IMPLEMENTING FAITH

Faith and How to have faith in God

By William R. Cunningham
September 7, 2003

INTRODUCTION

You have heard many times that we are to have faith in God or that we should trust God. You may have also heard the false teachings that declare that faith is a force and we develop such force through confession. However, the Bible has a lot to say about faith and we can readily learn what faith really is and how to live by it. This lesson is going to address the issue of implementing biblical faith in our lives.

Faith Defined

We should define "faith" before we get into a study on implementing faith. The word faith in the Bible means the following at various places.

1. Trustworthiness or established
2. Faithfulness or moral fidelity
3. Persuasion, credence; moral conviction (of religious truth, or the truthfulness of God or a religious teacher), especially reliance upon Christ for salvation; abstractly constancy in such profession; by extension the system of religious (Gospel) truth itself, fidelity, belief

The "New Illustrated Bible Dictionary" describes faith as having at least two aspects. Active and passive

1. Loyalty or fidelity to a promise
2. Confidence in the word or assurance of another.

Another aspect of faith from a Christian perspective is the truth that constitutes the whole Christian message (See Jude 3).

Scripture Lessons

Proverbs 3:5-6

1. Trust in the Lord - Consciously and totally depend on God. Confide in God and believe in Him for your welfare and your very life. Put your confidence in God.
2. With all your heart - This means with all your being or with your entire self.
3. And lean not - The vision here is perhaps of one leaning on a wall for support. This statement also contrasts the statement "Trust in the Lord" and it says that we should not trust in. Don't depend on. This says do not support.
4. On your own understanding - This refers to the humans inate ability to comprehend his or her surrounding and to make sense of what he sees or otherwise experience from the senses. This is our own reasoning or knowledge or even our own wisdom.
5. In all your ways - A road. Figuratively this means a course of life or mode of action. We might look at this as the road of life that a person takes.
6. Acknowledge Him - This means to be aware of God in our lives. This comes from the Hebrew word "yaw dah," which means to know or ascertain by seeing.
7. And He shall direct. The word direct here is the Hebrew word Yawshar, which means to make straight or to cause to be right, pleasant, or prosperous.
8. Your paths - This comes from a Hebrew word that means "a well trodden road, a caravan. This implies your roads or the things that you do in life. This could also imply the act of God making our paths smooth or taking care of things for us in our lives.

The key according to this scripture is to trust God completely. All else follows from trusting God. Is this consistent with other scriptures. Let's examine other instances to see if the Bible teaches us to be totally dependant on God. First let's look at Hebrews 11.

Hebrews 11

Now let's examine Hebrews 11 to gain insight into the biblical aspect of faith. First let's look at verse one.

Hebrews 11:1 (NKJV) Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Here faith is being certain of the things that we hope for and the being convinced of the reality of things that we do not see. Faith is not a force that some purport. Faith is confidence in God.

We have many examples in regards of implementing faith in our lives. Consider the remainder of Hebrews.

• Hebrews 11:2 - The elders (the great men and women of the Old Testament times) received a good report or testimony (approval of God) because of their faith.
• Hebrews 11:3 - By faith we believe and know that God created all things.
• Hebrews 11:4 - By faith Abel's sacrifice was approved by God. Abel's reliance on God made him righteous before God. Evidently, Cain did not rely on God so his offering was not accepted and consequently Cain was not declared righteous.
• Hebrews 11:5-6 - See Genesis 5:21-24. Note that the word faith in Genesis five is not used in conjunction with Enoch. The Bible says that Enoch walked with God and this directly correlates with the statement that Enoch pleased God See. However, the author of Hebrews makes the point that he must have had faith in God because it is impossible to please God without faith. The author also says that God rewards those who diligently seek him.
• Hebrews 11:7 - We see Noah's faith and how he was approved or accepted by God. It was because of Noah's confidence and trust in God that he built the ark. The Bible says of Noah that he also walked with God and that he was just (See Genesis 6:9).
• Hebrews 11:8-10 - We see that Abraham believed and obeyed God because he had confidence (faith) in God. Abraham did what God told him to do in regards to the promised land and his own life because Abraham believed God, i.e., he had faith in God.
• Hebrews 11:11-12 - Sarah also believed God and this resulted in her conceiving and having a son even when she was past the age of childbirth. She reckoned God as being faithful and so she believed.
• Hebrews 11:17-19 - Abraham offered up Isaac by faith. He believed that God was able to raise Isaac up from the dead since He had promised him many descendants.
• Hebrews 11:20 - Isaac blessed Jacob and Essau concerning things that would come.
• Hebrews 11:21-22 - Jacob and Joseph believed the promises that God had promised Abraham and made mention of them even until they were dead.
• Hebrews 11:23 - By faith Moses' parents hid him not being afraid of the king's command, but rather trusted in God.
• Hebrews 11:24-29 - Moses did great things because of his fear and trust in God. He refused to be called Pharaoh's daughter's son. He denounced the riches of Egypt choosing the sufferings of his own people. By faith Moses kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood so that the first born would be spared by the death angel.
• Hebrews 11:30 (See Joshua 6:20) - By faith the walls of Jericho fell after the people marched around it seven days.
• Hebrews 11:31 (See Joshua 2:9, 6:23) - By faith Rahab was spared when she helped the spies escape, which put her in danger with her own people. She chose to put her confident in the Hebrew God.
• There were many others that were examples of true faith. See Hebrews 11:32-40.

There are many other examples besides the "Hall of Faith" in Hebrews. Consider the following scriptures.

• 2 Samuel 22:31 - The word of the LORD has been proven. God is a shield to those who trust him. This is a song of deliverance from David's enemies and Saul.
• Ps 5:11, 9:9-10, 18:30, 32:10, 36:7, 40:4, 34:8, 84:5 - Putting your trust in God
• Psalms 33:18-19, 147:11 - Hoping in God's mercy
• Psalms 37:28, Deuteronomy 6:24, Proverbs 2:8 - God will not forsake the saints. He preserves them forever
• Proverbs 14:26 - There is confidence in the reverence of God
• Proverbs 28:25, Jeremiah 17:7-8 - Those who trust God will prosper (be made fat). See a similar effect at Isaiah 10:27.
• Isaiah 26:3 - Peace when your mind is stayed on Jesus.
• Matthew 21:21-22 - Faith as a mustard seed can cause you to move mountains.

Mark 9:23-24 (See also Matthew 17:14-21)

Note very carefully at what Jesus said to the sick man. Notice the punctuation. Let me quote the scripture here.

Mark 9:23 through Mark 9:24 (NKJV) ²³Jesus said to him, "If^ you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes."

Jesus' statement in verse 23 is rendered differently in different translations. Let me illustrate.

• (NKJV) Jesus said to him, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes."
• (NIV) "'If you can'?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes."
• (NCV) Jesus said to the father, "You said, 'If you can!' All things are possible for the one who believes."
• (NASB) And Jesus said to him, "'If You can?' All things are possible to him who believes."
• (KJV) Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.
• (AMP) And Jesus said, [You say to Me], If you can do anything? [Why,] a;; things can be-are possible-to him who believes!

However, it appears that Jesus first quoted the father's statement, "if you can?" in the form of a question back at him. He then tells the father that all things are possible to those who believe, which was directed at the father and his faith. This rendering is very important because it stresses the difference between the concept of a force of faith that a person has and can develop and the dependence on Jesus. Here the emphasis is faith in Jesus to heal the father's son. Jesus wasn't telling the father that if he could develop a force of faith or his own faith as though it were his own that he could heal his son. He was telling the father that if he would trust Jesus then his son would be healed. Verse 29 is also important in regards to developing faith.

Jesus said that the kind of faith necessary to cast out a demon of that sort comes by prayer (some translations include "and fasting"). This teaches us the importance of prayer in the life of a Christian in regards to our confidence in God. Prayer is instrumental in building an intimate relationship between you and God.

We also note that the disciples could not cast the demon out of the boy because of their lack of faith, which seems to indicate a lack of prayers based on Jesus' comment in verse 29. We should note that the disciples were given the power to cast out demons and heal the sick. However, perhaps they took that for granted and neglected to pray as they should. This didn't decrease a power within them as though faith was a force that needed to be regenerated from time to time. However, it was the confidence that they had that was directly affected by their communion with God, thus prayer.

Mustard Seed Faith

Jesus said that if we have faith as a mustard seed then we could move mountains. The mountains here was a common rabbinic metaphor for something that was seemingly impossible. Therefore, all we need is a little faith and that faith could cause great things to happen.

Implementing Faith

How do we "activate" this faith or confidence in God in our lives? The following are some suggestions based on the results of this study.

1. Know the word of God so that we would know Him, His promises, and His concern for us.
2. Obey the word of God, which would in turn build confidence because we would experience first had the faithfulness of God. See Ecclesiastes 12:13.
3. Therefore, do not worry (Matthew 6:25-34; Philippians 4:6-7; 1 Peter 5:7; Luke 12:11-12)
4. Pray
5. Consciously lean on God. That is, put your trust in Him knowing that he will guide you and deliver you.
6. Do not allow yourself to depend on self

The following are also important for implementing faith in your life.

1. Consider or reckon the word of God, i.e., the Bible to be true. If you are not convinced of this then begin researching the history of the Bible and you will find that it is indeed a reliable document that presents the truth. Once you are confidence of the reliability of the Bible then you will be able to trust what it says and therefore act on what God says.
2. Study the Bible so that you know and understand the Word of God. It is only when you know and obey the word of God that you will stand on a sure foundation. It is only when you really know the word of God that you can rightly apply it to your life with confidence.
3. Develop an intimate relationship with the LORD. This will help in a great way.
4. Of course you have to believe that God is real and that He loves you else you will doubt that he would do anything for you. However, the Bible declares that God loves us and that He cares for us. We saw scriptures in this lesson that indicate that God will prosper and deliver his people. So take refuge and have confidence in your heavenly father.
5. Do not dwell on the negative things, but instead look at them and deal with them knowing that God is with you. Denial of problems will not deliver you. Know that your situation could change in the blink of an eye. However, be sure to do what the Spirit of God tells you to do.
6. Be aware of God in the course of your life knowing that he will direct your path or rather, make your ways straight or smooth.

Learn to trust God. The sooner you begin the more prepared you will be when trusting him is crucial. Of course we should trust him for everything even our very lives and not take it for granted that we are alive because of Him. Trust God. Obey God and allow God to move in your life thus building more confidence in him for your life ahead on this earth.

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