November 20, 2017 BE IT UNTO YOU
Matthew 9:29 “Then He touched their eyes, saying, ‘Be it done to you according to your faith.’”
Hebrews 11:6 “And 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 seek Him.”
Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.”
The subject of grace is one where there is much misunderstanding and confusion, even within the body of believers. We hear countless admonitions to ‘have more faith,’ and all believers would agree that faith is a necessary ingredient in the life of a Christian. Even though we are told that we must have faith, we are not told how to have more faith-‘just believe’-they tell us. Many have tried their best to work up, or muster up more faith, only to be disappointed with their best effort. For many, trying to get more faith is like a dog chasing his tail-he never catches it! (Hint-the dog is trying to catch something he already has!) There is a human faith that is resident in every person; they have faith that the chair they are about to sit in will support them, or that the gas pumps will put gas in their tank-not water. Then, there is a supernatural faith that comes from God-and that is the good news for every believer. In Mark 11:22 most translations render the words of Jesus as “Have faith in God.” However, the original, literal words of the text read: “Have the faith of God.” There is a tremendous difference in the two! ‘Having faith in God’, places the emphasis on the individual to have the faith he has, whereas ‘having the faith of God’ places the emphasis on the faith that comes from God. In the Ephesians verse above, God clearly states that our faith does not come from ourselves, but is a gift from God. The root or foundation of faith is belief. We must understand that God Himself, through the Holy Spirit, resides in the believer and it is the Holy Spirit who enables us to believe, to have the faith that comes from God at work in us. If we are limited to whatever faith we can muster up, pity on us. Faith is not a single, separate component of the life of a believer. Faith comes as a result of something-a result of knowing our true identity in Christ as taught in the scriptures, knowing God as our real Father, and knowing that we have been made new. If not careful, we will find ourselves trying to ‘work our way to God’ by trying to have more faith-a colossal error. Rather, we are to believe and receive all that God has said to those who know Him. At times, we find a mystery, or a paradox in scripture, and such is the case here; we do have the faith of God in us, but our faith should and can grow. Our salvation is greater than we realize now; there is more to discover about just what all it means to be in Christ, to be made new, and as we discover more of who He is in us, our faith does grow. Scriptures make it abundantly clear that God takes pleasure when He sees faith at work in one of His own. Whether it’s one who has just been born again having faith to believe that he is going to heaven when he dies, or the mature believer who has faith to ‘move the mountain’. At times, we find a mystery, or paradox in scripture, and such is the case here. Even though we have the faith of God in us, our faith can and should grow. Our salvation is greater than we understand at the present, but as we discover and come to understand to a greater degree what it means to be in Christ and Christ in us, and that we have been made new, our faith does indeed grow. May we find our faith growing and becoming stronger by seeking to know more about our ‘so great salvation.’ As a believer, there is no need to strive in trying to gain more faith-the faith of God has been given to us- let us exercise the faith of God that is present in us.
2 Thessalonians 1:3 “We ought to always give thanks to God for you, brethren, as is only fitting, because your faith is greatly enlarged, and the love of each one of you toward one another grows even greater.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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