The Messenger
Our Weekly Bulletin
Our Weekly Bulletin
The Fall weather has been beautiful and the changing of seasons again reminds us that God is still in control, and for that we can be thankful. Sunday was another beautiful opportunity to come together and worship. I pray that you took that opportunity and showed your faith to others and worshipped the One who blesses us beyond our understanding.
The Hebrew writer wrote, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that he is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” ( Heb. 11:6 ). Faith is defined in this verse by the term ‘believe.’ The person who has the faith in this verse believes in God. The apostle Paul wrote: “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” ( Rom. 10:17 ). Many passages of scripture use the phrase “the faith.” Jude wrote, “Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints” ( Jude 3 ). Obviously, the term faith is used in a different way in this verse than is the case in Hebrews 11:1,6.The faith does not speak of the faith that develops within an individual as he studies, learns, and comes to believe the teachings of God’s word ( Rom. 10:17 ).
Jude spoke of “the faith” having been once for all delivered to the saints. He is speaking about the teaching in God’s word which a person learns and upon which his faith is established. Another phrase that can be used interchangeably with “the faith” is “the gospel” ( Gal. 2:5; Phl. 1:17). As a person learns about the faith, his own personal faith develops within him. Indeed, both phrases are used in the same verse with essentially the same frame of reference: “if indeed you continue in the faith , grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister” ( Col. 1:23 ).
When a person develops faith, based upon what he learns from the faith, he must make up his mind to live in faithfulness. Jesus instructed, “Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Rev. 2:10 ). Faithfulness is demonstrated by living true to one’s faith. To live faithfully is to live by the teachings of the faith. Faithfulness is the outward expression, the active demonstration, of one’s faith. Faith without faithfulness is dead (Jas. 2:14-26 )!Let’s make up our minds to give proper attention to our faith.
Let’s mature and grow it through our study of the teachings of the faith, applying those teachings properly to our daily lives. As we do, our faith will grow stronger. Living by faith will become apparent to those around us as they observe our faithfulness. Our faith should not be just part of our life; our faith should be our life ( Gal. 2:20 ).
God Bless, Todd
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