1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,000 Tonight I start a preaching series. Just three 2 00:00:04,000 --> 00:00:09,000 lessons in this series entitled, And These Things Remain: 3 00:00:09,000 --> 00:00:14,000 Faith, Hope and Love, from First Corinthians 13:13. 4 00:00:14,000 --> 00:00:19,000 So I'll be preaching that tonight, next Sunday night, and then the following Sunday where I'm 5 00:00:19,000 --> 00:00:24,000 scheduled to preach in the morning. I'll finish up the third lesson in that series. 6 00:00:24,000 --> 00:00:29,000 So let's start by reading First Corinthians Chapter 13, a short verse. 7 00:00:29,000 --> 00:00:33,000 "But now faith, hope, love abide these three; 8 00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:38,000 but the greatest of these is love. 9 00:00:38,000 --> 00:00:43,000 The greatest of these is love. So these remain, the title of the series, 10 00:00:43,000 --> 00:00:48,000 faith, hope, love. And tonight the lesson is going to be, What 11 00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:53,240 is Biblical Faith? 12 00:00:53,240 --> 00:00:59,000 Paul lays out for us the basic things that we need to 13 00:00:59,000 --> 00:01:05,000 pursue as Christians: faith, hope, love. Those are the big things. 14 00:01:05,000 --> 00:01:10,000 And then in the next lessons, as I said, I'm going to explain more fully what the Bible teaches, 15 00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:14,000 hopefully, about faith, about hope, about love. So we can learn to 16 00:01:14,000 --> 00:01:19,000 abide in these as well. And the first one faith. 17 00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:24,000 Tonight. The first one, faith, tonight, is both a large 18 00:01:24,000 --> 00:01:29,000 and a small subject. Large in the sense that so much has been and 19 00:01:29,000 --> 00:01:34,000 can be said about faith. And yet small enough 20 00:01:34,000 --> 00:01:39,000 because each of us have our own individual and very 21 00:01:39,000 --> 00:01:43,000 intimate sense of what faith is for us. So it's both very personal 22 00:01:43,000 --> 00:01:48,000 and yet very, very large. Faith is like 23 00:01:48,000 --> 00:01:52,000 the sun. Vast and beyond human 24 00:01:52,000 --> 00:01:57,000 grasping, but still personal as each senses 25 00:01:57,000 --> 00:02:02,000 it's heat on one's face on a hot August afternoon. 26 00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:07,000 I still get a sense of it, nevertheless. So in this lesson tonight I'm going to 27 00:02:07,000 --> 00:02:11,880 try to answer the question so that we can not only understand what the Bible teaches 28 00:02:11,880 --> 00:02:16,000 about faith, but also in a way that we can all relate to the 29 00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:22,000 experience that faith brings to each of us. 30 00:02:22,000 --> 00:02:26,660 So let's start with what faith is not. 31 00:02:26,660 --> 00:02:31,000 I suppose a good way to begin the subject 32 00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:34,920 is to look at the misconceptions about faith. 33 00:02:34,920 --> 00:02:38,000 In other words, what faith is not. 34 00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:43,000 What the Bible doesn't say about faith. Throughout the Bible a lot of people 35 00:02:43,000 --> 00:02:48,000 claim to be religious, and holy, and men of faith, but they didn't actually know the first 36 00:02:48,000 --> 00:02:53,000 thing about faith. These people and these attitudes live on 37 00:02:53,000 --> 00:02:58,300 today as examples of what faith is not. For example, 38 00:02:58,300 --> 00:03:03,160 faith is not religious heritage. 39 00:03:03,160 --> 00:03:09,000 The Pharisees were indignant with Jesus when He accused them of being 40 00:03:09,000 --> 00:03:13,000 sinful. They were indignant. How dare you? They answered 41 00:03:13,000 --> 00:03:18,000 that they were sons of Abraham. That was their answer. We're sons of 42 00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:23,000 Abraham, do you know who you're talking to here. And this religious and cultural 43 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:28,000 heritage was all they needed to be justified before God. They didn't need repentance. They 44 00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:32,000 to obey, they didn't need to expand their faith. We're sons of Abraham, were 45 00:03:32,000 --> 00:03:37,000 Jews. We take on the same attitude when we rest our 46 00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:42,000 confidence in our religious heritage, rather than in faith. 47 00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:47,000 Because some people think that being part of a religious group for 48 00:03:47,000 --> 00:03:52,000 a long time, that's good enough. I've met people - well, 49 00:03:52,000 --> 00:03:58,000 my father was an elder, my great grandfather was a preacher. I'm thinking yes, so what. 50 00:03:58,000 --> 00:04:04,080 That's good for them, but that doesn't count for you. 51 00:04:04,080 --> 00:04:10,000 Identification or association with quote the Church of Christ for several 52 00:04:10,000 --> 00:04:16,000 generations, that's not the same thing as faith. 53 00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:21,160 Faith is not indoctrination. 54 00:04:21,160 --> 00:04:27,000 The Jews knew the law. They knew the rules. They knew the traditions, the arguments. But Paul 55 00:04:27,000 --> 00:04:32,000 says that they did not achieve righteousness. Why? Because they did not 56 00:04:32,000 --> 00:04:35,300 pursue it by faith. 57 00:04:35,300 --> 00:04:42,340 Romans 9:32. Memorizing scripture is good. 58 00:04:42,340 --> 00:04:50,060 It builds up the spirit, but it isn't the same thing as faith. 59 00:04:50,060 --> 00:04:56,000 Knowing and arguing about different points of doctrine successfully, that's 60 00:04:56,000 --> 00:05:01,000 not faith. Indoctrination is a means 61 00:05:01,000 --> 00:05:06,000 to acquire faith, but the practice and the expertise in knowing the 62 00:05:06,000 --> 00:05:11,680 theory of our religion is not in itself faith. 63 00:05:11,680 --> 00:05:17,000 Your child gets hit by a car and dies instantly. At that 64 00:05:17,000 --> 00:05:22,000 moment knowing all the rules about the Levitical priesthood and what it 65 00:05:22,000 --> 00:05:26,660 means is not helping you at that moment. 66 00:05:26,660 --> 00:05:33,000 Faith is not comfort. 67 00:05:33,000 --> 00:05:38,000 Some people confuse familiarity with faith. The number two 68 00:05:38,000 --> 00:05:43,000 stumbling block in bringing people to Christ is their comfort with their 69 00:05:43,000 --> 00:05:48,000 existing religion. First - the number one is sin. The love of 70 00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:52,000 sin. John 3:19, they didn't want to come to Him. Why? Because they loved the darkness more. 71 00:05:52,000 --> 00:05:57,000 A lot of people, they understand. They get Christianity. They understand 72 00:05:57,000 --> 00:06:02,000 the idea. They know what they have to do, but they refuse to do it. Why? Well, they like their sin 73 00:06:02,000 --> 00:06:06,760 better than they like being a Christian. 74 00:06:06,760 --> 00:06:12,000 Feeling at home with a certain set of ideas, or 75 00:06:12,000 --> 00:06:18,000 rituals, or traditions, or a building even. 76 00:06:18,000 --> 00:06:22,000 Or comfort with a certain group of religious people, that's not the same thing 77 00:06:22,000 --> 00:06:27,000 as faith. That's emotion. That's familiarity, but it's 78 00:06:27,000 --> 00:06:32,000 not faith. I've studied with a lot of people that the stumbling 79 00:06:32,000 --> 00:06:37,000 block for them to receive Christ, to repent and be baptized wasn't 80 00:06:37,000 --> 00:06:42,000 so much that they didn't believe - they couldn't tear themselves away because their whole 81 00:06:42,000 --> 00:06:47,000 family went to a particular Christian group that 82 00:06:47,000 --> 00:06:51,900 they were comfortable with. 83 00:06:51,900 --> 00:06:58,000 The Jews drew great comfort in their traditions. 84 00:06:58,000 --> 00:07:03,000 And through these excesses or through the excesses of the 85 00:07:03,000 --> 00:07:08,000 Pharisees they turned their comfortable traditions into inflexible 86 00:07:08,000 --> 00:07:13,000 laws that eventually overshadowed the reason for the traditions. And that 87 00:07:13,000 --> 00:07:18,000 was the honoring of God, Himself. 88 00:07:18,000 --> 00:07:22,000 Faith is not self-righteousness. Again, the Jews 89 00:07:22,000 --> 00:07:27,000 understood that God was real and that there was a link or a window 90 00:07:27,000 --> 00:07:32,000 between God and man. With time they came to believe that their 91 00:07:32,000 --> 00:07:36,000 own self-righteousness was their link with the Lord. 92 00:07:36,000 --> 00:07:40,000 Their window to the invisible 93 00:07:40,000 --> 00:07:44,000 God. Again, Paul explains their mistake. 94 00:07:44,000 --> 00:07:49,000 As I said in Romans 9:30 - 32 they substituted self- 95 00:07:49,000 --> 00:07:55,000 righteousness, works, religious doing - 96 00:07:55,000 --> 00:07:59,560 They substituted that for faith. 97 00:07:59,560 --> 00:08:04,760 We fall into the same subtle trap when we assume that we can substitute 98 00:08:04,760 --> 00:08:09,660 a level of morality or a general niceness about 99 00:08:09,660 --> 00:08:14,000 ourselves into faith. I've heard a lot of people, they say - and it's at a 100 00:08:14,000 --> 00:08:20,000 sad time, someone passes away or something and they say, 101 00:08:20,000 --> 00:08:24,000 but they were such nice people. It's like, it's almost like an 102 00:08:24,000 --> 00:08:28,420 unspoken prayer. He was such a nice guy. 103 00:08:28,420 --> 00:08:35,480 I don't see the word, actually I don't even know if the word nice is in the Bible. 104 00:08:35,480 --> 00:08:42,000 She was such a kind person. Yeah that's good. 105 00:08:42,000 --> 00:08:47,000 But you can't substitute kind for faith. You can't 106 00:08:47,000 --> 00:08:52,000 substitute nice for - I remember doing a funeral 107 00:08:52,000 --> 00:08:56,000 for a person and the person who was - there was only one person who's going to give a testimonial for the 108 00:08:56,000 --> 00:09:01,000 deceased and they only had two things to say about the deceased. He was a good 109 00:09:01,000 --> 00:09:06,000 mechanic and he loved his dog. 110 00:09:06,000 --> 00:09:12,000 You can't substitute that for faith. 111 00:09:12,000 --> 00:09:17,000 Some people think that a well-kept lawn, or a successful marriage, or a meaningful career, or 112 00:09:17,000 --> 00:09:22,000 healthy children are the same thing or as good as 113 00:09:22,000 --> 00:09:27,000 faith. It's not that we deny faith. We merely 114 00:09:27,000 --> 00:09:32,000 transform faith into a nice lifestyle - the American 115 00:09:32,000 --> 00:09:37,000 dream. And for us living the good life somehow is equal to faith. 116 00:09:37,000 --> 00:09:39,180 And it's not. 117 00:09:39,180 --> 00:09:46,000 So let's talk about what faith is. I could go on and on about what it is not, but what is it? 118 00:09:46,000 --> 00:09:51,260 Let's look at some concrete things that the Bible identifies as faith. 119 00:09:51,260 --> 00:09:57,000 In explaining these things you need to understand that faith is a composite of 120 00:09:57,000 --> 00:10:01,000 several different factors. Faith is like a puzzle that you put 121 00:10:01,000 --> 00:10:06,000 together one piece at a time as the entire picture emerges 122 00:10:06,000 --> 00:10:11,000 from the Scriptures. Faith is comprised of, first 123 00:10:11,000 --> 00:10:16,000 of all, specific knowledge. 124 00:10:16,000 --> 00:10:20,520 Romans 10:17. Paul says, "So faith 125 00:10:20,520 --> 00:10:25,000 comes from hearing, and hearing by the Word of 126 00:10:25,000 --> 00:10:30,000 Christ." When the Bible talks about faith it does so 127 00:10:30,000 --> 00:10:34,780 in both objective and subjective terms. 128 00:10:34,780 --> 00:10:40,360 When the Bible refers to "the faith", the faith 129 00:10:40,360 --> 00:10:45,000 it is talking about that body of specific religious information 130 00:10:45,000 --> 00:10:50,000 formulated and given by Jesus and later disseminated 131 00:10:50,000 --> 00:10:55,000 by his Apostles and recorded as the New Testament, in the same 132 00:10:55,000 --> 00:10:59,900 way the Old Testament - as the prophets and writers, Moses and others 133 00:10:59,920 --> 00:11:05,000 wrote and compiled the Old Testament portion of the Bible. 134 00:11:05,000 --> 00:11:10,000 When Paul says there is one faith in Ephesians, Chapter 4, verse 135 00:11:10,000 --> 00:11:14,500 5, he's talking about information. 136 00:11:14,500 --> 00:11:19,760 When Jude says, "Contend earnestly for the faith 137 00:11:19,760 --> 00:11:24,000 once delivered to the Saints," Jude 3. What's he saying? He's 138 00:11:24,000 --> 00:11:29,000 talking about the knowledge and the information concerning Christ and the 139 00:11:29,000 --> 00:11:34,000 church and salvation and so forth. All that information that was given by 140 00:11:34,000 --> 00:11:38,000 God to the Apostles once and for 141 00:11:38,000 --> 00:11:43,000 all. There is no more. It's a body of information. The good 142 00:11:43,000 --> 00:11:47,000 thing about Jude 3 is it tells us that there is a body of 143 00:11:47,000 --> 00:11:52,000 information. There is a certain set of information and it has 144 00:11:52,000 --> 00:11:57,000 already been delivered to the Apostles. And he goes out of his way to say once 145 00:11:57,000 --> 00:12:02,000 for all, there isn't any more. So if you happen to be reading on 146 00:12:02,000 --> 00:12:06,000 BuzzFeed or online somewhere that they found another Bible book or 147 00:12:06,000 --> 00:12:11,000 another hidden thing there. Go back to Jude 3 and read over again 148 00:12:11,000 --> 00:12:15,440 what he has told us. 149 00:12:15,460 --> 00:12:21,000 When Paul says there is one faith, he 150 00:12:21,000 --> 00:12:24,000 means one body of doctrine. 151 00:12:24,000 --> 00:12:29,000 In other instances the Bible talks about faith as a subjective 152 00:12:29,000 --> 00:12:33,000 experience. Something that one possesses. Something that 153 00:12:33,000 --> 00:12:38,000 produces or causes results. We'll talk about that in a moment, 154 00:12:38,000 --> 00:12:42,000 but an example of this is in Galatians chapter 3, verse 22 and 155 00:12:42,000 --> 00:12:47,000 3, he says, "but the Scripture has shut up everyone under sin, so that the 156 00:12:47,000 --> 00:12:52,000 promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. But 157 00:12:52,000 --> 00:12:57,000 before Faith came, we were kept in custody under the law 158 00:12:57,000 --> 00:13:02,000 being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed." Here he's talking 159 00:13:02,000 --> 00:13:06,000 about faith in both ways, subjective and objective. 160 00:13:06,000 --> 00:13:10,000 "But the Scripture has shut up everyone 161 00:13:10,000 --> 00:13:15,000 under sin, so that the promise by faith - what is that, the promise by 162 00:13:15,000 --> 00:13:20,000 faith? The promise we receive by believing, by 163 00:13:20,000 --> 00:13:25,000 faith. That promise in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe, but 164 00:13:25,000 --> 00:13:30,000 before faith came, that faith - the system of faith to salvation - 165 00:13:30,000 --> 00:13:34,000 before that faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, being shut up 166 00:13:34,000 --> 00:13:39,000 to what? To the faith. Oh! That body of teaching. That body 167 00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:47,000 of information which was later to be revealed. 168 00:13:47,000 --> 00:13:52,000 So you can't have faith until you have the faith. 169 00:13:52,000 --> 00:13:57,000 First you get the faith, the information, the body of teaching and 170 00:13:57,000 --> 00:14:02,000 from that grows faith. And I'll talk about the nature of 171 00:14:02,000 --> 00:14:06,660 that in a moment. Before it becomes anything or does anything, 172 00:14:06,700 --> 00:14:11,000 faith is first specific knowledge and information given to us by 173 00:14:11,000 --> 00:14:16,220 Christ contained in the Bible. Secondly, 174 00:14:16,220 --> 00:14:22,660 faith is an act of the will. Information 175 00:14:22,660 --> 00:14:28,000 and knowledge all by itself is not faith. It must be 176 00:14:28,000 --> 00:14:31,580 acted upon in order to become faith. 177 00:14:31,580 --> 00:14:37,000 Our will must respond in two ways for faith to emerge from the words 178 00:14:37,000 --> 00:14:42,000 of Christ. First, we must accept the information 179 00:14:42,000 --> 00:14:47,000 as being true. This is what believing is. Somebody 180 00:14:47,000 --> 00:14:52,000 said, give me a definition of believing. How would you define believing? 181 00:14:52,000 --> 00:14:57,000 Well, believing means you accept that something that has been proposed to you is 182 00:14:57,000 --> 00:15:01,000 true, is accurate. 183 00:15:01,000 --> 00:15:06,000 My wife's name is Lise and because you know her 184 00:15:06,000 --> 00:15:11,000 you will say, I believe that. I believe that information that 185 00:15:11,000 --> 00:15:18,060 you're just giving me is true. Therefore, there you have faith in what I have just said. 186 00:15:18,060 --> 00:15:23,340 Hebrews 11:6, "He who comes to God must believe that He is." 187 00:15:23,340 --> 00:15:28,000 Believe. Must accept that there is a God. Must accept as 188 00:15:28,000 --> 00:15:33,000 true. Our will must 189 00:15:33,000 --> 00:15:38,000 decide that what we have heard from Christ is true. 190 00:15:38,000 --> 00:15:41,000 That's believing. 191 00:15:41,000 --> 00:15:45,000 And then we must act upon. In other words, we must respond to the 192 00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:50,000 information given to us. Faith is born when we 193 00:15:50,000 --> 00:15:55,000 believe as true and respond to the words of 194 00:15:55,000 --> 00:15:59,700 Jesus. In Acts 8:26 - 38. Luke 195 00:15:59,700 --> 00:16:05,000 tells the story of Phillip the evangelist and the Eunuch. 196 00:16:05,000 --> 00:16:10,000 And so Luke writes, "Philip ran up and heard him, meaning the Eunuch, heard 197 00:16:10,000 --> 00:16:15,000 him, reading Isaiah the prophet and said, "Do you understand what you are reading?" 198 00:16:15,000 --> 00:16:19,000 And he said, "Well how could I, Unless someone guides me?" and he 199 00:16:19,000 --> 00:16:24,000 invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Now the passage of Scripture 200 00:16:24,000 --> 00:16:29,000 which he was reading was this, he was led as a sheep to slaughter and as a lamb 201 00:16:29,000 --> 00:16:33,000 before its shearers is silent. So he does not open his mouth and 202 00:16:33,000 --> 00:16:38,000 humiliation is judgment was taken away who will relate his generation for 203 00:16:38,000 --> 00:16:43,000 his life is removed from the earth. The Eunuch answered Philip and said, "Please 204 00:16:43,000 --> 00:16:47,920 tell me, of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself 205 00:16:47,920 --> 00:16:53,000 or of someone else?" So Philip provides 206 00:16:53,000 --> 00:16:58,000 him with specific information relating to Christ. There is the link. There is the 207 00:16:58,000 --> 00:17:02,000 window that clarifies the knowledge that he's just gained. He's read 208 00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:07,000 this. There's information here. There's knowledge here, but he doesn't 209 00:17:07,000 --> 00:17:12,000 quite understand it. He needs someone to explain it to him. So in Verse 210 00:17:12,000 --> 00:17:16,000 35 it says, "Then Philip opened his mouth and beginning from this 211 00:17:16,000 --> 00:17:21,000 scripture he preached Jesus to him." So Philip 212 00:17:21,000 --> 00:17:26,000 provides him with the specific information relating to Christ. That 213 00:17:26,000 --> 00:17:31,000 clarifies the knowledge that he is getting from 214 00:17:31,000 --> 00:17:36,000 this passage. But all the Eunuch has is specific information, that's 215 00:17:36,000 --> 00:17:41,000 all. He must accept it as true. That's his confession of 216 00:17:41,000 --> 00:17:45,000 faith. And then act to respond to it, that's his baptism, in 217 00:17:45,000 --> 00:17:50,000 order for the information to become faith. We 218 00:17:50,000 --> 00:17:55,000 read he said, "As they went along the road they came to some water and the Eunuch 219 00:17:55,000 --> 00:18:00,000 said, "Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?" and Phillips said, "If you 220 00:18:00,000 --> 00:18:05,000 believe with all your heart you may." And he answered and said, "I believe 221 00:18:05,000 --> 00:18:10,000 that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." And he ordered the chariot to 222 00:18:10,000 --> 00:18:14,000 stop and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the Eunuch, 223 00:18:14,000 --> 00:18:17,720 and he baptized him. 224 00:18:17,720 --> 00:18:22,760 So all the Eunuch had was information. 225 00:18:22,760 --> 00:18:27,000 He had to respond to that information in order for 226 00:18:27,000 --> 00:18:32,000 faith to be produced. Another example in 227 00:18:32,000 --> 00:18:37,000 Acts 2:37-38, familiar passages here. It says, "Now 228 00:18:37,000 --> 00:18:42,000 when they - meaning the crowd that Peter was preaching to - now when they heard this they were 229 00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:46,000 pierced to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the Apostles, "Brethren, what shall we 230 00:18:46,000 --> 00:18:51,000 do?" And Peter said to them, "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus 231 00:18:51,000 --> 00:18:56,000 Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the 232 00:18:56,000 --> 00:19:01,600 gift of the Holy Spirit." In Acts 2:37-38 233 00:19:01,600 --> 00:19:07,000 Peter has preached the specific information, the faith. He is transferring 234 00:19:07,000 --> 00:19:12,000 the faith, the information regarding Christ. The people now have 235 00:19:12,000 --> 00:19:17,000 the faith. They've received that, they have a window open to heaven and so 236 00:19:17,000 --> 00:19:22,000 they ask Peter what they must do. In other words, an acknowledgment 237 00:19:22,000 --> 00:19:27,000 that they actually accept as true what he has said. And then 238 00:19:27,000 --> 00:19:31,160 he gives them what their response of faith should be. 239 00:19:31,160 --> 00:19:35,000 And that is to repent and be baptized. 240 00:19:35,000 --> 00:19:39,960 Notice they didn't say to Peter, what does this mean. 241 00:19:39,960 --> 00:19:45,720 They didn't say to Peter, why do we have to do that. 242 00:19:45,720 --> 00:19:47,000 They didn't say to him, 243 00:19:47,000 --> 00:19:53,000 well, the other people are doing this. Isn't that just good enough that we repent? 244 00:19:53,000 --> 00:19:58,000 They ask them, okay you've given us this information. So what do we do now? And he answers 245 00:19:58,000 --> 00:20:01,000 and gives them the answer and they respond in kind. 246 00:20:01,000 --> 00:20:06,000 We keep reading there and it said the 3000 people were baptized on 247 00:20:06,000 --> 00:20:08,600 that particular day. 248 00:20:08,600 --> 00:20:13,320 So Peter responds that they should repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins 249 00:20:13,320 --> 00:20:18,000 and the reception of the Holy Spirit. Now the confusion in the 250 00:20:18,000 --> 00:20:23,000 evangelical world stems from their idea that man is not 251 00:20:23,000 --> 00:20:27,520 able to make a proper act of will. Can't make that choice. 252 00:20:27,520 --> 00:20:33,000 According to most evangelical doctrines, some Catholic doctrine as well, for 253 00:20:33,000 --> 00:20:37,000 this reason God will save him without an act of will. He merely chooses different 254 00:20:37,000 --> 00:20:42,000 ones for salvation and they accept his choice by simply 255 00:20:42,000 --> 00:20:47,000 understanding and repeating certain words. I accept Jesus as my personal 256 00:20:47,000 --> 00:20:52,000 savior. Or the parents substitute their faith for their baby's faith and 257 00:20:52,000 --> 00:20:57,000 have the baby baptized. Of course, repeating these words, 258 00:20:57,000 --> 00:21:02,000 or coming forward to an altar call, or raising their hand, this is 259 00:21:02,000 --> 00:21:04,000 an act of the will. 260 00:21:04,000 --> 00:21:09,000 It's just not an act of the will that God demands in the Bible. 261 00:21:09,000 --> 00:21:13,680 That's the problem. We need to realize that God has provided in 262 00:21:13,680 --> 00:21:18,640 the specific information in the faith part, He has 263 00:21:18,640 --> 00:21:23,000 provided in Christ's words how one was to express 264 00:21:23,000 --> 00:21:28,000 their active will in order to generate faith. And in this case it was 265 00:21:28,000 --> 00:21:33,000 through repentance and baptism. So faith, therefore, a long 266 00:21:33,000 --> 00:21:38,000 explanation, but faith, therefore, is produced when we exercise our 267 00:21:38,000 --> 00:21:42,660 will, not any old way, but when we exercise our will 268 00:21:42,660 --> 00:21:47,000 through belief and obedience in accordance with the words of Christ. I mean the 269 00:21:47,000 --> 00:21:52,000 clearest example, Mark 16:16, "Those who believe and are baptized 270 00:21:52,000 --> 00:21:55,000 will be saved." Well, there are those who believe. 271 00:21:55,000 --> 00:22:00,000 Well that's except this true. I've heard the information and 272 00:22:00,000 --> 00:22:05,000 I believe it. I accept this is true. Jesus says, those who believe and 273 00:22:05,000 --> 00:22:10,000 are baptized. That's the response of 274 00:22:10,000 --> 00:22:14,000 faith. The decision of faith, I believe. 275 00:22:14,000 --> 00:22:19,000 The response of faith, I am baptized. Together these 276 00:22:19,000 --> 00:22:21,000 equal faith. 277 00:22:21,000 --> 00:22:26,000 And that's how individuals are saved by faith. All right. 278 00:22:26,000 --> 00:22:31,000 Another thing that faith is - faith is comprised of specific 279 00:22:31,000 --> 00:22:35,000 knowledge, the faith. An act of the will, 280 00:22:35,000 --> 00:22:39,700 response. The response of belief. And then thirdly, 281 00:22:39,700 --> 00:22:44,000 faith is a feeling. And I know that we don't like this idea 282 00:22:44,000 --> 00:22:49,000 because we'd like to keep our religion bottled up in our heads and not let it 283 00:22:49,000 --> 00:22:51,900 go down to our hearts. 284 00:22:51,900 --> 00:22:56,960 We're guilty of that many times. 285 00:22:56,960 --> 00:23:01,280 But faith does produce feelings about what we have decided 286 00:23:01,280 --> 00:23:06,000 and what we have done regarding the knowledge that has been given to us 287 00:23:06,000 --> 00:23:11,000 about Jesus Christ. For example, we feel assurance. 288 00:23:11,000 --> 00:23:13,080 I like the song you picked, 289 00:23:13,080 --> 00:23:17,180 Blessed Assurance. Assurance is a feeling isn't it? 290 00:23:17,180 --> 00:23:22,000 Isn't assurance a feeling? Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped 291 00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:27,000 for, the conviction of things not seen." Faith isn't 292 00:23:27,000 --> 00:23:32,000 just a head thing. It's a heart thing. The author says that faith 293 00:23:32,000 --> 00:23:37,000 produces a feeling of security, of assuredness, about these 294 00:23:37,000 --> 00:23:42,000 things. Now we don't see them, but we feel secure 295 00:23:42,000 --> 00:23:47,000 that we will receive what has been promised to us. I have acted 296 00:23:47,000 --> 00:23:51,000 upon the words of Christ and the result in my life is that I 297 00:23:51,000 --> 00:23:53,000 feel confident. 298 00:23:53,000 --> 00:23:58,360 I mean confidence is a feeling, is it not, about the future, 299 00:23:58,360 --> 00:24:04,000 about the unseen promises of God. Faith is part 300 00:24:04,000 --> 00:24:09,000 feeling. And one of the feelings is assurance. 301 00:24:09,000 --> 00:24:12,000 Another thing we feel - determination. 302 00:24:12,000 --> 00:24:17,000 Paul says, "Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: 303 00:24:17,000 --> 00:24:22,000 forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead. I press 304 00:24:22,000 --> 00:24:27,000 on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God 305 00:24:27,000 --> 00:24:28,000 in Christ Jesus. 306 00:24:28,000 --> 00:24:32,940 I receive the information, and that information promised me something, 307 00:24:32,940 --> 00:24:38,000 and I have responded to that information, and now I am looking forward to that 308 00:24:38,000 --> 00:24:43,000 promise, and I'm reaching forward to that - to that promise. 309 00:24:43,000 --> 00:24:48,000 I am determined in opposition to the evidence to the 310 00:24:48,000 --> 00:24:53,000 contrary. There is sin, and there's death, and there's sorrow, and there's disbelief in this 311 00:24:53,000 --> 00:24:58,000 world. And despite all of this I am determined to press on 312 00:24:58,000 --> 00:25:03,000 to the eternal life that I've been promised. The reasons to 313 00:25:03,000 --> 00:25:08,000 persevere may be kept in one's mind, but the experience of 314 00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:12,080 persevering is felt through determination. 315 00:25:12,080 --> 00:25:17,000 Don't you feel it in your guts when you have to say no to something 316 00:25:17,000 --> 00:25:22,080 that is tempting and alluring, but you know 317 00:25:22,080 --> 00:25:27,480 that'll stop you from following Christ. Don't you feel that inside of you - 318 00:25:27,480 --> 00:25:33,260 denying your flesh. Of course it's a feeling. 319 00:25:33,260 --> 00:25:38,000 Faith creates a determination in me that moves 320 00:25:38,000 --> 00:25:43,000 me to persevere, to press on, despite the opposition, 321 00:25:43,000 --> 00:25:48,000 despite the difficulty. With faith 322 00:25:48,000 --> 00:25:50,320 we also feel joy. 323 00:25:50,320 --> 00:25:56,000 Paul again says, "Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all for 324 00:25:56,000 --> 00:26:01,000 your progress and joy in the 325 00:26:01,000 --> 00:26:05,000 faith." I don't think I could have found a scripture that links the two things closer 326 00:26:05,000 --> 00:26:10,000 than that. Your joy in the 327 00:26:10,000 --> 00:26:15,000 faith. Again, from beginning to end the revelation of 328 00:26:15,000 --> 00:26:20,000 the word, the good news, the gospel, has created faith. And that faith has 329 00:26:20,000 --> 00:26:24,000 produced joy. And joy, I say it again, is joy not a 330 00:26:24,000 --> 00:26:29,000 feeling? In Luke 2:10 the angels 331 00:26:29,000 --> 00:26:34,980 said to the shepherds, I bring you good news of a great joy. 332 00:26:34,980 --> 00:26:40,660 In Philippians 1:25 Paul promises to continue teaching 333 00:26:40,660 --> 00:26:45,000 them so they may grow and continue to do what, here? To 334 00:26:45,000 --> 00:26:48,000 experience joy in the faith. 335 00:26:48,000 --> 00:26:53,000 Imagine, not joy in the believing 336 00:26:53,000 --> 00:26:56,000 part. 337 00:26:56,000 --> 00:27:01,000 It's not saying to be joyful because you decided this was true. He's saying 338 00:27:01,000 --> 00:27:06,000 you're going to have continual joy in the faith, the knowledge. 339 00:27:06,000 --> 00:27:12,460 The information about Christianity continues to produce joy in us. 340 00:27:12,460 --> 00:27:19,360 The more I know God's word, the more joyful I become. 341 00:27:19,360 --> 00:27:24,000 Faith begins as information processed by 342 00:27:24,000 --> 00:27:29,000 our will into belief and action. And 343 00:27:29,000 --> 00:27:34,600 then experienced as confidence, perseverance, 344 00:27:34,600 --> 00:27:40,000 and joy. What else makes someone continue forward 345 00:27:40,000 --> 00:27:44,000 despite their suffering, despite their disappointments, 346 00:27:44,000 --> 00:27:49,000 despite the fact that life has not been fair to them in some way or 347 00:27:49,000 --> 00:27:53,000 another? And yet they continue and they continue to have joy in their 348 00:27:53,000 --> 00:27:58,340 hearts. Who produces that? Certainly not the world. 349 00:27:58,340 --> 00:28:04,000 For now you'll note that I haven't talked about what faith motivates me to do. How 350 00:28:04,000 --> 00:28:09,000 long we must be faithful. How to renew our faith or share it with 351 00:28:09,000 --> 00:28:14,000 others. Mike talked about that this morning. These are topics for other times and other 352 00:28:14,000 --> 00:28:18,000 lessons. What I have tried to do is to eliminate some false 353 00:28:18,000 --> 00:28:23,000 ideas about faith. For example, 354 00:28:23,000 --> 00:28:28,000 it's not my father's religion or traditions. 355 00:28:28,000 --> 00:28:32,500 My father's faith can be true, but it isn't mine. 356 00:28:32,500 --> 00:28:37,000 You know that younger people have to develop their own faith. 357 00:28:37,000 --> 00:28:42,000 And parents have to be patient and allow 358 00:28:42,000 --> 00:28:47,000 them to work out their own faith. And it's not 359 00:28:47,000 --> 00:28:52,000 just doctrine, just information. And 360 00:28:52,000 --> 00:28:55,760 it's not just religious habit, although religious habit is important, 361 00:28:55,760 --> 00:28:59,000 but it's not just that. 362 00:28:59,000 --> 00:29:04,000 And it's not just personal goodness. Faith has these things, but 363 00:29:04,000 --> 00:29:09,000 it isn't these things. In the place of these we've learned that 364 00:29:09,000 --> 00:29:13,000 biblical faith, Christian faith, begins with the words 365 00:29:13,000 --> 00:29:18,000 and the teachings of Jesus. Biblical faith comes to life when 366 00:29:18,000 --> 00:29:23,000 an individual believes these words as being true 367 00:29:23,000 --> 00:29:28,000 and responds to them not in any old way, but responds to 368 00:29:28,000 --> 00:29:33,000 them as Christ has given them, and then is 369 00:29:33,000 --> 00:29:37,000 continually experienced because it produces confidence and 370 00:29:37,000 --> 00:29:42,000 perseverance and a joyful heart. And as 371 00:29:42,000 --> 00:29:46,780 we will learn in our next lessons, it also produces 372 00:29:46,780 --> 00:29:52,000 hope and love. Paul says love's the greatest, but you've got to have faith in 373 00:29:52,000 --> 00:29:57,000 order to get to love. You can't go around faith and get to love. 374 00:29:57,000 --> 00:30:01,480 So I pray that if your notion of faith was 375 00:30:01,480 --> 00:30:06,000 incorrect in some way. You will discard that tonight and 376 00:30:06,000 --> 00:30:11,000 respond to the faith given to us by Jesus in the Bible. 377 00:30:11,000 --> 00:30:16,000 That you will believe as true what God says, not just about 378 00:30:16,000 --> 00:30:21,220 salvation, but you'll believe as true everything. We tend to emphasize believe as true. 379 00:30:21,220 --> 00:30:26,000 You'll be lost if you disbelieve in and 380 00:30:26,000 --> 00:30:30,000 you're not baptized. Well that's true, but also the things He 381 00:30:30,000 --> 00:30:35,000 says about, I will never forsake you, I will never leave you, and stop worrying 382 00:30:35,000 --> 00:30:40,000 about tomorrow. I will provide for you every single day. You need to believe that is true 383 00:30:40,000 --> 00:30:45,000 as well, because it's from these things that we find 384 00:30:45,000 --> 00:30:50,000 encouragement and strength. And also that you will continue in this belief 385 00:30:50,000 --> 00:30:55,000 in order to experience the assurance and the strength and the joy that 386 00:30:55,000 --> 00:30:59,860 only comes with true Biblical faith. And so if you 387 00:30:59,860 --> 00:31:04,000 need to make some adjustments to your faith. If you need to 388 00:31:04,000 --> 00:31:09,000 respond in faith because you may not have correctly responded in 389 00:31:09,000 --> 00:31:14,000 faith. If you need to respond in faith because you've never responded in faith. Whatever 390 00:31:14,000 --> 00:31:19,240 your need is concerning faith or any other matter, we encourage you to come forward now 391 00:31:19,240 --> 00:31:23,860 as we stand and as we sing the song of encouragement.