Exercising Faith

Key Text

“Now the just shall live by faith: but if [any man] draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.”  Hebrews 10:38.

Study Help:  The Desire of Ages, 315–320; Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing, 141–144.

Introduction

“For six thousand years, faith has builded upon Christ.  For six thousand years the floods and tempests of satanic wrath have beaten upon the Rock of our salvation; but it stands unmoved.”  The Desire of Ages, 413.

1    What is the definition of faith?  Hebrews 11:1, 2; 11 Corinthians 4:18.  How is faith born?  Roman 10:17.

note:  “Faith is not the ground of our salvation, but it is the great blessing—the eye that sees, the ear that hears, the feet that run, the hand that grasps.  It is the means, not the end.  If Christ gave His life to save sinners, why shall I not take that blessing?  My faith grasps it, and thus my faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen.  Thus resting and believing, I have peace with God through the Lord Jesus Christ.”  “Ellen G. White Comments,” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 6, 1073.

2    How are we to develop the “measure of faith” (Romans 12:3) that God has granted each one of us?  John 6:53, 63; Luke 17:5; 1 Peter 2:2.

note:  “Courage, fortitude, faith, and implicit trust in God’s power to save do not come in a moment.  These heavenly graces are acquired by the experience of years.”  Testimonies, vol. 5, 213.

“You have to talk faith, you have to live faith, you have to act faith, that you may have an increase of faith; and thus exercising that living faith you will grow to strong men and women in Christ Jesus.”  “Ellen G. White Comments,” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 5, 1121, 1122.

3    How does true faith assimilate the Word of God?  11 Timothy 3:15–17; 1 Peter 1:22, 23.

note:  “The word of God must be interwoven with the living character of those who believe it.  The only vital faith is that faith which receives and assimilates the truth till it is a part of the being and the motive power of the life and action.”  Testimonies, vol. 5, 576.

“Temptations often appear irresistible because, through neglect of prayer and the study of the Bible, the tempted one cannot readily remember God’s promises and meet Satan with the Scripture weapons.  But angels are round about those who are willing to be taught in divine things; and in the time of great necessity they will bring to their remembrance the very truths which are needed.”  The Great Controversy, 600.

4    What agencies work together in the process of sanctification?  11 Thessalonians 2:13; 11 Timothy 2:15; John 17:17.

note:  “The Scriptures are the great agency in the transformation of character.  Christ prayed, ‘Sanctify them through Thy truth; Thy word is truth.’  John 17:17.  If studied and obeyed, the word of God works in the heart, subduing every unholy attribute.  The Holy Spirit comes to convict of sin, and the faith that springs up in the heart works by love to Christ, conforming us in body, soul, and spirit to His own image.  Then God can use us to do His will.  The power given us works from within outwardly, leading us to communicate to others the truth that has been communicated to us.”  Christ’s Object Lessons, 100.

“By looking constantly to Jesus with the eye of faith, we shall be strengthened.  God will make the most precious revelations to His hungering, thirsting people.  They will find that Christ is a personal Saviour.  As they feed upon His word, they find that it is spirit and life.  The word destroys the natural, earthly nature, and imparts a new life in Christ Jesus.  The Holy Spirit comes to the soul as a Comforter. By the transforming agency of His grace, the image of God is reproduced in the disciple; he becomes a new creature.”  The Desire of Ages, 391.

5    What is the difference between genuine faith and a mere profession of faith?  James 1:6, 7; Titus 1:16; Hebrews 11:6.

note:  “There are thousands who claim to have the light of truth who take no steps in advance.  They have no living experience, notwithstanding they have had every advantage.  They do not know what consecration means.  Their devotions are formal and hollow, and there is no depth to their piety.  The Word of God offers spiritual liberty and enlightenment to those who study it earnestly.  Those who accept the promises of God, and act on them with living faith, will have the light of heaven in their lives.  They will drink of the fountain of life, and lead others to the waters that have refreshed their own souls.  We must have that faith in God that takes him at his word.”  Review and Herald, September 22, 1910.

6    What will be the result of true faith?  Galatians 5:6 (compare Romans 13:9, 10); James 2:14–17.

note:  “There is a belief that is not a saving faith.  The word declares that the devils believe and tremble.  The so-called faith that does not work by love and purify the soul will not justify any man. . . .

“We need the faith of Abraham in our day, to lighten the darkness that gathers around us, shutting out the sweet sunlight of God’s love, and dwarfing spiritual growth.  Our faith should be prolific of good works; for faith without works is dead.  Every duty performed, every sacrifice made in the name of Jesus, brings an exceeding great reward.  In the very act of duty, God speaks and gives His blessing.”  The Signs of the Times, May 19, 1898.

7    How did a Roman centurion exercise faith when his servant was sick to the point of death?  Luke 7:2, 3.

note:  “The centurion was tenderly attached to his servant, and greatly desired his recovery.  He believed that Jesus could heal him.  He had not seen the Saviour, but the reports he heard had inspired him with faith.  Notwithstanding the formalism of the Jews, this Roman was convinced that their religion was superior to his own.  Already he had broken through the barriers of national prejudice and hatred that separated the conquerors from the conquered people.  He had manifested respect for the service of God, and had shown kindness to the Jews as His worshipers.  In the teaching of Christ, as it had been reported to him, he found that which met the need of the soul.  All that was spiritual within him responded to the Saviour’s words.  But he felt unworthy to come into the presence of Jesus, and he appealed to the Jewish elders to make request for the healing of his servant.  They were acquainted with the Great Teacher, and would, he thought, know how to approach Him so as to win His favor.”  The Desire of Ages, 315, 316.

8    As far as faith was concerned, what was the difference between the Roman centurion and the Jewish elders who recommended him to Christ?  Luke 7:4–10.

note:  “The Jewish elders who recommended the centurion to Christ had shown how far they were from possessing the spirit of the gospel.  They did not recognize that our great need is our only claim on God’s mercy.  In their self-righteousness they commended the centurion because of the favor he had shown to ‘our nation.’  But the centurion said of himself, ‘I am not worthy.’  [Luke 7:5, 7.]  His heart had been touched by the grace of Christ.  He saw his own unworthiness; yet he feared not to ask help.  He trusted not to his own goodness; his argument was his great need.  His faith took hold upon Christ in His true character.  He did not believe in Him merely as a worker of miracles, but as the friend and Saviour of mankind.

“It is thus that every sinner may come to Christ.  ‘Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us.’  Titus 3:5.  When Satan tells you that you are a sinner, and cannot hope to receive blessing from God, tell him that Christ came into the world to save sinners.  We have nothing to recommend us to God; but the plea that we may urge now and ever is our utterly helpless condition that makes His redeeming power a necessity.  Renouncing all self-dependence, we may look to the cross of Calvary and say,—‘In my hand no price I bring; Simply to Thy cross I cling.’ ”  The Desire of Ages, 316, 317.

9    What assurance is given us in seeking to live by faith?  1 Peter 1:7–9; Philippians 4:6, 7.

note:  “Let us keep our eyes fixed upon Christ, and He will preserve us.  Looking unto Jesus, we are safe.  Nothing can pluck us out of His hand.”  Steps to Christ, 72.

10  What are some of the things that faith accomplished in the past, and what will it accomplish today?  Hebrews 11:29–35; 1 John 5:4.

note:  “Faith is simple in its operation and powerful in its results.”  The Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 2, 322.

“It is faith that connects us with the power of heaven, and that brings us the strength for coping with the powers of darkness.”  Review and Herald, September 22, 1910.

 Victory of Faith

“The Christian life is a battle and a march.  But the victory to be gained is not won by human power.  The field of conflict is the domain of the heart.  The battle which we have to fight—the greatest battle that was ever fought by man—is the surrender of self to the will of God, the yielding of the heart to the sovereignty of love.  The old nature, born of blood and of the will of the flesh, cannot inherit the kingdom of God.  The hereditary tendencies, the former habits, must be given up. 

“He who determines to enter the spiritual kingdom will find that all the powers and passions of an unregenerate nature, backed by the forces of the kingdom of darkness, are arrayed against him.  Selfishness and pride will make a stand against anything that would show them to be sinful.  We cannot, of ourselves, conquer the evil desires and habits that strive for the mastery.  We cannot overcome the mighty foe who holds us in his thrall.  God alone can give us the victory.  He desires us to have the mastery over ourselves, our own will and ways.  But He cannot work in us without our consent and co-operation.  The divine Spirit works through the faculties and powers given to man.  Our energies are required to co-operate with God. 

“The victory is not won without much earnest prayer, without the humbling of self at every step.  Our will is not to be forced into co-operation with divine agencies, but it must be voluntarily submitted.  Were it possible to force upon you with a hundredfold greater intensity the influence of the Spirit of God, it would not make you a Christian, a fit subject for heaven.  The stronghold of Satan would not be broken.  The will must be placed on the side of God’s will.  You are not able, of yourself, to bring your purposes and desires and inclinations into submission to the will of God; but if you are ‘willing to be made willing,’ God will accomplish the work for you, even ‘casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.’  11 Corinthians 10:5.  Then you will ‘work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.  For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.’  Philippians 2:12, 13. 

“But many are attracted by the beauty of Christ and the glory of heaven, who yet shrink from the conditions by which alone these can become their own.  There are many in the broad way who are not fully satisfied with the path in which they walk.  They long to break from the slavery of sin, and in their own strength they seek to make a stand against their sinful practices.  They look toward the narrow way and the strait gate; but selfish pleasure, love of the world, pride, unsanctified ambition, place a barrier between them and the Saviour.  To renounce their own will, their chosen objects of affection or pursuit, requires a sacrifice at which they hesitate and falter and turn back.  Many ‘will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.’  Luke 13:24.  They desire the good, they make some effort to obtain it; but they do not choose it; they have not a settled purpose to secure it at the cost of all things. 

“The only hope for us if we would overcome is to unite our will to God’s will and work in co-operation with Him, hour by hour and day by day.  We cannot retain self and yet enter the kingdom of God.  If we ever attain unto holiness, it will be through the renunciation of self and the reception of the mind of Christ.  Pride and self-sufficiency must be crucified.  Are we willing to pay the price required of us?  Are we willing to have our will brought into perfect conformity to the will of God?  Until we are willing, the transforming grace of God cannot be manifest upon us. 

“The warfare which we are to wage is the ‘good fight of faith.’  ‘I also labor,’ said the apostle Paul, ‘striving according to His working, which worketh in me mightily.’  Colossians 1:29.