A Living Faith

I. Introduction: To have faith in God is to have something precious and valuable. However, some people do not see it that way. Their faith does not provide comfort or strength but is, in some ways, a burden. We want to explore some negative views of faith and what the Bible says about building a strong, life enhancing, faith.

II. Text: Romans 8:31-39

III. Faith in the scriptures

A. The New Testament uses faith to describe the body of belief delivered by Jesus and the apostles.

B. Jude 3, 20: “the faith, once for all delivered to the saints” Ephesians 4:5: “one faith”

C. Faith is also used to describe our belief in God and His word.

D. Hebrews 11:6 – Without faith it is impossible to believe Him…” Hebrews 11:1 – “Faith is the substance of things hoped for…” Romans 10:17; 1:17 – We get faith through the word of God It is this sense of faith that we will be using in this lesson.

IV. Unhealthy views of faith

A. Unsatisfied Father

B. To some, God is not a loving and merciful father. To such a person He is distant both physically and emotionally. He is the demanding perfectionist whom they are always trying to please but is never satisfied with their best efforts. When they feel they have done well, He is the nagging voice that says, “But you could have done more, done it better…” They feel He is never pleased with them. Instead of feeling that he sees them with pride or satisfaction, they feel that He is disappointed in what they have become.

C. Vengeful Judge

D. To some, He is the ever-vigilant judge who is constantly watching for sin. He knows they will do wrong; it is just a matter of when and where. His main purpose is to accumulate a list of sins for judgment. When they serve Him, it is out of fear of punishment. They would rather indulge in sin but fear that such blatant disregard of His will would bring His wrath upon them. Therefore, they sneak around like rebellious teenagers and hope that they will get a reprimand rather than His full wrath. They have no relationship with God, only an awareness of His overreaching rule.

E. Family God

F. To some, God is a ceremonial being whom they invited to appear on certain occasions and ignored the rest of the time. For such a person, belief is something inherited from parents but never an integral part of their life. They can remember fondly when the family dressed up and attended Easter, Christmas, or Mother’s Day services at the family church. They continue this into their adult lives. For the rest of the year, they try to live by moral principles but do not develop a close relationship with God. This family God is appreciated and accepted, but does not intrude into their lives. The family invokes God’s name to bless marriages, births and takes the souls of the departed to the great family reunion in heaven. When family or national disaster strikes, the family prays to their God for help. This God is only concerned with major sins and, even then, urges others not to judge the family. This God does not care too much about adultery, lying in business, drunkenness, or other sins. He does not like it but He does not make a big deal about it either. He is a good God; available when needed, non-judgmental, unobtrusive, but also unrealistic.

G. The Crutch

H. Like the family God, God as a crutch is not a daily part of the individual’s life. This person may go to church occasionally and live a decent life. He may be a person that is ignorant of God’s will but aware that there is a God. This person just cruises through life but, when a moment of crisis intrudes, he turns to God.

I. This person wonders why God would allow such a crisis to strike them.

J. Part of the problem is ignorance of how God does and does not act in the lives of individuals. A woman called me one time wondering why God would allow a certain bad thing to happen to her. In talking with her, I found that she had no religious commitment, had not been worshipping God, was not following His will; but when the bad thing happened, God got the blame! God was supposed to protect her from all evil but she had no obligation to Him! Some only contact a church when they need money for the power bill.

K. When the crisis passes, God’s influence in their life passes as well.

L. There was a man in Florida who called me distraught one afternoon. He had not been faithful to the Lord for many years but a mysterious spot on an X-ray caused him to think about his soul. Subsequent tests showed that the spot was nothing; soon he quit attending worship services. He no longer needed God. This God is put back into the first aid kit until needed again; He remains in a box labeled, “In case of emergency, break glass.”

V. The God of the Bible

A. This is not the God of the Bible

B. These are ways that man has formed God, rather ineffectively, into an image. While these views of God restrict and limit His impact into the individual’s life, they also limit the strength that He can give them; they sap the vitality from faith.

C. God vs. the Unsatisfied Father

D. If we think that we are going to do everything right, we are fooling ourselves.

E. 1 John 1:8-10 – We are liars if we say we do not have sin Romans 6:1-4 – However, we must not give in to sin Luke 17:10 – Even if we did everything right, we would not deserve praise for we are only doing what we should have been doing anyway; it was for our good.

F. God is pleased with me even though I am imperfect.

G. Romans 8:31-39 – What will separate us from God’s love?2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 – God’s love should comfort us Parents love their children, and are proud of them, even though they do not always do the right thing or do things the way the parent would have done it. If I rebel against God, I lose this confidence, Hebrews 10:26-27

H. God vs. the Vengeful Judge

I. God is always watching; He sees everything that goes on.

J. Revelation 20:12 – All brought before God’s judgment seat Matthew 12:36 – Even idle words brought into judgment Hebrews 4:12 – Thoughts and intents judge

K. He is watching over us to strengthen us and help us.

L. Matthew 10:29-31 – He is watching over us for protection2 Timothy 1:6-12 – God’s power should encourage us and give us confidence

M. God vs. the Family God

N. God does not want lip service or occasional recognition.

O. Matthew 15:8 – Honor with words not with lives Mark 12:29-34 – God wants complete dedication; not meaningless worship

P. God wants to transform us, not accept our immorality

Q. Colossians 3:8-10 – Put off the old man and his lusts As studied regarding judgment, God will judge idle words, thoughts and intents of the heart, and all actions; we must never be nonchalant about our sins.

R. One mistake Israel made was to consider God a “family God” of the nation.

S. Jeremiah 7:5-11

T. Israel committed much wickedness but thought God would save them because He was the national God and their temple was His. God said the temple that is called by His name would be destroyed because of the wickedness of the people. They honored God superficially, but did not obey Him.

U. God vs. the Crutch

V. We should not seek God in weakness only. If we dedicate ourselves to God, He is able to make all that happens in our lives, good and bad, work out for the good, Romans 8:28.

W. The person who has little regard for God except in times of trouble will never have a deep love for God nor will they enjoy a nourishing faith.

X. They are trying to depend on their own strength. The Christian stands in God’s strength, Ephesians 6:10 Their shallow knowledge of God will give more confusion than comfort. This person must give himself completely to God, learn to trust God, see God’s help in the good times and seek His help in the bad times.

VI. What is your religion? Let it be a living faith that guides and nourishes you (John 4:13-14; Psalm 37)