-- “By faith Abraham ...went out, not knowing where he was going” (verse 8).
-- “By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive” (verse 11).
-- “By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac” (verse 17).
-- “By faith Jacob, as he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph” (verse 21).
-- “By faith Moses . . . refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter” (verse 24).
-- “By faith the walls of Jericho fell” (verse 30).
-- “By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish” (verse 31).
Beginning with verse 32, the author picked up speed in naming those people of God who were victorious by faith, including, “Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, . . . escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong....All these... gained approval through their faith” (verses 32–34, 39).
It’s clear the Bible commends and urges faith. The Old Testament word barach is translated trust. When you see trust in the Old Testament, that’s the equivalent of faith in the New Testament. The word for trust ( believe or be faithful ) is found more than three hundred times in the New Testament.
For example, let’s look briefly at the gospel of Matthew. As we do a “flyover” of Matthew, notice the prominent way that faith serves as the message of Scripture. Every good thing that God brings to us comes through the funnel of faith. Look at these quick references from the first of four Gospels:
-- Matthew 6. Jesus teaches His followers that their lives should not be marked by anxiety nor concern about the matters of life but by faith in the God who provides for every need.
-- Matthew 8. Jesus heals a leper who exhibits faith in Him. “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean” (verse 2). What a great prayer! In the same chapter, Jesus heals the servant of a centurion and marvels at the soldier’s expression of faith: “I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel” (verse 10). Later, Jesus rebukes the disciples for their lack of faith in the midst of a great storm: “Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?” (verse 26).
-- Matthew 9. Seeing the faith of a paralytic and his friends, Jesus heals the man and forgives his sins. A little later, a woman who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for twelve years touches Jesus’ cloak in faith and Jesus heals her instantly and says to her, “Daughter, take courage; your faith has made you well” (verse 22).
-- Matthew 13. Jesus returns to His hometown but does not do many miracles there becaue of the people’s unbelief.
-- Matthew 14. Seeing Jesus walking on the sea, Peter gets out of the boat and walks toward Him. Then he starts to get frightened, and he sinks down. The Lord questions his faith and says, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” (verse 31).
-- Matthew 15. A Canaanite woman implores Jesus to heal her demon-possessed daughter. Jesus answers her request, saying to her, “O woman, your faith is great; it shall be done for you as you wish” (verse 28).
-- Matthew 16. The disciples quietly discuss their lack of bread. Jesus questions their faith, saying again, “‘You men of little faith’” (verse 8).
-- Matthew 17. The disciples are unable to cast a demon out of a young man. Jesus informs them that the reason they cannot is because of the little-ness of their faith.
-- Matthew 21. Jesus causes a fig tree to wither all at once and tells His disciples that they will be able to do even greater things “‘if you have faith and do not doubt’” (verse 21).
CAN YOU SEE IT?
The message of faith permeates the New Testament; it’s somewhere on every page and in every story. Every step with God is a step of faith. Every lesson learned is a lesson of faith. Every victory won is a victory by faith. That’s the prominence of faith in the New Testament. It’s on that basis that I say this: Faith is not a part of the Christian life.
Say what? That’s right; faith is not a part of the Christian life. It’s not like patience and kindness or other character traits. It’s not one part among many other assorted components that may or may not be lacking in our lives at any one time. It’s not like teaching or showing compassion or ministering or other Christian activities. It’s not like worship or prayer or meditation or other actions that we take toward God. Those are all parts.
Faith, however, is not a part of the Christian life; it’s the whole thing. Let me repeat that:
Faith is not a part of the Christian life; it’s the whole thing.
The Christian life is a life of faith. Genuine believers trust God and exercise active confidence in God. They believe the Word of God and act upon it no matter how they feel, because God promises a good result. When I’m doing that, I’m going forward in a phenomenal way spiritually. When I’m not doing that, I’m backing up and losing ground and falling away from Him.
THE LOVE QUESTION
When I say that faith is the whole thing, Christians will often reply, “Well, what about love? I thought love was the whole thing.” Usually they’re thinking of or even refer to 1 Corinthians 13:13, “Now abide faith, hope, and love, these three; but the greatest of these is love” (NKJV).
If you study the context of 1 Corinthians 13:13, it is talking about the greatest element in our relationships with people. Love is the greatest thing relationally—the greatest thing as we would seek to impact and influence others. In that sense—as it relates to influencing others—love is greater than faith. But keep in mind that love builds on the foundation of faith. We can’t even begin to love as Christians until we believe—until faith in Christ has bridged the gap between us and God. So in this way—as it relates to our basic relationship to God—faith is the greatest thing. The book of 1 John makes it very clear that if you say that you have a relationship with God, that you love God, but you don’t love other people, you’re lying (see especially 2:9; 4:20). So in reality, love for others flows out of our relationship with God.
No doubt about it. Faith is the greatest. That’s whyy, “Faith is not a part of the Christian life; it’s the whole thing.” That’s why Hebrews 11:6 says, “Without faith it is impossible to please [God.]” That’s why the cry of the Reformation was sola fide , “by faith alone.” Every good thing that God wants to bring to our lives comes through faith.
BEYOND PRESCRIPTION AND PROMINENCE—POWER!
The last two verses of Hebrews 11 talk about the power of faith. We’ve defined faith and discovered its prominence in Scripture. Now we need to see faith’s power. Hebrews 11:39 says, “All these [the people he’s just listed], having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised.” In other words, they didn’t understand the gospel the way we do. Verse 40 goes on, “because God had provided something better for us.” We know about the Cross; we understand what Jesus did. The Cross had to happen, and the salvation God accomplished there covered all humanity past, present, and future.
The Old Testament believers looked forward to something by faith. We look back to something by faith. For them it was a promise; for us, what Christ did in dying and rising again and paying the penalty for our forgiveness is an established fact. Faith allowed all those people to be converted to God before the Cross. It allows all of us to be redeemed by looking back. Faith is a powerful force!
In fact, 1 John 5:4 says, “This is the victory that has overcome the world—.” What is it? “—our faith.” That’s a great verse—one you want to get on the tip of your tongue.
How on earth does faith give us victory?
The apostle John had it right: “Faith is the victory.” When I look at what I see, I am filled with doubt. But when I disregard what I see and focus my thoughts on a God who has promised to ultimately triumph; a God who said, “‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, says the Lord’” (Romans 12:19), my small circumstances suddenly fit into a much bigger picture! Faith trusts a God who has promised to balance all the books of justice.
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br /> Maybe you’re carrying a hurt or an injury or an injustice with you right now. Our faith is in a God who says, “I see that. I know that. You just sit still for a moment. Flip a few pages on your calendar by faith. I’ll be on the scene, and I’ll take care of that.” So we wait on God by faith. Faith is the victory. It’s not man’s ingenuity, or argumentation. Ultimate victory in this world comes by faith.
Regardless of our political persuasion, we saw immense cracks in the integrity of American leaders and some of their supporters during the presidential election of 2000. We could easily despair when we see the immense capacity of human nature to organize opinions around what they want to be true. Whether one yearned for George W. Bush or Al Gore to become the forty-third American president, we saw rational people, including senators, congressional representatives, and lawyers on both sides, organize the facts around what they wanted to be true.
That’s the deceptiveness and the deceitfulness of the human heart. That’s why we need a Book that wakes us up and makes us say, “Forget about what I think and forget about what you think. What does God have to say about that?” As I watched the controversy over the Florida presidential vote unfold on the television news day after day, it became really depressing. I mean, there is just no way you can walk in victory looking at that. You have to have another place to put your eyes. Our eyes are upon the Lord, and His eyes are upon us! The Republican candidate eventually won, but the election of President Bush is not the answer, anyway. The answer is not in political victories or power. If we put our eggs in that basket, we’re going to be disappointed. Instead, pick up your hopes and lay them before the Lord. God is the One whom we’re trusting. Faith is the victory that overcomes the world. There is no other way.
HOW TO BUILD YOUR FAITH: WITH THE WORD, A WITNESS, AND A WALK
How many people would say that our land is the land of promise? As great as it is, it isn’t our eternal homeland! Don’t live like a citizen; live like an alien. Our citizenship and hopes are elsewhere. Abraham “lived as an alien in the land of promise . . . looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God” (Hebrews 11:9–10). Like Abraham, we should also look to the city whose maker and builder is God.
Here’s a practical, three-step plan for building your faith. First, study the Word; that is how you . . .
Cultivate your faith.
Paul pointed out that “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). That’s what grows your faith: the Word of Christ—His holy Scriptures. If we could stick a spiritual thermometer under your tongue and measure the level of your faith, the thing that would cause your faith-temperature to go up measurably is the minutes and hours and days that you’ve spent with your nose in God’s Word. “Well, my faith is very low right now, and my heart is cold towards God,” you say. Then I know something else about you too; you haven’t been in the Word. Faith grows by hearing the Word of God.
It’s discouraging to me sometimes when I hear people say, “James, I wish I had your faith.” Actually, I have thought the same about others, but there is no mystery about how to close the gap we perceive between our faith and that of others. Log more time in God’s Book! Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. Is this a difficult concept? I don’t think so. If I find myself Thursday morning filled with anxiety and trouble and “What’s going to happen?” kinds of thoughts, I must remember that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. You can cultivate your faith.
I spoke recently at Chicago’s Moody Bible Institute during their spiritual enrichment week. I didn’t know the students at all, but the campus auditorium was filled with young people. I spoke on Jonah and went home the first day kind of discouraged. I didn’t think the students were all that open and receptive. But I went back the next day, opened the Scriptures again, and saw its power begin to change hearts. The third morning, in Jonah 3, I pointed to the principles of continuous revival.
During those three days of extended exposure to the Word of God, their faith and spiritual focus seemed to build. So I told the MBI president, Joe Stowell, “I think we should have a special meeting, one that hasn’t been planned.” He was great with that, so we invited the students—anyone who wanted to come. I didn’t know if fifteen or twenty would come, but almost five hundred students came back that third night.
I brought our church worship team and spoke on repentance, again sowing the Word of God into their lives. At the end, we gave an invitation, and almost every student came forward and got on his or her face before God. It was phenomenal and God was working powerfully!
Where did all of that come from? To what can you attribute their incredible responsiveness and humility? “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of Christ.” As the Word of God is sown increasingly into our lives, we find our faith growing and flourishing. If your spiritual diet for the whole week consists of what you take in each Sunday, don’t be confused about the lack of faith. You’re starving yourself iritually!
Second, have a witness; that is,
Confess your faith.
Romans 10:9 says, “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord...” There is great power in what we say from the heart. God wants what’s in us to come out. That’s why Paul asked the Ephesians (6:19–20), “Pray on my behalf that . . . I speak boldly, as I ought to speak.” If you want your faith to grow, confess your faith. Throughout church history, the power of confessing faith was understood, and so they recorded their beliefs in creeds. Everyone would say those creeds aloud as part of corporate worship. Somehow this has been lost in the modern church, and we need to get back to this, confessing our faith. There is power in confessing your faith in the church—as well as to the world outside.
Have you ever had an experience where you were somewhat discouraged spiritually until all of a sudden God gave you an opportunity to speak for Him and share your faith? So you opened your mouth and spoke about Christ and what He means to you! Then as you walked away, you realized how much it fired you up to speak for Christ. Why? Because when we confess our faith to others and say, “Christ means so much to me,” and “I’m trusting the Lord in this situation,” our own faith grows. Jim Cymbala, pastor of New York’s Brooklyn Tabernacle and author of Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire, is such an encouragement to me. Recently we were talking on the phone about faith. I picked up a little line and recalled how many hundreds of times he has said this to me, “Let’s just believe God for that.”
I would say, “Well, what about . . . ?”
“Let’s just believe God for that,” he would answer. He was gently pointing me to faith as the answer. There is such power in speaking out, “I’m trusting the Lord. I’m waiting on God. I’m believing God for that!” Confess your faith.
Third, walk daily in your faith; that is . . .
Corner your faith.
Someone has said that we should live our lives in such a way that if God is not who He said He is, we’ll fall flat on our face. I would encourage you, under the leadership of the Holy Spirit—not testing or presuming upon Him (Matthew 4:3–7)—to look for opportunities to trust God. Choose to live your life in such a way that God has to come through for you. Make decisions that will cultivate and build your faith during tough times.
During a recent visit to my alma mater, Trinity Seminary, I listened to John Piper, a Minneapolis pastor I greatly respect, speak to fellow pastors. He talked about suffering and how we need to trust God during suffering.
One pastor raised his hand and said, “I’m not suffering at all. My life is just going so perfectly wonderful. Everything is great at my church. Everything is great at home. I’m not suffering in any way. I just...”He couldn’t quite formulate a question.
Well, John Piper is a very gracious man. It took him a couple of minutes to get to the bottom line. He basically said, “Do you know what? Too many Christians, including pastors, are living on wimpy faith. They’re not putting themselves in a position to trus
t God.” Then Piper got serious. “Do you want to suffer? Just go share Christ with every person on your street, and press it to the point where he knows that he’s going to go straight to hell if he steps out of this world without Christ. You’ll suffer.
“Just call up all of the apostate pastors in your area who aren’t preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ,” he continued. “Challenge them to get on the biblical program. You’ll suffer.
“If you’re not suffering in this world,” he concluded, “it’s becaue you’re not choosing to walk to places where you have to trust God.”
I took John’s words to heart! They challenged my faith. Now I pass them on to you. Do you want your faith to grow? Make a decision to “corner” it—to live it out in the hard challenges of life. I don’t mean through presumption or any fleshly putting God to the test. But allow God to lead you, then willingly go by faith into situations where you have no way out but with God. Corner your faith, and it will grow for sure.
You may wonder, “But during those tough times, can I hang in there?” and “Can Jesus sustain me in faith?” Remember Jesus’ admonishing words, “‘If You can?’ All things are possible to him who believes” (Mark 9:23).
UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL
Contrary to popular opinion, pastors struggle with faith too. Now I no longer wonder about the reliability of the Bible or the historicity of Jesus Christ, but I do wonder about other matters of faith. I struggle at times to wait for God to balance the books of justice. I have seen and experienced at least my share of harsh treatment in this world, and it is not in my nature to sit quietly by and wait on God. When falsely accused, I want to lash out, say what I know, and set the record straight. I am aware of the axiom “truth and time walk hand in hand,” but I often feel like truth takes too long to make itself heard. The answer? I keep going and commit my reputation to God.
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