In the New Testament, it is by faith that people receive God’s grace in Jesus Christ and, through Him, the gift of salvation (Ephesians 2:8–9). But the righteous will live by their faithfulness to God” (Habakkuk 2:4, NLT). The prophet states, “Look at the proud! They trust in themselves, and their lives are crooked. In Genesis 15:6, Abraham “believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith” (NLT see also Romans 4:22 Galatians 3:6). God initiated the covenant, and believers responded in faith, actively obeying His Word and trusting in the Lord to fulfill His promises. In the Old Testament, the covenantal bond was the believer’s expression of faith. Ever since the fall of man, God has been calling people back to faith-to a place of trust and obedience to Him.įaith is and always has been the only means of salvation. Failure to trust God was at the heart of the first sin (Genesis 3:1–7). Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him” (Hebrews 11:6, NLT). But then God expects us to respond to Him in faith: “And it is impossible to please God without faith. God initiates the relationship between Himself and humans by revealing Himself to them (Ecclesiastes 3:11 Romans 1:19–20) and lovingly persuading them to come to Him (Romans 2:4 2 Peter 3:9 Isaiah 30:18), just as Jesus called the disciples to follow Him (Matthew 4:18–22). It is His gift, not the result of any human effort or achievement. When the world seems to be falling apart, our faith stands secure on the rock-solid, trustworthy promises of God and His Word.įaith begins with God. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever” (2 Corinthians 4:18, NLT). “We don’t look at the troubles we can see now rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. Faith does not put trust in bank account balances, headline news, or the doctor’s report. The apostle Paul said, “We walk by faith and not sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7). Rather than looking at life with our earthly eyes, faith sees through the lens of God’s promises. What God has revealed in His Word becomes our inner reality today. One crucial facet of faith is defined in Hebrews 11:1: “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” Biblical faith takes present-day possession of things not yet seen with our eyes but hoped for in the future.
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