FAITH

What is Faith?

What is Biblical Faith?

INTRODUCTION

The scriptures listed below will reveal God’s methodology for establishing Faith and the transformation of Hope in an individual.  This essay will show that before being “Born Again,” individuals can only have Hope due to their sinful, “disobedient nature” that makes them rebellious against God.  When we speak of the sin nature, we refer to the fact that we have a natural inclination to sin; given a choice to do God’s will or our own, we will naturally choose to do our own will and disregard the will of our Lord, Christ Jesus.  This essay will highlight the scriptures that show an individual’s original state before a spiritual rebirth and the transformation and regeneration an individual undertakes for the change of Hope and the creation of Faith.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Our study will include these (8) eight relevant areas in progressional order to answer how an individual acquires Faith.
1.  God’s calling for all.
2.  Hope is an optimistic state of mind.
3.  The biblical state of our human heart before a “spiritual rebirth.”
4.  The heart that responds to Christ Jesus as Lord and savior.
5.  Transformation, “born again,” and “spiritual rebirth.”
6.  Regeneration of the Human Spirit by the Holy Spirit.
7.  What is the biblical definition of Faith?
8.  Establishment and fulfillment of Faith in the believer + Conclusion

1. THE CALLING OF GOD

1Timothy 2:4
“Who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”
2Peter 3:9
“The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”

Revelation 3:20
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come into him and will dine with him, and he with Me.”

Summing Up;
The scriptures listed above indicate that God wishes that all individuals of His creation be a part of the “family of God.” Therefore, God is knocking on the door of every individual’s heart for entry and communion.

2. HOPE

     Hope is an optimistic attitude in every human “individual’s” mind based on an expectation of positive outcomes related to events and circumstances in one’s life.  As a verb, its definitions include: “accept with confidence” and “a desire with anticipation.”   However, because it is an optimistic attitude or expectation of one’s desires, there is no confidence that any hope an individual may perceive will ever manifest itself.

3. HUMAN HEART

Jeremiah 17:9
“The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; Who can understand it?”

Proverbs 19:3
“The foolishness of man subverts his way, And his heart rages against the LORD.”

Mark 7: 21-23
“For from the inside, from your heart, come the evil ideas which lead you to do immoral things, to rob, kill, commit adultery, be greedy, and do all sorts of evil things; deceit, indecency, jealousy, slander, pride, and folly, all these evil things come from inside you and make you unclean.”

Romans 3:10-18
“As it is written, “THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD; ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.”   “THEIR THROAT IS AN OPEN GRAVE, WITH THEIR TONGUES THEY KEEP DECEIVING,” “THE POISON OF ASPS IS UNDER THEIR LIPS”; “WHOSE MOUTH IS FULL OF CURSING AND BITTERNESS”; “THEIR FEET ARE SWIFT TO SHED BLOOD, DESTRUCTION AND MISERY ARE IN THEIR PATHS, AND THE PATH OF PEACE THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN.”   “THERE IS NO FEAR OF GOD BEFORE THEIR EYES.”

Summing Up;
The scriptures teach that the human heart is depraved and that our hopes are an extension of our iniquity.

4. HEART THAT RESPONDS TO CHRIST JESUS

Isaiah 66:2
“I myself created the whole universe! I am pleased with those who are humble and repentant, who fear me and obey me.”

Psalms 18:27-28
“You save those who are humble, but you humble those who are proud.   O LORD, you give me light; you dispel my darkness.”

Psalms 25:9
“He leads the humble in justice, And He teaches the humble His way.”

Psalms 51:9-12
“Close your eyes to my sins and wipe out all my evil. Create a pure heart in me, O God, and put a new and loyal spirit in me.   Do not banish me from your presence; do not take your holy spirit away from me.   Give me again the joy that comes from your salvation, and make me willing to obey you.”

Matthew 5:5
“Blessed are the humble, for they shall inherit the earth.”

1Peter 5:6
“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may  exalt you at the proper time.”

Summing Up;
A Humbled heart acknowledges a sinful state and is the only heart that can surrender to Christ Jesus.

5. TRANSFORMATION

Ezekiel 36:26-27
“I will give you a new heart and a new mind. I will take away your stubborn heart of stone and give you an obedient heart.   I will put my spirit in you and will see to it that you follow my laws and keep all the commands I have given you.”

John 3: 1-8  -Jesus and Nicodemus
“There was a Jewish leader named Nicodemus, who belonged to the party of the Pharisees.   One night he went to Jesus and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher sent by God. No one could perform the miracles you are doing unless God were with him.”   Jesus answered, “I am telling you the truth: no one can see the Kingdom of God without being born again.”   “How can a grown man be born again?” Nicodemus asked. “He certainly cannot enter his mother’s womb and be born a second time!”   “I am telling you the truth,” replied Jesus, “that no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit.   A person is born physically of human parents, but is born spiritually of the Spirit.  Do not be surprised because I tell you that you must all be born again.   The wind blows wherever it wishes; you hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. It is like that with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

Titus 3:4-8
“But when the kindness and love of God our Savior was revealed, he saved us. It was not because of any good deeds that we ourselves had done, but because of his own mercy that he saved us, through the Holy Spirit, who gives us new birth and new life by washing us.   God poured out the Holy Spirit abundantly on us through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that by his grace we might be put right with God and come into possession of the eternal life we hope for.   This is a true saying. I want you to give special emphasis to these matters, so that those who believe in God may be concerned with giving their time to doing good deeds, which are good and useful for everyone.”

Summing Up;
Transformation, “Born Again, is to undergo a “spiritual renewal” of our Human Spirit by the Holy Spirit occurring when an individual surrenders, humbles themselves, and submits to the drawing of God, believing in Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior.

6. REGENERATION

Psalms 51:10-12
“Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.   Do not cast me away from Your presence And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.   Restore to me the joy of Your salvation And sustain me with a willing spirit.”

2Corinthians 5:17-18
“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.  Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation,”

John 16:13-15
“But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.   “He shall glorify Me; for He shall take of Mine, and shall disclose it to you.   “All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said, that He takes of Mine, and will disclose it to you.”

Summing Up;

Once an individual is “Born Again,” they become a new creation, “new life” due to the inner cleansing and renewal of human nature by the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit’s regeneration process transforms an individual’s soul from death to life and is made holy.  Regeneration also infuses the attributes of God, wisdom, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth into the New Creation in Christ Jesus.

7. WHAT IS BIBLICAL FAITH?

Hebrews11:1-12
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old gained approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible. By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks. By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death; AND HE WAS NOT FOUND BECAUSE GOD TOOK HIM UP; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God. And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise; for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful who had promised. Therefore, there was born even of one man, and him as good as dead at that, as many descendants AS THE STARS OF HEAVEN IN NUMBER, AND INNUMERABLE AS THE SAND WHICH IS BY THE SEASHORE.”

Matthew 17:20
“It was because you do not have enough faith,” answered Jesus. “I assure you that if you have faith as big as a mustard seed, you can say to this hill, ‘Go from here to there!’ and it will go. You could do anything!”

Summing Up;

1. “To be sure,” Faith ensures us that what we hope for will manifest itself.
2. “To have conviction” Faith also ensures us that even being confronted with “all obstacles,” we can rest in the truths of the bible and have the assurance and conviction that Faith will manifest itself.

8. CONCLUSION

Faith enters an individual when they accept Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior. Faith is a believer’s new hope conceived by the Holy Spirit merging with the Believer’s Spirit. However, Faith only manifests when the Holy Spirit agrees with the believer’s hope.

A Good Example of Faith  manifested in a believer is found in Matthew 9:27-30;

“As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” When He entered the house, the blind men came up to Him, and Jesus *said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They *said to Him, “Yes, Lord.” Then He touched their eyes, saying, “It shall be done to you according to your faith.”

Matthew 9:27-30 Insights;

1. The two blind men followed Christ Jesus. “The Heart that heeds the calling, part “4” of this essay.”
2. The two blind men cried out to Christ Jesus. “Our New Life, part “5&6″ of this essay.”
3. The two blind men asked for mercy. “They believed in the promises of the scriptures, Isaiah 35:5 and the fulfillment of the promise of the messiah.”
4. The two blind men identified Christ Jesus as the “Son of David.” “Matthew 1:1 indicates the genealogy of Christ Jesus.”
5. The two blind men responded to Christ Jesus by calling Him “Lord.” “Establishment and fulfillment of faith in the believer, part “7” of this essay.”
6. The Faith of the two blind men was strong enough to both heal them spiritually as well as physically. “read Matthew 17: 19-21.”

Hebrews 12:2
“Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from beginning to end. He did not give up because of the cross! On the contrary, because of the joy that was waiting for him, he thought nothing of the disgrace of dying on the cross, and he is now seated at the right side of God’s throne.”