Month: September 2011

So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Rom 10:17

Have you ever heard that all men have faith?  Have you been taught that faith is like a spark planted in the heart of every human being and that our job is to cause it to flame up so that men would be saved?  I’ve heard such statements!  I’ve heard it preaced from pulpits, and it’s probably the explanation of faith that I was taught most frequently as a boy growing up in church.  But, is that spin on faith biblical?  Our text above suggests that a hearing of the word of God precedes faith, and, therefore concludes, we are not born possessing faith in any measure.  So, what does the rest of Scripture teach?

In Mt 21, the disciples marvelled at a fig tree that withered away after the Lord commanded that no fruit should grow on it any more.  He responded to their amazement with, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done.” (Mt 21:21) Now if all men have some measure of faith, shouldn’t Jesus have said, “since you have faith”?  Some might say, “Well, He meant ‘if you have enough faith’!”  First of all, I get very nervous any time someone inserts or removes words from what we read in the Bible.  I understand it can be beneficial at times because the original Greek or Hebrew reads better that way, but if the original language doesn’t support it, then don’t do it!  Jesus deals with the fact that it’s not the amount of faith that is the problem in Mt 17:20: “if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.”  You see.  The problem can’t be the amount of faith, because the smallest faith is able to move mountains!  Our instruction, if we possess it, is to use the faith we have because it is powerful, no matter how small!

In the city of Lystra, the apostle Paul encountered a man that had never walked.  He had been a cripple since birth.  There were no doubt others that Paul passed by and did not heal in that city, so why did he stop for that man?  We read in Ac 14:9-10: “This man heard Paul speaking. Paul, observing him intently and seeing that he had faith to be healed, said with a loud voice, ‘Stand up straight on your feet!’  And he leaped and walked.”  Why did Paul stop for this man?  Because, unlike others that were infirm in that city, this man possessed faith, i.e. not all men have faith!  Perhaps, the clearest text on this matter is in 2 Th 3:2.  Here Paul asks the Thessalonians to pray for him and those preaching with him, “that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men; for not all have faith.”  Does it get any clearer?!!

No doubt, someone will ask, “What about Rom 12:3?”  “For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.”  As with any verse, the key is the context.  It’s clear from the surrounding verses that he is speaking to believers only.  He says in v. 5, “we, being many, are one body in Christ”.  That statement no doubt applies to the church only!  As we read further we see that v. 3 is referring to the gifts by the Spirit given to every believer to use for the good of all.  Oh, and by the way, faith is a fruit of the Spirit according to Gal 5:22, i.e you must have the Spirit to have faith.  Remember, only those with faith are able to please God! (Heb 11:6) Are all men pleasing to God?  Of course not!  He will not say to all men, “Well done, good and faithful servant”!  According to that parable, the faithless are cast into outer darkness! (Mt 25:23, 30)

One final thought.  Recognizing that faith is unique to the believer causes us to glorify God!  Why?  Because, we realize it didn’t come from us!  It wasn’t something everyone had, and we caused it to flame up!  No, faith was uniquely given to some by God!!!  “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” (Eph 2:8-9) Faith is the gift of God!  It is intentionally given by Him to His church.  The realization puts the glory where it always belongs!  To God be the glory!

Jamie

(for the children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works but of Him who calls), it was said to her, “The older shall serve the younger.” So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.
Rom 9:11-12

We spent much of our time last week considering Rom 9:16: “So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.”  There is tremendous comfort in that verse because it reveals to the Christian that God is going to make sure that His children make it safely into His eternal arms.  The purpose of God according to election, God’s predetermined work, will stand!  Every believer must confess as Paul does in Rom 7:21 that “I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good.”  Even as I strive after holiness, I still fail, but it is tremendous grounds for rejoicing to know that I will make it across the finish line into eternal glory, not by my effort, but because God by His infinite power will see to it!  This thought is not unique to this passage but is revealed in numerous verses throughout the Scripture.  I thought this week I would simply share some of those verses that highlight God’s sovereign work in the life of the believer and let the word of God speak for itself.  I hope they encourage you, child of God, to rest in the Lord, “being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ”. (Ph 1:6)

Jamie

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ:
1 Pet 1:1-2

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
1 Pet 2:9

Now when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.
Ac 13:48

Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace.
Rom 11:5

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, ⁶ to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved…In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.
Eph 1:3-6, 11-12

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.
Ph 2:12-13

…Who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began…
2 Tim 1:9

These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful.
Rev 17:14

But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth
2 Th 2:13

Amen!

So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.
Rom 9:16

This verse knocks man off of his high horse and exalts God to the place of preeminence that He deserves!  There is a simple fact declared in numerous scriptures concerning those that know the Lord.  We didn’t choose Him; He chose us! (Jn 15:16) We didn’t finally reach Him as an act of our will.  We weren’t running hard toward Him.  No, we know God because He decided to show us mercy!  Just listen to how an earlier passage sums up all of mankind:

    “There is none righteous, no, not one;
     There is none who understands;
     There is none who seeks after God.” (Rom 3:10-11)

Have you ever considered the experiences that God compares to salvation?  God says salvation is like a sheep being found (Mt 18:12-14), like a baby being born (Jn 3:3-6), and like the dead being raised (Eph 2:1-9).  What do you find in common with each of these situations?  In the first example, the sheep is not seeking the Shepherd; the Shepherd seeks him.  What about the example of a birth?  Does the baby have anything to do with his conception?  Perhaps, the clearest example is that of a dead man being raised.  What can a dead man do?  Nothing!  As one preacher said, all a dead man can do is stink!  God has to give a dead man life.

As the Romans 3 passage tells us, we don’t seek after God.  We’re born running the other way!  If you’re redeemed today, there’s only one Person that deserves the praise for your salvation.  We didn’t seek the Lord.  He sought us!  May we give glory to the God “who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began”. (2 Tim 1:9)

Jamie