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OR whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. 14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! 16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? 17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Romans 10:13-17)
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OW faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2 For by it the elders obtained a good report. 3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. 4 By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh. 5 By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. 6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. 7 By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith. 8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. 9 By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: 10 For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. (Hebrews 11:1-10)
The Law is a teacher and guide. It delineates between righteousness and evil; direction between up and down; onward and backward. Law is unforgiving. It means precisely what it says written in cold stone. Faith, on the other hand engenders to obedience through love. An informed faith is fully described in a single verse of the Epistle of Paul to the Hebrews: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
Faith comes by the way of grace and is created in the heart of the believer by the agency of the Holy Ghost. Love and faith transcends the imposition of the Law – it does not annul the Law, but enables us to be accounted righteous by way of an adherence to the principles of the Law through Love and Faith. “Evidence not seen,” as Paul says, is not acceptable in a court of Law, but faith is! Faith itself is evidence of conversion when centered on the Lord Jesus Christ and His Word. Faith ns wrong things will avail nothing but is empty of promise and substance, but true faith, though unseen, is abundant evidence of conversion and sanctification in Christ.
Abel, the first martyr and prophet, had a faith that JUSTIFIES: “By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.” Those who live by faith live on after death in the heart and mind of Christ as well as in His Presence. Why was Abel’s faith accepted by God and Cain’s rejected? It is because Abel offered a blood sacrifice to remit sin, and Cain offered the fruits of his own labor (and from a cursed source as well). God scolded Adam, the father of Cain: “ . . . cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life.” The manner and spirit in which we approach the Lord God in worship will determine whether we, too, are covered by the Blood of Redemption in the Lord Jesus Christ. Justifying faith is our first visa to cross over the line of lost and saved.
Once justified, we need SANCTIFICATION. It is one thing to plant a tender vine, but thereafter the vine needs the care protection from weeds. It must be watered! Enoch had the faith that sets the example of sanctification. Once he knew God, he WALKED with God. “And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.” (Genesis 5:24) He sought the better part of the soul’s best verdure. The Christian can never be simply satisfied with the status quo. We are either growing or we are dying. We must remember that this world is not our home – we seek the better city of the Holy Jerusalem on High as pilgrims who travel lightly with the minimum accoutrements of the world. “15 And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. 16 But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.” (Hebrews 11:15-16)
The benefit of grace will always precede any inclinations of faith. Noah was one such man who was favored by the grace of God that compels SEPARATION from the world.. He was justified, sanctified, and found grace in the eyes of the Lord. “8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.” Genesis 6:8. Without grace there can be no faith for grace is the first act of God in the heart of the believer. “By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.” Righteousness is by faith, and therein we must move and have our being. Even our good works, evoked by faith in Christ, is a condemnation of the world. Noah had the kind of faith that compelled SEPARATION from the world. It is probably this kind of faith that is most wanted in today’s modern church.
Abraham possessed a rare measure of OBEDIENT faith; in fact, such a full measure of faith that has no equal among men today – even obedient to the sacrifice of his only begotten son. You may disagree that Ishmael was also a son of Abraham, but not in the Holy sense. Ishmael was born of a mother not wed to Abraham and was not the promised seed. This passage in Hebrew 11 is ubiquitous in its expressions of faith. “8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. 9 By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: 10 For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Yes, Abraham was profoundly OBEDIENT, but that OBEDIENCE resulted from the high measure of faith Abraham bore in his heart.
Another example of faith is that of PATIENCE! Where do we find an example of that exemplary quality of faith in the Bible? How about the amazing PATIENCE in faith of the lad, ISAAC? He PATIENTLY bore the threat of being sacrificed by his own father, Abraham. Like our Lord, he uttered not a word of resistance. “By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure. By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.” (Hebrews 11:17-20)
Jacob had a SUFFERING kind of faith. Every worker of righteousness will suffer for his faith. If we do not, we have no real, life-giving faith. “By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff.” You might say that Jacob deserved to suffer due to the fraud he pulled on his brother, but not so – it was the will of God that the blessing come by way of Jacob. He SUFFERED under the oppressive manipulation of his father-in-law for fourteen years to obtain his cherished bride, Rachel. But Jacob never gave up on his pursuit of the favor of God – even wrestling with the angel of the Lord.
Finally, genuine faith is VICTORIOUS! Joseph suffered many humiliations on his way to becoming the second ruler in Egypt and the benefactor of his brothers – Israel. He became the temporal savior of Israel and his brothers who persecuted him. In this, he was a type of Christ in suffering persecution at the very hands of those He came to save. But none could die for the redemption of souls but Christ. He, being the only man ever to be sinless and perfectly righteous, died for those who were not. He satisfied the terms of the Law for those who could not qualify. “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)
What kind of faith do you have? Is it?
1. Justifyiny
2. Sanctifying
3. Separating
4. Obedient
5. Patient
6. Suffering
7. Victorious
See to it, friend!
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