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Aug.04.06: Light for the Day - “Right
Kind of Faith?"
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You don't know what Faith you have until it
is tested.
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-- Romans 1:16-17
16 I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the Power of God
for the salvation of everyone who believes:
first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.
17 For in the Gospel a Righteousness from God is Revealed,
a Righteousness that is by Faith from first to last, just
as it is written:
"The righteous will live by Faith." (Habakkuk.
2:4)
-- Ephesians 4:5-6
5 One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism;
6 One God and Father of all,
Who is over all and through all and in all.
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Do I Have The Right Kind of Faith?
What makes Faith right?
With all the voices calling for us to trust their messages,
how can we know which one to listen to?
The rightness or wrongness of Faith is determined by its object --
by what you believe in. Right Faith is not just a warm secure
feeling,
nor is it a blind, wild, irrational hope. The rightness of Faith is
determined
by its object! Your Faith is right if you put your trust in the right
thing.
People will always believe in something. Yet they often put their Faith
in the wrong thing. The wrong kind of Religious-Faith is Faith that
is
resting on man. This is wrong because man is finite in his understanding,
limited in his power, and sinful by nature.
Faith in Humanism:
Humanism rests on the conviction that man's intellect can bring
solutions
to all his problems and answers to all his questions. It says man
needs
no outside help. He has in himself all the resources he needs.
Faith in Escapism:
This is the wrong belief that we can find peace and solace in the make --
believe world of alcohol and drugs. Increasing numbers of people are
using artificial means to escape the reality of life and to seek comfort
in
an unreal world.
Faith in Mysticism:
Mysticism speaks of a supreme power rather than a Supreme Being.
The belief is that this supreme power is part of everything and in
everything, including people. Its followers pray and chant to put
themselves into harmony with this supreme power.
Faith in
Sacramentalism:
Some people believe that by participating in a series of religious
rituals
they receive God's Grace. The participants think they gain God's
favor
by observing them.
Faith in Legalism:
Many people have a false Faith in their own good works. People like
to
think they can please God by their own efforts. Some think that if
they
obey a long list of do's and don'ts they will impress God. Legalism
is
a religion of human achievement. It is man trying to earn salvation
by
something he does.
+++ These
Faiths, which originate in man, depend on man,
and end with man, are contrary to the teaching of the Bible.
It is in God's revealed Word that we can discover
the right object of Faith -- Jesus Christ.
If your Faith is in anything other than Christ,
your Faith is inadequate. It is the wrong kind of Faith.
-- C.J.
-- Hebrews
12:2
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter
of our Faith,
Who for the joy set before Him endured the cross,
scorning its shame,
and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
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-- Biblical Faith --
-- 1 Corinthians 15:2
By this Gospel you are
saved,
if you hold firmly to the Word I preached to you.
Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
-- 2 Timothy 3:15-17
15 And that from childhood you have
Known the Holy Scriptures,
which are Able to Make you Wise for Salvation
through
Faith in Christ Jesus.
16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is Useful for Doctrine,
Teaching, Rebuking, Correcting and Training in Righteousness,
17 So that the man of God may be Complete,
Thoroughly Equipped for every Good Work.
-- Romans 10:17
Consequently, Faith comes from hearing the
Message,
and the Message is heard through the Word of Christ.
-- Hebrews
11 (Chapter of Great Faith) Faith) Faith) Faith)
1 Now Faith is being sure of what we hope for
and certain of what we do not see.
2 For by Faith the ancient obtained a good testimony.
3 By Faith we understand that the universe was formed at
God’s
command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was
visible.
6 And without Faith it is impossible to please God,
because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He
exists
and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.
----------------------
-- Faith in Jesus Christ --
-- Galatians
3:26
You are all children of God through Faith in Christ
Jesus.
-- John 14:6
Jesus answered, "I am the Way and the
Truth and the Life.
No one comes to the Father except through Me."
-- John 10:30
I and the Father
are One.
-- Acts 4:12
Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under
Heaven given to men by which we must be saved.
-- Revelation 1:8
"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God,
"Who is,
and Who was, and Who is to come, the Almighty."
-- Joshua 24:15-16
15 But if you are unwilling to serve the LORD,
then choose today whom
you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served
beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in
whose land you now live?
But as for me and my family, we will serve the LORD."
16 The people replied,
"We would never forsake the LORD and worship other gods."
-- Isaiah 45:22
Turn to Me and be saved, all you ends of the earth;
For I am God, and there is no other.
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-- Jeremiah 29:8-9
8 Yes, this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says:
"Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you.
Do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have.
9 They are prophesying lies to you in My Name.
I have not sent them," declares the LORD.
-- Romans 16:17-18
17 I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and
put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have
learned. Keep away from them.
18 For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites.
By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of innocent people.
-- Matthew 24:11, 24
11 And many false prophets will appear and deceive many people.
24 For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs
and miracles to deceive even the elect— if that were possible.
-- Colossians 2:8
See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive
philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles
of this world rather than on Christ.
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-- Faith and Legalism --
-- Galatians 3:11-12; 21-29
11 Clearly no one is justified before God by the
Law, because,
"The righteous will live by Faith." (Hab.
2:4)
12 How different from this way of Faith is the way of Law, which says,
"If you wish to find life by obeying the Law,
you must obey all of its commands." (Lev.
18:5.)
21 Well then, is there a conflict between God’s Law and God’s
Promises?
Absolutely not! If the Law could have given us new life,
we could have been made right with God by obeying it.
22 But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin,
so that what was promised, being given through
Faith in Jesus Christ,
might be given to those who believe.
23 Before this Faith came, we were held prisoners by the Law,
locked up until Faith should be revealed.
24 So the Law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that
we might be justified by Faith.
25 Now that Faith has come,
we are no longer under the supervision of the
Law.
26 You are all children of God through Faith in Christ Jesus,
27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female,
For you are all One in Christ Jesus.
29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed,
and heirs according to the Promise.
-- Philippians 3:8-9
8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the priceless
gain of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have discarded everything else,
counting it all as garbage, so that I may have Christ
9 and become one with Him. I no longer count on my own goodness or
my ability to obey God’s Law, but I Trust Christ to save me.
For God’s way of making us right with Himself depends on Faith.
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-- Faith in Worship & Sacramentalism --
-- Psalms 51:16
You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
You do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
-- Psalms 40:6-8
6 You take no delight in sacrifices or offerings.
Now that You have made me listen, I finally understand --
You don’t require burnt offerings or sin offerings.
7 Then I said, "Look, I have come.
And this has been written about me in Your Scroll:
8 I take joy in doing Your Will, my God, for Your Law is written on my heart."
-- Jeremiah 7:23
But I gave them this command:
Obey Me, and I will be your God and you will be My people.
Walk in all the ways I command you, that it may go well with you.
-- 1 John 2:2
Jesus is the atoning sacrifice for our sins,
and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.
-- John 4:23-24
23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers
will worship the Father in Spirit and
Truth,
for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.
24 God is Spirit,
and His worshipers must worship in Spirit and in
Truth."
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-- Faith & Good Deeds --
-- 2 Corinthians 5:7
We walk by Faith, not by Sight.
-- James 1:22
Do not merely listen to the
Word, and so deceive yourselves.
Do what it says.
-- James 2:14, 17-19, 26
14 What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have
Faith but
has no deeds? Can such Faith save him?
17 In the same way,
Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
18 But someone may argue, "You have Faith; I have deeds."
Show me your Faith without deeds,
and I will show you my Faith by what I do.
19 Do you still think it’s enough just to believe that there is one God?
Well, even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror!
26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so Faith without deeds is dead.
--------------------
-- Faith in Salvation --
-- Matthew 7:21-26
21 "Not all people who sound religious are really godly. They may refer
to Me as ‘Lord,’ but they still won’t enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
The decisive issue is whether they obey My Father in
Heaven.
22 On judgment day many will tell Me, ‘Lord, Lord, we prophesied in
Your Name and cast out demons in your Name and performed
many miracles in Your Name.’
23 But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Go away;
the things you did were unauthorized.’
26 But anyone who hears My Teaching and ignores it is foolish,
like a person who builds a house on sand.
-- Ephesians 2:8-10
8 For it is by Grace you have been saved, through
Faith --
and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God --
9 not by works, so that no one can boast.
10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus
to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
-- Philippians 3:20
But our citizenship is in
Heaven.
And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.
-----------------------
-- Faith in Prayer --
-- Luke 17:5
The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our
Faith!"
-- Jude 1:20
But you, dear friends, build
yourselves up in your most Holy Faith
and Pray in the Holy Spirit
-- Romans 1:8
First, I thank my God through
Jesus Christ for all of you,
because your Faith is being reported all over the
world.
-- Ephesians 3:16-17
16 I Pray that out of His glorious
riches He may strengthen you
with power through His Spirit in your inner being,
17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through Faith.
And I Pray that you, being rooted and
established in love.
-- Philemon 1:6
I Pray that you may be active
in sharing your Faith, so that you will
have a full understanding of every good thing we have in
Christ.
-- 1 Corinthians 16:13
Be on your guard; stand firm in the Faith;
Be courageous; Be strong.
-- Romans 15:13
May the God of Hope fill
you with all Joy and Peace as you
Trust in Him, so that you may overflow with Hope by
the power of the Holy Spirit.
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