We have learned from the previous
lesson that Faith and the Gospel is
essential for salvation. If a man wants
to be saved from the wrath of God on the
day of Judgment and receive the "Crown
of Life", he must acquire the perfect
faith and do the will of God in
accordance with the Gospel of Christ.02A.1
What is faith
according to the Bible?
In
Hebrews 11:1 this is clearly
explained:
What is faith? It is the
confident assurance that what we
hope for is going to happen. It
is the evidence of things we
cannot yet see. (NLT)
The same verse in the other
versions of the bible:
Now faith is a
well-grounded assurance of
that for which we hope, and
a conviction of the reality
of things which we do not
see. (Weymouth's New
Testament)
Now faith is the
substance of things hoped
for, the evidence of things
not seen. (NKJV)
Faith is a confident assurance, a
well-grounded assurance that
something we want and hope for is
going to happen. It is a conviction
(strong belief)
of the reality of things we hope
for, which we cannot yet see.
02A.2
What does having
faith mean?
In
Romans 4:18-21, Apostle Paul wrote
about Abraham's faith:
18. Hoping in spite of
hopeless circumstances, he
believed that he would become
"the father of many nations,"
just as he had been told: "This
is how many descendants you will
have."
19. He did not weaken in faith
when he thought about his own
body (which was already as good
as dead now that he was about a
hundred years old) or about
Sarah's inability to have
children,
20. nor did he doubt God's
promise out of a lack of faith.
Instead, he became strong in
faith and gave glory to God,
21. being absolutely
convinced that God would do what
he had promised. (ISV)
Having faith is hoping in spite of
hopeless circumstances. Having faith
is never doubting the promises of
God. Having faith is being
absolutely convinced that God would
do what he had promised to do.
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Faith
must have a basis of which it must be
firmly rooted and grounded. In the olden
days God talked directly to people as in
the case of Abraham but in these last
days we have only the Holy Scriptures to
rely upon. In the Christian era, the
promises of God is in the Gospel of Christ which
are written in
the Holy Bible. In order to ground our
faith in the Gospel, we must believe
that the Gospel being preached to us is
true and that the Bible on which the
Gospel was
written must also be true.
02A.3
Can we ground our faith in the Holy
Bible?
What kind of book is the Holy Bible on
which we are going to base our faith?
In 2
Timothy 3:16-17, this is written:
All Scripture is inspired by
God and is useful to teach us
what is true and to make us
realize what is wrong in our
lives. It straightens us out and
teaches us to do what is right.
It is God's way of preparing us
in every way, fully equipped for
every good thing God wants us to
do. (NLT)
The
Holy Bible was given by inspiration
of God and it is useful to teach us
what is true. The scripture is
God's way of preparing us in every
way, fully equipped for every good
thing God wants us to do.
Everyone is encourage to verify the
truthfulness of the Holy Bible,
so one may gain confidence that the
Holy Bible can become the basis of
his faith.
02A.4
What should be the
ultimate goal
of our faith, the things we should hope
for which we will receive in the future?
In the
following verses, these are written:
and you
are sure of the goal of your
faith, that is, the salvation of
your souls. (1 Peter 1:9, NJB)
Blessed is the man who endures
trial, for when he has stood the
test he will receive the
crown of life which God has
promised to those who love him.
(James 1:12, RSV)
The
ultimate
goal of our faith should be the
salvation of our soul and the
receipt of the
"Crown of
Life"—the eternal life in heaven—which
God has promised that He will give as a reward for those
who love Him.
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