Restoration Road Ministry.org

Faith is the founding principle we are to live by throughout every experience we walk through, as children of God and followers of his Son, Jesus Christ.

“For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “‘The righteous shall live by faith” (Romans 1:17, ESV, 2001, Crossway).

Without faith there is no spiritual connection with our Heavenly Father or Jesus Christ, and therefore no relationship or hope for us as sinners. In fact, without faith we would remain focused on the creation rather than on the Creator, and our loyalty and worship would naturally default to the same.

But, “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

And through this, “the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one” (2 Thessalonians 3:3).

Because, “God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:9).

However, exercising faith is oftentimes easier said than done, because we lack the depth of spiritual understanding God calls us into; instead we rely and remain focused on what we can see in this natural realm.

God desires for us to deepen our faith through each experience in which we exercise it, in accordance with his will for us, and to recognize the spiritual implications it has within the unseen spiritual realm that coexists around us.

“For we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7). And therefore we cannot see the effects of our faith being carried out in the spiritual realm, though we are to remain faithful nonetheless.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Yet, “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead” (James 2:14-17).

Jesus says, “Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours” (Mark 11:22-24).

God has asked us to place our lives into his hands by trusting him and following him wherever he leads (Please refer to Psalm 23 that David wrote to illustrate the comfort we are to find through our faith in our Shepherd). The point for us here is to recognize the instruction given to us in scripture, to walk in faith, not by sight, in our daily walk with the Lord.

And we also accept that what God calls us to do through our faith may challenge our ability to follow through in our obedience. There may be risk to our safety and livelihood, or an instruction to let go of what we have so that we might pick up our cross and follow him, even if it is uncomfortable.

Faith requires us to step out in obedience, no matter the testing or trial we face, as we trust the Lord to accomplish his will through our action of faith. We recognize that we are his and not our own, and what God had given us through provisions, talents, gifting, time, etc. are his to use, and for us not to squander.

To be in his will means that our focus is on him and that we are sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit working through us. To do this well requires us to be in his word and teachable to his instruction. We must spend time with him in prayer, asking that his will be done through our obedience to do as he asks, keeping our focus on him rather than the circumstances that produce apprehension, doubt, or fear.

As we can attest to, it is far too easy for Christians to become lax and complacent towards exercising this faith that God expects of us. Our natural tendency is to protect ourselves, which in and of itself is selfish. Faith requires us to let go of that self-protective instinct and trust God to provide his will over us and through us, by our obedience of faith in him.

“I have chosen the way of faithfulness; I set your rules before me” (Psalm 119:30).

For us to do this requires a supernatural experience to unfold, whereby we place trust in our Creator and Savior, and we receive his “helper,” the Holy Spirit, to provide us the ability to walk out our lives in Christ, through exercising faith with every step.

We cannot and will not experience what God is able and ready to provide, until we are willing to obey him through our obedient surrender to his will over our own. And until we do, we will remain lost and unable to make sound decisions or move in beneficial directions that provide us peace within our soul.

As we allow the Lord to lead us, through our faithfulness in him as our provider, sustainer, and protector, he becomes our focus. And through this we find deliverance from our enemy, who has kept us bound to worry, fear, self-reliance, and idolatry because we failed to trust in God, as we were instructed.

“The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23).

Let us look at what the writer of Hebrews tells us about faith in Hebrews 11:1-40. And though you may not be entirely familiar with all of these biblical examples, please consider each of them on the merit they depict on the surface. Scripture is showing us examples of faith being actively carried out through the lives of his creation, and consequently the faithfulness of God to bless those who were obedient to him.

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).
“For by it the people of old received their commendation” (v2).
“By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible” (v3).
“By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks” (v4).
“By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God” (v5).
“And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him” (v6).
“By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith”(v7).
“By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God” (v8-10).
“By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised” (v11).
“Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore” (v12).
“These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth” (v13).
“For people who speak this make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city” (v14-16).
“By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back” (v17-19).
“By faith Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau” (v20).
“By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, bowing in worship over the head of his staff” (v21).
“By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones” (v22).
“By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict” (v23).
“By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward” (v24-26). “By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible” (v27). “By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them” (v28). “By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned” (v29). “By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days” (v30). “By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies” (v31). “And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David, and Samuel and the prophets–who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated–of whom the world was not worthy–wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect” (v32-40).

Though there are many more scriptural examples to draw from than those utilized for this discussion, we hope you now have a better understanding of the faith we are to exercise, and God’s faithfulness to fulfill his promises through our faithful action.

At the same time, we also encourage you to accept that faith is built on your depth of relationship and the trust you have developed with your Heavenly Father and his Son.

The deeper you allow this relationship to develop the greater your faith will become and your exercise of it, because you will know how great your God truly is.

You may be called to trust him in circumstances similar to those that have been portrayed throughout scripture for us to relate to, such as being faithful to serve God rather than an idol despite an order not to from the king, and being thrown into a fiery furnace only to survive unscathed because Jesus was in there with you. (Daniel 3:8-30).

Or you may be called to step out of the boat, like the Apostle Peter, and exhibit your faith in Christ Jesus, so that you will not become afraid and sink (Matthew 14:22-33).

We must recognize the importance that faith must be within us, as we claim Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Our calling to be his ambassadors, to heal the sick, to save the lost, and place our trust in him with every step we choose to follow, requires our faith to do so.

It is our profound prayer that your faith will be built up with each step of faith you exercise in obedience to God’s instruction for us to live by. And through each experience of exercising your faith, that God will bless you with increasing confidence of who he is in his power and authority to fulfill his promises.

May “the LORD bless and keep you; the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace” (Numbers 6:24-26).

In Christ.