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Without faith, it is impossible to please God. God seeks those who will believe and trust Him. In these lessons, we want to explore some “facets” of faith. According to the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 4, there is only one faith, but there are elements we might differentiate within that “one faith.” In these five lessons, we will explore a little bit about them.
The first part of the series will be short, discussing beliefs and what they mean. The second part will explore saving faith. The third lesson will explore living according to faith, including how we operate daily and approach provision. The fourth lesson discusses trusting God, which can be difficult when things are unplanned. The fifth and final lesson explores faith as expressed in doing for the Kingdom of God; we demonstrate our faith when we work to glorify God.
We need faith to be saved. Paul wrote Timothy in
15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
The important thing is to have faith according to the “holy scriptures.” Our faith could be likened to the direction we are going. The scriptures are the correct map to direct us to the desired goal.
12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
On the Great Day of the Lord, all will stand before God.
- Two books that will judge us on the last day (the Book of Life (the record of our works) and the 66 books of the Holy Bible).
- The Holy Bible is the measure by which our works and life will be measured.
15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
We need to study the word of truth according to its divisions. Anything else is error. Just as one needs to look at a map and understand its meaning, so it is with the scriptures.
How to rightly divide the New Testament (the word of truth):
- Four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John; Biography of Jesus Christ.
- Acts: Actions of the Apostles is the only book in the New Testament with the verbatim preaching of the apostles to the lost, telling them how to be saved.
- Epistles: Romans through Jude: Letters to the church, which was born, as recorded in the book of Acts.
- Revelation: Book of prophecy (written in symbolic form).
The Importance of Correct Saving Faith
Questions to inspire thought and purpose. Before you are done, you should be able to answer these questions with some authority.
- Some say, “It does not matter what you believe as long as you are sincere.” Can a man be sincere and wrong? What does the Word say about this question?
- Is Doctrine important according to the Word?
- Is the “Word-Doctrine-Gospel” necessary to salvation?
16 Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.
The Holy Bible is the correct map to take one from being lost to being saved (standing before God with a good conscience).
21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
As we discussed last time, believing is not enough. We need to do what the scriptures tell us. We should obey what Jesus and His apostles told us. If we do not, our efforts are misdirected and will not lead us to where we want to be.
Matthew 7:13-23
13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Iniquity is doing things in a way that is not as God prescribed. Many will love Jesus but love to do things the way they think things should be done, according to tradition rather than what the entire counsel of God says in the Holy Bible. It is vital to seek salvation according to the formula in scripture, not after the traditions of men (Col. 2:8).
18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Note that Jesus gave the keys to Peter. Christ chose Peter to be the leader of the apostles. Therefore, he was the one who showed those who crucified the Lord how to be saved. This is because Jesus gave Peter, AND NO ONE ELSE, the keys to the kingdom of heaven.
1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
We do things in faith, hoping for what we cannot see. We obey the Word, not seeing heaven in the flesh, but we can see it with our eyes of faith.
Note the conversation between Jesus and the Pharisee Nicodemus:
1 There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:
2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.
3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?
5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Verses 3-5: To be saved, a person must be born again of water and of the Spirit. Some teach that water is natural birth, and others teach this means water baptism, but the scriptures will teach us which is correct as we go on.
Notice, throughout the Gospels, Jesus rarely taught in detail. He left the specifics to His apostles (see John 17:17-20). For example, He said you must be ‘born again.’ To know what He meant, one must see what was done. The history of the new church, which wasn’t born until the day of Pentecost, is contained entirely in the book of Acts of the Apostles. It is the history of the New Testament church, and you’ll note there is no ‘amen’ at the end of the book. This history is still being written!
9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?
15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!
16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?
17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Notice
- It should be noted that Romans are an epistle. An epistle is a letter written to a church, a body of believers who have had a shared experience: they have obeyed the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This letter was not written to the lost but to the church in Rome. To prove the point, see the beginning of Romans 10:1.
- The Apostle Paul quotes part of the Old Testament dealing with the “word, heart, and mouth.” He then says this is speaking of the word of faith, which ‘we’ (the Apostles) preach. He then spends the rest of the chapter explaining how this pertains to the dispensation of grace.
- Verses 10-11: He explains that you believe with your heart and confess with your mouth and that you shall be saved by this (when you fulfill it, as Paul further explains in Verses 14-17), but it does not say you are instantly saved, at that moment, without anything else involved, as many would want to interpret it.
- Verses 11-13: More quotations of the Old Testament to prove the point.
- Verses 14-16: You can’t call on or believe in the Lord until one hears the Gospel preached by a man sent of God, and that is what you’ve got to believe to be saved. Since the Apostles are the only ones we know of who are sent by God, according to the Bible, where he took the fact of believing in Him and said what we must believe is the Gospel the Apostles preached and not just that Jesus existed. That confirms all the Scriptures we have read in the first part of our Bible study about having to obey what the Apostles preached.
- Verse 17: Here the Apostle sums it all up by saying, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” Apostle Paul started this off in Verse 8 by saying he was speaking the Word of faith, which ‘we’ (the Apostles) preach.
15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
Believe what? The Gospel of Jesus Christ, not just believe Jesus existed. Of note, the word believe comes from the Greek word πιστεύω (pisteuō) (G4100). The word is a verb (requiring some action), and means to credit, have confidence, or even be entrusted with something. Note, also, these are the words of Jesus.
1st Corinthians 15:1-4
1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;
2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
The Apostle Paul reiterates what the Gospel is to the church at Corinth.
- Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures.
- He was buried.
- He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.
- We are to obey this Gospel, but how can we obey? It is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Read Acts of the Apostles chapter 2. Note especially Acts 2:38. Peter’s sermon begins at verse 14.
- All who received the Holy Spirit spoke with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
- Verses 6-8: They heard them in their languages. God made certain someone in the 120 spoke in the language of each of the 16 countries represented. (The Cretans and the Medes spoke very different languages from Greek or Latin.)
- Verses 9-10: More than 12 received the Holy Spirit because they spoke at least 16 languages. (Some say only the Apostles received the Holy Spirit this way.)
- Verse 13: The people reacted to the Spirit in such a way that many mocked them and thought them drunk.
- Verse 14: Peter stood up and began to tell them (probably in Greek, which was expected to all), “This is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel,” and explained that was the Spirit of God being poured out.
- Verses 17-21: is a quotation of the prophecy found in the Old Testament book of Joel (2:28-32).
- According to Paul in Romans 10, they couldn’t call on the Lord until they heard the Gospel preached by a man sent by God. So, notice that Peter starts preaching to them about Jesus. The first time we call on the name of the Lord in baptism that matters.
- Remember, what did Jesus give the Apostle Peter in Matthew 16:18?
- According to Peter, Jesus has been made Lord and Christ.
- When asked, “What shall we do?” The answer Peter gave them is in Verses 38-39. It is what we have been waiting to hear.
- “Repent, and each of you is baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Recall what Jesus said in Luke 24:47.
- Was the birth of water and of the Spirit commanded here? What did Jesus tell Nicodemus in John chapter 3?
- The promise is that the Lord our God will call everyone to Himself. From 2nd Peter 3:9, we know, “The Lord is…not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”
- Baptism is called a water birth because it removes the record of sin from a person’s life and their judgment starts over at the house of God; so, they are “born again.”
20 who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water.
21 Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
Baptism in water saves us just like water saved Noah’s family. It does not remove sin, but it removes it from God’s ‘record book’ (Read Colossians 2:14) and your conscience (1st John 3:20-21).
17 Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.
This says we should do all in the name of the Lord Jesus; therefore, even baptism should be in that name. That name is above every name. It is the name by which men are saved (Acts 4:12), not titles.
3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
Verse 3: According to Paul in 1st Corinthians 15:1-4, the gospel includes the burial of Jesus Christ. When we are baptized in the name of Jesus, we are baptized into his death.
Verse 4: If we are baptized into Christ’s death, we are buried with Him. Burial in water is not an unknown idea. Navies throughout history have buried sailors at sea, in the water.
Verse 5: If we are baptized with Christ in His death, we can expect likewise to anticipate His resurrection.
Romans 8:11
11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
There is only one Spirit (Ephesians 4:4), the Spirit of God. The Spirit of Christ (God’s Spirit) will quicken the body of those who walk in the Spirit (Romans 8:1). If Christ rose again by the Spirit, so will the one who has the Spirit, being part of the gospel in 1st Corinthians 15:1-4.
