Visible Faith - Part 2

Introduction

Hello everyone, and welcome to our Bible study for April. Today’s lesson is a continuation of our look at what it means to have “Visible Faith.” We began this two-part study on “Visible Faith” with four passages in the Bible that speak to how we are to live as Christians, and they are nearly identical. The first reference is found in the Old Testament in the book of Habakkuk. In Habakkuk 2:4, we see the following: "Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; but the just shall live by his faith.”

There is something very important in this first scripture that we want you to see, and to use a

term familiar to many of us, it is a “deal breaker.” The verse says that the proud person, who does not humbly yield himself to God’s divine authority, cannot live by faith because he has rejected God (His soul is not upright) and will spend an eternity in hell unless he repents. This is a prophetic warning to everyone who claims the name of Jesus but chooses their path. They are slowly walking away from an eternity with Jesus.

The next three references are found in the New Testament. The first one is Romans 10:17

which says, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” The second reference is in Galatians 3:11. It says, “But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for 'the just shall live by faith." The last New Testament reference is found in Hebrews 10:38: “Now the just shall live by faith; but if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him."

Hebrews 10:38 and Habakkuk 2:4 are the same, just stated differently, and both are warnings to the Church. The person who “draws back” no longer has faith in God, and this could happen for any number of reasons. Whatever the reason, 1 Timothy 1:19 describes the person this way: “having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck.”

The Bible is clear. Christians are required to walk by faith which means we must humble

ourselves and trust God to keep His promises to us, and this is critical because of what we

read in Hebrews 11:6. “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who

comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently

seek Him.” In the context of Hebrews 11, faith is simply being humble enough to believe

what God says and then taking Him at His Word.

In part one of this study, we looked at the connection that faith has with works that is found in

the book of James. James 2:14 & 26 says, “(14) What does it profit, my brethren, if

someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?.... (26) For

as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”

James points to Abraham and Rahab as examples of individuals whose works were evidence of their faith. They are also mentioned in Hebrews chapter eleven for their faith. James says that when we have faith, good works will follow, and those good works will bring glory to Christ because whenever we do something in our walk for Christ, He gets the glory. But the

opposite can also be true when Christians do not act accordingly – when what we do draws

attention to ourselves and not to Jesus.

In this lesson on “Visible Faith,” we are going to examine some individuals who acted on their

faith and were recognized for their faith. Although the stories we are going to read are not

new to you, hopefully, you will hear something that will aid you in assessing the visibility of

your faith. Let’s start with Mark chapter two.

The Paralyzed Man

Remember, James says faith and work go hand in hand. So, if our work demonstrates our

faith, then our faith will be seen by others. In Mark chapter two, there is the story of a group of

men whose faith caught Jesus’ attention. Let’s begin with verse one, and because it provides

greater context to the story, I will begin reading from the Amplified Bible.

(1) Jesus returned to Capernaum, and a few days later the news went out that He was at home.

(2) So many people gathered together that there was no longer room [for them], not even near the door; and Jesus was discussing with them the word [of God].

(3) Then they came, bringing to Him a paralyzed man, who was being carried by four men.

(4) When they were unable to get to Him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above Jesus; and when they had dug out an opening, they let down the mat on which the paralyzed man was lying.