Faith: Outline
A. Faith: What is It?
1. Introduction: Aspects of Faith
a: Through faith in Christ our sins are paid and forgiven (Rom 3:25)
1) A means to accept the payment that has been made on our account
b: If we have faith, God counts righteousness towards us (Rom 4:5)
1) A means of adding to the account
c: By faith we are made ?not-guilty? to be at peace with God (Rom 5:1)
1) A means of enjoying the fruits of the payment in our account
d: Through faith, God?s grace was allowed to work so that we may be saved (Eph
2: 8,9)
1) A means of setting up instant access so that our account is permanently
open
e: One prerequisite for pleasing God is faith (Heb 11:6)
1) No man can please God without faith
2) One of the necessities for even opening an account (another prerequisite
is repentence (Acts 20:21)
2. What faith is NOT.
a: The world believes
1) Faith is a wishful hope
2) What athletes have before they try to win a game
3) Perhaps sounds like a word that Oprah uses
4) A blind belief that gets rid of any reason
(a) Science has evidence and proof and faith is just blind
5) You either have it or you don?t
b: A person may agree that a certain fact is true but not act accordingly.
1) Agreeing that drugs is bad for you but doing it anyway. Obviously lacking
faith.
2) (Acts 25:27, 28) King Agrippa believed but he wasn?t saved
c: Believing everything one hears
d: A blind leap in the dark
3. What faith IS
a: Sound: Faith is Logical in it?s methodology (the way it works makes
sense)
1) Even science employs an amount of faith
a) Albert Einstein said ?The belief that theuniverse of existing things is
accessible to human rationality and that the rules valid for it are rational,
belongs to the domain of religion. I cannot imagine a genuine scientist who
does not share this deep faith.?
2) Peter?s Reasoning Process (Matt 14:22-29)
a) Peter knew Jesus was the Son of God
b) Believed that Jesus would keep him from sinking
c) Acted accordingly
3) Abraham?s Reasoning Process (Genesis 15:1-6)
a) Heard the words of God (v.4)
b) Was ensured God would do as promised (v.5)
c) Believed in the Lord (v.6)
4) God starts the process. The showing
a) we should make ourselves available to it
b) listen to it
c) act on what he had to say
5) It is illogical not to even listen to what is being said
a) that is an example of blind faith in one?s own opinion
b: Substantive: Faith is a reaction to evidence or based on tangible
substance
1) One must know the facts that God has revealed to man
a) creation (Rom 1:20-42)
b) morality (Rom 2)
c) the written and unwritten law (Rom 3)
d) his Son?s words (John 14:1-6)
e) the miracles of Christ (spec John 20:30-31 Matt, Mark, Luke,
John)
f) The death and ressurection of Christ (Matt, Mark, Luke, John)
c: Sense-Derived: Faith comes by hearing The Word of God (Rom
10:17) not by being within earshot of a christian.
1) Hearing not limited to ears
a) reading is valid if one is letting the evidence in
d: Non-Static: Faith is a dynamic decision
1) Making a moral Judgement:
a) faith means persuasion; moral conviction
2) placed on something/somewhere that deserves it
a) form of faith ie: getting on a J train because we trust it will get us to
where we want to go. Myrtle avenue
b) form of misplaced faith: getting on the Long Island Railroad trusting it
will get us to Myrtle avenue.
c) There are degrees of faith
(1) Peter had little faith in Matt 14:31
(2) Roman officer had great faith in Matthew 8:10
(3) Abraham?s faith made him strong in Rom 4:20
(4) The object of Faith is what matters
(a) better to have a little faith in medicine that works that a lot of faith
in medicine that won?t work at all.
(b) Jesus Christ is the object of our faith
4: Results of Faith: Conclusion
a: God is pleased when His children have faith (Heb 11:5,6)
b: People are saved and justified when they have faith in Christ (Rom 5:1;
Ephesian 2:8,9; Acts 26:18)
c: The believer should live by faith (2 Cor 5; Hebrews 10:38)
d: Spiritual (and maybe physical) mountains can be moved (Matt 17:20)
e: Can be made well (spiritually or physically) (Matt 9:22)
f: Prayers will be backed up with power (Matt 11:24)
g: Be made clean (Acts 26:18)
h: Do great things for God (Hebrews 11)