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REFORMERS UNANIMOUS

CHAPTER 4--THE FOUR R’S OF REFORMERS

I.         FAITH IS THE BASIS OF OUR BEING ACCEPTED BY GOD.

The Bible says, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1)

Faith has been defined as taking God at His Word. That is, believing God when He says something. The words “faith,” “trust,” and “believe” are often used interchangeably.

            Bible “faith” is more than just a head knowledge of some facts. It is an action word.

See Hebrews 11 for examples of faith found in the Scripture. In each case, a persons actions showed their faith. In other words, their faith moved them to action.

            I once heard it put this way in acrostic form:

            Forsaking

            All

            I

            Trust

            Him

            A.        God’s Acceptance Of Us Cannot Be Acquired By What We Do For Him–It Is Only Acquired By Grace Through Faith!

                        None of us could ever make ourselves acceptable before God by what we do!

Isaiah 64:6–“But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.”

Ephesians 2:8-9--“8For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

John 3:14-18–“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 15That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 16For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

John 3:36–“He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.”

John 5:24–“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”

1 John 5:10-12–“He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. 11And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. 13These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.

Hebrews 11:6–“But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”

                        Ephesians 1:6–“. . .he hath made us accepted in the beloved (i.e. Jesus Christ).”

                        We Gain God’s Acceptance By Having Faith In Him.

            B.        God’s Acceptance Of Us Cannot Be Lost By What We Have Failed To Do.

Hebrews 13:5-6--“Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. 6So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.”

John 10:27-29–“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. 29My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.”

Romans 5:1-2--“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 2By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”

Romans 8:1–“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. . .”

This doesn’t mean that after we come to know the Lord that there aren’t consequences for living lives that do not please the Lord. (Hebrews 12:5-11)

God doesn’t kick us out of the family, but he does chasten us as disobedient children so that we will get back on the right path!

II.       THERE ARE THREE SIMPLE ASPECTS OF FAITH.

            A.        Faith Depends On The Object.

                        People often try to live by faith with little or no knowledge of God and His ways.

                        In other words, they are trying to live by faith in faith alone, not faith in God.

                        The realization of the fruits of faith is dependent upon the object of your faith.

Example: If you go to an airport and buy an airline ticket and get on a plane to go somewhere, you are expressing faith in the pilot and in the aircraft without really knowing much about either one.

Your faith in the pilot and the aircraft is only as good as the pilot and the aircraft. It is possible for either the pilot or the aircraft to fail you. Neither is infallible.

However, God and His Word are infallible! God cannot lie! God is faithful to do what He promises! He is all-powerful (omnipotent)! He is all-knowing (omniscient)! He is ever-present (omnipresent)!

Hebrews 11:6–“But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”

                        You must believe God is trustworthy before you will ever trust Him!

                        We put our trust in all sorts of people and things who invariably will let us down.

                        However, if we trust God, He will accomplish His purpose for our lives!

                        We can count on Him always having our best interest at heart!

            B.        The Depth Of Our Faith Is Determined By The Depth Of Our Knowledge Of The Object In Which We Place Our Faith.

Romans 10:17–“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

                        1.         When people struggle with faith in God, it is not because God is insufficient, it is because we have unreal expectations of God.

                                    We expect God to operate or answer prayer our way and not His way.

Isaiah 55:8-9–“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. 9For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

Jeremiah 29:11-12–“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. 12Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.”

                        2.         When we desire our will over God’s will, we are not exercising faith in God. 

III.      FAITH IS AN ACTION WORD–NOT PASSIVE!

Faith in God is more than believing in our head some things about Him. It is not mere knowledge or mental assent to the facts pertaining to Christ. (James 2:19-20)

            Faith in God shows itself by a change of direction in our lives.

            It says, “I’m going to do right!!!”

James 2:17-18–“Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. 18Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works.

            A.        Faith Takes A Stand!

            B.        To Experience The Power Of Faith, We Must Obey God’s Word!

                        (i.e. We must determine that we will do what He says!)

                        Example–See Matthew 14:27-31

Conclusion

Man’s part in salvation is to believe in Jesus Christ (John 3:16; 6:28-29). What does this mean?

The word “believe” as found in the Scripture means to “commit to one’s trust.” This is the basic meaning of believing in Christ. It means to commit ourselves to Him, to fully trust Him for salvation. It means to believe in such a way that we actually turn away from our sin, idols, and false religion to receive Jesus Christ as our only Lord and Saviour.

The word “believe” as found in the Scripture also means “to be confident, to be fully persuaded.” This is the type of faith which is required for salvation. To be saved we must be fully persuaded that Jesus Christ is everything the Bible says that He is. We must be confident that Jesus can and will save us from sin.

The true Bible meaning of “believe” clarifies the problem of faith and works in salvation. It is faith alone, not works, that saves (Romans 3:4; Galatians 2:3; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:3-7); but real Bible faith always results in a changed life and in good works (Ephesians 2:10; Titus 3:8; 2 Corinthians 5:17; 1 John 3:1-3). Those who profess to believe in Christ, but whose lives remain unaffected by their profession, do not have the type of faith required for salvation.

True faith is based upon God’s Word, the Bible (Romans 10:17; Hebrews 11). True faith is not a blind wish or uncertain hope. The lost man, for example, often believes everything will be alright with him after death no matter what religion he follows, because he “feels” that he is O.K. with God. This is blind faith. The Christian’s faith, on the other hand, rests upon the sure Word of God (John 20:30-31; Acts 1:3). To have saving faith a person must hear and believe the words of the Bible concerning God’s promises in Christ.

To have daily, serving faith, a Christian must read the Bible often and believe its words

(Romans 10:17).

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NOTICE:   THESE SERMONS ARE FREE TO BE USED BUT ARE NOT TO BE SOLD!