“What is Faith?”
May 4th, 2008
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.
By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.
By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. 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.” Hebrews 11:1-6
A man walked up to a vending machine, put in a coin, pressed the buttons labeled, “coffee, double cream, sugar.” No cup appeared, but the nozzles went into action spewing forth coffee, cream and sugar.
After the proper amounts had gone down the drain, the machine turned off. “Now that’s real automation,” said the man. “This thing even drinks it for you.” That is just how some people want their faith. They want to make a deposit, put in some money and let the rest be taken care of automatically. But, that isn’t faith. It’s not the way to grow in faith. Jesus told us how to grow in faith. But before we get into that – let’s take a minute to define faith. In my research for this sermon I read a lot of people’s explanations of faith. I read a lot of preacher’s definitions of faith. Most of them were incomplete. Some defined faith as trust. Oswald Chambers said, “Faith is unutterable trust in God, trust which never dreams that He will not stand by us.”
Some defined faith as belief. “Faith is belief without proof.”
Some defined faith as obedience.
“Faith is not only a commitment to the promises of Christ; faith is also a commitment to the demands of Christ.”
— William Barclay
I don’t think any are wrong. In fact, I think all define faith pretty well – in part. Real faith always has these three ingredients or elements. Without one of these elements – it isn’t real faith. The elements are: Belief, trust, and Action (obedience). You can use just about any example of faith to test this illustration. God revealed to Abraham that it was His will that Abraham sacrifice his only son to Him. Abraham believed and trusted God. The bible says,
“Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.” Hebrews 11:19
So Abraham believed God wanted Him to sacrifice his son. He trusted God – and He acted on his belief and trust. In other words, “He obeyed God.”
If I were diagramming faith I would diagram it like this. God reveals His will. I believe. I trust. I act. The result of the three in response to God’s revealed will is faith.
It is important for you to know “without faith it is impossible to please God.” You could also say, “Without believing God – it is impossible to please Him.” Without trusting God – it is impossible to please Him. Without obeying God – it is impossible to please God. We were created to live by faith.
Dr. E. Stanley Jones said,
I am inwardly fashioned for faith, not for fear. Fear is not my native land; faith is. I am so made that worry and anxiety are sand in the machinery of life; faith is the oil. I live better by faith and confidence than by fear, doubt and anxiety. In anxiety and worry, my being is gasping for breath--these are not my native air. But in faith and confidence, I breathe freely--these are my native air. A John Hopkins University doctor says, "We do not know why it is that worriers die sooner than the non-worriers, but that is a fact." But I, who am simple of mind, think I know; We are inwardly constructed in nerve and tissue, brain cell and soul, for faith and not for fear. God made us that way. To live by worry is to live against reality.”
We were created to live by faith. The bible says,
"The righteous will live by faith." Habakkuk. 2:4
“We live by faith, not by sight.” 2 Corinthians 5:7
“This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.” Romans 3:22
“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 5:1
If we want to please God we have to learn to live by faith. If we want to be saved from our sins – we need to live by faith. The bible says,
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:8-10
The grace of God is the act of Jesus dying on the cross for us. We didn’t deserve it. He died for us while we all were sinners. Because of His great love for us, expressed through undeserved mercy, Jesus paid the price for our sin. That’s grace. Faith is believing that, trusting God’s plan for our salvation, and acting of that revelation through obedience. Faith is accepting Jesus as our Savior and living a life of loving obedience to Him. We are His. We are His workmanship. We were created to do good things. God has a plan for our lives. I believe before we were born God planned us and our lives. We have to accept Him and that plan and respond in love – which is expressed in obedience.
Since faith is so important – how to we get more of it? The disciples were wondering that same thing. They saw wonderful miracles happen and then Jesus would say:
"Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace." Luke 8:48
Jesus said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace." Luke 7:50
Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight; your faith has healed you." Luke 18:42
After seeing fantastic, supernatural things happen, and hearing Jesus say “It was your faith that did this” what do your think the disciple’s response was? Right! They wanted some of this faith. Listen to that event.
5The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!"
6He replied, "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ’Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.
"Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ’Come along now and sit down to eat’? Would he not rather say, ’Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ’We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’ " Luke 17:5-10
I remember, many years ago, when I first really noticed this verse. I was learning the importance of faith – and I wanted to grow in my faith. Then the Holy Spirit led me to this verse. That longing of the disciples was mine. “Increase our faith!” Eagerly I read Jesus’ answer knowing I was going to get some deep insight in spiritual things. But instead, Jesus’ answer left me scratching my head and saying, “Huh!” I wished He would have simplified it for my sake. But as I studied His answer – I realized it really was pretty simple. Let’s take a closer look.
First, the question is asked. How do we grow in faith? Jesus tells them how important and powerful faith is in the next verse – then gives them the formula for growing in faith in an illustration. You have to kind of read between the lines to get it. But simply put – it is to seek God’s will before your own. The secret to growing in faith is to have the mind of Christ when He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, “Not my will, but Thine be done.”
Jesus illustrated that point in a parable. It was one of the last parables He told. We call it the parable of the talents. You know the story well. Three servants were given varies amounts of money to use for their master. One was given, according to the Wikipedia dictionary, about $11,500 – or one talent. Another two $23,000, and another $34,500. The first was condemned for not using what the master had given him. The other two heard these words,
’Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ Matthew 25:21
The thing I want you to see is that if you are faithful with the few things God asks of you – He will give you more and ever greater things. That is how you grow in faith.
So, let me ask you. How are you doing? Are you growing in faith? What has God revealed to you through His Word or His Spirit? There is something God is speaking to you about. It may be hard to believe. It may be difficult to trust that God means this for your good. It may be that you really don’t want to do this thing. You really don’t want to obey. That’s normal. That’s our flesh. But if you have gotten into the boat for this ride with Jesus into eternity – you need faith. You can’t please Him without it.
And all of us are in various stages of growth. Some may just be starting. Some may have been living by faith for years. But each of us has some area we are growing it. God has revealed His will to us – and we are faced with the faith issue. Do we – or don’t we? Are we – or aren’t we? Will we – or won’t we?
Most of us want to start big. We pray for miracles. We want to hear God’s voice – then we will believe. Then we will act. But God does it just opposite. We start small – and as we act in faith responsibly – we go on to bigger and better things.
Houston pastor John Bisagno describes a time when his daughter Melody, age five, came to him and asked for a doll house. John promptly nodded and promised to build her one, then he went back to reading his book. Soon he glanced out the study window and saw her arms filled with dishes, toys, and dolls, making trip after trip until she had a great pile of playthings in the yard. He asked his wife what Melody was doing. “Oh, you promised to build her a doll house, and she believes you. She’s just getting ready for it.”
John thought he had been hit by an atom bomb. He threw aside that book, raced to the lumber yard for supplies, and quickly built that little girl a doll house. Why do you think he responded? Because he wanted to? No. Because she deserved it? No. Her daddy had given his word, and she believed it and acted upon it. “When I saw her faith, nothing could keep me from carrying out my word.” John said.
God is greater than John Bisagno and every time we act responsibly because of faith in Him, He responds. Why? Because He is faithful and pleased to see that we believe in Him. This week – let’s live by faith. God is waiting to respond to it.
