An essential element for being a follower of Christ is faith. But what is faith? One usage of the word ‘faith’ is to denote the body of teaching of a particular religion. But that’s not what we are looking at today. We are looking at faith as confidence in trustworthiness of God and his promises.
Read mark 11:12-14, 20-22. What did Jesus do to the tree?
What was the condition of the tree on the following day?
What Jesus did say when his disciples pointed the withered tree?
He said, “Have faith in God’ or better way to translate it is, “Have the God kind of faith.” What kind of faith does God have? Read Hebrews 11:3 and Genesis 1:3. What kind of expectation do you think God has when he speaks?
Whatever it is the God speaks comes about. When God created man, he gave him dominion over the earth. Thus, he has included us in the operation of his will. Now when God makes a declaration, some one has to place their confidence in God to fulfill his word and then it comes about. That is why God gave us his word. He declares his word to us. We believe and act upon his word and he brings it about as a result of our faith.
Read Hebrews 11:1. What is faith the evidence of?
Read 2 Corinthians 5:7, 4:18
Faith is being confident about something that we can not see or be certain of based on our five senses. Read Proverbs 3:5. By which faculty do trust by the mind or by the heart or spirit?
Faith is a spiritual capacity. With the mind one can give mental assent to an assertion but that is not faith because there is no action or commitment required by mental assent. On the other hand, one who has faith, having confidence based on God’s revelation rather than in physical evidence, he will act on that confidence as if there were evidence proving one’s belief.
For example, to receive God’s gift of eternal life we place our confidence in Jesus’ death on the cross as the full payment for the penalty for all our sin, express our confidence that Jesus was raised by God from the dead and commit ourselves to Jesus as the Lord of our lives. We do this in response to hearing the message about Christ. It is more than giving mental assent to the believe that there is a God because we are willing to bring our behavior and attitudes in line with what that belief requires.
Read Romans 1:17. How does Paul say we are to live?
Faith is to be the lifestyle of the believer.
How do we get faith? Read Romans 12:3? What does everyone receive from God?
Read Romans 10:17. How does Paul say we get more faith?
How can we get faith to work in our lives? Read Romans 4:16-21. To what extend did Abraham believe God’s promise?
How can we become fully persuaded that the Lord will do what he has promised?
Read 1 Corinthians 13:2 and Galatians 5:6. What personal quality is required for our faith to work?
Read Mark 11:24 and Philippians 4:6. To pray in faith, what two things should we do when we pray?
Read James 2:14-22. In verse 17, what does James say about faith if it has no actions or deeds accompanying it?
If we believe a particular promise from God’s word, then we should act in line with that belief; there needs to be some corresponding actions in our life. We can find many examples in the Bible of those who along with their faith did a corresponding action such as the women with an issue of blood: Mark 5:24-34. What was the woman’s corresponding action?
Read Hebrews 6:11-12. What other characteristic do we need to utilize our faith?
How much faith do we need? Read Luke 17:5-6. Is there a quantity of faith that we need?
Out faith will be tested from the time that we receive by faith until our request is manifested. Read James 1:6-7. What will we have to resist?
Read Mark 9:23. What things are possible through faith?
Now that you have a better understanding of faith, what things are you placing your faith God bring about in your life?
Copyright © 2009-2011 by Alan Pasho, www.disciplepedia.org. All rights reserved.
Recommended Memory Verses on Faith
You will receive insight, comfort and encouragement from memorizing verses such as these along with their scripture references. Go over them twice a day until you can quote them word for word. Then review them once each month.
Hebrews 11:1 – Now faith is assurance of things hoped for, proof of things not seen.
Mark 9:23b – …all things are possible to him who believes.
Mark 11:22-24 – Jesus answering said to them, “Have faith in God. For most assuredly I tell you, whoever may tell this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and doesn’t doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is happening; he shall have whatever he says. Therefore I tell you, all things whatever you pray and ask for, believe that you receive them, and you shall have them.
Romans 1:16b – But the righteous shall live by faith.
Romans 10:17 – So faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Scriptures taken from the Word English Bible (WEB)