What Our Faith Is Based On- Part 1
As believers in Jesus Christ, what should our faith be based on? What is the foundation for our belief and trust in God? There are four things that form the bedrock of our faith.
God’s character- who God is.
God’s Word- what God has said.
Christ’s finished work- what God has done.
God’s power- what God will do.
Let’s take a look at each of these.
God’s Character (Who God Is)
that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, “Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.” And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. For men indeed swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute. Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. Hebrews 6:12-20 (NKJV)
God is faithful. He is trustworthy, reliable, and dependable, and He keeps His Word. He is always the same. God is love. He will always love us and provide for us. He is just, and He will do what is right and will make things right. He is merciful, kind, and longsuffering. The Lord is all-knowing, all-powerful, and is everywhere. Call on God and watch Him show you who He is.He is self-existing and self-sufficient. He is more than enough. He is above all, over all, and is our All In All. God is good, therefore only good can come from Him.
God’s Word (What God Has Said)
(as it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did; who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, “So shall your descendants be.” And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. Romans 4:17-21 (NKJV)
If God said it, it will come to pass.. God keeps His Word because He and His Word are One. God has the power to bring His promises to pass. God told Abraham that he would have a son- and he did. God brings dead things to life. He speaks His Word to create what He wants. If God wants something, He calls it forth. This is demonstrated in Genesis 1 in the account of creation. God said “Let there be light,” and light was. A better translation would be that He said “Light be.”
Against natural hope, God will give supernatural hope- mixed with faith- so it will happen. When God speaks, you can believe Him. Don’t stagger or waver, but be strong in faith, giving glory to God. Why? Because your faith is based on who God is (all-powerful and all-knowing) and on what He has spoken. He knows what to do, how to do it, and when to do it. We don’t need to struggle with God’s promises because God is faithful to bring His Word to pass. It isn’t based on what we say, or on what a fallible human has said, but on the Word of the unwavering God who never changes and does not go back on His Word. We can be strong in faith, standing on His Word, and giving glory to God. We are convinced that God is able to bring His promises to pass by His power. God said it, and He is able to perform it.
In tomorrow’s post, we’ll continue our discussion on what our faith is based on.
