WHAT FAITH IS NOT.......
It may seem like a strange place to start but if we can know what faith is not then we can prepare ourselves for what faith is. When the Devil approached Jesus in the wilderness he tried to get Jesus to use his relationship with God for selfish reasons. The word faith does not appear here but the remarkable part of the exchange between Jesus and the Devil is that everything Jesus is tempted to do is what many today think faith really is. Jesus was hungry after a forty day fast. The Devil wants him to turn some stones into bread. This is about a selfish desire to take care of yourself and use your relationship with God for personal needs and gains. There are a lot of believers today who would see nothing wrong with this. Jesus knew it was wrong and said that the spiritual trumps the physical. "Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes out of the mouth of God." Wow, extreme hunger does not allow a person to use their relationship with God for personal gain. You can pray for healing or jobs or physical needs but you cannot demand or even force God to take care of these. He has a plan for your life and the tough times may be necessary to get you where He needs or wants you to be. (The next chapter deals with this in detail when we look at the life of Joseph and his ultimate understanding of why God allowed him to face such a tough life.) FAITH is not about getting my physical needs taken care of.
Then the Devil wants Jesus to show how powerful he was by throwing himself down from the top of the temple. Because he was God's only son the angels would be sent to catch him. At least that is how the Devil saw it. The Devil wants you to believe you can do things others cannot do because you are a believer. Jesus knew not "to put God to the test." He knew that God's laws apply to everyone equally and to misuse the relationship with God for personal or stupid reasons was not acceptable. The kings of Israel without exception fell prey to this lie. They thought they could do anything as God's representative here on earth and in every case they were punished by God for stepping over this line. When we ignore God's laws we will pay the price. Jesus knew that and it is a lesson we need to remember. FAITH is not about being protected by God when we do something stupid.
The Devil was not done yet. How rich did Jesus want to be? This one is really popular today. All you have to do is bow down and worship the Devil and he will give you riches beyond your imagination. This is exactly what happened to Esau when he gave up his birthright for a bowl of stew. That seems really stupid to me. One passing meal for a lifetime’s birthright that would buy you more stew than anyone could imagine. Hey how much money or gold or land or stocks will you accept in return for submitting to the lies of the Devil? Jesus knew we must "worship and serve God only." To put a price on it was not part of the covenant or contract. How many today are following preachers who tell them that their faith is evident in how richly God rewards them? Nothing could be further from the truth. FAITH is not about how richly God rewards me with earthly treasures.
WHAT FAITH REALLY IS....
If we want to know what faith is we need to remember the four rules of interpreting scripture. 1. Scripture interprets scripture. 2. The easy explains the difficult. 3. Nothing taken out of context. 4. Jesus is Boss! We learn the story about Abraham and his faith connection in the book of Genesis but we have to go to the New Testament book of Hebrews to learn what faith is. Here is the New Testament interpreting the Old Testament. The eleventh chapter of Hebrews is the faith chapter. It is here we learn what faith is. The greatest problem is most people lift a verse or two out of this chapter to prove what they believe instead of learning what the scripture says faith is. So let us take a look and learn what faith really is. There are five things we can learn for sure about faith from this chapter and most of them are directly connected to Abraham and is life of faith.
First faith is always about the FUTURE
"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." Hebrews 11.1 Faith is not about what I have or where I am, faith is about the future. (We will define the future very shortly.) Faith uses words like hope, and says it is what we cannot and do not see. Now some want you to believe this is about that shiny new car you are hoping for or it is about what you want from God. It could not be further from the truth. This is very important and the scripture will bear this up shortly but remember faith is about the future.
Second faith is always about OBEDIENCE
"By 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." Hebrews 11.8 When God is directing our lives we need to remember he can see more of it than we can. He is looking at the whole life and where he wants us to end up, while we are looking at the immediate circumstances. Abraham had no idea where he was going to end up. He just knew that in order to live a life of faith he had to obey. It believes God has plans that are for the better no matter what is happening right now. Faith is always about obedience.
Third faith is always about PROMISES
"By 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. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God." Hebrews 11.9-10 God has made promises to those who believe and obey. The scriptures are full of them. The greatest promise is not for health, or wealth or even our personal happiness. The greatest promise is the one God gives to every believer. Abraham was looking for a city. Not an earthly city but an eternal heavenly one. Every believer is promised an eternity with God. This is why Abraham did not mind living in tents he had a promise of a city built by god where he would live forever. This is the same city that is talked about in Revelation chapter 22. Remember that faith is about the future and it is in our future we will enter that great city. You might even get to live next door to Abraham.
Fourth faith is always about OPTIMISM
"By 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. And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore." Hebrews 11.11-12 If we are going to have faith we need to be optimistic. I do not know how much more optimistic a person can be than an eighty-five year old man with a seventy-five year old wife believing they are going to be parents. He would have to wait until he was ninety-nine or another fourteen years. Abraham was the most optimistic person who has ever lived. He is not even called by God to follow until he was already seventy-five years old.
Fifth faith is always about RISKS
"By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death." Hebrews 11.17-19 We have to be willing to put it all on the line if we are really living a life of faith. We may not be called on to sacrifice (kill) our oldest child but we are called to sacrifice, to make choices that go against the average non-believer's life style. Faith is about risks. It is about putting it all on the line.
EXAMPLES OF FAITH FROM HEBREWS 11
Faith is about the FUTURE "By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future." Hebrews l1.20
Faith is about OBEDIENCE: "By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family." Hebrews 11.7
Faith is about PROMISES. "By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph's sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff." Hebrews 11.21
Faith is about OPTIMISM: "By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time." Hebrews 11.24-25
Faith is about RISKS: "By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born..." Hebrews 11.23
ONE MORE FAITH FACT
Faith is ALWAYS NECESSARY. "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 11.6 As believers we are called to live a life of faith. We are to focus on the future and God's long term plans. We are to be obedient and follow the directions given us by God. We are to focus on the promises and know God rewards those who live in faith. We are to be optimistic and keep a positive attitude even when everything seems to be going against us. God has a master plan and we all win in the end. We also need to remember that living a life of faith comes with risks. The safe road is not the faith road.
DEFINING PERSONAL FAITH
There is so much to learn about faith in the eleventh chapter of Hebrews. There is one verse that expresses faith that is almost always overlooked. Speaking about the ultimate faith and defining faith as clearly as it can be the write says, "Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection." Hebrews 11.35 These were "commended for their faith." Hebrews 11.39 Faith is about life and death. It is about the future and the resurrection of the dead. Let me paraphrase this verse. What it says is 'Whether I live or die I believe God is my God and Jesus is my savior.' That is a perfect definition off faith. Every person who has ever lived their life in faith dies. Along the way there are blessings and opportunities to discover what God has planned for their life. In the end it is not about what we get in this life or how we leave this lie but about what we get in the next life. To live a life of faith you have to be able to say...Whether I live or die I believe God is my God and Jesus is my savior.
