Identity
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OUTLINEIdentity
- Man’s response to God under the law was works; but our response under grace is faith, - John.6:29. Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.” - Grace is what God has done for us; faith is how we receive and experience what God has done for us. - Faith is our response to what God has provided for us in Christ. - Roman 5:2, ‘We have access by faith into this grace in which we stand’. - God blesses us with all spiritual blessings in Christ, - God provided all that we need for godly lives in Christ, that’s Grace - How do we access Grace? By Faith - It is by grace that we are saved, through faith. But even our faith is a gift from God. - Ephesians 2:8-9, For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. - As we have received Christ by faith, so we live by faith. and then, we go from faith to faith -Galatians 3:3. ‘Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?’ - if we are in this covenant of grace then we must walk by faith and live by faith in all that God has done for us - Without faith it is impossible to please Him. - Whatever is not of faith is sin. - The Second Point about Faith is 2) Christ is the prime focus of our faith. - People try to live by faith in faith. - But faith must have an object in which to trust. - not faith in faith - but that faith focuses on what you're trusting in - and what your confidence is in - The strength of our faith is determined by the strength of the object we trust in. - The prime object of our faith is Christ. - under the new covenant our prime object of faith is Christ - - Galatians 3:22-23, But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. 23 But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. - look at this phrase before faith came - what does that mean? - It mean before the object of faith came, the one who enables us to have faith, before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward 's be revealed - and so the Old Testament era was not really an era of faith but of Hope - an expectation of one who was to come That God has promised - but we are living in a dimension and era of faith - because Jesus has come, the object of our faith - - Our faith is not in the Bible, but in Christ. - The Bible is God’s revelation of Jesus Chris, The prime object of our faith - Hebrews 12:2a, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. - We can know the Bible but not know Christ - - John.5:39-40. ‘You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life‘ -- John.5:46-47. For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. 47 But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?” - key to understanding the Old Covenant - and is to know that the bible it's all about Jesus - Genuine biblical faith looks to Christ. - you know, for those who believe in Jesus they highly value him - 1 Peter 2:7, ‘...to you who believe, He is precious...’ - that's what's precious about reading the Bible is that we're discovering Jesus - Jesus is being unveiled to us more and more - he's been revealed to us through the scriptures - and he's the bread of life - he's the one that nourishes our soul - he feeds us, he sustains us and as we discover more and more of the riches of Jesus - he becomes more and more precious to us - How do we grow in faith? - it's as we increase our knowledge of Jesus, so our faith will grow, as we become more aware of what Christ done for us and who He is, so our faith grows and becomes stronger and stronger - - third point in this session concerning faith and is that 3) Thanksgiving is the language of faith - Complaining and murmuring is the Language of unbelief - that is the characteristics of unbelief - - when we do believe God, we give thanks to Him, even in the midst of trial, even in the midst of difficulty - because we see the grace of God, we see the promises of God, we see the provision of God, we see his protection, we see His faithfulness - we are giving thanks to God because that's an expression of our faith in our Lord Jesus Christ - We express our faith by giving thanks to God for the finished work of Christ, which makes us complete and sufficient for all things. - Hebrews 13:15, Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. - - the sacrifices in the old covenant is animal sacrifices - but in the new covenant is the sacrifice of praise - giving thanks to His Name -Thanksgiving is an expression of our praise and our faith to God - that is fruit of our lips - - John 6:23. however, other boats came from Tiberias, near the place where they ate bread after the Lord had given thanks-- - John 11:41, Then they took away the stone [a]from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. - Murmuring and complaining are the language of unbelief; thanksgiving is the language of faith. - - 1 Thessalonians 5:18, in everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you -We give thanks to God not just for what He has done but for what He is going to do - in everything give thanks, because God has made us sufficient for everything - Romans 8:32, 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? -Colossians 2:6-7, ‘As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving’ - How did you receive Christ? by Faith - we come into this Christian life by faith, by believing the gospel - Colossians 2:6-7, Just as you received Christ the Lord, so continue to walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith as you have been taught abounding in it with thanksgiving - thanksgiving is the expression and the declaration of our faith in God - Philippians .4:6, Therefore, we are to offer ‘supplications with thanksgivings’ - Colossians 4:2, and ‘continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving’ - prayer is bringing our needs to God with Thanksgiving -faith is our response to what God has initiated on our behalf |