FAITH

(Belief and trust in and loyalty to God)


Faith is the beginning of our relationship with God.
When we hear His still small voice calling us to Himself.
When we understand that He exists and loves us,
And has a plan and purpose for our lives;
When we understand that we are lost and without hope, without Him;
When we understand that Christ Jesus suffered and died for us;
To give us His LIFE;
That He alone is LIFE,
And we make the decision to put our belief and trust in Him.


The righteous will live by faith. (Galatians 3:11)


Enoch was an early person in the Scriptures that demonstrated faith in God.
In fact he got so close to God that God took him away.


Enoch walked with God then he was no more, because God took him away.
(Genesis 5:24)


God taking Enoch away is precursor to God delivering Noah
Out of his evil generation in the Ark (Genesis 7) because of his faith;
God delivering Israel out of Egypt (Exodus) because of the faith of Moses;
And God taking the woman away to safety in the Book of Revelation
(Revelation 12)
Because she is the Bride of Christ.
These people all had faith and their faith produced an outcome:
God acted on their behalf.
God always acts on our behalf, on the basis of our faith.


Now faith is being sure of what we hope for
And certain of what we do not see.
This is what the ancients were commended for.

By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command,
So that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
(Hebrews 11:1-3)


The writer of the Book of Hebrews continues on to recount the faith
Of many of those in the Old Testament.


Consider Abraham: He believed God,
And it was credited to him as righteousness.
Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham.
(Galatians 3:6-7)


The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith
And announced the gospel (good news) in advance to Abraham.
(Galatians 3:8)


God promised Abraham that:
'All the nations will be blessed through you.' (Galatians 3:8)


The apostle Paul goes on to explain that the “Law,” the Ten Commandments,
Could not save anyone because no one is capable of keeping the “Law.”


He even says that because no one can keep the whole “Law,”
Those who try are under a curse, because it is impossible;
They are rejecting faith and trying to please God in their own strength.


Paul then says: ‘The righteous will live by faith.’
Because the law is not based on faith, it cannot save anyone,
For this reason, God sent His only Son.


'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.’
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.'
(Galatians 3:13-14)


Here we see that we are redeemed from the curse of the law
By receiving by faith the atoning work of Christ Jesus
And His shed blood;
By receiving the promise of the Holy Spirit.
The promise given to Abraham,
That all the nations would be blessed through him,
Was that the Holy Spirit would come to indwell the people of God by faith.
It is Christ in us, our hope of glory.


The whole purpose of faith
Is that we can be redeemed;
So that we can receive God’s supernatural provision,
His Holy Spirit.


The law was given by God to demonstrate to everyone
That they could not keep it
And therefore demonstrate their need for a redeemer;
A redeemer who could give them right standing before a Holy God.


The writer of the Hebrews says:
…'By one sacrifice he (Christ Jesus) has made perfect forever
Those who are being made holy.

The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this.
First he says:
‘This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord.
I will put my laws in their hearts,
And I will write them on their minds.’


Then he adds;
‘Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.'


And where these have been forgiven,
There is no longer any sacrifice for sin.' (Hebrews 14-18)


We can see that The New Covenant is
When the Holy Spirit comes to live within us,
And He supernaturally puts His laws in our hearts
And writes them on our minds.
Christ Jesus becomes our teacher.
He takes “knowing God” out of the hands of man
And puts it in His own hands.
Jesus said you have one teacher, the Christ.


When we by faith receive Christ Jesus and His indwelling Holy Spirit,
Allowing Him to put His laws in our heart
And write them upon our mind;
Our sins are forgiven and His sacrifice is effective for us.


Our part in this marvelous provision is simply to have faith,
Which activates God’s supernatural response,
The impartation of His Holy Spirit and the forgiveness of sin.


The blood of Jesus cleanses all of my sin
The blood of Jesus makes me clean deep within
He can make the blackest life white as snow
He can turn your darkness into light, I know
Hallelujah to the Lamb of God
Hallelujah to the ONE who gave all
He gave His life for me
Upon a tree
So that I could be set free

HOLINESS

(Transcendent perfection; like God; set apart to God)

Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy;
Without holiness no one will see the Lord. (Hebrews 12: 14)

God tells Moses to tell the people of Israel:
You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt,
And how I carried you on eagles’ wings
And brought you to myself.
Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant,
Then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession.
Although the whole earth is mine,
You will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
(Exodus 19:4-6)

Here God states His intent for the nation Israel
In the Old Testament.
Peter speaking of today, says:
As you come to him (Christ), the living Stone--
Rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him--
You also, like living stones are being built into a spiritual house
To be a holy priesthood,
Offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God
Through Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 2:4-5)


In Exodus God instructs Moses as follows
Regarding his brother Aaron the high priest:
Make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it as on a seal:
HOLY TO THE LORD.
Fasten a blue cord to it to attach it to the turban;
It will be on Aaron’s forehead,
And he will bear the guilt involved
In the sacred gifts the Israelites consecrate,
Whatever their gifts may be.
It will be on Aaron’s forehead continually
So that they will be acceptable to the Lord.’ (Exodus 28:36-38)

The plate of pure gold engraved with HOLY TO THE LORD
Is on Aaron’s forehead.
Covering his mind, observable to all who see him.
Signifying that holiness is of primary importance to the Lord,
And necessary for Aaron to gain access into the Holy of Holies.

I am the Lord your God;
Consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy.
(Leviticus 11:44)


Consecrate yourselves and be holy,
Because I am the Lord your God.
Keep my decrees and follow them.
I am the Lord, who makes you holy. (Leviticus 20:7-8)


Our responsibility is to believe and obey.
Nevertheless, this does not make us holy.
God alone makes us holy, through Christ in us.
However, we are not holy if we do not believe and obey.

Therefore this is what the Lord,
Who redeemed Abraham, says to the house of Jacob;
'No longer will Jacob be ashamed;
No longer will their faces grow pale.
When they see among them their children,
The work of my hands,
They will keep my name holy;
They will acknowledge the holiness of the Holy One of Jacob
And will stand in awe of the God of Israel
Those who are wayward in spirit will gain understanding;
Those who complain will accept instruction.' (Isaiah 29:22-24)

In what follows Isaiah is looking forward to the New Covenant:
And a highway will be there;
It will be called the Way of Holiness.
The unclean will not journey on it;
It will be for those who walk in that Way;
Wicked fools will not go about on it.
No lion will be there, nor any ferocious beast get up on it;
They will not be found there.
But only the redeemed will walk there,
And the ransomed of the Lord return.
They will enter Zion with singing;
Everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy will overtake them,
And sorrow and sighing will flee away. (Isaiah 35:8-10)

ZECHARIAH’S SONG
His (John the Baptist) father Zechariah
Was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:
‘Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
Because he has come and has redeemed his people.
He has raised up a horn of salvation for us
In the house of his servant David
(As he said through his holy prophets of long ago),
Salvation from our enemies
And from the hand of all who hate us--
To show mercy to our fathers
And to remember his holy covenant,
The oath he swore to our father Abraham.
To rescue us from the hand of our enemies,
And to enable us to serve him without fear in holiness
And righteousness before him all our days.’ (Luke 1:67-75)

Here Zechariah is speaking about the New Covenant,
The promise to Abraham, that Christ Jesus will bring into effect.

In the Book of Romans the apostle Paul says:
'But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin,
You wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching
To which you were entrusted.
You have been set free from sin and have become slaves
To righteousness.
I put this in human terms because you are week
In your natural selves.
Just as you used to offer the parts of your body
In slavery to impurity and ever increasing wickedness,
So now offer them in slavery to righteousness
Leading to holiness when you were slaves to sin,
You were free from the control of righteousness,
What benefit did you reap at that time
From the things you are now ashamed of?
Those things result in death!
But now that you have been set free from sin
And have become slaves to God,
The benefit you reap leads to holiness,
And the result is eternal life.
For the wages of sin is death,
But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.'
(Romans 17-23)


In the first letter to the Corinthians Paul says:
'To the church of God in Corinth,
To those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy,
Together with all those everywhere
Who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ--
Their Lord and ours.' (1 Corinthians 1:2)


Again in the first letter to the Corinthians Paul declares:
'It is because of him (God) that you are in Christ Jesus,
Who has become for us wisdom from God--
That is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.
Therefore, as it is written:
Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.' (1 Corinthians 1: 30-31)


In the second letter to the Corinthians Paul says:
'Now this is our boast:
Our conscience testifies
That we have conducted ourselves in the world,
And especially in our relations with you,
In holiness and sincerity that are from God.
We have done so not according to worldly wisdom
But according to God’s grace.' (2 Corinthians 1:12)

Paul says later:
'Since we have these promises, dear friends,
Let us purify ourselves from everything
That contaminates body and spirit,
Perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.' (2 Corinthians 7:1)

In the letter to the Ephesians Paul says:
'For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy
And blameless in his sight.' (Ephesians 1:4)

Again, in the letter to the Ephesians Paul says:
'In him (Christ) the whole building is joined together
And rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.
And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling
In which God lives by his Spirit.' (Ephesians 2:21-22)

Further, in the letter to the Ephesians Paul says:
'Surely you heard of him (Christ) and were taught in him
In accordance with the truth that is in Jesus.
You were taught, with regard to your former way of life,
To put off your old self,
Which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires;
To be made new in the attitude of your minds;
Created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.’
(Ephesians 4:21-24)

Again, in the letter to the Ephesians Paul says:
‘But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality,
Or any kind of impurity, or greed,
Because these are improper for God’s holy people.'
(Ephesians 5:3)

Further, in the letter to the Ephesians Paul says:
'Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church
And gave himself up for her to make her holy,
Cleansing her by the washing with water through the word,
And to present her to himself as a radiant church,
Without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish,
But holy and blameless.' (Ephesians 5:25-27)

In the letter to the Colossians Paul says:
'But now he (God) has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body
Through death to present you holy in his sight,
Without blemish and free from accusation--
If you continue in your faith.' (Colossians 1:22-23)

In Paul’s first letter to The Thessalonians he says:
'It is God’s will that you should be holy;
That you should avoid sexual immorality;
That each of you should learn to control his own body
In a way that is holy and honorable,
Not in passionate lust like the heathen,
Who do not know God;
…For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.'
(1 Thessalonians 4:3-7)


In Paul’s first letter to Timothy he says:
'I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intersession
And thanksgiving be made for everyone--
For kings and all those in authority,
That we may live peaceful and quiet lives
In all godliness and holiness.
This is good, and pleases God our Savior,
Who wants all men to be saved
And to come to a knowledge of the truth.'
(1 Timothy 2:1-3)


He goes on to say:
‘But women will be kept safe through childbirth,
If they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety.’
(1 Timothy 2:15)

In Paul’s second letter to Timothy he says:
'But join with me in suffering for the gospel,
By the power of God,
Who called us to a holy life'-- (2 Timothy 1: 8-9)

In Paul’s letter to Titus he says:
'Since an overseer is entrusted with God’s work,
He must be blameless--
Not overbearing, not given to much wine, not violent,
Not pursuing dishonest gain.
Rather he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good,
Who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined.'
(Titus 1:8-9)


In the letter to the Hebrews the author says:
'And by that will, we have been made holy
Through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
…Because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever
Those who are being made holy.' (Hebrews 10:10-14)


Again, in the letter to the Hebrews the author says:
'Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best;
But God disciplines us for our good
That we may share in his holiness.'
(Hebrews 12:10)


'Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy;
Without holiness no one will see the Lord.' (Hebrews 12:14)

To the degree we allow Christ Jesus to live in and through us,
Will determine the extent of our holiness.
The Holy Spirit in us continually teaches us to live in holiness.
He gives us the power to live what He teaches us;
To become like Christ Jesus in all we do and say.
Nevertheless, it is our choice to follow His teaching or not.

And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate
To make the people holy
Through his own blood. (Hebrews 13:12)


In Peter’s first letter he says:
'As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires
You had when you lived in ignorance.
But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy
In all you do; for it is written:
‘Be holy because I am holy.’ (1 Peter 1:14-15)

In Peter’s second letter he says:
'Since everything will be destroyed in this way,
What kind of people ought you to be?
You ought to live holy and godly lives
As you look forward to the day of God
And speed its coming.' (2 Peter 3:11-12)


In the Book of Revelation John says:
'Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection.
The second death has no power over them,
But they will be priests of God and of Christ
And will reign with him for a thousand years.' (Revelation 20:6)


As can be seen from the preceding Scriptures,
Living a holy life is essential for us as the children of God.
Christ Jesus has given every child of God
The power to live a holy life
By his indwelling Holy Spirit.
When we live a holy life; we live in His Kingdom
Allowing Christ Jesus to live in and through us
By doing so we become ONE with Him,
Which is the ultimate objective of God.


Jesus my precious savior
Who loved me before I loved Him
He found me in desperation
And showed me the way to enter in
To the Kingdom, O yes the Kingdom
The Kingdom of God

He said all power is in my Spirit
And My Spirit abides in thee
Lay down those things that now bind you
Take up My yoke and be set free
Be set free, be set free
And become ONE with me.

HIS LIFE FOR OUR DEATH

When by faith we receive Christ Jesus as our Lord and Savior,
We are washed in His blood and forgiven of our sins.
Our new life required His death and the shedding of His blood.
The Bible teaches that without the shedding of blood
There is no forgiveness of sins.

We too must die to sin and to this world and its ways,
Which are under the control of Satan.
Our agreement with God to die to sin is symbolized by water baptism,
A commanded ordinance of Christ Jesus.
We go under the waters of baptism symbolizing our death to sin
And to this world and its ways.
When we do this we are promising to live for Christ,
By the power of His Spirit living inside us.


The truth is that unless we die to sin,
This world and it’s ways, we do not belong to Christ,
No matter what confession of faith we have made.
Our confession of faith must be proven by our heart set,
Mind set and our actions.
The Father has made it possible for us to do this
By the power of His Holy Spirit living within us.

Greater is he that is in you than he that is in this world. (1 John 4:4)

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13)

The apostle Paul says:
'What shall we say, then?
Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?
By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?
Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus
Were baptized into his death?
We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death
In order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead
Through the glory of the Father,
We too may live a new life.

If we have been united with him in his death
We will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection.
For we know that our old self was crucified with him
So that the body of sin might be rendered powerless,
That we should not longer be slaves to sin--
Because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.

Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.
For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead,
He cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him.
The death he died, he died to sin once for all;
But the life he lives, he lives to God.
In the same way count your selves dead to sin
But alive to God in Christ Jesus. (Romans 6:1-11)


The apostle Paul says:
You have been set free from sin
And have become slaves to righteousness. (Romans 6:18)

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live,
But Christ lives in me. (Galatians 2:20)

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature
With its passions and desires. (Galatians 5:24)


Jesus said:
Enter through the narrow gate.
For wide is the gate and broad the road that leads to destruction,
And many enter through it.
But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life,
And only a few find it. (Matthew 7:13-14)


Whoever finds his life will lose it,
And whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.' (Matthew 10:39)


The man who loves his life will lose it,
While the man who hates his life in this life will keep it for eternal life.
(John 12:25)


If anyone does not remain in me,
He is like a branch that is thrown away and withers;
Such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.
(John 15:6)


Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father,
So the one who feeds on me will live because of me. (John 6:57)

The apostle John says:
The man who says, 'I know him,' but does not do what he commands
Is a liar, and the truth is not in him. (1 John 2:4)


Do not love the world or anything in the world.
If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
For everything in the world--
The cravings of sinful man the lust of the eyes
And the boasting of what he has and does comes not from the Father
But from the world.
The world and its desires pass away,
But the man who does the will of God lives forever. (1 John 2:15-17)


No one who is born of God will continue to sin,
Because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning,
Because he has been born of God.
This is how we know who the children of God are
And who the children of the devil are:
Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God;
Neither is anyone who does not love his brother. (1 John 3:9-10)


Anyone who does not love remains in death. (1 John 3:14)


This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.
And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. (1 John 3:16)


We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin;
The one who was born of God keeps him safe,
And the evil one does not touch him.
We know that we are children of God,
And that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.
(1 John 5:18-19)


The apostle Paul speaks of this death in yet a different way:
…A man is a Jew (a follower of Christ) if he is one inwardly;
And circumcision is circumcision of the heart by the Spirit,
Not by the written code. (Romans 2:29)


Again Paul says:
For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form,
And you have been given fullness in Christ,
Who is the head over every power and authority.
In him you were also circumcised,
In the putting off of the sinful nature,
Not with a circumcision done by the hands of men
But with the circumcision done by Christ,
Having been buried with him in baptism
And raised with him through your faith in the power of God,
Who raised him from the dead. (Colossians 2:9-11)


It is all of Him, for all of me, or none of Him.


Here is a trustworthy saying:
If we died with him, we will also live with him;
If we endure, we will also reign with him.
If we disown him, he will also disown us;
If we are faithless, he will remain faithful,
For he cannot disown himself. (2 Timothy 11-13)


When I think about your love for me
That will last for all of eternity
How you came to me when I was down
You turned my whole live around
I’m undone, I’m undone


You take my hand so carefully
You speak to me so tenderly
With words that come right from your heart
You loved me from the very start
I’m undone, I’m undone

Such a love has never been known
Such a love has never been shown
I’m undone, I’m undone

You want to share your life with me
You want me to see the things you see
So you and I might become ONE
As we walk together into the Son
I’m undone, I’m undone


Such a love has never been known
Such a love has never been shown
I’m undone, I’m undone