Wednesday, May 8, 2013

My best John Wesley impersonation


“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” – Romans 5: 1 & 2

Lately, God has been exercising my mind on the topic of faith.  It certainly is the “activating agent” in the plan of salvation.  Simply put, without faith, nothing gets done.  In the discourse below, I endeavor, with God being my help (“for without him we can do nothing”), to explore in brief, plain speech, the following question:
           
What is faith?

The Hebrew writer tells us faith is “the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen.” (Heb 11:1)  And that by it “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.” (Heb 11:3)  In short, by faith we know that the natural was created by the supernatural.  In other words, what you: see, touch, feel; was not created by anything that you can see, touch, or feel.  Now, one might ask…. “How can you prove that?”  Answer: Faith – accepting, believing, and acting in obedience to the God of all creation.  It is trusting in God and not in, well, anything else. 
Consider the following for example: A squirrel wakes in the morning and comes down from the tree.  He bounds right up to a certain spot amiss a vast area of property (i.e. your back yard).  He digs, finds a nut, and begins to eat.  That squirrel knew where breakfast was before he left the tree.  Now, the mocking bird in the same tree wakes in the morning.  He spreads his wings and lifts from the branch.  He fly’s the skies above and scans the ground below looking, “in faith”, trusting that somewhere, something unseen, has provided breakfast.  The squirrel leaves the tree knowing where breakfast waits.  The bird leaves the tree trusting that something beyond their own ability has provided breakfast.  Which has faith?  Which, of the two, is free?
Faith is accepting, believing, and acting in obedience to God.  It is trusting in God alone.  Faith is the activating agent in God’s plan of salvation.  It is the spark that starts the engine and the very thing that keeps the motor running.  You cannot have God without faith; because without faith there is no evidence of God.  Faith is what persuaded Abraham to leave his family and seek for “a city whose builder and maker was God.”  Faith is what called Moses out of Pharaoh’s mansion.  Faith is what translated Enoch and saved Rehab the harlot.  Faith is what gave the prophets and martyrs of old the ware withal to stand up to in the face of vicious persecution.  Faith is what brought God on the scene then, and it is what will bring him on the scene now.  Faith is the end of your ability, and the absolute trusting of His.  Salvation is by faith; you wish to be saved from the bondage of sin?  Close your eyes and ask in faith; “nothing wavering”, saying “Lord I give my all to you, because I want you to be all to me.”  One must accept, believe, act, and trust…..Faith.
  
Any: Thoughts?  Criticisms? Concerns? Questions?  Please reply to pgcollins65@gmail.com   

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