FAITH
What is faith? How is faith manifested? How is it acquired?
The book of Hebrews defined faith
as the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Heb 11:1)
By substance it means the
ingredient of things hoped for, by evidence could mean the sign of things not
seen. Faith is trust and confidence in
God and our Lord Jesus Christ in everything.
How is faith manifested?
The Bible gave us few examples like:
1.
“By faith, Abel offered to God a more excellent
sacrifice than Cain…….” (Heb. 11:4)
2.
“By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did
not see death……. for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased
God. But without faith it is impossible
to please Him…(Heb 11:5)
3.
“By faith
Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household …. “ (Heb 11:7)
4.
“By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to
go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance……” (Heb 11:8)
What is most notable in these
verses? Works!!! The early servants of God exhibited their
faith through works to show trust in God.
Clearly, works is an essential, integral and inseparable element of
faith. This is the precise message of
Apostle James as written in James 2:21-22:
“Was not Abraham our father justified by works
when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his
works, and by works faith was made perfect?”
As Apostle James put it, “faith
without works is dead”. How is dead
faith manifested? Dead faith is when
one believes in God but does not obey His commandments. The devil himself is the proponent of a dead
faith for while he believes and even tremble, he does not follow God’s
commandments but even does what is abominable in the eyes of God.
Faith in God gives us the strength
to face tribulations head-on. By
strength it does not refer to physical strength but the inner strength, be it psychologically
or spiritually for you have the resolve that is anchored in your faith in
God.
Faith also gives us courage; the
ability to conquer fear that enable us to do what scares us. It is our way of standing up to what we
believe is true, to what we were taught was right even in the face of danger,
sorrow and pain. It is exactly the faith
that David possesses who as a shepherd boy mustered enough courage and
determination to face and subdue Goliath.
All because of his faith in God.
How is faith acquired?
The book of Philippians 4:6-7 has this to say:
“Don’t
worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need,
and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything
we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in
Christ Jesus.”
What is our most
important need that we should ask from the Lord? In Luke 17:5 this is written:
And
the Apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith”.
In our time
today, how do we acquire faith? In
Romans 10:17 this is documented:
“So then faith comes by hearing, and
hearing by the word of God.”
Today,
almost always we hear people talk about faith.
In religious circles we hear it, in success and failures we hear it. Even non-believers brag about it. Ministers
in the OWE church preach it and their adherents accept it. In the local where I came from there are more
than 650 brethren. More than 250 are
officers and there are 5 of us in the leadership. Forged by faith, we all congregate together
in harmony although we are never free from problems inherent in this wicked
world that we are in. In my
congregational prayers I do always ask God to show us the true meaning of faith
in order for us all to attain the spiritual maturity so that on the second
advent of our Lord Jesus Christ, he may find us all worthy to receive our
reward of eternal life in the Holy City.
As trustees in the nation of God, we consider ourselves His instruments
in overseeing and taking good care of the flock entrusted to us in nourishing
their God-given faith. All is well
until the dawning of the test.
The
Bible said in the book of Zechariah 13:9
“I will bring the one–third through the fire, Will refine them as silver is refined, And test them as gold is tested……….”
Yes,
dear brethren. We are precious as gold
and silver in the eyes of God but for us to shine we still need refining as
silver is refined and testing as gold is tested. What is it that God is
testing? Our FAITH!!!
How was
the testing carried out? When the news
of corruption in the INC was uncovered, it revealed to the world and to God
very clearly who really are in the side of righteousness and will stand up to
oppose it. It shows who among us possess
the true faith that will not crumble when subjected to severe test. Unfortunately, majority failed! In my local so few were awakened even though
corruption, doctrinal violations and evil deeds are clearly seen unfolding
right before our very eyes. The faith
that was once unwavering simply vanished in thin air! Perhaps it can be said that they do have
faith but as sure as the sun shines from the east and sets on the west,
whatever faith they have now is nothing but dead faith that is devoid of the
most important essential and integral element of faith which is WORKS!
We don’t
have to discuss the ramifications of a dead faith but it is worth mentioning
the early servants of God whose faith are coupled with works.
·
Noah and his
seven companions were the only people that were saved during the great flood.
·
Lot and his two
daughters were saved in Sodom and Gomorrah.
·
The three young
Jewish men who refused to worship the God of Nebuchadnezzar were delivered from
the burning furnace all because of faith.
We need
not elaborate dear brethren. Salvation
awaits those whose faith is coupled with works.
