You Can Be Saved by Faith Towards God
FAITH IS THE OPPOSITE OF DOUBT
If you are not sure about God and His word, if you are not yet convinced regarding these things, then you have doubt, not faith because:“Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (He 11:1)
Faith is being assured, convinced, or persuaded about the unseen God and His prophetic, promising word. People of faith are blessed. For example:
- Elizabeth Blessed Mary for Her Faith
“Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord.” (Lk 1:45) So, by faith, Mary believed the Lord regarding something that she did not yet see, a Child. Do you believe that God will bring to pass what He has promised you in the Gospel, even though you have not seen it come to pass yet? If so, you are blessed. - Jesus Blessed Those Who Would Believe
“Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.” (Jn 20:29) So Jesus was blessing you, if you believe in Him though you were not there to see Him.
GET FAITH BY HEARING ABOUT THE MESSIAH
“Faith comes from hearing, and hearing by
the word of Christ.” (Ro 10:17)
So if you have heard the Gospel of Jesus
Christ, then you have had the opportunity to
receive faith. But hearing alone is no guarantee
that you will gain faith toward God, and all of its
associated benefits. “Indeed we have had good
news preached to us, just as they also [the
Israelites]; but the word they heard did not
profit them because it was not united by faith
in those who heard.” (He 4:2) Therefore,
hearing the Gospel of Jesus Christ is
beneficial to you only if you become inwardly
sure and certain about the words it contains.
THE BENEFITS OF FAITH
Most importantly, faith will save your soul from the fire of hell. “Though you have not seen Him [Christ] you love Him, and though you do not see him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.” (1 Pe 1:8, 9)Hebrews chapter eleven, the faith chapter, lists people who demonstrated outstanding faith toward God. It also lists some of the many benefits that resulted from their having such great certainty in the Lord and His word. Ex.
- The Faithful Received God’s Approval
“For by it [faith] the men of old gained approval... gained approval through their faith.” (He 11:2, 39) - God Said the Faithful were Righteous
“By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous.” (He 11:4) “By faith Noah... became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.” (He 11: 7) - God was Pleased with the Faithful
“By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death... for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God. And without faith it is impossible to please Him.” (He 11:5, 6) So if you doubt God or His words, you are displeasing to Him, for: “My righteous one will live by faith; and if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him.” (He 10:38) - God Rewarded the Faithful
“... he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” (He 11:6) - God was Not Ashamed of the Faithful
“God is not ashamed to be called their God...” (He 11:16)
YOU MUST SHOW OTHERS YOUR FAITH
People who have faith are people who prove/show it; they have action. You cannot hide your faith, if you truly have it. James said, “I will show you my faith by my works.” (Ja 2:18) And, “You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?” (Ja 2:19, 20) So you are a fool if you think that you can believe and have no faithful behavior to go along with it. That faith is like the faith of demons, and they shudder. Why do they shudder? It is because they are doomed. They know that God is real and that He will give them the ultimate penalty, the fire of hell. So it is not good enough to say that you have faith in God or that you know who God is or that you believe that He is one. Doubt what I am saying? Listen to this: There is only one place in the New Testament that says “faith alone” in regards to a believer’s justification before God, but it is preceded by “not by”. Here it is: “... a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.” (Ja 2:24) In regards to your faith, are you just or are you still unjust? For an answer, consider your faithful works or lack of.So you must back up your talk of faith with works of faith. By your obedience to a certain command, by your trust in a certain promise, by your repentance from a sin that leads to death, by your turning away from an evil, and by many other faithful acts, you must show your faith in God. “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love.” (Ga 5:6) According to Paul, a meaningful faith is a working faith. Do you have a meaningful faith? If not, get busy with the commands of the Lord Jesus, out of love for Him and His people.
APPROVED EX.’S OF HOW TO SHOW YOUR FAITH
You should want to have great works of faith. Hebrews chapter eleven lists several great examples of people who demonstrated the kind of faith, or the works of faith, that God approves of (He 11:2, 39). Carefully consider these examples and imitate the great faith found in them.1. By Faith You Must Believe that God’s Word Created the Heavens and the Earth
“By faith we understand
that the worlds were prepared
by the word of God,
so that what is seen
was not made out
of things which are
visible.” (He 11:3)
By faith you must believe that God spoke the worlds into being out of nothing but His powerful word. Now the word of God is truth (Jn 17:17). Truth is fact. So then the word of God is not a theory because theories are guesses, estimates, and speculations. Theories are not based on well established and evident facts.
- So then, by faith you must reject any theory on the origin of the world or man, including the Big Bang Theory and the Theory of Evolution. And when you do reject these theories, and only accept what God said about the origin of the worlds, then you are demonstrating the kind of faith that God approves of. God will not approve of belief in any theory estimated by man to account for the origin of the worlds. He only approves of belief in one account of the origin of the worlds, His own as recorded in Genesis.
- So then, by faith you cannot say that the Genesis chapter 1 creation account is a theory because theories are not well established and evident facts/truth. Creation is not a theory, it is a fact.
2. By Faith You Must Give Back to God Some of the Very Best of What You Have
“By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts.” (He 11:4)Cain and his brother Abel both made offerings to the Lord (Ge 4:1-16). God approved of Abel’s offering but not Cain’s. God had no regard for it. There was something not worth respecting about Cain’s offering. It just wasn’t the kind of offering that God would be pleased with. It was not good enough. God told Cain he did not do well in his offering (Ge 4:7). And since he did not do well in his offering, God then told Cain that sin was crouching at his door.
You must by faith do very well in your offerings to the Lord in order for Him to approve of them. If not, then sin is crouching at your door. It takes a great faith to offer excellent gifts to God, gifts that truly excel. Do well in your offerings to Him.
3. By Faith You Must Please God Before You Die
“By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death... for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God. And without faith it is impossible to please Him...” (He 11:5, 6)The great thing about Enoch, for our learning, is not the unique and infrequently given reward he received of being taken up to God without suffering physical death (Ge 5:24), but that he walked with the Lord in such a faithful way while he was on the earth that it pleased God. By faith you must please God in your life on earth, before your time is up. Don’t wait to have faith. “Finally, then, brethren, we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us instruction as to how you ought to walk and please God (just as you actually do walk), that you excel still more.” (1 Thess 4:1)
Since the Bible says that it is impossible to please God without faith (He 11:6), then God will only be pleased with or approve of people with faith. Those who fail to have faith toward God cannot please Him and therefore will be lost eternally (2 Thess 1:8, 9). So in your Bible study, you must focus primarily on completely understanding the doctrine of faith toward God.
4. By Faith You Must Believe That God Exists
“Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” (He 11:6)I once worked with man named Frank who did not believe that there was a God. To prove it he used to reach up and open the door to a storage shelf at the top of his desk/cubicle and say, “He’s not in there.” Or “I don’t see Him.” Frank refused to believe in a God that he could not see. So according to Frank’s methodology, God did not exist.
The faithful say, “There is a God.” Or “He is alive.” Or “God exists.” But “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’” (Ps 14:1) It is not wise, but foolish to say that God does not exist. Prove your faith by saying God is real. People who do not believe that God exists are called unbelievers and their destination is the lake of fire (Re 21:8).
5. By Faith You Must Heed God’s Warnings about the Coming Destruction and Reverently Prepare to Be Saved
“By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.” (He 11:7)Peter warned us about the coming destruction of the earth by fire and he told us how to be prepared for it, saying, “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! But according to His promise we are looking for a new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.” (2 Pe 3:10-13)
Are you preparing yourself and your family to be saved from the fire of hell by obeying all of God’s warnings on how to save your soul? There are gospel teachings that you, by faith, must obey in order to be saved from your sins (2 Thess 1:8, 9). What are those teachings? The Bible Study on the Basics was designed to help you know them.
6. By Faith You Must Obey God When He Calls You by His Word to Do Something
“By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going.” (He 11:8)If you are a parent, do your children obey you the first time that you call them to do something? Abraham obeyed the first time that God called him to do something, even when he did not yet know, understand fully, or see where he was going. That is faith.
- When Jesus called to Peter and his brother Andrew, saying, “Follow Me,” they obeyed. But they didn’t know where they were going.
- When Jesus called to James and John, saying, “Follow Me,” they obeyed. Did these know where they were going with the Lord?
- Jonah was called by God to go preach to a wicked city so that they would repent and be saved. But he did not obey and ended up having to learn a lesson on God’s saving power when God had to rescue Jonah from the belly of a big fish. A profound lesson! When he finally obeyed God’s calling and preached to Nineveh, he still had the wrong attitude about it and was not satisfied that the city actually repented and was saved. What kind of preacher is not happy when wicked people get saved?
- Moses was called by God to deliver Israel from
slavery to Pharaoh, king of Egypt. But Moses was
hesitant to obey that calling. So God started to get
angry with Moses. Then Moses obeyed and went.
What about you? How quickly do you obey what God is calling you to do through the gospel of Jesus Christ? Are you like Abraham, Peter and Andrew, James and John or are you like Jonah and Moses? Be responsive and obedient to what God is calling you to do for Him. Do not rebel against it, but have the right attitude about His work through you to accomplish His purposes. Do not hesitate, but carefully obey God’s calling on your life to do something.
7. By Faith You Must Trust that God is Faithful to Fulfill His Promises to You
“By faith even Sarah herself received ability to
conceive, even beyond the proper time of life,
since she considered Him faithful who had
promised.” (Heb. 11:11)
God made a miraculous promise to Sarah that would be hard for her to believe, unless she had faith toward God. She, an old woman, would have a son. She had a great faith to believe that God would actually do this for her.
- By faith Paul believed God’s promise of safety despite a terrible situation at sea: A large violent storm that lasted weeks, with darkness during the day; not being able to control the ship’s direction; ending up shipwrecked on a reef near an unfamiliar island bay; the ship being broken up by the waves pounding against it; having to jump overboard and swim to safety on an island. Through all that Paul believed by faith the promise of an angel that he must stand before Caesar and that God would grant to him all who were sailing with him, including 276 soldiers, prisoners, and sailors. “All of us in the ship were two hundred and seventy-six persons.” (Ac 27:37) [Notice that the writer of Acts, Luke, used the word “us” to indicate that he was one of the persons on that wrecked ship.] By faith Paul said to all those on board, “I believe God that it will turn out exactly as I have been told.” (Ac 27:25)
If there is one person that you should have the greatest confidence in, it is God. He is by far more trustworthy than anyone who ever lived, is living now, or will live. And He will make good on any and every one of His promises, whether promises made in connection to rewarding the faithful or damning the faithless. In ancient times, God promised to give land to the Israelites. But only two of them had faith in that promise, Caleb and Joshua. So they were the only ones of that generation who got to go to the Promised Land. Just a few saved by faith. Oh God, give us faith in your words to the point where we do not retreat on them in the face of danger. Oh God, help our unbelief, that we might receive, by faith, your promises.
8. By Faith You Must Make it Clear that You are a Stranger on Earth who is Seeking the Paradise of Heaven
“By faith he [Abraham] lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise; for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.” (He 11:9) And, “All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.” (He 11:13-16)God will not be ashamed of you, if you, like Abraham, by faith consider yourself an exile here on earth who is looking for the city of heaven, like Abraham was. Do you tell others that you are a foreigner on earth because you are seeking a better place instead, namely heaven? By faith you must seek the heavenly paradise, not an earthly paradise, or else God will be ashamed of you.
9. By Faith You Must Sacrifice Your Most Prized Possessions When Tested
“By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac; and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son; it was he to whom it was said, ‘IN ISAAC YOUR DESCENDANTS SHALL BE CALLED.’ He considered that God is able to raise men even from the dead; from which he also received him back as a type.” (He 11:17-19)Like Abraham, a person of outstanding faith obeys even when it requires offering up the most precious or difficult of sacrifices in order to please God. Are you passing the testing of your faith by offering up what God wants you to offer Him? Like Abraham, even if God does not tell you all the details as to why you need to clearly offer something to Him, are you by faith going to do it? It may be difficult for you to understand why He wants you to do it and it may be difficult for you to actually do it. But by faith you must pass the test by offering up exactly what He wants you to offer to Him. Your obedience to God is more important to hang on to than anything you own, love, or covet.
Think about this: Abraham had a promise fulfilled to him by God in Isaac. Yet after receiving that promise, God wanted Abraham to do something that seemed contrary to the promised plan in Isaac. Abraham had to consider that God could fulfill His plan in Isaac in a different way that only God could accomplish. Be ready for changes in your expectations of how God’s promises to you are to be fulfilled. Your expectations are not necessarily God’s expectations. Seek what He expects or else you will fail the testing of your faith.
As a husband and a father, I had to make a difficult sacrifice in order to fulfill my calling to carry the cross of my family’s needs. When my income was at an all time low, and work was scarce or low paying and needs were high with six children, I offered up my last prize possession, eight acres of beautiful land. It was a southern exposure with lots of sun. Half of it was woods and half of it was two well defined pastures with trees around most the perimeter as a natural boundary. A tree row between the two pastures provided some shade for the upper pasture for part of the day. There were berry bushes that we picked from and ate. At times, there were wild turkeys, deer, and the largest of woodpeckers of the Pileated type. And we had some outstanding neighbors. So I did not want to sell this land; it was a great place to own, to be at, to enjoy, and to build on. But I had to sell it to take care of my family. I believe, for some of you, that there will come a time when you have to make a similar kind of decision, by faith. Now I do not believe that any of you must offer up your one and only son, like Abraham was tested to do. But I do believe that God will test your loyalty to him somehow in regards to your prized possessions, including your own family.
10. By Faith You Must Worship God Through the End of Your Life
“By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even regarding things to come. By faith Jacob, as he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff. By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the exodus of the sons of Israel, and gave orders concerning his bones.” (He 11:20-22)Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph pleased God because they had demonstrated faith toward God through the end of their lives. Even though these men were old and about to die, they gave blessings, they worshiped God, and they spoke of the future prophetic events. If you are old and dying, are you still worshiping God, blessing other people, and talking about heaven to others?
Consider Anna. “And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years and had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers. At that very moment she came up [to the baby Jesus] and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.” (Lk 2:36, 37) Anna was very old. But her age did not keep her from being at the assembly place of God’s people; she was there night and day. She took every available opportunity, and time to serve the Lord and His people, and this was not in wanton pleasure, but in fasting and prayer. What a great example of faith to follow.
11. By Faith You Must Not Obey Wicked Government Edicts/Laws
“By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the kings’ edict.” (He 11:23)By faith Moses’ parents hid their baby boy because the Egyptian government wanted to kill him and all the other Israelite baby boys. Now if the government passes a law to try to get you to do something wicked like killing your child, are you going to by faith, like Moses’ parents, disobey because you fear God and His law over man and his immoral law? But you must not be a fool by disobeying the government when God actually wants you to obey them, like in paying your taxes (Ro 13). God can use the government for good things in your life. Do not rebel against what God believes in. But do not act on the wicked commands of anyone.
- Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego Were Not Afraid
of the King’s Wicked Law
When the Babylonian government made a law that required all people in their kingdom to worship the gold idol that king Nebuchadnezzar had made, three men did not obey that wicked command to practice idolatry, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego (Dan 3). The punishment for failing to obey this wicked command was death by being thrown into the fire. But these three men had more respectful fear of God and His eternal fire than of the temporary fire of evil men. By faith they said, “If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” (Da 3:17, 18) They let their faith in God be known to the king who wanted to kill them. Faith is something that you must let be known. When you are backed into a corner in your life by evil men, what are you letting be known about your faith in God? These men had courage. But they said that even if God did not save them from the punishment of men, the fire, then they still were not going to act wickedly against their God and worship the gods of men. What about you, will you still show great faith in God even if He will not save you from the hands of evil men? But God saved these three faithful men from being consumed by the fire. - Daniel Was Not Afraid of the King’s Wicked Law
Daniel had the same kind of faith when the government made a law that you could not petition any god or man besides the king or else you would be thrown into the lion’s den (Dan 6). When Daniel knew that the law was put into effect, he went into his house, on his roof chamber, and he continued praying to God three times a day as he had done previously. So they threw him into the lion’s den. But God saved Daniel from the lions and he was brought out safely. By faith you must continue to pray to God even when societies and cultures decide by law that it is not proper to do so in their land and places. - Doeg Obeyed a Wicked Command from a King
When Saul, the first human king of Israel, wanted his guards to kill the priests who unerringly gave David bread to eat, the guards refused to put forth their hands to attack the priests of the Lord (1 Sa 22:17). Then Saul told Doeg to do it, since he was the one who reported to the king that David received help from these men. He killed eighty-five priests that day (1 Sa 22:18). Doeg obeyed the wicked command of Saul. He lacked faith in God regarding the treatment of His faithful servants.
12. By Faith You Must Choose to Live Godly Instead of in Sinful Pleasures
“By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; choosing rather to endure ill- treatment with the people of God, than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin; considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward.” (He 11:24-26)When Moses had grown up, he left the power, the prestige, and the riches of royalty in the kingdom of Egypt to become a fellow sufferer in the kingdom of God. He was in charge of choosing which lifestyle he wanted to live, either a godly one or one of sinful pleasure. Likewise, you are in charge of choosing the lifestyle in which you want to live in respect to God.
- Joshua Told God’s People That They Have
a Choice to Make
Joshua said, “If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Josh 24:15) These Israelites were challenged to choose between worshiping the living God or idols. Today you have that same choice to make. Which religion will you practice? Will it be of the God who made the heavens and the earth? - Even Jesus Had a Choice
Like Moses, Jesus had to learn to refuse and choose. For example, “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel. He will eat curds and honey at the time He knows enough to refuse evil and choose good. For before the boy will know enough to refuse evil and choose good, the land whose two kings you dread will be forsaken.” (Is 7:14-16)
13. By Faith You Must Obey the Gospel to Avoid God’s Wrath
“By faith he [Moses] kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that he who destroyed the first-born might not touch them.” (He 11:28)By faith, Moses kept the Mosaic Age Passover feast and so he was not destroyed. In the Christian Age, you are not required to keep the Passover Feast to be justified, and so you will not suffer any of God’s wrath when you do not keep it. But you must obey the gospel of Jesus Christ in order to not be destroyed. For example, Hebrews 5:9 says that Jesus is the author of eternal salvation for all who obey Him. And 2 Thessalonians 1:8, 9 says that those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel, will pay the penalty of everlasting destruction. So by faith, you must keep the gospel of Jesus Christ in order to be approved by God, saved from your sins, and have eternal life.
14. By Faith You Must Quickly Repent When You Learn that God Would Destroy You for Your Sin
“By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish along with those who were disobedient, after she had welcomed the spies in peace.” (He 11:31) For Rahab said to the spies, “For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. And when we heard it, our hearts melted and no courage remained in any man any longer because of you; for the LORD your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.” (Josh 2:10, 11)God approved of the harlot Rahab because she began to have reverent fear of God when she heard of all the great things He did for Israel. You could see her faith when she hid God’s spies who came to Jericho to look it over before Joshua was going to destroy it.
If you realize that you are a sinner, and that God is going destroy you for your sin, are you ready by faith to repent and fear God so that you will not be destroyed? Are you ready to confess that He is God? Are you ready to warmly welcome His people into your life? If not, you will certainly perish like everyone else did in Jericho.
- Nineveh Repented Quickly
When Jonah preached to the wicked city of Nineveh, that they were going to be destroyed in forty days if they did not repent, then the whole city feared God and repented, from the least to the greatest, the king (Jonah 3). They quickly repented when they learned that God was going to destroy them. In the next lesson, You Can Have Life by Repenting from Works that Lead to Death, you will study about the wicked things that the gospel requires you to repent of so that you will not be destroyed.
CONCLUSION
Faith is being sure and certain about God and His word. Faith is the only thing that God will reward, approve of, and be pleased with in you. So you must focus the rest of your life on growing in your faith toward God. Your faith in God will begin and grow stronger as you hear and continue to hear the word of Christ, if you gain conviction by it. There are many approved examples in the Bible of people and their faith in God. You would do well to imitate their faith. God wants your faith to work. First, the most important faithful work you can do for God is come to believe in His Son, Jesus Christ (Jn 6:29). Second, in connection with your belief in Jesus, God wants you to show others your faith in Him.
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