Faith

Text: Hebrews 11:1

Series: Restoration Sermons

Date:

Speaker: Ed Rangel

Location: Waupaca Church of Christ

Bible Version: NASB 1995

Sermon Type: Expository

Learning Objectives

By the close of this lesson the hearer should be able to:

1. Define faith biblically and distinguish it from opinion.
2. Explain how faith comes — by hearing the word of God.
3. See that faith blesses when, and only when, it leads to obedience.

Thesis

Faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen; it comes only by hearing God's word, is to be distinguished from mere opinion, is "one," and brings every spiritual blessing — but it blesses only when it leads to obedience.

Burden

Everything in Christianity hangs on faith — "without faith it is impossible to please Him" (Heb. 11:6) — yet faith is one of the most misunderstood words in religion. Some make it a leap in the dark; some make it mere opinion; some make it a feeling; and many make it the only thing, divorcing it from obedience. The outline takes the word back to the Bible and lets Scripture define it by use: what faith is, how it comes, that it is one, what it brings, and — crucially — when it blesses. The burden of this lesson is to give people a faith that is neither blind nor barren: grounded in God's word, distinct from opinion, and active in obedience.

Introduction

What is faith? It is "the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen" (Heb. 11:1) — taking in the future (Heb. 11:13) and resting on God's word about past and future alike (Heb. 11:8). Faith and belief are the same thing (Heb. 11:6; Rom. 4:3, 19-20). Scripture rarely gives technical definitions; it gives examples and applications — of love (1 John 5:3), grace (2 Cor. 8:9), religion (Jas. 1:27) — and so with faith, which sometimes names the whole Christian system (Acts 6:7; Rom. 1:5; 16:26). The outline treats faith under five heads: its importance, how it comes, that it is one, its blessings, and when it blesses.

I. The Importance of Faith (Hebrews 11:6)

1. It is impossible to please God without faith, even in a single act (Heb. 11:6).
2. We become children of God by faith (Gal. 3:26); there is no salvation without it.
3. And we stand condemned without it — "he who has disbelieved shall be condemned" (Mark 16:16; John 3:18). Faith is not optional; everything turns on it.

II. How Does Faith Come? (Romans 10:17)

1. By the word of faith — "faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ" (Rom. 10:17; Rom. 10:8; Acts 15:7; John 1:7; 20:31; 2 Thess. 1:10). Faith is produced by the testimony of God's word, not by a mystical zap apart from it.
2. Faith comes no other way — "how will they believe... without a preacher?" (Rom. 10:14).
3. And here lies the difference between faith and opinion: no one can have faith about anything God has not spoken on; where God is silent, we have only opinion. We cannot believe what Jesus wrote on the ground, for Scripture does not say what He wrote (John 8:6-8); we cannot believe why Nicodemus came by night, for it is not revealed (John 3:1-5) — we can only hold an opinion. Faith rests on what God has said; opinion fills the silences. This guards us from binding our opinions as though they were faith.

III. How Many Faiths? — One (Ephesians 4:4-5)

There is "one faith" (Eph. 4:4-5), though that one faith may differ in degree:

1. It may be weak (Rom. 4:19-20).
2. It may be little (Matt. 6:30, "O you of little faith").
3. It may be dead — faith without works (Jas. 2:17).
4. It may be great — as the centurion's, of whom Jesus said, "I have not found such great faith" (Matt. 8:10).

The faith is one; our hold on it varies. The aim is a living, growing, great faith — not a weak, little, or dead one.

IV. The Blessings of Faith (Mark 5:34)

Nearly every spiritual blessing is tied to faith — "your faith has made you well" (Mark 5:34). By faith we are:

1. Purified (Acts 15:9).
2. Justified (Rom. 5:1).
3. Saved (Eph. 2:8).
4. Made children of God (Gal. 3:26).
5. Sanctified (Acts 26:18).
6. Enabled to walk (2 Cor. 5:7).
7. Enabled to live (Gal. 2:20).
8. Guarded (1 Pet. 1:5).
9. Brought to faith's end — the salvation of the soul (1 Pet. 1:9).

Strike out faith and every one of these blessings falls.

V. When Does Faith Bless? (James 2:17-20)

Here is the decisive point, against every notion of "faith only":

1. Faith blesses when it leads to obedience — "faith, if it has no works, is dead" (Jas. 2:17-20). A faith that does not obey does not save.
2. We are to walk in the steps of Abraham's faith (Rom. 4:12) — and Abraham's faith acted; he obeyed and offered Isaac, and his faith was "perfected" by works (Jas. 2:21-22).
3. Souls are purified in obeying the truth (1 Pet. 1:22). Faith reaches its blessing through obedience, never apart from it.

So faith saves — but the faith that saves is the faith that obeys.

Application

Get your faith right at three points. First, its source: faith comes by hearing God's word, so if you would have more faith, give yourself to more of the word — not to feelings, signs, or willpower. Second, its boundary: believe what God has spoken, and hold everything else as opinion, not faith; this keeps you from doubting where God has spoken and from dogmatizing where He has not. Third, and most searching, its life: faith blesses only when it obeys. A faith that admires Christ but will not be baptized, will not repent, will not follow, is the "dead" faith James condemns — and it saves no one. Do not rest in a faith that merely agrees; press on to the faith that acts. Is your faith living and obeying, or weak, little, and dead?

Conclusion

Faith is the assurance of the unseen, resting on God's word; it comes by hearing that word, is distinct from opinion, is one, and brings every spiritual blessing. But it blesses only as it obeys. A living, obedient faith pleases God and saves the soul; a dead, idle faith does neither. Build the obeying kind.

Invitation

"Faith comes by hearing... the word of Christ" (Rom. 10:17) — and you have heard it. Now let your faith do what saving faith does: believe that Jesus is the Christ, repent of your sins, confess His name, and be baptized for the remission of your sins (Acts 2:38; Mark 16:16). Do not stop at believing; obey, and let your faith bless you unto the salvation of your soul. Come while we sing.

Word Study

Scripture Interlock Table

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Converted from H. Leo Boles, Outline 60. Doctrinal audit: core-framework — faith comes by hearing the word (Rom. 10:17); faith distinguished from opinion (believe only where God has spoken — a key restoration principle that also restrains binding opinions); one faith; faith saves only when it leads to obedience (explicitly against "faith only," with Jas. 2 and Abraham). No correction. Style audit: OCR cleanup. Citation fixes: heading "Rom. 11:17"→Rom. 10:17 ("faith comes by hearing"); "Little. (Matt. 6:20.)"→Matt. 6:30 ("O you of little faith"; 6:20 concerns treasures); "Eph. 2~8"→Eph. 2:8. Jas. 2:21-22 supplied to support Boles' Abraham point; all of his other citations verified and retained as given.