February 10, 2008
Morning Worship
Text: Romans 1:8-17
Subject: Faith
Title: Where is Your Faith?
I want to share with you today about the topic of faith. For the past two Wednesday nights we have been studying in Hebrews Chapter 11 – the great “faith” chapter in the Bible. In that chapter we see the stories of the Heroes of the Bible and how they were examples of great faith. If you look at some of the individual stories contained in Hebrews 11 and stop and think about it you have to wonder, “How in the world did they ever do that?”
For example, 7By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family.
8By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
11By faith Abraham, even though he was past age—and Sarah herself was barren—was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise…
30By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days.
These are great examples of faith. But what kind of faith is this? This type of faith goes beyond just hoping and believing God’s written word. Paul talked about the spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12. The gift of faith is one of them. Could it be that the Old Testament saints spoken of in Hebrews 11 were special because they had been given the gift of faith? It could be but I don’t think that is it.
There is another kind of faith that is spoken of in the Bible. Ephesians 2:8, For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith… This is saving faith. It is what each of us has experienced if we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. We have confidence that we now belong to Him and that heaven is now our home. Could it be that saving faith is the type of faith that the saints of old had? Yes, I think that is so but that’s not all.
The type of faith I want to talk about today is the faith mentioned in Galatians 2:20. It is living faith. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. It is the faith that is given you after you have trusted Christ. It is the faith that is enhanced in you with the baptism of the Holy Spirit. It is the faith that Paul speaks of in Romans 1. It is the faith to unabashedly confess who you are in Christ and who He is in you to a world that so desperately needs to hear the words of hope.
As I share the word with you today I want you to pay attention to these three things about faith. 1) it is a faith that is shared. 2) it is a faith that is mutual. And 3) it is a faith that is powerful.
I. A FAITH THAT IS SHARED. (8-10) 8First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. The church in Rome that Paul is writing to at this point had not been established by an apostle. It is a church that had been established by lay people. The church in Rome had already gone through some persecution. Acts 18:1-2, 1After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. 2There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Let me pose a question to you. How do you think the faith of the Roman church had become known over the whole world? There is a cliché that says, “All roads lead to Rome.” The reality is just the opposite – all roads led away from Rome. And these Christians to whom Paul was writing must have been vocal in their faith. They continued to tell others about Christ and their faith was becoming known all around the world. You see, faith is vocal. Because of the living faith we have, we should want to tell others about what God has done in our lives. This is not a case where people from all over the Roman Empire had seen these nice little Christian groups going about their business, hiding in the catacombs and having church services, and being nice to everyone. What kind of faith is that? This is a bout a faith that was demonstrated by sharing the gospel with others in spite of the threat of further persecution. It is a faith that is willing to die for the cause of Christ. It is the kind of faith that caused Paul to say that he had been praying for them constantly. The original Greek translation means that there was not much time that passed between Paul’s times of prayer for them. It is the kind of faith that brings new life to a church.
II. A FAITH THAT IS MUTUAL.(11-15) 11I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong… Paul had a great desire to go and visit the church in Rome because he knew that he had something to offer them. He wanted to impart some spiritual gift to them. Now you can look at this a couple of different ways. 10 Paul wanted to come and lay hand on them in order for them to receive a special anointing. He had done that before. 2 Timothy 1, 5I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. 6For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. Or, Paul had some spiritual gifts that he operated in that he wanted to minister to that church. Maybe it was the gift of exhortation (encouragement). Maybe it was a word of knowledge of prophecy- personal or general. Maybe it was the gift of teaching. It could have been the gift of administration. Paul didn’t just go into cities and start churches and then leave them to fend for themselves. He left overseers and deacons and pastors. He wanted the church to be organized. Yet in spite of all the spiritual gifts that Paul desired for the church in Rome, he understood that they would be a great encouragement for him as well. 1I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong—12that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. I want you to understand something – and I’m going to say this as gently as I can. If you are coming to church and are being blessed by the Holy Spirit activity that takes place here – you are being built up every week- and you are not doing anything to bless others, that is not the picture of the New Testament church that Paul is giving here. … that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. That means you encouraging me by your gifts and me encouraging you by the gifts that I have. I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now) in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles. 14I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. 15That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are at Rome. Notice three things in these verses. 1) Paul expected to have a harvest among them (the church). What kind of harvest do you think Paul would expect to have among the church? They were already saved. In Acts 20:27 he told the elders of the church in Ephesus, 27For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God. I think Paul expected to see a harvest in the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Acts 18, 24Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. 25He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John. 26He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately. 2) Paul’s ministry was for all people just as the gospel is for all. We are not the ones to decide who hears and who doesn’t. We are supposed to share the gospel with every living creature. 3) Paul was eager to preach. That is what God had called him to do.
III. A FAITH THAT IS POWERFUL (16-17) 16I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. I sincerely believe that most people are hesitant in sharing the gospel because they feel inadequate. I can’t quote scripture. I can’t answer questions because my Bible knowledge is lacking. I’m not very good a t talking with people. If that is the case with you then I want you to know that there is hope. You just need to redirect your faith, because your faith is in your ability and not in the power of the gospel. This passage doesn’t say, I am not ashamed of my ability because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes… It says I am not ashamed of the gospel… Do you believe that? Have you placed your faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ? I know that you did that to be saved, but are you still doing it? If you have placed your faith in the gospel then I want you to know that when you share the gospel with someone your words will never be futile. Now, there is something to be said about wisdom in how you approach others – that is the wisdom that comes from God, but there is nothing lacking in the gospel message itself. 7For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith. How is the righteousness of God revealed in the gospel? It is seen in the evidence of a changed life. It is a righteousness that is by faith…Hebrews 11:6, And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. It is a righteousness that we received by faith upon our adoption into the family of God and it is the righteousness that we continue to walk in by faith. We know that the power is in the gospel message and not our words. Paul said that when I came to you I did not come with persuasive words of human wisdom but in a demonstration of the Spirit’s power. In the same way we must realize that our righteousness – the life that we exhibit to the world as being holy – does not come in our own power but by faith…! The word “power” that describes the gospel means miraculous power – supernatural power. That type of power only becomes active in your life by faith.
So we see three things about faith today.
1) You need to share the faith.
2) You need to be encouraged by the faith of one another.
3) You need to understand the power of your faith.
Jesus asked the question, “When the Son of Man returns to the earth will He find faith”? I don’t think that Jesus was talking about Saving Faith, because even up till the time He returns people will still be getting saved. I don’t think He was talking about Supernatural Faith, because the Holy Spirit is still giving gifts. But I think He was talking about living faith. When He comes back will the faith of the church be talked about all around the world the way it was about the Roman church? Will the church still be encouraging one another in their faith? Will there still be power in the faith you have?
There was a tightrope walker, who did incredible aerial feats. All over Paris, he would do tightrope acts at tremendously scary heights. Then he had succeeding acts; he would do it blindfolded, then he would go across the tightrope, blindfolded, pushing a wheelbarrow. An American promoter read about this in the papers and wrote a letter to the tightrope walker, saying, "Tightrope, I don’t believe you can do it, but I’m willing to make you an offer. For a very substantial sum of money, besides all your transportation fees, I would like to challenge you to do your act over Niagara Falls." Now, Tightrope wrote back, "Sir, although I’ve never been to America and seen the Falls, I’d love to come." Well, after a lot of promotion and setting the whole thing up, many people came to see the event. Tightrope was to start on the Canadian side and come to the American side. Drums roll, and he comes across the rope, which is suspended over the treacherous part of the falls -- blindfolded!! And he makes it across easily. The crowds go wild, and he comes to the promoter and says, "Well, Mr. Promoter, now do you believe I can do it?" "Well of course I do. I mean, I just saw you do it." "No," said Tightrope, "do you really believe I can do it?" "Well of course I do, you just did it." "No, no, no," said Tightrope, "do you believe I can do it?" "Yes," said Mr. Promoter, "I believe you can do it." "Good," said Tightrope, "then you get in the wheel barrow."
The word believe (faith), in Greek means "to live by". This is a nice story...makes you ask, how often do we say that we believe Christ can do it, but refuse to get in the wheelbarrow?
The very last part of our passage today says, “The righteous will live by faith.”
Where is your faith?
