dead.

And then he uses this analogy to describe a dead faith. He doesn't say faith without works is a little faith. He doesn't say faith without works is a weak faith. He says faith without works is no faith. It's dead.

For the next time, we'll cover this topic again. We'll cover this topic again because there's a lot more to cover. It's actually a pretty big topic. It's a pretty huge topic.

It takes on all kinds of ramifications. It takes us into all different areas of related topics such as righteousness, such as justification, such as salvation. It takes us into the area of law and grace. And the truth is that faith is a spiritual thread throughout all of those concepts. It's a spiritual thread by which we are to live our lives.

And that's why Paul says that just shall live by faith. The beginning point is an intellectual belief. That's the beginning. Believing in God. Believing he's the creator of the heavens and the earth. Believing who he is. Believing in the promises that he makes to trust in those promises.

And living faith is putting our trust in what we believe. So completely that our actions and our obedience confirm what we believe.

So individually and collectively, let's go forward. Let's take a look at this topic. And let's begin to grow in this faith that pleases God. So when he returns, he will find this faith is in you and in me. And that he will find faith here in this congregation. More next time.