Faith

The Pathway to True Christianity

Richard Rosalia, Th.M.

• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Year: 2019
• Print ISBN: 9781644161616
• eBook ISBN: 9781644161623
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

Faith: The Pathway to True Christianity plunges the reader into the depths of faith. It also guides the reader through subjects such as: How important is faith to Christianity? What does the Bible have to say about faith and the role that faith plays in God's plan of salvation. These topics and more are explored in this study on faith. It is the author's intent to teach believers how to build their own faith. A strong faith will strengthen the believer's relationship with the Lord. This study will give the believer a deeper understanding of the workings of faith and therefore deeper meaning and purpose in their relationship with the Lord.By building a strong faith, the believer will be able to stand strong in their personal fight against the flesh and the powers of darkness that are out to destroy our faith. The stages of the growth of faith, from beginning to fruitful are covered. Teaching believers how to develop a strong Christian faith in a Biblical manner is the goal of this book.

1

The Journey Begins

Faith, do we really know what it is? Christians throw around terms like “Keep the Faith” or when we are going through rough times we’re told, our faith will get us through. At other times when we’re anxious about upcoming decisions or events, we are told to have faith. Beginning faith is believing in God. But real faith is so much deeper than that, it gets into our being, our fiber, into our heart. Faith changes us into something God can work with and through. Faith will become a way of life and the way that gives life to those who believe.

Zondervan’s Bible Dictionary defines faith as, “That which differentiates their lives from others is their self-commitment to God, implicitly involving unwavering trust in and obedience to Him.”1 (God). (3). Webster’s Dictionary2 defines “faith” as: “Confident belief in the truth, value, or trustworthiness of a person, idea, or thing.”3 (4). The Scriptural definition of faith is found in the book of Hebrews. Hebrews 11:1: “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” (1).

The New Testament was originally written in Greek. The word which is translated to the English “faith” is the Greek word “pistis.” Strong’s number G4102 “pistis; from Strong’s 3982; persuasion, i.e., credence; mor. conviction (of religious truth, or the truthfulness of God or a religious teacher), especially reliant upon Christ for salvation; system of religious (Gospel) truth itself: assurance, belief, believe, faith, fidelity.”4

Faith is believing in God, but it is also believing what God tells us. Faith is obeying God when logic (or our flesh) tells us not to. Faith fights against our human nature and sometimes, faith hurts. It hurts our human nature but builds our spiritual strength. Faith believes when human knowledge says no way, but God can make a way when there is no way. Every bit of our Christianity is built upon the foundation of faith. And our Christian faith is built upon Jesus Christ the solid rock, through God’s grace.

Grace is a free gift of God. Please do not mistake the word “free” with cheap or worthless. God’s gift of salvation came at a price: the life of His Son, His one and only Son Jesus Christ. This plan of salvation was not an afterthought or a last-minute fix. This was planned before the foundations of the earth were put in place. God’s plan of salvation was for the benefit of those who would believe in and follow Jesus.

Faith, like any seed that has been planted, has stages that it must grow through in order to become complete or mature. The stages of faith are: Persuasion, Belief, Moral Conviction, Testing, Obedience, Trust, and Dependence. The believer’s faith grows in stages, and like a plant our faith can be in more than one stage at a time. This is dependent upon our setbacks and progress through the building of a healthy faith. Faith is sometimes exciting and sometimes painful, but faith’s lessons will always keep us growing more to the likeness of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

As a tree starts out as a seed, likewise our faith begins as we hear the Word of God. The seed of faith is planted within us by God’s Word. When we hear God’s Word people can feel the impact of it within them. Changes from hearing God’s Word begin within people as they are “persuaded” that what they are hearing truly is the Word of God. Some people are persuaded quickly and some take more time and proof; then there are those who just refuse to believe. We won’t deal with them at this time.

What do people need to be “persuaded” of? Not all people need to be persuaded of the same thing. For instance the agnostic5 believes that there is a possibility that God exists, but he doesn’t believe that we can communicate with Him. While the atheist6 doesn’t believe that God exists at all. These people need to be persuaded in different areas of understanding of the Gospel Message. So the one-size-fits-all approach to evangelizing individuals is not always effective. But all mankind needs to hear the Gospel Message and believe it in order to be saved.

It is the unsaved that need to be “persuaded.” The Christians that keep their “Sacred Word” within the closely guarded walls of their sanctuary, protected by their stained glass windows, are missing the point of the Gospel Message. In the Great Commission Jesus tells us, the believers, the ones who have been given this great gift of God’s Salvation, Jesus, God in the flesh, tells us to “Go.” Matthew 28:19–20 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”7 (1). To truly follow Jesus we must obey Him.

Not everyone who is saved is called to travel to a foreign land to be a missionary. But each of us who have been saved by God’s grace are to be missionaries right where we live, work, and socialize. (How can you who have been given the cure for any and all ill human conditions, for free, not give it freely. How can you not freely share it with those in need in your area of influence?) People hide their needy conditions, and until we get closer and more personal in showing the love of Christ, these ill conditions will not be revealed to us. The ill conditions I speak of are not just physical sicknesses but are also conditions of the heart that keep a person from the love of God, the Gospel Message, and their own salvation.

There are things that keep people from accepting or even hearing the Gospel Message. Sin is a big deterrent for people. They don’t want to give up what they instinctively know is wrong in God’s eyes. They are comfortable in their sinful life and do not want to change. Or they have no knowledge of sin and right or wrong are irrelevant concepts. Another way the devil keeps us from God is to keep us so busy that we don’t have the time or the energy to even think about God, dying, or the consequences of our life apart from the salvation that is provided for us so generously through God’s grace and Jesus’s sacrifice.

Then there are those who claim to be “Christians” who do not truly believe. They are the ones who follow a false message, one modified by man. People who have been taught false teachings that do not line up with the true Gospel message are hard to reach with the truth of God’s Word. In the past those who were taught a false gospel were considered “Cults.” The false teachings are not confined to cults any longer. We now find mainstream churches and denominations compromising the Word of God. The people will defend the false teaching as if it were the truth because, “That’s what they teach in our Church, so it must be true.” We must always remember that if the “word” coming from the pulpit, or the teacher, is not Biblical (and I mean that it can stand a thorough hermeneutic study to prove it is within the context of the overall Scriptures) then the teaching cannot and should not be taught in a Church.

The Apostle Paul in Ephesians 4:5 teaches that there is “one faith.” The faith we must build upon is the first faith, which is believing that God exists, and that Jesus Christ died for our sins, was resurrected on the third day, and is seated at the right hand of the Father in Heaven, intervening for the body of believers. Jesus will return in bodily form and judge the nations. Our faith cannot be built on sand, it must be built upon the solid rock. As the old hymn said, “On Christ the solid rock I stand all other ground is sinking sand.”8 Hebrews 11:6, “Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.” (2).

When someone compromises the truths in God’s Word, The Holy Bible, what they are really saying is, “God, I don’t believe You.” They are essentially calling God a liar, and God cannot lie; it is against His very nature. Numbers 23:19, “God is not a man, that He should lie.”(1). God is perfect and therefore His Word is perfect. When believers have the need to strengthen their faith they must go to God’s Word. Romans 10:17, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” (1). True faith can only come from the true Word of God. Therefore, if the truth of the Gospel Message is not being preached, then it is a lie, and the faith that comes from lies is erred and worth nothing; it is no faith at all.

Believers cannot control what is being said by the people around them, but believers can control what they listen to. Faith comes from hea...

Table of contents

• Chapter 1
• Chapter 2
• Chapter 3
• Chapter 4
• Chapter 5
• Chapter 6
• Chapter 7
• Chapter 8
• Chapter 9
• Chapter 10
• Chapter 11
• Chapter 12
• Chapter 13
• Chapter 14