CHAPTER THREE

All of the great wonders that believers received in the past, have been the result of faith in God. Without faith in God, people have been frustrated. For example, "Vanity of vainities; all is vanity. What profit has a man of all his labor which he takes under the sun" (Ecclesiastes 1:2-3).

Note the contrast of men and women of faith in Hebrews 11. People that: "...wrought righteousness, obtained promises, subdued kingdoms, quenched the violence of raging fire, stopped the mouths of lions." No, through faith, all is NOT vanity! Praise God. But Jesus said that if a man gains the whole world, yet loses his own soul, what shall it profit him? Even IF a man could gain the whole world, without faith in God and Christ, it would be vanity. Such a man WILL leave it all behind when he dies. THAT will be vain, useless!

The New Testament shows us that through faith, material things can be used to produce eternal results. Those results become treasures stored up in heaven for us. Every effort to gain eternal treasures without faith is vanity. Without faith, we cannot do it. Unless we receive eternal life through faith, we will leave EVERYTHING that we have labored for behind when we die. THAT is vanity of vanities!

We have discussed at length that faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. When we clearly understand this fact, and how to respond to it, our prayer life will become more productive, and in turn we will be able to enter into a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ. It is not Biblical faith, to "toss" a quantity of words towards heaven, hoping that God will be willing to grant what we ask. We need to understand that faith is a matter of the heart, not merely a mental effort. "For with the heart man believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation" (Romans 10:10).

Even WITH faith, whether anything happens or not will depend on the extent of our BELIEVING. All believers in Christ have a measure of faith. But often nothing happens because we stumble in the role that believing plays in our faith efforts.Recall again Jesus' words in Mark 9:23: "...if you can BELIEVE, all things are possible to him that believes". One may have faith, but unless he BELIEVES, nothing will happen. James 2:17 & 26: "Even so faith, if it has not works is dead, being alone." And: "For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also".

For the reasons noted in the book of James, FAITH IS A FACT, but BELIEVING is the ACTION part of faith. Faith without actions (belief) produces NOTHING! The Bible says so! Therefore, we will now focus more on the role that believing plays in the functions of faith.

Faith is the grounds, the title deed, the substance of things hoped for. It is a personal GRASP of what God has provided. But just knowing that God has provided something for us, will not make it happen for us. We WANT it to happen! Since believing is the ACTION part of faith, we must believe with unwaveing faith, WHEN WE ASK GOD for our request. BELIEVING is how the human heart EXERCISES the faith that it has received from God. Note the distinction between FAITH and BELIEF. For example, John 3:16 does NOT say that: whosever has FAITH should not perish, but: whosever BELIEVES...should not perish".

After we have gained true faith in God by hearing His Word, we must learn to activate that faith. There are three areas of activity that are vitally important for that purpose.

First, we must learn to TALK. We must talk according to the promises and provisions which God has given in the New Testament. That kind of talking is one way of believing. Romans 10:9: "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God has raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." See the role that CONFESSION with our mouth (talking) plays in getting saved? That same role of CONFESSION (talking) is vital in RECEIVING other promised blessings from God.

"Bow down thine ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply your heart to my knowledge. For it is a pleasant thing if you keep them within thee: they shall withal be fitted in thy lips. That thy trust may be in the Lord, I have made known to thee this day, even to thee. Have not I written to you excellent things in counsels and knowledge that I might make thee know the CERTAINTY of the words of TRUTH; that you might ANSWER the words of truth to them that send unto thee?" (Proverbs 22:17-19).

Thus the importance of our CONFESSION CANNOT BE OVEREMPHASIZED. We MUST learn to TALK in context with God's Word. That kind of talking or confession, must be CAUSED by the Word of God. We must talk according to His Word. Our confession of the facts that God has provided for us in Christ is a VITAL part of what I mean when I say that we must learn to TALK.

The problem is often that we say what we perceive people expect to hear when they ask about our condition or need. The world around us is accustomed to hearing responses of unbelief. Disappoint them!

We will know when God's Word is fitted in our lips. It will become our response to conditions that test us. It will become PRODUCTIVE in our life. It will CAUSE and REGULATE events in our life. Thus God's Word, through faith, will become the CAUSE and the REASON for our ACTIONS. Those actions may be outward or they may be simply an inward agreeing with God.

I am talking about having our faith in action. A Biblical application for such actions is Ephesians 4:22-32 (quoted in part, please read it all): "That you put off the old man,..."; "And that you put on the new man,...". The actions called for in this passage, can be accomplished by faith and believing. Our action of obedience is CAUSED by what God has said. Thus, we are ACTING OUT the Words of God. That is BELIEVING. One result will be joy and peace according to Romans 15:13.

Putting off the old nature and putting on the new one does not depend on our feelings. It depends on SAYING WITH OUR MOUTH, and NOT DOUBTING IN OUR HEART. "For verily I say to you, that whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he says shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he says" (Mark 11:23).

The act of putting off the old man and putting on the new seems to be an ongoing activity. We must learn to live in response to the impulses of our new nature in Christ, not the impulses from the old man.

The second of the three things that I believe we must learn, is that we must learn to WALK. This usage of "walk" means our behaviour. Such "walking" with the Lord makes our RELATIONSHIP with Him a blessing.

"And whatsoever we ask, we receive of Him, because we keep His commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in His sight" (1 John 3:22). And: "These things I write unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God...". "And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us..." (1 John 5:13-14). "All unrighteousness is sin...(1 John 5:17).The above quoted Scriptures, and many more in the Bible, teach us about our "walk" in the Lord. That means our lifestyle. Much of our effort in following our Lord Jesus focuses on living to please Him. He is pleased when we exhibit and experience the life that He came to give us. This means living to please Him, not to BECOME SAVED, but because we ARE saved.

The third thing that I believe we must learn, is that we must learn to COUNT. James 1:2: "My brethren, COUNT it all joy when you fall into different temptations;...". And Romans 6:11: "Likewise reckon (count) ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God". Romans 4:17: "As it is written, I have made you a father of many nations, before Hm whom he believed, even God, Who quickens (makes alive) the dead, and calls those things that be not as though they were".

It is appropriate for christian believers to so use our faith also, because of Ephesians 5:1. "Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children". Since it is righteous for God to do those things, it is RIGHTEOUS for His children to do them also! This means that if we say in faith, "I put off the old man" (Ephesians 4:22), we ACTUALLY DO IT! Thus our TALKING and our COUNTING work together to affect our WALK in the Lord. It is this walk of faith that pleases God and obtains for us victory in this world. Again, the word "walk" as used in this way in the Bible, means the whole round of our activities: literally our lifestyle.

As we noted in Romans 15:13, God fills us with all joy and peace in believing. By this verse we can identify what feels like a "spiritual feeling". That "feeling" is what is stated in 1 John 5:6: "...it is the Spirit that bears witness, because the Spirit is truth". The Holy Spirit bears WITNESS with our spirit when we BELIEVE. I.e., act on God's Word. In this manner, the Holy Spirit testifies to our spirit of the "rightness" of our BELIEVING. He thus affirms in our heart the assurance that what we are believing for is ours, often BEFORE we can materially see it with our eyes!

We often sense the witness of the Holy Spirit as a feeling of joy or peace. Sometimes He may witness to us by other elements of the fruit of the Spirit. All of the fruit of the Spirit is listed in Galatians 5:22-24. According to Ephesians 5:9-10, the fruit of the Spirit proves what is acceptable to God. We SHOULD allow such witness to encourage and to reinforce our believing. When we sense the fruit of the Spirit, we can recognize that as being Divine approval.

After that, we must vigorously defend our faith against doubt. We must resist all information that would contradict our "stand". We must: "...hold fast our confession" (Hebrews 4:14). The witness of the Holy Spirit should be a great assistance in our effort to do that.

Perhaps some of these things are but basic and are review for most readers of this book. Yet I believe that such review is important as a foundation for what follows. It is my sincere desire that the information in this book shall help your faith to grow. All of us need to grow in the faith that Jesus has authored for us. Note again Hebrews 11:6: "But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him".

People of faith in the Bible practiced the three things that we have noted. They won the approval of God, and so can we, if we follow their example.