Having Faith Correctly
Given the fact that we are saved and kept righteous by faith alone (Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 3:28, Romans 4:1-8), it is paramount that we have faith correctly.
The following scripture indicates that having faith leads to righteous behavior being seen in a person - all on its own:
Romans 9
30 What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith;
31 but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it.
32 Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the "stumbling stone."
33 As it is written:"See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes men to stumbleand a rock that makes them fall,and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame."
The following scriptures indicate that unless a person’s faith leads to righteous behavior being seen in that person, then that person's faith is dead:
(NASB)
James 2
17 Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.
John 15
2 "Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.
Someone might therefore ask, how does a person have genuine faith, which in fact leads to righteous behavior being seen in that person? Please note the following.
Christ gave instructions on how someone should have faith, in the following scripture:
Mark 11
12 Now the next day, when they had come out from Bethany, He was hungry.
13 And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it. When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.
14 In response Jesus said to it, "Let no one eat fruit from you ever again." And His disciples heard it.
.
.
.
20 Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.
21 "And Peter, remembering, said to Him, "Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away."
22 Have faith in God," Jesus answered.
23 "I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.
24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
More plainly, a person is supposed to have faith by saying what he wants and believing he will receive it, or asking God for what he wants and believing that he will receive it.
Christ does several things in the above scripture, including providing instructions for having faith via two methods. In verse 24, Christ just provides one method for having faith. In verse 23, Christ uses an example to illustrate another way someone can have faith, and to point out the great things someone can accomplish if that person manages to control his doubt and believing, while having faith. Finally Christ indicates the means by which He was able to make the fig tree wither: Christ said what He wanted, and believed it would happen.
The following scriptures back up Mark 11:22-24 as being God's instructions on how a person should have faith:
(NKJV)
John 15
7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.
8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.
(NIV)
James 1
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
6 But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.
7 That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord;
8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.
Romans 9
30 What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith;
John 15:7-8 indicates that asking God for things results in someone bearing the fruit of righteousness. James 1:5-8 (also Matthew 21:22) indicate that when someone asks God for something, that person must believe that he will receive it, in order to receive it. And Romans 9:30 indicates that (having) faith uniquely produces righteousness in a person. Therefore since asking God for things while believing that he will receive them causes someone to bear the fruit of righteousness, and (having) faith is what leads to righteousness being seen in a person; it follows that asking God for things while believing that he will receive them is actually having faith - the same as Christ's instructions on how someone should do so in Mark 11:22-24. Therefore when someone has faith using the methods described by Christ in Mark 11:22-24, that person bears the fruits of the Holy Spirit - attesting to the authenticity of that person's faith.
In addition, the following scripture supports Mark 11:22-24 as being God's instructions on how we should have faith:
Matthew 9
27 As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, "Have mercy on us, Son of David!"
28 When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" "Yes, Lord," they replied.
29 Then he touched their eyes and said, "According to your faith will it be done to you";
In the scripture above, two blind men asked God for help, then believed that God would relieve them of their distress. God then acknowledged what they did was having faith, then granted them what they asked for.
Matthew 15:21-28 and Matthew 8:5-13 also give accounts of a woman and centurion respectively, who asked God for help, and believed that they would receive it. God in the scriptures acknowledged what they did as (having) great faith.
In addition to Christ in Mark 11: 12-14, 20-24 indicating the means by which He caused the fig tree to wither was by having faith (saying what He wanted and believing it would happen), the following scriptures provide other examples of God saying what He wanted and believing that it would happen, and these being identified as (having) faith.
Hebrews 11
1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
2 For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.
3 By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.
Genesis 1
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
3 Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light.
4 And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness.
5 God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.
6 Then God said, "Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters."
7 Thus God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so.
8 And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day.
9 Then God said, "Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear"; and it was so.
10 And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good.
11 Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth"; and it was so.
The above scriptures (Mark 11:22-24 in particular) therefore indicate that having faith is: saying what you want and believing you will receive it, or asking God for what you want and believing you will receive it. It is the above actions and only the above actions which constitute having faith, and it is my testimony that these actions actually cause your behavior to fundamentally improve - indicating further that the above exercises make up having real faith. (You may look here for further evidence that having faith correctly is outlined by Christ in Mark 11:22-24. You may use this link to find out how you can have faith and gain results.)
The following scripture indicates that having faith leads to righteous behavior being seen in a person - all on its own:
Romans 9
30 What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith;
31 but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it.
32 Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the "stumbling stone."
33 As it is written:"See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes men to stumbleand a rock that makes them fall,and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame."
The following scriptures indicate that unless a person’s faith leads to righteous behavior being seen in that person, then that person's faith is dead:
(NASB)
James 2
17 Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.
John 15
2 "Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.
Someone might therefore ask, how does a person have genuine faith, which in fact leads to righteous behavior being seen in that person? Please note the following.
Christ gave instructions on how someone should have faith, in the following scripture:
Mark 11
12 Now the next day, when they had come out from Bethany, He was hungry.
13 And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it. When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.
14 In response Jesus said to it, "Let no one eat fruit from you ever again." And His disciples heard it.
.
.
.
20 Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.
21 "And Peter, remembering, said to Him, "Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away."
22 Have faith in God," Jesus answered.
23 "I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.
24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
More plainly, a person is supposed to have faith by saying what he wants and believing he will receive it, or asking God for what he wants and believing that he will receive it.
Christ does several things in the above scripture, including providing instructions for having faith via two methods. In verse 24, Christ just provides one method for having faith. In verse 23, Christ uses an example to illustrate another way someone can have faith, and to point out the great things someone can accomplish if that person manages to control his doubt and believing, while having faith. Finally Christ indicates the means by which He was able to make the fig tree wither: Christ said what He wanted, and believed it would happen.
The following scriptures back up Mark 11:22-24 as being God's instructions on how a person should have faith:
(NKJV)
John 15
7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.
8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.
(NIV)
James 1
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
6 But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.
7 That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord;
8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.
Romans 9
30 What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith;
John 15:7-8 indicates that asking God for things results in someone bearing the fruit of righteousness. James 1:5-8 (also Matthew 21:22) indicate that when someone asks God for something, that person must believe that he will receive it, in order to receive it. And Romans 9:30 indicates that (having) faith uniquely produces righteousness in a person. Therefore since asking God for things while believing that he will receive them causes someone to bear the fruit of righteousness, and (having) faith is what leads to righteousness being seen in a person; it follows that asking God for things while believing that he will receive them is actually having faith - the same as Christ's instructions on how someone should do so in Mark 11:22-24. Therefore when someone has faith using the methods described by Christ in Mark 11:22-24, that person bears the fruits of the Holy Spirit - attesting to the authenticity of that person's faith.
In addition, the following scripture supports Mark 11:22-24 as being God's instructions on how we should have faith:
Matthew 9
27 As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, "Have mercy on us, Son of David!"
28 When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" "Yes, Lord," they replied.
29 Then he touched their eyes and said, "According to your faith will it be done to you";
In the scripture above, two blind men asked God for help, then believed that God would relieve them of their distress. God then acknowledged what they did was having faith, then granted them what they asked for.
Matthew 15:21-28 and Matthew 8:5-13 also give accounts of a woman and centurion respectively, who asked God for help, and believed that they would receive it. God in the scriptures acknowledged what they did as (having) great faith.
In addition to Christ in Mark 11: 12-14, 20-24 indicating the means by which He caused the fig tree to wither was by having faith (saying what He wanted and believing it would happen), the following scriptures provide other examples of God saying what He wanted and believing that it would happen, and these being identified as (having) faith.
Hebrews 11
1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
2 For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.
3 By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.
Genesis 1
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
3 Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light.
4 And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness.
5 God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.
6 Then God said, "Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters."
7 Thus God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so.
8 And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day.
9 Then God said, "Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear"; and it was so.
10 And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good.
11 Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth"; and it was so.
The above scriptures (Mark 11:22-24 in particular) therefore indicate that having faith is: saying what you want and believing you will receive it, or asking God for what you want and believing you will receive it. It is the above actions and only the above actions which constitute having faith, and it is my testimony that these actions actually cause your behavior to fundamentally improve - indicating further that the above exercises make up having real faith. (You may look here for further evidence that having faith correctly is outlined by Christ in Mark 11:22-24. You may use this link to find out how you can have faith and gain results.)
posted by P. Douglas | 4:02 PM
1 Comments:
i thank you very much for your blog. it has brought me clarity in a time when i only saw darkness. god bless you
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