Post Study Thoughts

Much of the following material is taken from writings of R. C. Sproul, Andrew Murray and Matthew Henry. And of course from the Bible.

· Gal 3:11-14, Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, "The righteous will live by faith." 12 The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, "The man who does these things will live by them." 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree." 14 He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.

We have discussed the covenants that God made with Adam, Noah, Abraham, Israel at Sinai, David and finally the Messianic Covenant. Yet, it seems to me that there is more to be said.

We began by discovering the Everlasting Covenant that was made in heaven before creation. Each of the subsequent covenants was a progressive unfolding of God’s plan under the Everlasting Covenant.

Christianity is often called a religion. But it is more properly called a “faith”. It is called a faith because there is a body of knowledge that is affirmed or believed by those who claim to be Christians. It is also called a faith because the virtue of faith is central to its understanding of being saved.

What does faith mean? In our culture it is often mistaken for a blind belief in something that is unreasonable. To call the Christian faith a “blind faith”, is not only demeaning to Christians, but it is offensive to God. When the Bible speaks of blindness it uses this image for people who, by their sin, walk in darkness. Christianity calls people out of the darkness, not into the darkness. Faith is the antidote to blindness, not the cause of it.

At its root, the term “faith” means “trust”. To trust God is not an act of unreasonable belief. God demonstrates Himself to be eminently trustworthy. He gives ample reason for us to trust Him. He proves that He Himself is faithful and worthy of our trust. So faith is based on reasoning and evidence.

· 2 Peter 1:16, We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.

Christianity does not rely on myths and fables, as some proclaim today, but rests on the eyewitness account of those who were there. The truth of the Gospels is based on historical events.

There are several ways that we can express the definition of faith, and we will look at several of them. The book of Hebrews gives us a definition.

· Heb 11:1, Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

So faith comprises the essence of our hope for the future. In simple terms this means that we trust God for the future based on our faith and knowledge of what He has accomplished in the past. There is every reason to believe that God will be as faithful to His promises in the future as He has been in the past. There is reason for the hope that is within us.

The faith that is the evidence of things unseen has primary but not exclusive reference to the future. Nobody has a crystal ball that works. We walk into the future by faith and not by sight. We may plan and make our estimates, but even the best plans are based on our best guesses. None of us has a sure knowledge of the day-to-day future.

We can look around us and see the present and we can recall the past. But the only solid evidence we have for our own future is drawn from the promises of God. And it is here that faith offers evidence of things not seen. We trust God for tomorrow.

We also trust or believe that God exists. And although God Himself is unseen, the Scriptures make it clear that the invisible God is demonstrated through the things that are visible.

· Rom 1:18-20, The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature-have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

Though God is not visible to us, we believe that He is there because He has manifested Himself so clearly in creation and history.

Faith includes believing “in” God. Yet that kind of faith is not particularly impressive.

· James 2:19, You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that-and shudder.

Do you sense a bit of sarcasm in James. To believe in the existence of God merely qualifies us as demons. It is one thing to believe “in” God; it is quite another to believe God. To believe God, to trust Him for our very life, is the essence of the Christian faith.

The word “faith” is used the first time in the Scripture in connection with Abraham. What made him so pleasing to God was that he believed God and it was through his obedience to God that his faith grew.

Just as God proved Himself to Abraham, He also proves Himself to us, but even more clearly and more fully. And this fullness is that he has given us His Spirit. This quickening power came to Abraham because of his faith. Likewise, because of our faith, which is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, we are able to grow and strengthen our belief.