Profession Of Faith
Scripture: Romans 10:8-10; Hebrews 10:23; Matthew 12:34-37; James 1:5-7
Introduction
This morning I want to take a different look at some very familiar Scriptures that focuses on how our communications displays our faith. One thing you must remember and that is your faith is within you. You already know how to use your faith for a negative outcome, but the difference happens when you start “learning” to use your faith for positive outcomes. Remember, faith is faith. It will work for something positive and for something negative. But, let me be clear, when I am speaking of the faith we should have, I am speaking of using our faith for outcomes based on our knowledge of the Word of God. Faith in God cannot result in a negative outcome, even if we do not always receive everything we want, that is not always negative. But lets be certain of two things pertaining to negative outcomes, if you do not have faith, it is hard to believe God for anything positive. Also, if you have faith, but you use it with doubt, you believe for a negative outcome.
Let me give you a few examples of things people say in normal conversations that clearly demonstrate a possibility that they are using their faith for a negative outcome:
• “It’s Monday morning, I hate Mondays. It’s going to be a long day.”
• “I believe I am catching a cold.”
• “Nothing ever works out for me.”
• “I will never get out of debt.”
All of these statements, although somewhat on the negative side, are statements of faith. The difference is that these statements do not hold faith in God, but faith in a negative outcome. My goal with this message is to show you that you are called to walk by faith and the first step you make will start with you changing how you speak. I have already proven to you over the last four weeks that you have been give faith. So not having faith is not the problem, the problem is using it correctly. When you really start believing in your heart the Word of God, you will begin change how you speak. What is in your heart, faith, fear, doubt, etc., will come out through your mouth. Let me give you this example from Romans 10 just to set the stage. Romans 10:8-10 says “But what does it say? The word is near you, in your mouth, and in your heart, that is, the word of faith which we are preaching. That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.” Did you notice the process? You believe with your heart and you confess with your mouth. So as you start believing, the next step is to start professing (confessing).
I. Faith as a Profession
I told you earlier that we are called to walk by faith. Hebrews 10:23 says, “Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; for he is faithful that promised.” I want you to look at the word profession. We know in this verse it is talking about speaking, or confessing. But I want you to consider something else. We have discussed previously that it is impossible to please God without faith, so our lives must be centered on faith. When we look at the word profession, it has two meanings that are applicable for us in our faith walk. Profession is defined as “a professing or declaring; an occupation requiring advanced academic training, as in medicine or law.” Both of these definitions are applicable to what I want to express to you this morning. The second definition is where I want to start. As you know, when someone graduates from high school and chooses to attend college, the first question that is asked of them is “What are you majoring in or what profession are you going into?” As a Christian, we have a profession – it is a life of faith. Now by definition, for us to enter into this profession, we must go through some training. Bible study and our weekly Church services are our school. We also have home work or home schooling when you are actually studying your bibles at home. This is your formalized training that is required for you to operate in your profession - faith.
When an individual goes to medical school or law school, they are known by their profession. When a medical physician graduates from medical school, he or she begins to practice medicine. Their lives are consumed with their profession. When a lawyer graduates from law school, and starts practicing law, it becomes his or her profession. They are known by what they do professionally. When they wake up in the morning they know what they will be doing that day, what they were trained to do. The lawyer does not wake up in the morning and decide to practice medicine that day, neither does the physician wake up and decides to walk into a courtroom and defend a client. No, they wake up expecting to do what they have been trained to do – their professions. Now consider this, if the medical doctor decides not to practice medicine (although fully trained and licensed), and decides to open a hardware store instead, although trained as a physician, he is not operating in his profession. He is trained for the profession, but that is not the profession he is operating in.
Christians are called to walk in the profession of faith. It is supposed to be a way of life. When we wake up in the morning we should expect to walk by faith that day. It is what we do, it is what we have been called, trained and licensed to do. A Christian who does not to walk in faith and walks in doubt is the same as the physician who decides that they will practice law instead of being a physician. They were trained to practice medicine, not law. We were trained to walk in faith, not doubt. The training started while we were children and continued as we grew older. We were not licensed to walk in doubt, but in faith. When we accepted Christ, we accepted a new profession! We left our old jobs of doubt, fear and anxiety to enter into a new profession, one of faith. If you still find yourself not being able to have faith in God, you have not fully accepted your new profession and you’re still operating in your old job while trying to get paid on the new one. As in life, it does not work that way.
II. Profession of Faith - Communication
The second definition of profession was “a professing or declaring.” This describes what comes out of our mouth, when we chose to speak or declare something. When you open your mouth, you should be speaking faith. I know this may sound weird, but what would happen if you actually did it? Would you be worse off than you are now? Of course not, you’d be better because your mindset will not be one of defeat. Remember the statements I shared earlier? Let’s look at them as if they were statements of faith.
• “It’s Monday morning, I hate Mondays. It’s going to be a long day.” “It’s Monday morning and it is going to be a great day regardless of what happens.”
• “I believe I am catching a cold.” “I was starting to feel bad, but I believe I am catching a healing.”
• “Nothing ever works out for me.” “Everything works out for me; I learn something from all of my experiences.”
• “I will never get out of debt.” “Not only will I get out of debt, I will have more than enough for me and others.”
Now these statements may sound funny or even weird, but I caution you to think about the impact of each. If these statements sound weird it is because we have been conditioned not to talk or believe this way. You may not realize it, but it takes just as much of your energy to speak and believe for a negative outcome as it does to speak and believe in faith for a positive outcome. Either way, you faith is working, why not put it to something positive. You do not have to be afraid of walking in faith and speaking it. I want you to consider this, whether you are speaking positively or negatively, you are still speaking from and using the faith that is within you. Consider the words of Jesus when He said “You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure, what is evil. But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified and by your words you will be condemned.” Matthew 12:34-37
Jesus made it clear that the words we use and the statements we make are important. But the point I want you to focus on is what He says about the origin our conversations. The things that come out of our mouth originate within our hearts. This is why we must act on the faith that comes through a clear understanding of God’s Word. God placed the faith within you, but our enemy has influenced many of us to use that faith to believe for a negative outcome or an outright lie. What comes out of your mouth is important and speaks directly to what is in your heart. If you have God’s Word on the inside of you and you are focusing on the Word, it will come out in your actions but more so in your words. It is very hard to walk in the faith that God wants us to walk in and be negative. You cannot encourage someone with negative words; they need to hear something positive. I cannot stress to you enough that we need to change how we talk. Speaking in faith requires that you believe God’s Word and place it within your heart. Once it is in your heart, it will come out of your mouth. When this happens, you start using the faith that you have been given the way God meant for it to be used. Turn with me to James 1:5-7.
III. Faith Without Doubt
“But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith, without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord.” James 1:5-7
Remember James, the Lord’s brother, and how he came to know Jesus as the Christ later in his life? If anyone would understand what it meant to walk in faith, it would be James because he literally had to learn the hard way. James says that if you want something from God, wisdom in this case, you should ask Him because God was generous and willing to give us what we ask for. Then he throws in the condition – we must ask God in faith, not doubting. Doubt is defined as “wavering in your opinion or belief.” To waver in your belief means you are either believing in God or you are believing in something else. Either way you are believing in something. You cannot walk in faith while doubting. James takes it a step further and says that the one who doubts ought not to expect anything from the Lord. That is a very strong statement. I told you several messages ago that without faith it is impossible to please God. If you cannot please God without faith and your faith opens the door for God to answer your prayers, faith becomes important to your life. You cannot go to God with your requests doubting that God will hear you. I hate it when someone comes to me for a favor and tell me up front that they know I probably cannot do it. Place God’s Word in your heart, believe it, speak it and then receive it. If you do not believe in what you are saying, then do yourself a favor and stop talking until you do believe it.
When I started this message I told you about faith as being our profession, our way of life. If we are to live by faith, speak things by faith, then faith must be in our heart. I know some of you have been wondering about your individual faith, how much you have and how to use it. You can begin to answer that question by truly listening to what you say. Once you have listened to yourself throughout the day, think about what you allowed to come out of your mouth. If you are not speaking in faith in your everyday conversation, then you will have your answer. If you find yourself constantly speaking negative things, about your life, your job, your family or anything else pertaining to you, change professions. You are still working your old job while you have a new one.
Let me close with a definition for our profession of faith that I want you to remember. Profession of faith, “An occupation (lifestyle) where the believer walks, not by what they see with their eyes, but what they see via the Spirit through what is in their heart – the Word of God.” God Bless.
