Saturday, July 25, 2015

Who has faith?

First, to answer the title question; "Who has faith?" The answer is every born from above individual that has received the gift of eternal life from Jesus. By the work of the Holy Spirit we are born into the family of God



" who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God."
  John 1:13 NASB

It is the action of God. His work in us. He creates even the  faith or assurance we as Christians have  when we confess Jesus as Lord and Savior publicly.

 The translators of the King James Version Bible (KJV) had it right in this passage.

" 8For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:" Ephesians 2:8 KJV

"For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?" Romans 3:3

King James Bible

Ro 12:3: "For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith

Many say, when they are asked  the question today,  "do you believe in God?"they respond with , "Yes, I believe in God" or "I'm a spiritual person." When you spend time with them you see no evidence of growth or the fruit of the Spirit. I believe this is what James was refering to in the passage from his letter;

"You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder." James 2:19 NASB

I believe that what our brother is saying here is that many can have knowledge about God. But, "
I will show you my faith by my works." in vs 18 of the same chapter  James is describing something different. This faith comes from a personal relationship with Jesus. It expresses itself in actions that are manifestations of His life and work through us.

Suppose I am invited to the yearly press corp diner by the President of the United States. So, I fly to D.C. and attend the dinner. I listen to the introductions and the welcoming that the master of ceremonies gives. Then comes the main event the announcement of the President of the United States and his entrance into the dining hall.  The President walks up the  podium, and greets everyone and begins to speak. He may have a wonderful speech and during the remaining duration of the speech I learn very much about his policies, decisions that he has made, and orders that he has written. All this gives me knowledge about him. At this point I know what anyone at the dinner knows about him. But, suppose for some reason, after he has finished speaking, someone points me out to the president and then introduces me to him and we shake hands and personally greet each other. Now there is the personal touch. In the conversation the president learns that I like to play golf. So, to my shock he invites me to a round of golf the next day. The following day we meet at his favorite course ( where ever that may be). Now conversation is a lot more intimate. I learn what he thinks about all sorts of issues. Before the game breaks up, he, the president, asks me to do a favor for him.  I readily agree to help by doing research on the condition of the homeless in the United States.  I jump at the chance to serve the President of the United States. You can see where I'm going with this. There is big difference between knowing about someone and actually meeting and spending time with some one.

"Faith (4102/pistis) is always a gift from God, and never something that can be produced by people. In short, 4102/pistis ("faith") for the believer is "God's divine persuasion" – and therefore distinct from human belief (confidence), yet involving it. The Lord continuously births faith in the yielded believer so they can know what He prefers, i.e. the persuasion of His will (1 Jn 5:4)."        copyright © 1987, 2011 by Helps Ministries, Inc. HelpsBible.com

The  word faith in the original language describes something more than a knowledge about, or our perceptions  of God . This word, pistis Gk, is quite literal in it's use here it is "faith of God" a personal guarantee by our Father, His absolute assurance.

"1Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Hebrews 11:1 KJV 
         I challenge all of us as christians to seek and discover that daily relationship with Jesus.

"And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you" Matthew 7:7 KJV.
 

Jesus  earnestly is waiting for you to say yes to him and receive what He wants to give you. 

For some who read this, it maybe that you realize,  you have never known Him. 

Jesus has removed the barrier between you and Holy God by his death on the cross  God accepted that sacrifice as sufficient for every man woman and child, and confirmed that by the power of His resurrection;
  "4and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead," Romans1:4 ESV

A living, loving, Savior wants you to know Him and say yes to Him right now. Call on Jesus. "and whoever comes to me I will never cast out." John 6:37 "
For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:13 ESV

The Holy Spirit searches for us and finds us and reveals Himself (the presence of Jesus). That revelation and call... is where we either obey the gospel and receive eternal life and a personal guarantee from the Father, or we reject it. That is our part. Let Him give you faith today!

It's not about me. It's all about Him.

A_Pilgrim

No comments:

Post a Comment