What is faith?

Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
This means that those who, for example believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, are not able to see Jesus physically but, through His Word and His enlightenment by the Holy Spirit are able to not only believe but KNOW that He is. There are many in this world that put faith in things that are inanimate objects like trees, rocks, and even the sun.

But there is no proof that these inanimate objects are anything but created things.
(The laws of nature existed before the universe was created. It is very easy to understand
and check that all things in the universe didn’t suddenly appear. There is no proof
whatsoever of something coming from nothing. If there really was a big bang we would see
more of them around the universe, but we don’t. The universe clearly points to divine
design.)

Some people have been deceived into putting their faith in men.
All of these men that people worship as God or put their faith in have left the world and nothing is ever heard of them again. But for those who know that there is a God by looking at the things we’ve discovered in the universe, and simply by listening to their own heartbeats, these know that there is a Creator and strive to connect with Him.

There are some people who put their faith in the Creator of all life though some may not know Him intimately. .

But the God of all life wants all to know Him and come to Him for salvation.
It is imperative to know and understand that He forces no one to believe in Him.
The God of gods does not want us to live a religious life doing this or that to please Him. The Bible says in Hebrews 11:6 “That without faith it is impossible to please God. For those who come to God must believe that He is.” And indeed, for many people who have connected with God have believed that He is and that living for Him, no matter the cost, is worth it. So this all means that God is less concerned about what you do for Him and more concerned that you know Him. God is not looking for people to blindly do things to try to please Him, He is looking for people who simply want to be with Him.

Religion doesn’t offer this to you.
Religion isn’t able to think about fellowshipping with God because it is too busy trying to be good enough to approach Him. Religion believes that God wants people to strive for salvation. That God is unimpressed with you unless you climb a high mountain, swim a rapid river or do something really impressive to those around you. Even some people will do very good things because they believe those things, if accomplished, will bring admiration from God. But the reason these people do things is to make themselves look good to God. It is for them to cover up their mistakes from their past by their present works for God.

However this is completely mistaken. WE are all naked and helpless before God. None of us have anything that is worthy of God’s affection and this is the major truth that God wants us all to discover and understand. Man is evil from the day he is born.So if you think about any good work that you have done for God, or plan to do for Him, you should realize that you will have a big zero in your account in heaven. Man must realize that he is helpless and in need of a Savior before he can be brought to salvation.

For why would a man come to Christ for salvation if he thought he could get to Him on his own?

No, unless a person knows he is unable and without the power to get to heaven on his own, and realizes that he is going to hell without help, he will never come to Christ. Coming to Christ means humbling yourself before God and agreeing with God that He is right and you are wrong. Unfortunately this is hard for many to do.

My faith in Christ is evidence of my not being able to see Him. I believe everybody knows in their hearts that God exists but too many don’t want to admit it (confess Jesus as Lord) or would rather serve a god more to their liking. I know a guy who saw Jesus dressed as a Homeless Man looking for a dropped coin under a cigarette machine. Because He was looking for a coin my friend thought that buying him a canned drink from a vending machine was the right thing to do (though he remembers thinking to himself, “Why doesn’t this Guy get a job?”)
And when my friend saw Him stand up he asked Him, “Do You know the Way to heaven” as he felt obligated to share the Good News.

The Homeless Man answered, “To hate evil and to love Good.” (Amos 5)
And as my friend was fumbling for words trying to have this Man say the name of Jesus as the Way, his eyes started to open as to Who the Homeless Man really was. And when his eyes were completely opened to who He was his mouth dropped open and he was motionless and unable to think of anything to say or do. Then he bought Him the drink and He received it and started to drink. But my friend thought that now he had to please the Lord by giving Him more and so he
offered to buy Him a lunch from the convenience store. But when he said this, Jesus groaned within Himself and refused that offer.

One offer was from faith (the drink) and one was from works (the lunch). One was received while the other was rejected. When we as Christians try to please God by our fleshly deeds, God refuses those. When we by faith buy a hot drink, sweep the church poor, wash the dishes, etc… God receives those works of love. Faith means you’re not trusting in anything of your own or seeking your own glory, or trying to please God on a merit based system. God simply wants us to desire to hang out with Him and along the way to do a few good works here or there for His glory. And when you’re hanging out with Jesus, you may not even realize that you’re doing good works.

They become a natural part of your life and the outcome of your relationship with Him. And once you start doing good works, it can get addictive because it is so rewarding to do something in God’s name, with His power and then to see the results. And when it is done by faith it pleases God.

Faith is trusting that the work of Jesus’ cross and His resurrection from the dead are enough. I was asked recently what I considered to be the worst sin of all sins to God.I think I answered that it really doesn’t matter what I think but what God says. The only son of all sins that is unforgivable is the sin of unbelief. All other sins will be forgiven, but not the sin of unbelief.

We don’t have to add anything to the Work of Christ on the cross… and in fact if we do, we are moving ourselves away from faith to works and from peace to misery. If we look at Abraham we can get a good understanding of faith. Abraham was known as the friend of God because of his faith. In Hebrews we learn that it is impossible to please God without faith for if we come to God we of course have to believe that He is, or we won’t come! Since this is the case we know that faith is extremely important to God. A good question for any person who struggles with legalism is to ask yourself, “When was Abraham accounted for righteousness before God?”
Was it after he did a bunch of good deeds?
We don’t see that anywhere in the Bible.
Abraham was justified by faith. He believed God which was accounted to him for righteousness. When was this? Before or after the Law was given? This was before the Law was given. Abraham did absolutely nothing to receive salvation from God EXCEPT to believe. There is not one law or command that he observed before being justified by faith.

As well, circumcision had nothing to do with Abraham’s salvation. Before he was circumcised Abraham was accounted for righteousness. It was all about his faith in God who had made promises to him and which Abraham simply believed. This is the simplicity and beauty of the Gospel. We no longer need to fuss or fret over whether we are good enough or doing enough because it is by faith that one is saved. All the work for our salvation was 100% completed by Jesus and we no longer, not now, not later, not ever, need to do anything extra to shore up the Work that Christ accomplished on the cross almost 2000 years ago. Now we can simply rest in the finished work of Christ knowing that He took all the punishment for our sins and we are now under grace not under the Law. Just as Chuck Smith wrote about the reasons “ Why Grace Changes Everything!” Chuck’s book is online for free on Apple Books and I encourage everyone to read it. Please read it to have a solid understanding of Grace. http://www.pastorchuck.org/books

Romans 4:
13 For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. 14 For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise made of no effect, 15 because the law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there is no transgression.

16 Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all 17 (as it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did; 18 who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, “So shall your descendants be.” 19 And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. 20 He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, 21 and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. 22 And therefore “it was accounted to him for righteousness.”

23 Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, 24 but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, 25 who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.

Romans 4:13 says “but through the righteousness of faith.” The Law brings judgement because none of us can keep it perfectly. But faith brings righteousness. If those who are of the Law are heirs, faith is made void. Basically, if I can obtain my own righteousness, then I don’t need faith. The amazing thing about Abraham was that he believed God even though his circumstances were challenging his faith that God could deliver on His promise to provide a son for an heir. Abraham’s body was already dead according to verse 19 in Romans 4. Sarah’s womb was also dead but that didn’t stop Abraham from continuing to believe God at His Word. This is real faith. Faith that isn’t looking at your circumstances, but is believing what God has said.

Is your faith weak? Romans 10 says that “faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. We all need to maintain and strengthen our faith. The way to do that is by reading and studying the Word of God. But remember Jesus said, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain be moved to the sea and it will obey you.” That should encourage us all. Just a tiny bit of faith is all that we need to do mighty works for God! There was a time when I saw an unholy group moving into our area and I knew that if they established themselves here that it could really hurt and hinder the cause of Christ. So with righteous indignation I commanded that their temporary facility be uprooted and thrown into the sea. Not long after that mustard seed of faith, their facility was GONE!

Faith is a gift from God and Jesus is the Author and Finisher of our faith so lets go to Him with thanks and the understanding that anything He promised to us, will be fulfilled when we step out in faith! (Ephesians 2:8, Hebrews 12:1-2)