"But without faith it is impossible to please (God): for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that dilligently seek Him."
Faith in Christ is the key to everything in the Christian life. The eleventh chapter of Hebrews is known as "The Hall of Faith," because it lists a number of Old Testament saints whose lives portrayed that they had faith. I think that the chapter is pointing that a relationship with God has always been the result of faith. In fact, it was faith in the promise of Christ that they were saved. Hebrews 11:13 will show you what I mean: "These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on earth." Faith in Christ is all-important for our salvation and for our sustenance. We are saved by grace through faith, but beyond that we are sustained by faith. Hebrews 11:1 gives us the essence of faith: "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Faith makes possible that which seems impossible.It makes real that which seems unreal. Without faith we cannot see the need to be saved, nor can we understand the works of God. We should just have faith in a great big God, with Whom "all things are posslbe." I have faith in a great God Who is with me all of the way, and works it all out according to His will. Do not understand me to be bragging about my faith. I am bragging about a great God Who made faith possible. He made it possible for you too. If you realize that, this blog has acheived its purpose. I truly hope that you have been saved by faith in Christ. Salvation is impossible without faith in Christ. I also truly hope that your life is sustained by your faith in Christ. Make no mistake about it, if you are saved by faith, you can surely be sustained by faith. You can face whatever you have to face in life with your faith in Christ. I'm not saying that you will never be afraid again, nor am I saying that things will always turn out the way you want them to because of your faith. I'm saying that by faith, Jesus will enable you to face all of life, the good and the bad, with poise and a good attitude. If you haven't already, placed your faith in Christ do it now. If you have, take full advantage of that faith as you live each day. Bro. Joe
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"Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast the profession of our faith. 15. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need."
We have a Savior who understands what we are going through in this life. He came and lived the human experience for thirty-three years. He was "tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin." Think of it, there is no temptation that you have to go through that Jesus has not dealt with. The difference in Jesus and us is that He was "yet without sin." We cannot say that we have never sinned, and we can never say that we do not sin. Sin comes in several forms, e.g., sins of attitude, sins of omission and sins of commission. That is why we are promised in 1 John 1:9 that, "If we will confess our sins, He (Jesus) is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Jesus does not condone our sins; but, thank God, He does forgive our sins. We call it mercy and grace. Because Jesus understands our plight in this life, He gives us an invitation to come "boldly to the throne of grace." For what reason? "That we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need." To come "boldly" does not mean to come "brashly." He means that we have a free invitation to come to Him at any time, night or day, and He will bestow His great mercy and grace upon us. Because Jesus knows what you are going through, He invites you to come to Him in prayer on your own. You do not need anyone to take you to His throne. Because Jesus is your understanding high priest, you also are your own priest. (We call it "the priesthood of the believer.") Aren't you glad that our Savior is not remote from us, that He knows what we are going through and wants to minister to us through the presence of His Spirit and through the privilege of prayer? Bow your head now and thank Jesus for who and what He is in your life. If He is not your Savior, bow your head and ask Him, by faith, to come into your life. You will "obtain mercy and grace" then and there. Bro. Joe |
AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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