faith

Through Faith or By Faith

Dr. Mike Kingdom Paradigms , , , ,
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast”. Eph 2:8-9 ESV.

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Faith is given to us by God. We don’t generate Godly faith. God disperses faith (Rm. 12:3).  It is His gift to us. We simply exercise it.

We exercise faith when we walk it out and through it. Faith is not the cause of our salvation. We are not saved by faith, but by grace. We are saved (justified) by the grace of Jesus Christ.  However, by walking through the faith given to us, we are being saved (regenerated) into the image of Jesus Christ.

Poor theology places the cause of salvation with our faith. Our response is not the cause of salvation; our response is the effect of salvation. In the words of cause and effect, our salvation is caused by Jesus Christ and our response is the effect of salvation.

If our faith is the cause of salvation, then we wouldn’t need a savior. However, since Jesus Christ is the reality of salvation, we either accept that reality or not. When we accept that reality, we begin to experience the power of salvation.

A good example is gravity. We acknowledge its existence and respect its authority. Just like your belief doesn’t cause gravity to exist; you simply acknowledge the truth and live life accordingly.

So walk your life through the faith God has given you. Be grateful for the grace He has bestowed upon you. There is nothing to boast about except what God has done.

Therefore, learn to live out your life with the faith He has given you. You will be pleasantly surprised by the outcome.

Rooting For You in Christ!

Dr. Mike

Executive Director & Founder
Marketplace Bible Institute
& Resource Center, Inc
Author of e-Books:
 *  Great Business Emulates a Good God
 *  Be Radical…Follow Christ!
 *  Simply The Messenger
 *  Unequally Married

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Copyright 2016 Abbaco LLC | All Rights Reserved

 

 

Faith, Belief, Trust

Dr. Mike Kingdom Paradigms
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1 ESV.

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When the word faith comes up in a discussion, the most difficult aspect is clarifying the definition. Many people in the world and even within the Christian community often use the word interchangeably with belief, trust, or religious affiliation. This most often leads to miscommunication unless one totally understands the other person’s position.

Many books and papers have been written on all three topics. Some good, some bad, but all have a perspective worth understanding. So today, rather than kill my readers with technical, theological terminology, we are going to use the student’s cliff note version.

For example, when one speaks about a faith community, one is speaking about a group of people who are set apart around certain doctrinal positions that they believe and live out. This is the FAITH of organizational membership. Typically, it is the label and category people box you within. The result is your denomination (or non-denomination which is a denomination).

When the Bible writes about FAITH, one needs to clarify from the context which part of faith is being discussed. For when one hears, speaks, or reads about faith, one must look at the context to determine if the writer means a set of doctrinal positions, a mental decision of belief, a secured confidence of trust, or the enabling power of God.

For the FAITH mentioned in the Bible comes with the following three faces:

First there is the enabling power of God. This Faith is written about in Romans 12:3, 3:28, 5:1, and 4:5. Also Hebrews 12:2, and Ephesians 2:8.

Then there is the mental decision based on your perception of reality as defined by God. Also known as your worldview. This Greek word is also translated throughout the Bible as Belief.  This is found in Romans 10:17, Romans: 6-10, Romans 12:6-8, Romans 14:1-3, and Mathew 21:21.

Finally there is the secured confidence placed in someone or something. We call this Trust. This is explained in Hebrews 11: and 2 Corinthians 10:15 where we place our trust in Jesus Christ the foundation of our faith.

The question most often discussed is whether or not faith is something we develop or something we just live out. I believe when one sees the three faces of faith, then one come to realize that it is a gift from God that empowers us. From His gift, we begin to change our perception of reality based on His Word and Spirit, and then learn to walk with Him which results into seeing how He intervenes in our life and in the lives of others. This leads to the building-up of a mutual trust between the Triune God and oneself.

So in summary: the gift of empowering Faith leads to the development of beliefs which leads to a more secured relationship with the living God.  These are the three faces of FAITH.

Rooting For You in Christ!

Dr. Mike

Executive Director & Founder
Marketplace Bible Institute
& Resource Center, Inc
Author of e-Books:
 *  Great Business Emulates a Good God
 *  Be Radical…Follow Christ!
 *  Simply The Messenger
 *  Unequally Married

Does a Friend Need Encouragement…Share Today’s Message!

 

 

 

Where is Your Faith?

Dr. Mike Bible Life Questions ,

 

He said to them, “Where is your faith?” Luke 8:25 ESV.

 

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The disciples are on a boat with Jesus and are panicking because of the vast storm they find themselves battling.  Jesus awakes from his sleep and notices the frighten faces. Before he commands the winds and waters to behave, he looks at the disciples and asks the question, “Where is your faith?”

The same question may be asked of you and I multiple times as we face the challenges that life throws us. Where is your faith?

Paul writes in I Corinthians 12: 4-11 that the Holy Spirit distributes various gifts to us including faith. Likewise in Romans 12:3 he again writes that God distributes the gift of faith to each of us.

Jesus himself stated that all we need is faith the size of a mustard seed to move mountains (Mt. 17:20).

One of the fruits of the Holy Spirit is faithfulness (Gal. 5:22). To be full of faith is faithfulness.

Faith is a gift from God. God has given each of us a portion as he determines. You may have been given a 100 gallon tank of faith and I only a pint. But we each have the gift of faith. We only need to exercise it.

It is also unwise to compare ourselves with someone who has a 100 gallon faith tank when we only have a pint. God knows. Like the parable of the talents, we are to be good stewards of what God has given us and invest for future returns.

For me to turn the faith pint into a faith quarter is a 100% return. For the person who has 100 gallon faith tank, a pint return is only a .125% return.

So yes the person who has been given much faith, much is expected from him. However, the person who has been given a little faith, much is also expected from him. However, their reward at the finish line will probably be as much and maybe more than many expect.

What does this all mean?

Simply this: God gives us the faith we need to operate under. Don’t compare your faith with each other. Compare your faith with Jesus’. That will keep you humble, dependent on Him, and allow you to maximize your potential as God created you to be.

Rooting For You in Christ!

Dr. Mike

Executive Director & Founder
Marketplace Bible Institute
& Resource Center, Inc
Author of e-Books:
 *  Great Business Emulates a Good God
 *  Be Radical…Follow Christ!
 *  Simply The Messenger
 *  Unequally Married

Does a Friend need some Encouragement…Share Today’s Message!