House of Faith Ministries

I am sure that we all have our own personal understanding of what faith is to us, but I wonder if we can all come to a general understanding of the Bible’s definition of faith, or what I call biblical faith.

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Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the substance (realization) of things hoped for, the evidence (confidence) of things not seen.”

 

In the Bible’s own definition of what faith is, we see two basic components working together, and I believe that if we are able to understand their interactions, it will make us more capable, if you will, to overcome those situations where only faith can deliver us.

 

But before we look at these two components, let’s get a biblical perspective first, of how the basic principles of faith work.

 

Romans 10:17 “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

 

I believe that the difference between listening and hearing is that when we hear something it has the connotation that we understand what we are hearing. When we hear a familiar sound we are able to understand where it is coming from and what it is. For example if we hear a baby crying or laughing we can respond appropriately.

 

In the same manner if we hear sounds that we are not familiar with or know from where they originate, then we are clueless as to what is going on and have no idea as how to respond.

 

So that faith rests on the foundation of knowledge.

 

Theoretically speaking, the more that we know the more that we are able to believe, but there is a double implication to that theory, the more that somebody else knows, the more that we are able to believe in their abilities as well.

 

Let us use a natural example of that theory: Two men are riding in a car when the motor stops working, they open the hood and look at the engine to see if they can find out what is wrong and if it can be fixed.

 

Do we believe that they will be able to fix the problem? I would need more information about the two men. Let’s say that one of the two men is a medical doctor. I’m pretty sure that he won’t be much help in this case, unless of course, somebody gets sick. Let’ s say that the other man is an auto mechanic, well then, that changes the whole equation doesn’t it? For even if he cannot get it fixed right there, he would probably know what the problem is and what needs to be done to get it fixed.

 

If it was the other way around, the car is running fine, but somebody gets sick, then my money is on the doctor. That is a simple, yet powerful illustration of how faith works, we need to know, but we do not need to know everything, for it is impossible for a single human to know every craft, but we do need to know about the One that knows everything, for the more that we know about Him, the easier it is to believe that He is able to help us.

 

Matthew 9:27 “When Jesus departed from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out and saying, ‘Son of David, have mercy on us!’”

 

Jesus had gone into a ruler’s house where the daughter of the ruler had died and a crowd had gathered to mourn her passing. The father of the dead daughter went to Jesus and worshiped Him and said to Him on verse 18: “My daughter has just died, but come and lay Your hand on her and she will live.”

 

Obviously the two blind men were part of the crowd that had gathered at the ruler’s house, they could not physically see but they knew what the commotion was all about.

 

When Jesus got to the house He said that the girl was not dead but sleeping, after the crowd ridiculed Him, He sent them outside of the house and proceeded to raise the girl back to life, as Jesus left the house the two blind men, after hearing what had taken place, followed Him and His disciples crying out to Him, Son of David, have mercy on us.

 

Here we see the two sides of faith clearly displayed.

 

A desperate father reaches out to a man, not just a man, but a man of God whom the crowds are following because He is reputed to have supernatural powers to heal all those who are brought to Him.

 

The father cannot bring his dead daughter to Jesus, so he brings Jesus to his dead daughter. He finds himself in a desperate situation, for if Jesus does not come right away, his daughter will be buried before the sun sets, so he goes for broke and all in. No hesitation, no wondering about the divinity or genealogy of Jesus, he just comes and worships Him and tells Him that if He lays His hand on his daughter, she will live.

 

In the other side of faith, we have two blind men attending a funeral, their advantage was that they did not use their eyes to gather information for they were blind. So that when the crowd was put outside of the house so that they could not see the miracle that Jesus did, the blind men could see what had taken place by the reaction of the crowd when the girl was presented to them alive.

 

So they followed Jesus, reasoning that if Jesus could raise the dead He could surely give sight to the blind. So that a desperate need as well as sound reasoning are key to releasing the faith that can deliver us.

 

Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the substance (realization) of things hoped for, the evidence (confidence) of things not seen.”

 

The substance of faith is in the realization of our desperate need, and the evidence is in the confidence that we show when we ask.

 

Ephesians 3:12 “In whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him.”

 

My confidence rests with His ability to do that which for me would be impossible to attain, but first I must realize that only He can deliver me.

 

For as long as I think of a possible remedy for my situation outside of Him, there is no substance to my faith. And if there is no substance, then there can be no confidence, and without confidence there can be no boldness to access what we are in need of.

 

Hollywood perpetrated a lie in one of their old movies that to this day many believe is a Bible verse when it is not, here is the quote:

 

God helps those who help themselves.

 

This is a false premise that is accepted by many people of faith as a true statement. But in reality God helps those who cannot help themselves, yet believe that God is both willing and able to help them.

 

If you have a varmint problem, you call an exterminator. If you have a water leak, you call a plumber. If your power goes out, you call an electrician. And the reason we do that is because they are people who are trained to handle those situations, and we trust that their abilities will help us solve our problems.

 

First we realize that we have a problem, secondly, we call on their services and trust on their abilities to fix them, but as you know if you ever hire somebody that did not live up to his credentials, it is a system that is based in trusting those whom we hire to perform.

 

What we can draw from that is that men are fallible, but God is not.

 

Where men will fail us for lack of honesty and or abilities, God will never do that.

 

In order to have total and complete confidence towards God when we call on Him, we need to know about His honesty and His abilities, as one of our previous Scriptures told us:

 

Romans 10:17 “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

 

So that when we read the Scriptures in the light of what faith teaches, we need to ask these two questions: Is God really able to do that which seems impossible, and will He do it for me?

 

Romans 8:31-32 “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?”

 

The one thing that I failed to mention earlier when I was doing a comparison between the natural and the spiritual, was that some people cannot afford a plumber when their water main breaks, but thankfully with God all is free, for Jesus paid the price of everything that we are in need of now, and He paid it in full.

 

So that Scripture clearly establishes that God will do the impossible for us all, and that He will also do it freely.

 

So that the only question that remains is, does He have the power do it?

 

Matthew 9:22 “But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said,  ‘Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well.’ And the woman was made well from that hour.”

 

There was a another miracle that took place in our opening text as well, a seemly unintended one. A woman that had been suffering for twelve long years with an affliction that no one could heal. She said to herself, If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well. She was made well when by faith she touched His garment.

 

Here is what was meant by that miracle:

 

Deuteronomy 19:15 “...By the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established.”

 

Jesus asked the two blind men, Do you believe that I am able to do this?

 

We have three miracles within the context of the story that testify that Jesus is more than able to do what for us it is impossible.

 

Ephesians 3:20 “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us (our faith).”