What Does Faith Really Look Like?

Greetings again my friends!  I hope that getting back into the swing of things hasn’t been too difficult for you!  When I last left you, I asked you to ponder this: It is through our faith that we truly fulfill God’s law.  But what does that look like, really?

As an example, let’s look all the way back in Genesis at Abraham.  Abraham was, humanly speaking, the founder of all three monotheistic religions around today: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.  So what did this pillar of religion discover about being made right with God?  If his good deeds made him acceptable to God, he would have had something to brag about.  But that was not God’s way.  Take a look back in Genesis 5:6, which tells us, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him righteous because of his faith.”

I assume that you’ve all worked at a job before.  When people work, their wages are not a gift, but something they have earned.  But people are counted as good), not because of their work, but because of their faith in God who forgives sinners.  David also spoke of this in Psalm 32 when he described the happiness of those who are declared good without working for it:

¹ “Oh, what joy for those
      whose disobedience is forgiven,
      whose sin is put out of sight!
² Yes, what joy for those
      whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt,
      whose lives are lived in complete honesty!”

Now, is this blessing only for Jews, or Christians as well?Only or Adventists, or is it also for non-Adventists?  Well, we have been saying that Abraham was counted as righteous (or good) by God because of his faith.  But how did this happen?  Was he counted as good only after we made the covenant with the Lord when he circumcised himself and his household (Gen. 17:10,11), or was it before he was circumcised?  Clearly, God accepted Abraham before he was circumcised…before he was even called Abraham!

The circumcision was  a sign that Abraham already had faith and that God had already accepted him to be righteous—even before he went through the physical act of circumcision.  So Abraham is the spiritual father of those who have faith, regardless of whether the follow all the prescribed ceremonies (like circumcision).  People are counted as righteous (or good) because of their faith.  And Abraham is also the spiritual father of those who do follow all the ceremonies, but only if they have the same kind of faith Abraham did before he went through the circumcision ceremony.

Clearly, God’s promise to give the whole earth to Abraham and his descendants (Gen. 22:17,18) was based not on his obedience to God’s law, but on a right relationship with God that comes by faith.  If God’s promise is only for those who obey the law, then faith is not necessary and the promise is pointless (Gal. 3:18).  The law always brings punishment (I Cor. 15:56) on those who try to obey it.  (The only way to avoid breaking the law is to have no law to break!)

So the promise is received by faith.  It is given as a free gift.  And we are all certain to receive it, whether or not we live according to the law of Moses, if we have faith like Abraham’s.  For Abraham is the father of all who believe.  That is what the Bible means when God told him, “I have made you the father of many nations” (Gen. 17:5).  This happened because Abraham believed in God who brings the dead back to life (John 5:21) and who creates new things out of nothing (Is. 48:13).

Even when there was no reason for hope (Heb. 11:1), Abraham kept hoping—believing that he would become the father of many nations because God had said to him, “That’s how many descendants you will have!” (Gen. 15:5)  And Abraham’s faith did not weaken, even though, at about 100 years of age, he figured his body was as good as dead—and so was Sarah’s womb (Gen. 17:17).

Abraham never waivered in believing God’s promise.  In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God.  He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever He promises.  And because of Abraham’s faith, God counted him as a good man (Gen. 15:6).  And when God counted him as a good man, it wasn’t just for Abraham’s benefit.  It was recorded for our benefit, too, assuring us that God will count us all as good people if we believe in Him, the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead (I Pet. 1:21)!  He was handed over to die because of our sins (Is. 53:4,5), and He was raised (II Cor. 5:15) to life to make us right with God (I Cor. 15:17).

Therefore, since we have been right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.  Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand (Eph. 3:12), and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.

We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, because we know that they help us develop endurance.  And endurance helps develop strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation (II Pet. 1:5-7), and this hope will not lead to disappointment.  We know how dearly God loves us, because He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love (Gal. 4:6).

When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time (Gal. 4:4) and died for us sinners.  Now, most people would not be willing to die for a well-liked person, though someone might, perhaps, be willing to die for a person who is especially good.  But God showed His great love for us by sending Christ (John 3:16) to die for us while we were still sinners (I John 4:10).  And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, He will certainly save us from God’s condemnation.  Because our friendship with God was restored by the death of His Son while we were still His enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of His Son.  So NOW we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God!  Friends!

How wonderful is it that the Lord if the universe calls us friends?  I’ll leave you tonight with this (John 15:14-17):

“You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me. You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name. This is my command: Love each other.”

Your friend,

Paul