(Hab 2:4) "Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith."
(Rom 1:17) "For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith."
(Gal 3:11) "But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith."
(Heb 10:38) "Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him."
All of these verses have something in common, what is it? Real tough question wasn't it? This morning we want to continue with our series of lessons on practical Christianity. Last week we finished looking at the ministry of the Holy Spirit, where we answered the question of 'How to be filled with the Spirit'. So today we move on in our thinking to 'How to live by faith'
I. What is Faith?
A. Faith is making real what cannot be seen or sensed with human faculties.
(Heb 11:1) "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."
B. Living by faith will take our life out of the natural and into the supernatural.
C. Faith is standing on God's integrity and acting on His promises.
1. It involves believing God's Word above all human doubt, criticism, or speculation.
2. The Christian life must be lived one step at a time.
3. We must learn to trust our heavenly Father every step of the way.
4. Living by faith is the most exciting life anyone could ever know.
D. Saving Faith brings us into the family of God and sustaining faith keeps us there for the rest of our lives.
E. Faith is not something we simply exercise at salvation and forget about.
1. It is a lifelong process of spiritual growth.
2. Faith is taking God at His Word no matter how bleak the circumstances appear to be.
3. It is believing in His love and His character more than in human reason.
4. Biblically speaking, faith is the same as believing.
(Acts 16:31) "And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house."
a. The act of faith is believing.
b. The object of our faith is Jesus Christ.
II. The Nature Of Faith
A. True faith is the expression of belief in someone or something.
B. Biblical faith involves belief in the death of Christ as a sufficient atonement for our sins.
1. When we say that we believe in Christ we are claiming more than mere belief in His existence.
2. We believe that His sacrifice on the cross was a sufficient payment for our sins.
3. Christ is the object of our faith.
4. The risen, living Christ is the continual object of the believer's faith.
5. He is a living Saviour, not merely a creed of belief.
6. Thus, our relationship with Him is a personal one actualized by faith in Him.
C. The Holy Spirit is the agent of our faith.
1. He acts on behalf of Christ to plant faith in our hearts.
2. The Spirit initiates the faith process by convicting us of our sins.
(John 16:8) "And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:"
3. He draws us to the Savior and regenerates the unbelieving heart.
4. The Bible declares that no man recognizes Jesus as the Christ without the Holy Spirit.
(1 John 4:2) "Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:"
III. The Bible Is The Instrument Of Our Faith
(Rom 10:17) "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."
A. The Holy Spirit uses the Bible to convict us of sin and bring us to faith in Christ.
B. Jesus described the Word of God as a seed that germinates into faith in the human heart.
(Luke 8:11) "Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God."
C. We are born again by the Word of God.
(James 1:18) "Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures."
(1 Pet 1:23) "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever."
IV. The Evidence Of Faith.
(James 2:18) "Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works."
A. James urges us to show our faiqth by our works.
1. He does not mean that we are saved by works.
2. He means that an empty profession of faith cannot save anyone.
3. Real faith will express itself in works of righteousness.
4. He boldly declares that faith without works is dead (James 2:26).
5. Genuine faith will show itself in evidences of faith.
B. Biblical examples of genuine faith are given in Hebrews 11.
1. The writer of Hebrews refers to Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, and Rahab.
2. Faith is described in verse one as 'substance' and 'evidence'.
3. Notice that faith is not a blind leap into the dark; it is substance and evidence.
4. We can depend on it, and we can build our life on it.
C. Notice what can be done by faith.
1. Noah built an ark by faith.
2. Abraham moved his family by faith.
3. Jacob blessed his children by faith.
4. Moses forsook Egypt by faith.
5. Kingdoms were subdued, promises were obtained, and armies were put to flight-all by faith!
V. Living by Faith.
A. Living by faith is what the Christian life is all about.
(Mat 17:20) "And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you."
(Luke 17:5-6) "And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith. {6} And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you."
1. Our Lord was trying to teach His disciples that they did not need more faith…
2. But that they needed to exercise the faith they already had.
3. Then it would grow.
4. But faith that moved mountains does not come overnight.
5. It involves learning to trust God for greater things.
(2 Cor 5:7) "(For we walk by faith, not by sight:)"
B. Living by faith means to develop a confident expectation in God.
(Mat 7:7) "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:"
(John 14:14) "If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it."
1. These are promises upon which we can build a life of faith.
2. James also tells us to ask in faith.
(James 1:6) "But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed."
C. We can experience a life of faith.
1. First, we must stop saying, "I can't" and start believing that God can!
2. We must stop doubting and start trusting.
3. We must put our faith into action.
4. There is so much we can do for the cause of Christ if we will only do it.
D. Faith is…
1. Substance and Evidence
2. Believing and Trusting
3. Confidently Hoping
4. Acting on our belief