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FAITH PRINCIPLES No.1.
FAITH IS A GIFT FROM GOD
INTRODUCTION
It is essential that God's people learn to live by faith. The
scripture is explicit that without faith it is impossible to please
God, Every approach we make to God and every action of our lives
must be on the basis of faith. Heb. 11:6, Rom. 14:23. There is
no room for a spiritual life built on a foundation of human effort
or good works. The just live by faith (Rom. 1:17) and anything
other than this is a return to bondage (Gal. 5:1). It is faith
which gives us victory over the world - 1 John 5:4.
The Early Church faced great challenges in the area of faith and
it is not surprising that this is still so. Satan knows that if
God's people discover the tremendous power of faith in God, their
lives and ministries will be revolutionised.
Hebrews 11:33 declares that the Old Testament saints "through faith
obtained promises", and it is clear John 14:14 1:5:7-8 that
Promise-obtainers glorify God. Many people are "prisoners of hope"
(Zech. 9:12 ), and have never learned to express true faith, and
receive God's blessings.
Today much confusion exists regarding the exercise of faith. many
people get frustrated because they see little result from their
attempts to believe God. This has resulted in a backlash of
negativity in the Church, or the manifestation of cold and
deliberate unbelief.
On the other hand, there is considerable false teaching on faith
which has caused much presumption.
This series of studies on the Principles of Faith will seek to
impart a tried and tested, and balanced perspective of this vital
Christian attribute.
Faith is a Gift from God, and in considering this basic aspect of
faith there are a number of observations to be made.
1- FATTH IS NOT NATURAL TO MAN
There are numerous things which look like faith, and may be
confused with it. There are substitutes for real faith which
are really humanistic. That is, they are man generated and do
not need God in order to achieve their end. The Bible makes
it clear that God gives faith to man (Rom. 12: 3.) and the
fact that the unregenerate man does not have true faith is
also emphasised by 2 Thess. 3:2, "all men have not faith".
Only the converted receive faith from God and anything else,
regardless of how dynamic it may appear, is not the quality
which the Bible calls faith. Mind over matter, mental
exercise, auto-suggestion, positive thinking, good feelings or
other such techniques are not faith but psuedo-faith.
2. VARIOUS KINDS OF FAITH
There are basically four types of faith.
a) Natural Faith, Faith of a purely rational nature based on
experience and factual knowledge. Without it no farmer
could plant seed (James 5:7).. This faith is actually a
process of logical reasoning.
It is this element which is generated by the natural man
to accomplish many oustanding things - the soaring vision
of the architect, the success and financial empires of
the business tycoon, the discoveries of the inventor, the
courage of the intrepid explorer, etc. The kind of faith
is often confused with true faith because of its apparent
achievement - including the ability to transform a weak
and negative or unsuccessful person.
However the motive power of this type of faith is the
mind and not the spirit. it is a product of the soul life
of man and is common to the believer and unbeliever. The
power of positive thinking is an ability the natural man
can develop apart from God and is therefore not a
spiritual quality.
It has no ability totransform the nature of man, or
provide a basis for fellowship with God. while it is not
evil, and has a very necessary function to perform in our
lives, it must never be allowed to become a substitute
for true faith.
b) Spiritual faith. The second type of faith is often
called "saving faith". It is a gift of God and is
imparted to the repentant sinner at the moment of
conversion. Eph. 2:8-9. It is a supernatural ability to
believe what natural faith cannot or will not believe. 1
Cor. 1:18-24, Rom. 1:16-22. It goes beyond the logical
process of the mind to grasp and trust what cannot be
perceived except by the spirit of man. This is the kind
of faith which the Christian lives by. This "ordinary"
level of faith is imparted to every repentant sinner and
is the foundation of our whole Christian life and true
fellowship with God. Rom. 1:17, Heb. 11:6. This kind of
faith is allied to two other types of faith to make an
unbreakable bond of supernatural ability. These two
categories of faith are faith-.the fruit of the spirit
and faiththe gift of the spirit.
c) Faith - the fruit of the Spirit - Gal. 5:22. This kind
of faith can be more correctly understood as
"faithfulness" (RSV) or "fidelity" (NEB). It is both the
product of spiritual faith and the support of it. While
it is possible to develop and use spiritual faith without
faithfulness, it will inevitably be flawed. This kind of
faith is expressed in character and conduct and is that
part of spiritual faith which concentrates on the
development of progressive sanctification in the
believer.
d) Faith - the gift of the-Spirit I Cor. 12:9. This is a
special impartation by the Holy Spirit of a supernatural
ability to_suspend or trascend natural laws. it
impregnates the believer with ability to operate in the
realm of special types of miracles. The kind of faith is
occasional and is dependent on the initiative of the Holy
Spirit - 1 Cor. 12:11.
it is really a supernatural amplification of the faculty
of spiritual faith.
[In this series of studies, the faith generally referred to will be
spiritual faith.]
3. HOW WE RECEIVE FAITH FROM GOD
God gives us His faith to live by (Rom. 1:17, 12:3) and this
fantastic quality
is imparted lo us in the instant of conversion. Faith to be
saved, like repentance, is a gift of God (Acts ll:18, Eph.
2:8,9). Salvation is not the adoption of a concept or
culture. It is the reception of a person, and not an
intangible idea or feeling. eg, Luke 19:9 - Jesus said to
Zacchaeus. "This day is salvation come to your house".
However it was the person of the saviour who had come.
Note John 1:12, and Gal. 4:19.
In the moment of conversion we avail ourselves of both a
divinely imparted ability to repent and believe coincidental
with the decinion to receive Jesus as the Lord of our life. in
receiving Him we receive all that is in Him.
Col. 2:10 (LB) says "So you have everything when you have
Christ". Col. 2:2 (LB) also says, "God's secret plan now at
last made known, is Christ Himself" In Him live all the hidden
and the mighty untapped treasures of wisdom and knowledge".
Gal. 2:l6 and 20 clearly shows us that the faith we are living
by is not our self-generated positive attitude, but the very
faith of Jesus Himself, and not merely our belief about Him.
The very fact of receiving Christ incorporates His faith in
us. Eph. 1:3; Acts 3:16; 24:24, 26:18; and Gal. 3:7 all
indicate this same wonderful truth. Note the comparison of 1
John 5:4 which states that faith is the victory which
overcomes the world and John 16:33 in which Jesus said He had
overcome it.
There are some very important aspects of this truth which need
to be clearly grasped in order for that divinely imparted
faith to be effective.
a) When you were born again you received all the faith you
will ever have. In other words you will never need more,
nor receive more, than you already have. The limitless
ability of Jesus is at work within you - Eph. 3:17 & 20.
While there may be special manifestations of the "Gift of
Faith" for special purposes, your spiritual faith cannot
be increased in quantity. Since you have Christ you have
all that is in Him now.
b) The expression of that faith cannot increase with
experience and use. The more you use it, the stronger it
becomes.
c) The search for faith is destructive because it is an
expression of unbelief in what we have already received.
d) when we confess or acknowledge that we have the faith of
God (Mk 11:22 - margin) it is released and becomes active
- Philemon verse 6.
c) Faith is now a faculty of the re-born human spirit which
is united with-the Holy Spirit. 1 Cor. 6:17. Note Acts
6:5 and 2 Cor. 4:13