Overall Question: Without faith can you really be a Christian?

Memory Text: Galatians 6:9 “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.”

Sunday – God Is Faithful
Psalm 89:8 Holman “LORD God of Hosts, who is strong like You, LORD? Your faithfulness surrounds You.”
1 Corinthians 10:13 NRSV “No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.”
1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 NRSV “23 ¶ May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do this.”
2 Thessalonians 3:3 NRSV “But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.”
2 Thessalonians 3:3 COMMENTARY BY ALBERT BARNES We often have occasion to know, to our sorrow, that "all men have not faith." We witness their infidelity. We see how they turn away from the truth. We see many who once gave some evidence that they had faith, abandon it all; and we see many in the church who seem to have no true faith, and who refuse to lend their aid in promoting the cause of religion. In such circumstances, the heart is disposed to despond, and to ask whether religion can be advanced in the midst of so much indifference and opposition? At such times, how consoling is it to be able to turn, as Paul did, to one who is faithful; who never fails us; and who will certainly accomplish his benevolent purposes. Men may be faithless and false, but God never is.
Hebrews 10:23 NRSV “Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful.”

Monday – Faithfulness A Sign of the End
Luke 18:8 NIV “I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?"”
Luke 18:8 COMMENTARY THE FOURFOLD GOSPEL despite this admonition to pray without discouragement, and this promise to answer with all speed, God's patience with the wicked, and his consequent delays in answering the prayers of the just, will prove such a trial to his people as to leave it questionable whether any of them will have faith enough to pray until the coming of the Lord.
2 Timothy 3:1-5 God’s Word to the Nations “1 ¶ You must understand this: In the last days there will be violent periods of time. 2 People will be selfish and love money. They will brag, be arrogant, and use abusive language. They will curse their parents, show no gratitude, have no respect for what is holy, 3 and lack normal affection for their families. They will refuse to make peace with anyone. They will be slanderous, lack self–control, be brutal, and have no love for what is good. 4 They will be traitors. They will be reckless and conceited. They will love pleasure rather than God. 5 They will appear to have a godly life, but they will not let its power change them. Stay away from such people.”

Tuesday – Models of Faithfulness
Hebrews 11 NLT “1 ¶ Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see. 2 Through their faith, the people in days of old earned a good reputation. 3 By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen. 4 ¶ It was by faith that Abel brought a more acceptable offering to God than Cain did. Abel’s offering gave evidence that he was a righteous man, and God showed his approval of his gifts. Although Abel is long dead, he still speaks to us by his example of faith. 5 It was by faith that Enoch was taken up to heaven without dying—“he disappeared, because God took him.” For before he was taken up, he was known as a person who pleased God. 6 And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him. 7 It was by faith that Noah built a large boat to save his family from the flood. He obeyed God, who warned him about things that had never happened before. By his faith Noah condemned the rest of the world, and he received the righteousness that comes by faith. 8 It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going. 9 And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith—for he was like a foreigner, living in tents. And so did Isaac and Jacob, who inherited the same promise. 10 Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God. 11 It was by faith that even Sarah was able to have a child, though she was barren and was too old. She believed that God would keep his promise. 12 And so a whole nation came from this one man who was as good as dead—a nation with so many people that, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore, there is no way to count them. 13 All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth. 14 Obviously people who say such things are looking forward to a country they can call their own. 15 If they had longed for the country they came from, they could have gone back. 16 But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. 17 It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him. Abraham, who had received God’s promises, was ready to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, 18 even though God had told him, “Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted.” 19 Abraham reasoned that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again. And in a sense, Abraham did receive his son back from the dead. 20 It was by faith that Isaac promised blessings for the future to his sons, Jacob and Esau. 21 It was by faith that Jacob, when he was old and dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons and bowed in worship as he leaned on his staff. 22 It was by faith that Joseph, when he was about to die, said confidently that the people of Israel would leave Egypt. He even commanded them to take his bones with them when they left. 23 It was by faith that Moses’ parents hid him for three months when he was born. They saw that God had given them an unusual child, and they were not afraid to disobey the king’s command. 24 It was by faith that Moses, when he grew up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. 25 He chose to share the oppression of God’s people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He thought it was better to suffer for the sake of Christ than to own the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to his great reward. 27 It was by faith that Moses left the land of Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger. He kept right on going because he kept his eyes on the one who is invisible. 28 It was by faith that Moses commanded the people of Israel to keep the Passover and to sprinkle blood on the doorposts so that the angel of death would not kill their firstborn sons. 29 It was by faith that the people of Israel went right through the Red Sea as though they were on dry ground. But when the Egyptians tried to follow, they were all drowned. 30 It was by faith that the people of Israel marched around Jericho for seven days, and the walls came crashing down. 31 It was by faith that Rahab the prostitute was not destroyed with the people in her city who refused to obey God. For she had given a friendly welcome to the spies. 32 ¶ How much more do I need to say? It would take too long to recount the stories of the faith of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and all the prophets. 33 By faith these people overthrew kingdoms, ruled with justice, and received what God had promised them. They shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the flames of fire, and escaped death by the edge of the sword. Their weakness was turned to strength. They became strong in battle and put whole armies to flight. 35 Women received their loved ones back again from death. But others were tortured, refusing to turn from God in order to be set free. They placed their hope in a better life after the resurrection. 36 Some were jeered at, and their backs were cut open with whips. Others were chained in prisons. 37 Some died by stoning, some were sawed in half, and others were killed with the sword. Some went about wearing skins of sheep and goats, destitute and oppressed and mistreated. 38 They were too good for this world, wandering over deserts and mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground. 39 All these people earned a good reputation because of their faith, yet none of them received all that God had promised. 40 For God had something better in mind for us, so that they would not reach perfection without us.”
Hebrews 11:1 COMMENTARY BY MATTHEW HENRY It is a firm persuasion and expectation, that God will perform all he has promised to us in Christ. This persuasion gives the soul to enjoy those things now; it gives them a subsistence or reality in the soul, by the first-fruits and foretastes of them. Faith proves to the mind, the reality of things that cannot be seen by the bodily eye. It is a full approval of all God has revealed, as holy, just, and good.,, The Bible gives the most true and exact account of the origin of all things, and we are to believe it, and not to wrest the Scripture account of the creation, because it does not suit with the differing fancies of men.

Wednesday – Faithfulness in Daily Living
Luke 16:10 ASV “He that is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much: and he that is unrighteous in a very little is unrighteous also in much.”
Luke 16:10 COMMENTARY BY ADAM CLARKE He who has the genuine principles of fidelity in him will make a point of conscience of carefully attending to even the smallest things; and it is by habituating himself to act uprightly in little things that he acquires the gracious habit of acting with propriety fidelity, honour, and conscience, in matters of the greatest concern.

Thursday – Faithful Until the End
Matthew 25:1-13 20th Century NT “1 ¶ Then the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten bridesmaids who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were prudent. 3 The foolish ones took their lamps, but took no oil with them; 4 While the prudent ones, besides taking their lamps, took oil in their jars. 5 As the bridegroom was late in coming, they all became drowsy, and slept. 6 But at midnight a shout was raised—’The Bridegroom is coming! Come out to meet him!’ 7 Then all the bridesmaids awoke and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the prudent ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the prudent ones answered ‘No, for fear that there will not be enough for you and for us. Go instead to those who sell it, and buy for yourselves.’ 10 But while they were on their way to buy it, the bridegroom came; and the bridesmaids who were ready went in with him to the banquet, and the door was shut. 11 Afterwards the other bridesmaids came. ‘Sir, Sir,’ they said, ‘open the door to us!’ 12 But the bridegroom answered ‘I tell you, I do not know you.’ 13 Therefore watch, since you know neither the Day nor the Hour.”
Matthew 25:13 COMMENTARY–JOHN WESLEY NOTES He that watches has not only a burning lamp, but likewise oil in his vessel. And even when he sleepeth, his heart waketh. He is quiet; but not secure.
Matthew 24:44-50 Weymouth “44 Therefore you also must be ready; for it is at a time when you do not expect Him that the Son of Man will come. 45 "Who therefore is the loyal and intelligent servant to whom his master has entrusted the control of his household to give them their rations at the appointed time? 46 Blessed is that servant whom his master when he comes shall find so doing! 47 In solemn truth I tell you that he will give him the management of all his wealth. 48 But if the man, being a bad servant, should say in his heart, ‘My master is a long time in coming,’ 49 and should begin to beat his fellow servants, while he eats and drinks with drunkards; 50 the master of that servant will arrive on a day when he is not expecting him and at an hour of which he has not been informed.”
Matthew 24:45 COMMENTARY BY ALBERT BARNES In due season. At the proper time. As they need it, or in the accustomed times. This was the office of a steward. Among the ancients this office was often filled by a slave--one who had shown himself trusty and faithful. The duty was to have a general superintendence over the affairs of the family. Applied to Christian ministers, it means that they are to feed the flock of God, to minister to their wants, and to do it as they need it.
Matthew 24:50 PEOPLE’S NT COMMENTARY The majority of the wicked who die in their sins have expected to be better prepared for the end of life.

"FAITH" allows one to believe in and practice a lie without feeling guilty for not searching for and practicing the truth.

"Faith" is the common bond among all false religions--even Christianity.

Jesus did not need faith to testify about the Kingdom of God.

Faith will not be needed in Heaven.

"You can't argue facts with someone who has built their beliefs upon the foundation of faith"....Rush L.

The more truth one knows, the less faith they need.

Jesus never taught "righteousness by faith".

Who then IS the good and trustful servant who will be feeding the fellow servants truth (spiritual food) at the proper time? This can only be ONE person--like Elijah and John the Baptist were, so will this one person will be for the 144,000.

I find it very sad that the person who 'taught' this class has NO CLUE as to the real truth God has given us here. After all, why hasn't Jesus come already is all we need is faith and grace?

You may have no need for faith Rich, and I believe you. But you're wrong if you think it's low on Jesus' list. And you're wrong to try to believe it's not biblical.

Look here what God does with those that have no faith:

Deu 32:20 And he said, I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end shall be: for they are a very perverse generation, children in whom is no faith.

That's right, he hides his face from them. And here you are telling people they don't need faith. You should be ashamed. What else does the Bible say about faith?

Habakkuk 2:4 Behold, his soul which is proud is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith

1Jn 5:4 For whoever is born of God overcomes the world: and this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith.

Jesus rebuked people who didn't have faith, and praised people who did. He obviously thought very highly of faith. Here He calls faith a weightier matter of the law.

Mat 23:23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, justice, mercy, and faith: these ought you to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

Mat 17:20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say unto this mountain, Remove from here to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

Mar 5:34 And he said unto her, Daughter, your faith has made you whole; go in peace, and be whole of your disease.

Mar 4:40 And he said unto them, Why are you so fearful? how is it that you have no faith?

I must have missed the part where Jesus said: "FAITH" allows one to believe in and practice a lie." It looks like somebody is though. Nor could I find where He said "Faith is the common bond among all false religions" Where is that in the Bible? I couldn't find it.

And then there's this:

I couldn't find that in the Bible either. Please give the references of where you found these things. I may want to join this new religion of yours.

Not sure how you can say those things Dr. Rich. You say the more truth you have the less faith you need. That just might be correct. But the way I see it truth and faith are one and the same. We have no way of knowing if the Bible is true, we have to use faith to believe in something we can not see. Just like history books of our nation and world history books on all the other countries, we have to have faith that there is truth in those books. We can not see God or Jesus or the HS even, but we have, or at least I pray, that most of us have the faith to believe that they exist. We have many things that we see that help us to see God, but our faith helps us to believe they are true.
As far as pagans are concerned, I don't for one minute believe they have faith. And if they do, there putting there faith in stone, wood etc. Gods that don't do anything for them.
And for Rush L. statement, than you can't argue creation, the sabbath, etc. because those things are based on faith. You have to believe that God meant those things for all of us, so by faith we except them not by facts.
Well that's my 2 cents worth.

pk

it may be correct for an existentialist, but existentialism is the theology of the devil.

You raise a good point pk. Rich I would challenge you to prove that Jesus Christ really is the son of God. If you cannot do this, then your whole belief system, (yes even yours) is based totally on faith. The very thing you are belittling. The very thing that you say "allows one to believe in and practice a lie without feeling guilty, is the foundation for what you believe.

You come on here and try to destroy other people's faith, while at the same time using faith as the very foundation for what you believe.

The belief that Jesus Christ is the son of God is based totally on faith. There is no other way to believe it, because it cannot be proven. And you will need to keep that faith, until you see him with your eyes in the clouds of heaven.

So you are preaching one thing, and practising another. Doesn't that, by definition make you a hypocrite? Would that not make you a wolf in sheep's clothing? Think about it.

Good points Richard.

pk

Before I present the evidence for proving Jesus is the Son of God, one must clear up the difference between "faith" and "trust". Our coins do not say "In God We have Faith"--and for good reason. Faith is hoping for something when there is no evidence to support it will ever happen. On the other hand, trust is build upon evidence supplied and found when searched for. One can trust someone ONLY when they have had experience with this other person. Scam artists thrive upon people who place their faith on them.

I will make this very brief-for those who want to know more, please contact me personally.

To prove that Jesus was and is the Son of God, one must first present evidence that will tip the balancing scale toward the understanding on who God is. God is a 'name' placed upon a 'family' containing the Father (God Almighty), the Mother (Holy Spirit) and Son, (Jesus Christ who formerly was Michael).

The first evidence I will present is the Old Testament. Narrowing this down some, lets take the book of Daniel. Now some will say that the book of Daniel was written after some of the prophecies took place, but there is evidence within the book showing that Jesus was prophesied before He came to this earth as a baby.

Prophecy is not the same thing as prediction for if it were, then I would have to assume one can't prove the existence of God. The prophecies found in Daniel are 100% true, but only for the ones that conditions for them were given and are now here. If a prophecy had a condition, then this condition must happen before the prophecy will happen or can happen.

One must agree, that only someone with spiritual insight and foreknowledge can make a prophecy that will be 100% true. Only an entity or person like God can tell someone what another dreamed about and what the dream meant. This true especially when giving to this person what is going to happen in the future--and the prophecy does come true, all of it, 100%!

In short and brief, this is some mighty strong evidence that God did and does exist. In fact, this is un-rebutted evidence. There is much more evidence like this but this will be enough for now.

Found in this same book (Daniel) is verses 13-14 of Chapter 7. Here we see the words "One like a Son of Man was coming..." Notice the capitalization of Son and Man. Now go to Dav. 9:24-25 and notice the words "Messiah the Prince". Skip over to Dan. 10:13 and you can read about these Princes. Once of these is called Michael. In verse 21 we can read that Michael is the Prince of the Hebrews. Then notice in verse 12 of Chapter 12 this same prince named "Michael" will stand guard of the sons of Daniel's people--or the Hebrew people.

The New Testament contains the words of Jesus and it also contains the words of others who never met or knew Jesus when He was here on earth. This same Jesus gave the message (Revelation) to an angel so the message that John wrote actually came from God, thru Jesus, thru the angel sent by Jesus.

To prove that Jesus was the Son of God, every one of the prophecies found in Revelation MUST come true for it would be impossible for mere man to predict the future and be 100% correct. And, if they come true (and they have and will) then we have proof that the words of Jesus given to us by His eyewitness' are 100% correct. If so, then the words Jesus gave straight from His mouth tell us with no ambiguity, that Jesus was and is the Son of Man and the Son of God.

Ok, when you actually study this and see this with your own eyes, it does not take faith anymore to understand that Jesus is the Son of God--evidence is there--just find it yourself!

Richard, is it true that you are in the family of the Holbrooks? If so, how do you prove it? Do you have faith that you are in this family--or do you actually KNOW you are in the family?

Well, the same goes for those whose name change will be in the Family of God for they will be God. Enjoy!

Interesting post, Dr. Rich.

By the way,

When it comes to the differences between "faith" and "trust," can you show evidence for what you are saying? How about Bible evidence, plus evidence from dictionaries, etc.?

Based on my study of both the English use of these two words, in addition to the way they are used in Scripture, I have to conclude that they are fundamentally identical.

That is, unless you are talking about "the faith," which is the message itself, rather than faith and trust, or confidence, in God.

Could you offer examples of verses in the Bible where the substitution of "trust" in place of "faith" would clearly lead to a misunderstanding of the text because of the difference in the meaning of these words?

Here's what I've found:

When the student of NT Greek memorizes vocabulary, he will always say "pistis, faith, trust, belief, confidence, reliance." Those are basic definitions, particularly the first three.

Again, "pistos, faithful, trustworthy, reliable, believing, sure, true."

Or, "pisteuo, to place confidence in, to believe, to trust; believe (in), have faith (in), trust (in), have confidence (in)."

The above definitions are taken from Greek-English lexicons by Barclay M. Newman, Jr., United Bible Societies; and by W. J. Hickie, in the Westcott and Hort Greek New Testament, Students Edition.

A look at the English dictionary and thesaurus reveals that "faith" is definited as "1. [Complete trust] confidence, trust..."

The dictionary defines "faith" as "fidere, to trust"; and "3 complete trust or confidence."

Under "trust," the same dictionary has, "1a firm belief in the honesty, reliability, of another; faith..."

On the same word, "trust," (as a verb)the thesaurus gives as a synonymn, "1 ...rely on, put faith in..."

The thesaurus gives for "trust," as a noun: "1 [Reliance] confidence, dependence, credence; see FAITH 1."

Summary: all the evidence that I have found shows that "faith" and "trust" are synonymns, virually identical and interchangeable.

Info taken from Webster's New World Dictionary and Thesaurus, Macmillan, USA, 1996.

Your thoughts?

Rich you haven't proven anything. All you did was talk in a big circle, around the fact that what you believe is held on to and believed in, by faith.

You rattled off some prophecy in Daniel, and then called it un-rebutted truth. Nothing could be further from the truth. All of what you said has been re-butted, and still is being re-butted. There are those, (and they are not small in number) who believe that the book of Daniel was written after those things happened.

I asked you for proof, and all you did was lay out some theory, that requires faith to believe it. The only thing you have proven is that you have faith in something.

At one point you even said: "The evidence is there--just find it yourself!" Is that what you call proof? Judging from some of the things you believe, I think you have more faith than I do.



It's on my driver's licence. I have no reason to doubt it, but I guess I could have been lied to at some point. That's the only proof I have. That and the fact that I turned out to be sorta like my dad.