FAITH IS THE VICTORY 1 John 5:4 “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, our faith.” Is faith important? Yes, because “without faith it is impossible to please God, for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Hebrews 11:6 THERE IS ONLY ONE FAITH “There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” Ephesians 4:4-6 The Bible states that there is only one faith, just as Ephesians 4:4-6 states, and that one and only true faith is only found in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord Jesus said: “To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.” Acts 26:18 Romans 10:17 states that, “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” This means that it is only by hearing and believing the word of God, that we receive the gift of faith from God. As soon as a person knows where faith comes from or the source of faith, it is easy to understand that there is only one faith, not hundreds or thousands as so many believe. As there are so many different and varied beliefs and belief systems, it brings us to the conclusion that belief cannot be faith and faith cannot be belief. Knowing this takes the focus for our own personal salvation away from our own ideas, opinions, assurances, doctrines and beliefs and places it correctly upon our Lord Jesus Christ and His word, and this is where it should remain. It is our Lord Jesus Christ Who is both our Saviour and the Author and finisher of faith, and is not our own ideas, assurances, doctrines or beliefs. “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:1-2 Faith is only found in our Lord Jesus and He is both the author and the finisher of our faith.

THE WRONG USE OF FAITH “Faith” is a biblical word that the world has taken hold of and put its own interpretation upon it. This has caused many Christians to view faith from a worldly dictionary point of view and not from a biblical point of view. This causes the world to view all religions as being different “faiths.” You have your faith and I have mine is the common cry of those who do not know what faith is. This has caused a lot of confusion in the world about which is the right faith. If you call all religions “faiths,” then there is total confusion as to what “faith” a person should follow. However, when you discover that there is only one faith, and that faith is a gift that we receive from God our heavenly Father when we hear and believe the word of God, it takes away all the confusion concerning the wrong use of faith.

ZEAL IS OFTEN MISTAKEN AS BEING FAITH Paul was a persecutor of Christians. He was very zealous for his religion but was not in the kingdom of God. He did not know God or have faith. He was like a lot of Jews that he describes in Romans 9:31-32 “But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone…”“For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.” Romans 10:2-3 1

There are many zealous religious people who do not know what faith is and therefore they are not living by faith. A lot of these people have a zeal for being pastors, evangelists, teachers etc., but have not been given faith by God to do so. They may have a zeal for God and try to carry out what they think is right, but it is not in accord with what God’s word says, “For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:” Philippians 3:18. Moslems even have the zeal to attack by suicide bombs etc., but they do not have faith or live by faith. Our Lord Jesus bears this out by saying; “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work *iniquity (*means lawlessness).” Matthew 7:21-23 On the road to Damascus, Paul was introduced for the first time in his life, to faith. Paul recounts this revelation in the account that he gives to King Agrippa. “At midday, O king, I saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them which journeyed with me. And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And I said, “Who art thou, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus whom thou persecutest. But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee; Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me. Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision:” Acts 26:13-19 1 Corinthians 13:13 tells us, “And now abideth faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” Faith introduces us to the great love of God. For we are saved “by grace through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Ephesians 2:8-10 When I considered how to understand what faith is, I discovered that I could not define faith satisfactorily either from my own point of view or from a biblical point of view. I found that faith was hard to define. This caused me to ask many mature Christians how they defined faith. To my surprise almost every Christian that I asked, (this included biblical teachers and scholars) were baulked by the question and did not seem to know how to answer it. I found that almost all Christians did not know how to define faith. Many Christians wrongly tried to equate faith with belief, but when I looked into the Greek words, I discovered that the Greek word for faith is an entirely different Greek word to the word belief. I also discovered that Hebrews 11:1 is not a definition of faith. The Hebrews writer expects you to already know what faith is so that you know what the substance is that you are hoping for. Let me try to explain. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1 If you were in the desert and had run out of water, what is the substance that you would hope for so that you would not die of thirst? Water of course. Looking around in the desert you would hope to find water, (and you know what water is) but the evidence for water in the desert about you is not seen. If you had run out of money and the rent was due, what is the substance that you would hope for? Cash of course, and you know what cash is, but the evidence for cash in these circumstances is not seen to be available. In each of these cases you know what the substance is that you are hoping for. The same applies to faith; it is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Therefore if you know what faith is, you will know what the substance is that you hope for. Because “faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God,” Romans 10:17, the substance that we hope for, which is called faith, comes to us by our hearing and believing the word of God. This is a mystery because the faith that is given to us comes as a gift from God through our Lord Jesus Christ and leads us into the “new birth” of the resurrection unto eternal life. So I reasoned that if “faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God,” to have faith, what is it that has to be heard? Obviously “the word of God.” So how do I get faith? Obviously by hearing, believing and trusting the word of God to be absolutely true. This also means that if I have the Word of God in me, I will also have faith; conversely, if I have faith, it will 2

only be because I also have the Word of God in me.

HOWEVER, THIS STILL DID NOT EXPLAIN TO ME WHAT FAITH IS. It only told me that faith comes to me as a gift from God if I am hearing, believing and trusting what the word of God says is true. But it did tell me that faith and the word of God are coupled together in-separately so that you cannot have one unless you have the other too; they come as a complete unit. Our Lord Jesus said ‘My sheep hear my voice.’ John 10:27 When I looked for the word faith in the Old Testament writings, I found it only being recorded twice. In Deuteronomy 32:20, “I will see what their end shall be: for they are a very froward generation, children in whom is no faith,” and in Habakkuk 2:4, “the just shall live by his faith.” But according to Hebrews chapter 11, faith has continued to exist throughout the history of man’s existence upon the earth. Therefore to find out how the Bible defines faith, I had to look to the examples that I was given in Hebrews chapter 11 and compare them with what the Old Testament says. “For by it (faith) the elders obtained a good report.” Hebrews 11:2 In Hebrews 11:2, the elders received a good report by carrying out the word of Christ that was in them. This means that the elders heard, believed and trusted the word of God to the point where they had been given the ability and confidence by God to trust and carry out that word. The evidence of faith not being seen in this instance manifested itself in the substance of a “good report.” “By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.” Hebrews 11:7 The Old Testament comparison of that account is found in Genesis 6:13-14. “And God said unto Noah, the end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.” The common factor in these verses is that Noah was warned by God, therefore God spoke to Noah by His word and Noah heard and acted upon that word from God and built the Ark according to the pattern that God told him. This is what Hebrews 11:7 is interpreting as being faith. It was Noah hearing, believing and carrying out what the word of God told him and thus God gave him the faith with the ability to carry out that word. James 1:22 says; “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” Hearing God’s word is not sufficient unless it is also carried out. “By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.” Hebrews 11:8 The Old Testament comparison is found in Genesis 12:1. “Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew you:” The common factor in both these verses is that our Lord Jesus spoke to spoke to Abraham by His word and Abraham heard and acted upon that word that he heard from God. It was Abraham hearing, believing, trusting and carrying out what the word of God told him and God gave him faith or the ability to carry out that word. This is what Hebrews 11:8 is interpreting as being faith. “Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised.” Hebrews 11:11. The Old Testament comparison is found in Genesis 17:19 3

“And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.” Again, the common factor in both these examples is that Sarah received strength from God to conceive in her old age by the promise that she had received from hearing the word of God through Abraham. Hebrews 11:11 tells us that it was faith. “By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son.” Hebrews 11:17 The Old Testament example is found in Genesis 22:1-3. “And it came to pass after these things, that God did *tempt (*means test) Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.” Again, the common factor in both these examples is that our Lord Jesus Christ spoke to Abraham and Abraham heard what our Lord Jesus said and obeyed. Hebrews tells us that it was faith. All these examples of faith taken from the Old Testament are examples of people cooperatively responding to what our Lord Jesus told them to do. If you check them out, you will find that in all the examples given in Hebrews 11, the common factor is these people hearing the word God and then cooperatively responding to it Our Lord Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice.” John 10:27 God gives faith to us from our hearing and believing His word through our Lord Jesus Christ. “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, (this is how we receive the gift of faith), and doeth them, (works of faith) I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.” Matthew 7:24-25 Therefore it can be concluded that in this passage our Lord Jesus is talking about “faith with works” or faith connected to works. See James 2:18. “And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, (this is how we receive the gift of faith) and doeth them not, (no works of faith) shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.” Matthew 7:26-27 Therefore it can be concluded that in this passage our Lord Jesus is talking about “faith without works, which is dead,” or faith not connected to works. All these examples of faith taken from the Old Testament are examples of people cooperatively responding to what our Lord Jesus told them to do. If you check them out, you will find that in all the examples, the common factor is these people hearing, believing and cooperatively responding to the word of our Lord Jesus. Faith connected to works…works. Faith not connected to works…does not work. Therefore faith comes to us by way of our hearing the word of God through our Lord Jesus Christ dwelling in us. The Word of God is personified in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ for our Lord Jesus Christ is the Word of God. See John 1:1-14 and Revelation 19:13 There are many examples of personal faith given to us in the Old Testament that Hebrews chapter 11 describes to us. However, a lot of people mistakenly think that faith is belief and belief is faith. Once a person understands that “faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God,” it becomes obvious that even though there is a co-relationship between faith and belief, belief is not faith and faith is not belief. Here is an example.

NAAMAN THE SYRIAN This example is taken from 2 Kings Chapter 5. This is the account of a quick-tempered Syrian called Naaman. Naaman was a leper. 4

A little captive girl from Israel who was a servant in Naaman’s household, told Naaman’s wife about the prophet Elisha who would be able to heal Naaman of his leprosy. This is where Naaman first heard the Word of God that resulted in him receiving faith. When Naaman approached Elisha’s house, Elisha sent out a messenger to him saying, “Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean.” 2 Kings 5:10. The next two verses continue. “But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, ‘Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper. Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? May I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.” To summarise Naaman’s attitude, Naaman did not believe that the simple word of Christ given to him would work, he had other ideas, and this is where the devil sets his trap up for people today, they do not think that the word of our Lord Jesus Christ will work, so they mix it with their own beliefs, opinions, intelligence, doctrines, emotions and other ideas. This story illustrates how that Naaman had his own intelligent beliefs, emotions, opinions and belief systems. Firstly, he expected the prophet to do the miracle of his healing with a great pompous show and demonstration. This was his intelligent or fleshly belief. Naaman did not expect to get a simple message from a messenger telling him what our Lord Jesus said he must do. The word that Naaman was given was the absolute truth from our Lord Jesus and the end result proved just that. God responds to obedience of the truth of His word. Naaman was dissatisfied with the word that he had received from our Lord Jesus Christ because he thought that it was insignificant. Was there not a better way? He was well educated, had a very prominent position in life and knew where and how the best things in life could be obtained. This dissatisfaction also occurs when Christians are not satisfied with the Authorised King James Holy Bible and replace it with different corrupted versions. They replace the word of God with their own opinions. The word that Naaman had received from our Lord Jesus did not fit his own opinion by way of his religious beliefs, his upbringing, his education, his prestige, his social standing, his monetary policy, (Elisha did not ask for any payment), or his pride. This is what could have made him angry. These are some of, if not all, the reasons that so many people get angry with God today. The question often is, “Why doesn’t God do it some other way?” However, Naaman’s attitude, beliefs, opinions, emotions or belief systems were not going to accomplish his healing. Reason was eventually accomplished through Naaman’s servants who approached him and said: “My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean? Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.” 2 Kings 5:1314 Here we can clearly see that it was not Naaman’s beliefs that accomplished his healing. It was simply by being humbly obedient to the word of Christ despite his own beliefs, belief systems or angry opinions and it worked. And this is the only way that we are being saved even today. Our Lord Jesus is our true Messenger from God. He is the only begotten Son of God and He has been given to us because He is God’s true Word and is God’s promise to us, who by faith, (that is by hearing, believing the word of God) dwelleth in us. God’s word to us is simple and easy to understand. There is no great pomp or display with it. It is for us to cooperatively respond to the word of Christ no matter what our religious beliefs, intellectual opinions, doctrines, emotions, education or belief systems are. Another example of the different beliefs that people have is shown to us by what our Lord Jesus Christ tried to teach His disciples. Time and time again, our Lord Jesus told the disciples that he would be crucified. Again and again they refused to believe it. It took time and a great deal of patience on the part of our Lord to teach them about these truths by the example that he showed them. Even when Peter eventually consented to what our Lord Jesus was saying about his impending death on a cruel cross, he still believed that he would neither be offended by our Lord Jesus or deny Him. Matthew 26:33-35 tells us this, and we know the result of this belief as it is recorded in Matthew 26:69-75. The same applies to the disciple’s belief concerning the resurrection of our Lord Jesus. None of the disciples behaved in a way that exhibited that they believed what our Lord Jesus had said about how he would arise again from the dead. When they went to the tomb, they were most surprised to find it empty. Religious beliefs, belief systems, doctrines and common orthodoxy was a major problem that caused the Scribes and Pharisees to err greatly. They refused to believe that the Lord Jesus was their Messiah even though they were shown many proofs of it. Their final accusation at his trial was “blasphemy.” See Matthew 26:65-66. “Blasphemy” is to deliberately impersonate God, the Word of God or the Holy Spirit. 5

Even today this is a major problem with many people of this world. Their beliefs, opinions and belief systems are so strong that it does not seem possible that a person should be able to rise from the dead and live forevermore like our Lord Jesus does. Many intellectuals have tried to explain away these facts supposedly because they think that they are not supported by scientific evidence. Because of this belief, some people say that our Lord Jesus did not really die on the cross because they do not believe that it is possible to defeat sin and death in this way. If these people were realists, it should be very hard to believe that a person could survive such harsh treatment. I would challenge anyone to stay alive, without any medical treatment after a spear had been thrust through his or her lungs and heart. When this happened, our Lord Jesus was already dead, the spear wound only proved it. See John 19:31-37 The physical or bodily resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ shows clearly that He defeated sin and death in the flesh and through it has made His only way back to God, available to all of us. “And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether it be things in earth, or things in heaven. And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;” Colossians 1:20-23 As you may now clearly see; our own personal beliefs and belief systems are not faith and neither contribute to it or take away from it. But there is a co-relation between faith and belief when our belief is founded on and corresponds with the truth of the word of God without mixing anything else with it. The word of our Lord Jesus Christ stands infinitely and eternally alone and is the Master of everyone and everything, and no one’s own ideas, beliefs, belief systems, intellect, emotions or doctrines etc., are going to change that.

FAITH AND THE CENTURION “And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, and saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And I say unto you, that many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.” Matthew 8:5-13 The centurion in this incident shows that he understood some very important principals. The first being the divine authority of our Lord Jesus Christ for he said that he was also a “man under authority.” The centurion understood the power of this authority through the spoken word that caused his soldiers “to come” and “to do this and he doeth it.” The centurion related this authority to the power of THE WORD OF CHRIST for he said “but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.” Like Isaiah the prophet had said, the centurion trusted the word of Christ to accomplish that whereunto he sent it. “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” Isaiah 55:11 By the centurion trusting the authority of the word of Christ, it showed that he recognised the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ as being the Son of God. Because our Lord Jesus is the King of the kingdom of God, He has the authority to command all things concerning the kingdom of God. The centurion may have recognised the deity of our Lord Jesus by observing the miracles of our Lord Jesus Christ that were carried out in response to His humble submissive meekness. This is because the centurion understood the principal of humility when in the position of authority and that it was humility that gave power to authority. It is easily recognised that it was not until the word of our Lord Jesus was spoken that the servant of the centurion was healed. Our Lord Jesus said, “Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.

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PETER WALKS ON THE WATER “And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away. And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone. But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary. And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased. Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.” Matthew 14:22-33 This is the story about an impetuous disciple called Peter. As the incident relates to us, the disciples were in a boat somewhere in the middle of the Sea of Galilee. A strong wind had arisen and the disciples were not making any headway against it. When they saw our Lord Jesus walking on the water in the middle of the night, they thought that they were seeing a spirit and were afraid. Our Lord Jesus comforted the disciples by telling them that it was Himself who was walking on the water to them. Peter replied that if it was our Lord Jesus, “bid him come unto the Lord on the water.” Our Lord Jesus said, “Come.” Many people equate this action as being an act of faith on the part of Peter. What most do not understand is that if Peter’s impetuosity had caused him to get out of the boat thinking that he could walk on water without the authority and approval by the word of our Lord Jesus, he would have immediately sunk and got very wet. That kind of action would have been an act of zeal, not an act of faith. However, Peter got it in the right order this time, or that is for a little while and asked our Lord Jesus for permission to come to Him walking on the water. Our Lord Jesus gave Peter this authority by saying, “come.” Peter now had the ability and the confidence given to him by God to walk on the water to our Lord Jesus if he cooperatively responded and carried out what our Lord Jesus Christ said. By carrying out the spoken word of our Lord Jesus Christ, Peter was stepping-out-of the boat into the works of Christ, for the works of faith are God’s works, not our works. If Peter did not step-out-of the boat after hearing the word of Christ to “come,” faith would have been dead and his ability to carry out the word of Christ on this occasion would not have been fulfilled.

SO WHAT IS FAITH? “Faith is; the gift of ability and confidence that we receive from God when we hear and believe His word: This ability and confidence enables us to carry out that word by our cooperative response to what God says to us through His word, the connection to faith being the hearing of God’s word. God gives us this ability and confidence so that we can step-out-into and carry out the works of our Lord Jesus Christ when we willingly hear and believe the word that our Lord Jesus has spoken. The works of faith are the works of our Lord Jesus Christ, not our works. It is only when a person cooperatively responds to the word of God that there is a resulting work of Christ that is called the work of faith. Peter had the evidence that walking on water was possible by the example that our Lord Jesus showed him. All that Peter had to do was to cooperatively respond to the spoken word of Christ and the result was obvious. The result of distrusting the word of Christ as Peter did on this occasion is also obvious. The word of God is the work of Christ and conversely the word of Christ is the work of God, “to wit, God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself.” 2 Corinthians 5:19 The gift of faith enabling Peter to walk on the water had come to Peter only by his hearing and believing the word of Christ to the point where he was willing to carry it out. It must be understood that the only reason why Peter was able to walk on the water towards our Lord Jesus was because the spoken word of Christ gave him permission. If we are going to live by faith, then we need to live in accord with what the word of Christ tells us and not by our own beliefs, opinions or impetuous lusts and fleshly desires. Our Lord Jesus said; “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.” John 15:5 This was a great miracle so what was it that caused Peter to sink in the water? It appears that when Peter took his eyes off our Lord Jesus and saw the power of the wind, Peters trust and attention was distracted from the word of Christ and he lost it. Trusting the word of Christ gave Peter the God-given ability and confidence to walk on the water; doubt causing 7

distrust in the word of Christ let Peter sink. Doubting the word of Christ caused Peter to sink. Faith was lost by Peter on this occasion and no longer existed until Peter spontaneously repented and called out “Lord save me.” Losing faith means that you lose the ability to cooperatively respond andcarry out what the word of God says. This seems to be the general pattern of all failures in the Christian life. When we allow the circumstances that surround us take our vision away from our Lord Jesus Christ, we tend to forget, distrust or lose the word of Christ and fail in our Christian walk. However when Peter saw that he was sinking because of his failure to depend upon the word of Christ, he was able to spontaneously repent and call upon our Lord Jesus to save him to which our Lord Jesus immediately responded. This lines up with other verses that remind us that in the latter days of the earth, some Christians will depart from the faith. I quote: “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;” 1 Timothy 4:1

MIXING FAITH WITH BELIEF Is belief very important? Yes it is because Hebrews 11:6 states: “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” It is not possible to possess faith until we believe in God our heavenly Father’s eternal existence. This means that if you do not believe in the word of God, you will not have faith. Our Lord Jesus said; “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” John 3:36 This directs us to where all our beliefs should focus; and that is on our Lord Jesus Christ and His word. We should believe the overwhelming evidence that our Lord Jesus Christ is true and that His word is absolutely true. Concerning salvation and the kingdom of heaven, it is important for us to have the right belief and not a wrong one. You or I can believe anything that we like; that is our choice. If we have beliefs that are wrong or incorrect, they can lead us into a life of sin that will end in hell and eternal death. If our beliefs are true and correct concerning the word of God and our Lord Jesus Christ, they will lead us into righteousness and eternal life. What is belief? Belief is our own personal acceptance of something that we think about in our heart and mind and we accept it as being true. Some things can be believed without having any proof that they are true. A person may believe that there is life on the planet Mars when there is absolutely no life on Mars. This does not mean that a person will act upon a particular belief that they hold. Because faith is a gift from God, you cannot mix faith with any man-made beliefs or opinions because faith is only given to us when we willingly hear and believe the word of God as Romans 10:17 tells us. If our beliefs concerning salvation and the word of our Lord Jesus Christ are not true, God does not impart the gift of faith to us. This is because faith is conditional as to what I hear from the Word of God, not what other beliefs, ideas or opinions I mix with it. So in my walk with my Lord Jesus, what I hear from God through my Lord Jesus Christ is what I believe. So, if in our hearts and minds, the focus of our beliefs are upon our Lord Jesus Christ and the truth of His word, then the gift of faith that we possess connects with our belief in the truth of the word of God. When the word of God is heard and believed and trusted to be the truth, faith and belief are connected as a complete unit and is one of the main reasons that most people get faith mixed up with belief and think that they are the same thing when they are not. Faith and belief are separate concepts altogether, they are not the same. A person does not receive the gift of faith from God unless a he believes what he hears from the word of God in his or her heart. This means that we trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and His eternal word just as Hebrews 11:6 states: “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Faith is only shown to be present with us when our belief in our Lord Jesus Christ and His eternal word is truthfully present. 8

This means that there is a co-relationship between faith and belief when our belief happens to be exactly the same as what the word of God already says; but only if the truth of the word of God that is heard is believed and acted upon. The co-relationship between faith and belief only exists when we truthfully believe in our Lord Jesus Christ and the truth of His word and is the reason that many Christians think that faith and belief are the same thing when they are not. The gift of faith that God gives to us has only been made available to us through the incredible sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ by way of a cruel cross. Some believe in the word of God to the point where they may receive the gift of faith but they do not act upon it. James 2:20, and 26 states: “But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?...For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” Faith that is connected to works...works. Faith that is not connected to works...does not work. This means that even though a person may believe in our Lord Jesus, their actions have contravened the natural imputed works of our Lord Jesus Christ, which are the outworking of faith; for the works of faith are Christ’s works, not our works, “lest any should boast.” Ephesians 2:9. Knowing this makes those who try to conjure up faith through erroneous beliefs such as visualization etc., void of effect because those kinds of beliefs do not result in the true works of faith. Because a lot of people think that faith can be conjured up from their own imaginative belief or believing, they automatically assume that if they believe strongly enough, they will have the faith to remove a mountain. This kind of belief or believing that is conjured up through an individual’s own imagination is deviously called “visualization.” This is neither faith nor the will of God and is denied by the following scripture: “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” Matthew 7:22-23 The fact is, a person may say to a mountain as many times as he likes, “be removed,” and try to believe or visualize that it will with all of his heart; the fact is that it will not remove. This is because no mere human being of this world will ever have the individual strength or power of mind to miraculously remove a mountain in this way without the power of God Himself doing it. However, if a person is instructed by our Lord Jesus Christ to say to a mountain, “be removed,” then it will, and nothing upon this earth will stop it for God Himself is the One who will do it. This is how we understand that the works of faith are God’s works, not our works. The same applies to healing by faith. I found that this is the difference between the works of faith and our own belief in the truth of the Word of God. This is called true biblical belief. True biblical belief is what I obediently carry out in cooperative response to what I hear from the word of God; the resulting works of faith is what God does in response to my carrying out what our Lord Jesus Christ says. The works of faith are not my works, they are God’s works, and the works of God through faith only happen when I carry out what God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, says to me through His word or by hearing His voice. See John 10:27-28 Many people have been disappointed and have given up their trust in our Lord Jesus Christ and His word because their so-called “works of faith” through incorrect or imaginative beliefs do not work. This is because belief has been given a free rein and man can believe, imagine or visualise almost anything that he wants. Because God has given man the liberty of freewill choice, anyone can choose what they want to or don’t want to believe. Eve had that kind of choice when she was tempted to disobey the Lord’s command and eat of the forbidden fruit. The temptation through desire caused Eve to be deceived and her belief about the truth of the command of God was changed. This is what caused sin to enter the human race. On the other hand, because Adam was not deceived, (see 1 Timothy 2:14) his belief in the command of God must have remained steadfast, but he allowed Eve to dominate his choice. See Genesis 3:17. This caused him through disobedience to the command of God to wilfully sin, and through disobedience, faith became dead. Wrong beliefs when carried out in naivety or ignorance usually finish up as zeal, religious fervour or spiritual apathy. This does not conform us to the image and likeness of our Lord Jesus Christ.Terrorists have the religious zeal to attack by suicide bombs etc., but these attacks are not the works of faith. The apostle Paul had a religious zeal to persecute the church of the living God, but this was not the work of faith. 9

False doctrines or beliefs can produce a religious zeal or fervour that opposes faith and thus is in opposition to the works of Christ. These kinds of beliefs produce self-motivated undertakings that often have self-righteousness as its root. The result is a works related, sacramental or ritualistically based salvation that does not come solely from the completed or finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ on a cruel cross. Self-righteousness does not produce Christlike acts that glorify God even though they may have the appearance of being the highest form of religious morality. They are deceptive illusions that produce false teachings and finish up in the graveyard of hopeless visions and dreams. They are not Christ centred and therefore should not be followed any longer.

BIBLICAL BELIEF It is obvious from our discussion that there is a difference between normal everyday beliefs and biblical belief. So what is biblical belief? I found that true biblical belief is accepting the word of God as being true to the point where I will carry it out without mixing other things with it. I found that most people think that biblical belief is just having a mental assent, opinion, religion, doctrine or logic; but when I got to know that biblical belief requires the work of cooperative response to what the word of God has said for it to be what the Bible calls belief, then I knew what the Bible was saying when it said the word “believe.” As previously stated this is confirmed by the example of Naaman, one of the biggest problems that Christians have concerning faith is that most think that belief is faith and faith is belief when it is not. In the Bible, and I stress in the Bible, you should not mix faith with your own belief; they are two completely different things. In the Bible, faith comes from the actual existence and presence of the word of God that we need to possess in our hearts and minds and the substance or actual existence of the word of God is only found in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ; for He is the Word of God. See John 1:1 and 14 Biblical belief is what I accept to be true and carry it out in cooperative response to what the word of God tells me. This is different to the word that the world usually calls belief; for the world says that you can believe anything that you like, and just because you believe something, it does not necessarily mean that it is true. This also applies to the mixing of new Bible translations. The Authorised King James Holy Bible is the only English Bible that is classified as being the Authoritative Word of God in the English language. No other English version of the Bible has this classification. Change the word of God and the doctrine of Christ like a lot of the new bible translations do and you violate the divine copyright that applies to the word of God. This has serious consequences. (See Revelation 22:18-19, Deuteronomy 12:32) In the Bible we are told to “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,” so belief does play a vital part, but as discussed previously, this depends upon what a person believes or accepts as being true. Some people believe a lie as 2 Thessalonians 2:11 tells us; “And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:” To have the right outcome of biblical belief, it is necessary for me to believe and trust what the word of God tells me. If I mix any other ideas, opinions, beliefs, doctrines or corrupted Bible texts into what the word of God tells me, the result cannot and will not end in faith.

FAITH IS A GIFT FROM GOD “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:8-10 Knowing that faith is a gift that we receive from God helps me to understand that I cannot be saved by my own righteousness or self-righteous acts. Therefore the law of God cannot save me. Many think that if they keep the Ten Commandments, they will be saved. The trouble is I have not kept the Ten Commandments and neither have you. 11 The Bible says: For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23 Because there is the penalty of death for not keeping the Ten Commandments, the Ten Commandments only condemn me. Ezekiel 18:20 states: “The soul that sinneth, it shall die.” Therefore the Law of God does not give me any hope for salvation or eternal life. However, living by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ not only gives me hope of eternal life, but it also gives me hope of overcoming all the evil things of this world. 1 John 5:4 say’s; “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” It is worthwhile living by faith for faith gives us victory over the world. 10

CREATION HAPPENED BY THE WORD OF CHRIST “Through faith, we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.” Hebrews 11:3 If we did not have the Genesis account of the creation, we would not have known how it all happened. See Gen 1:1 to 2:25, John 1:1-4 and Colossians 1:12-19 to verify that it is by the word of Christ that we understand that God created the whole world. We either believe the truth of the word of God, or we substitute it with man’s own beliefs, opinions, ideas, imagination, logic or intelligence. Science has proposed through the theory of evolution that the world and all that there is therein was the product of a “Big Bang.” This theory is both unintelligent and completely devoid of wisdom or good sense when one considers all the combined intricate and intelligent design of everything that we see in the whole of the earth and universe. Explosions by observation only create disorder and chaos, not intricate and intelligent design. “The fool has said in his heart, there is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.” Psalm 14:1 Scientists are normally considered to be very intelligent people, but some of them are not intelligent enough to recognise the intelligent design of the creation of God as seen in the complete earth, universe and everything therein. God has created all things. “All things were made by him: and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life and the life was the light of men.” John 1:3-4 This means that Hebrews 11:3 is telling us that if a person does not accept or believe that the whole world and universe was created by God as stated in Genesis 1:1-2:4, they do not have faith. Therefore their unbelief is working in direct opposition to the word of God; the final consequences being hell and eternal death. In contrast to this, belief in God and His word results in the transformation of a person into a “new creature.” I quote: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17 There is a great and intelligent design in God’s creation of the new man that is “in Christ,” “which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:” Colossians 1:27

RETAINING OR KEEPING THE WORD OF GOD IN OUR HEARTS DEFEATS TEMPTATION AND SIN “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” Psalms 119:11 “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” 1 John 5:4 Romans 14:23 tells us that “Whatsoever is not of faith is sin.” This means that the retention of faith in our hearts opposes sin to the point where we will not continue to commit sin. “If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” 1 John 1:10 to 2:2

HEALING BY FAITH “Is any among you afflicted? Let him pray. Is any merry? Let him sing psalms. Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.” James 5:13-15. This is the word of the Lord concerning the healing of the sick. The verse says that “the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up.”

COOPERATIVE RESPONSE TO THE WOIRD OF GOD IS THE KEY TO ACTIVE FAITH “For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.” Romans 5:19 11

This scripture is referring to the obedience of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord Jesus was totally submissive to the will of God our heavenly Father to the point where he was obedient unto death, the death on a cruel cross. It is therefore a requirement for us also to be obedient to the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Being obedient to the Gospel of our Lord Jesus; conforms us to the image and likeness of Christ, for our Lord Jesus lived his Gospel of the truth of God. Originally, man was made in the image and likeness of God, therefore man had to be in submission to the will of the Godhead to be made in the image and likeness of God. When God said, “Let us make man in our own image and likeness,” Genesis 1:27, there had to be total agreement and submission to one another (as there always and eternally is) from each Person in the Godhead for this to be carried out in the way that it happened. This in turn required for man to be in total submission to the will of God for man to have been made in the image and likeness of God. Therefore, for us to be conformed to the image and likeness of our Lord Jesus, obedience to the Gospel of our Lord Jesus becomes the key to active faith. See Romans 8:29

FAITH AND THE PARABLE OF THE SOWER (The sowing of the incorruptible seed. See 1 Peter 1:23-25) Matthew 13:1-9 “The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side. And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore. And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.” There are four classifications of people in this parable. Once it is understood that faith is; the gift of ability and confidence that we receive from God to carry out His word: the connection to faith being the hearing of God’s word, it may be understood that the context of this parable is speaking about salvation by grace through faith from hearing God’s word. Our Lord Jesus gives us the interpretation in Matthew 13:18-23 No.1.“Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower. When any one hears the word of the kingdom, and understands it not, then comes the wicked one, and catches away that which was sown in his heart. This is he, which received seed by the way side.” No.2.“But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that hears the word, and anon with joy receives it; Yet has he not root in himself, but endures for a while: for when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, by and by he is offended.” No.3.“He also that received seed among the thorns is he that hears the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.” No.4.“But he that received seed into the good ground is he that hears the word, and understands it; which also bears fruit, and brings forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirtyfold.” In parable No.1, faith has come to the hearer but they do not understand it. Therefore the devil is able to come and snatch the word of Christ away from their heart and leaves them in the condition of not being saved. In this case it is the devil that takes away the seed. If a person does not understand the word of God, they will not believe it or carry it out. In parable No 2, faith has come to the hearer and he has received it with joy, but he does not have the discipline or the deep commitment to continue with it. When affliction, tribulation or persecution arises because of the word of God, by and by he is offended by the word of Christ and departs from it. This indicates that this person must have been a Christian for a while but has departed from faith because originally he joyfully received the incorruptible seed of the word of God. In parable No 3, faith has been received by the hearer and the seed has germinated but no seed. It is not affliction, tribulation or persecution that causes the lack of fruit, but the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches. The cares of this life and the deceitfulness of riches attract the attention of these people over and above continuing to believe in the word of Christ, so they fail to produce fruit even though they know and have experienced what it says. This means that the ability that God gave these people to carry out the word of God, because it is distracted by the cares of this life and the deceitfulness of riches, is choked by the thorns of “many foolish and hurtful lusts,” (1 Timothy 6:9) so it does not produce any fruit. In parable No 4, faith has been received by the hearer and the incorruptible seed has germinated and grown to maturity. Their belief, persistence and endurance with the word of Christ has borne fruit unto eternal life, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 12

FAITH GIVES US A CHOICE The Bible defines faith as being the gift of ability and confidence that we receive from God when we hear and believe His word: the connection to faith being the hearing of God’s word. (Romans 10:17) This ability and confidence enables us to carry out that word by our cooperative response to what God says to us through His word. God only gives faith to us if we hear, believe and trust the word of Christ as being the absolute truth. Faith is a gift from God. Once this is understood it must also be realised that faith gives us a choice. In the parable of the sower, we have seen four different reactions by those who hear the word of God. In each case where the word of God is accepted and believed, God gives the hearers of the word of God the faith to carry out the word of Christ. In the first parable where the hearers do not understand it, the word of God is not believed. Therefore God does not give them faith to carry out the word of God so they lose it. In this instance our Lord Jesus said that it is the devil who takes the word of God that is sown in their hearts and leaves them in a condition of not being saved. In the second parable, the word of God is believed and received with joy, therefore God has given them the gift of faith to carry out the word of Christ and for a while they continue with it. But when troubles, trials and persecutions come because they are carrying out the word of Christ, they choose to quit and thus depart from the word of God. Faith gave them that choice.(See 1 Timothy 4:1) In the third parable the word of God is believed and received therefore God has given them the gift of faith to carry out the word of Christ, but the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches has caused them to decide not to continue being obedient to the word of Christ. Faith gave them that choice. These may be people who once regularly attended church but now you cannot get near them with the Gospel, or bring them to back to the word of Christ because they are now surrounded by another prickly agenda that is not from the word of God. See Hebrews 6:4-8. In the fourth parable the word of God is believed and received therefore God has given them the gift of faith to carry out the word of Christ. Through their choice to believe, persist and carry out the word of Christ, they continue to walk the “narrow way” that leads to eternal life and in doing so, bring forth fruit unto eternal life. “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:” John 1:12

THE HOLY SPIRIT IS RECEIVED THROUGH THE HEARING OF FAITH. “This only would I learn of you, received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?” Galatians 3:2 The enabling presence of the gift of the Holy Spirit is given to us when we willingly hear, believe, trust and obey the word of our Lord Jesus Christ. Acts 5:32 states: “And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.” Through the presence of the Holy Spirit, faith gives us the victory over the world and defeats sin in us: “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God.” 1 John 5:4

SHIPWRECKED FAITH “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;” 1 Timothy 4:1 Giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils is one of the ways that faith is departed from or denied with the result of “shipwrecking faith.” “Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck:” 1 Timothy 1:19 If you have ever seen a shipwreck you would understand as the Apostle Paul had experienced, that a shipwreck is not going anywhere; See 2 Corinthians 11:25 and Acts 27:6-44, therefore all those who have shipwrecked the word of God are not going to the place that faith would have taken them. This means that if you do not believe in the truth of the word of God, you do not have faith. This can also apply to all new Bible translations that have changed the word of Christ and the doctrine of Christ. 13

Some people “shipwreck” faith by putting away the Authoritative word of God. That is the King James Version of the Bible. How do they “shipwreck” faith? By adhering to any bible version that is corrupted; this is why the Authorised King James Version of the Bible is recommended because it is the only English Version of the Bible that is classified as being the Authoritative Word of God. No other English version of the Bible has this classification. God promised that He would preserve His infallible word. “The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.” Psalm 12:6-7 The whole of creation was brought into existence by the word of God, so do you think that God has not been faithful in preserving His word for us? All that the new corrupted versions of the Bible do is lead people away from the word of God and thus “shipwreck” faith. “O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called: Which some professing have erred concerning the faith.” 1 Timothy 6:20-21 According to the inspired word of God, we are to abide in the doctrine of Christ as 2 John 1:9-10 tells us: “Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed.

THE SHIELD OF FAITH The Bible tells us that faith is a shield that quenches all the fiery darts of the wicked. “Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.” Ephesians 6:16 In Matthew 4:1-11 our Lord Jesus quoted the scripture in the correct context to quench all the fiery darts and temptations of the devil by saying “It is written.” It is our Lord Jesus Christ himself that is our shield of faith that “quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.” These Old Testament scriptures confirm this. “After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.” Genesis 15:1 “The LORD is my strength and my shield;” Psalms 28:7 “Our soul waiteth for the LORD: he is our help and our shield.” Psalms 33:20 “He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be your shield and buckler.” Psalms 91:4 “O Israel, trust thou in the LORD: he is their help and their shield.” Psalms 115:9 “Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word.” Psalms 119:114 There are quite a few other Bible verses that confirm that our Lord Jesus Christ is our shield of faith and this helps us to determine that faith is the word of God that is personified in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. Knowing this should encourage us to continue to completely trust the word of Christ and not be discouraged by any events or circumstances that come upon us on a day by day basis. Our Lord Jesus came to save us and has gone to incredible lengths, depths and heights to achieve this for us. So great is His love for us. God is eternal. He goes on forever and ever and He has existed forever and ever, therefore His word also must be absolute. There cannot be any variance, shadow or turning in anything that God says or does. Both yours and my existence has been established by it, the whole of creation has been established and exists by it; therefore, despite what we may feel, think or believe, the word of Christ is absolutely true and can be trusted absolutely. 14

It is only through our Lord Jesus Christ being in us that gives us the eternal hope of glory, not yet seen, but He is there. This has been accomplished through the defeat of sin and death by our Lord Jesus Christ through His incredible sacrificial death on a cruel cross and resurrection resulting in our own personal salvation and eternal life. For this we can definitely praise the incredible complete and finished work of our Lord Jesus by way of His sacrifice on a cruel cross to obtain salvation and eternal life for us. Amen.

THE RESURRECTION, THE ULTIMATE VICTORY OF FAITH Of all the impossibilities or improbabilities, the bodily resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ is it. There is never a more convincing argument against all the classic unbelief’s given by science, governments, the legal systems, religions and the common beliefs of the world that death is the final victory when confronted with the evidence of the bodily resurrection of our Lord Jesus. Jesus said in John 5:25-29: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.” The fact is that faith has this final victory, and this victory comes to us through our Lord Jesus Christ. The entire life and lifestyle of our Lord Jesus has proved this to us. There is never any other more convincing evidence that we are given, that can refute that obedience to the Word of God is the final victory over sin and death. The Bible tells us clearly that the last enemy to be destroyed is death. “The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.” 1 Corinthians 15:26 The Apostle Paul was confronted with this on the road to Damascus. The resurrection and the life was right there before him in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord Jesus said: “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:” John 11:25 Our Lord Jesus also said “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” John 14:6 There is never a more convincing argument than this. The ultimate prize comes from enduring and keeping the faith. Despite all the circumstances and problems that are contrary to the life of faith; faith is worth fighting for, enduring and keeping. The apostle Paul said: “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.” 2 Timothy 4:7-8 Through hearing, believing and carrying out the word of Christ, the resurrection to eternal life is no longer an impossibility, but an absolute certainty; and this has come to us by grace through faith, the ability that God gives to us to trust the finished work of Christ for our salvation and to carry out the word of our Lord Jesus Christ that overcomes the world. Amen

SO WHAT IS FAITH? Faith is; the gift of ability and confidence that we receive from God when we hear and believe His word: This ability and confidence enables us to carry out that word by our cooperative response to what God says to us through His word, the connection to faith being the hearing of God’s word.

HOW DO WE GET FAITH? “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” Romans 10:17

THE RESURRECTION TO ETERNAL LIFE IS THE FINAL AND ULTIMATE VICTORY OF FAITH. Faith works on the principal that it is God’s ability that is given to us…It has nothing to do with our own ability or lack of it, for the works of faith are God’s works, not our works. “Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:10 15