06/14/2025
The aim of this book is to carefully bring out some of the principles of spiritual growth. My goal is to help build on a sound biblical foundation in Christ. We cannot do better! The Holy Spirit has Paul write to each of us: "Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves." 2nd Corinthians 13 5, and we should take this command seriously as we embark on this series of studies. First of all, we need to remind ourselves that "without faith, it is impossible to please Him!" Hebrews 11 6.
And true faith must be based completely on scriptural facts, for "faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" Romans 10 17. Unless our faith is established on biblical facts, it is nothing more than opinion, superstition, speculation, or presumption. Hebrews 11 1 leaves no question about this: "Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." Faith standing on the facts of the Word of God substantiates and gives evidence of things not seen. And everyone knows that evidence must be established on facts. All of us started on this principle when we were born again—our belief stood directly on the eternal fact of the redeeming death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, as recorded in 1st Corinthians 15 1 to 4 “Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel, you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures…”
This is the faith by which we began, and it is the same faith by which we are to "stand" 16:13, "walk" 2nd Corinthians 5 7, and "live" (Galatians 2 20. "So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord (by faith), continue to live your lives in him" Colossians 2 to 6. Since true faith is anchored on scriptural facts, our faith is not to be founded on or lived out by feelings or impressions. George Mueller said, "Impressions have neither one thing nor the other to do with faith. Faith has to do with the Word of God. It is not impressions, strong or weak, which will make the difference. We have to do with the Written Word and not ourselves or our impressions." Also, probabilities are the big temptation when it comes to exercising faith. Too often we find ourselves saying about a sinner: "It doesn’t seem probable that he will ever be saved." Or "The way things are going, I wonder if the Lord really loves me." Mueller wrote: "Many people are willing to believe regarding those things that seem probable to them. Faith has nothing to do with probabilities... The reality of faith begins where probabilities end and sight and feelings fail. The point is—whether God has spoken it in His Word." Alexander R. Hay adds to this by saying, "Faith must be based upon certainty. There must be definite knowledge of God’s purpose and will. Without that there can be no true faith. Faith is not a force that we exercise or striving to believe that something is a certain way, thinking that if we believe hard enough it will happen." That may be ‘positive thinking’ but it is certainly not biblical faith. Evan Hopkins writes: "Faith needs Biblical facts to stand on. God in His Word reveals to us the facts our faith can rest on." It is on this basis that J.B. Stoney can say, "Real faith is always increased by opposition, while false confidence is damaged and discouraged by it." There can be no solid assurance apart from immovable facts. Peter’s burden was: "That the trial of your faith, being of much more value than gold that perishes, though being refined with fire, may be found to bring praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ" 1st Peter 1 to 7. (Neil’s note: That praise, glory and honor [as strange as it may sound] is to us!) Once we begin to count on biblical facts, our Heavenly Father begins to build us up in our faith. In his profoundly simple trust in God, George Mueller was able to say that "God delights to increase the faith of His children. We ought, instead of wanting no trials before victory, no exercise for patience, to be willing to take them from God’s hand as a means of strengthening our faith. I testify that trials, obstacles, difficulties, and sometimes defeats, are the very food of faith." On this same subject, James McConkey wrote: "Faith is dependence upon God. And this God-dependence only begins when self-dependence ends. And self-dependence most often only comes to its end when sorrow, suffering, affliction, broken plans, and broken dreams bring us to the place of self-helplessness and defeat. Only then do we find that we have learned the lesson of faith! To find our tiny boat of life rushing onward to a blessed victory of life and power and service unimagined in the days of fleshly strength and self-reliance." J.B. Stoney agrees by saying, "It is a great thing to learn faith: that is, simple dependence upon God. It will comfort you a great deal to know that the Lord is teaching you dependence upon Himself, and it is very remarkable and must be fully understood that faith is necessary in everything. ‘The righteous shall live by faith,’ not only in your circumstances but in everything. I believe the Lord allows many things to happen on purpose to make us feel our need of Him. The more you find Him in your sorrows and needs, the more you will be attached to Him and drawn away from this place of your sorrows. And the more you will be connected to Him in the place where He is." "Set your heart and mind on things above!" Colossians 3 1 and 2. Actually, we cannot trust Him any further than we know Him. So we must not only learn the biblical facts involved in establishing our faith but come to know the One, more intimately, who presents and upholds them! "
And this is life eternal, that they might know You, the one true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent." John 17 3. " Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness.
Through these He has given us His very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires." 2nd Peter 1 2 through 4.
In this 18 part series we will begin by understanding what is Faith.
Belief: A mental acceptance of something as true.
Trust: Firm reliance on the integrity, ability, or character of a person or thing.
Confidence: A feeling of self-assurance and certainty.
Conviction: A firmly held belief or opinion.
Reliance: The state of depending on or trusting in something or someone.
Assurance: A positive declaration intended to give confidence.
Hope: A feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.
Certainty: The state of being free from doubt.
Acceptance: The action of consenting to receive or undertake something offered.
Virtue: A morally good quality, often associated with faith, hope, and charity.
Negative Keywords:
Doubt: A feeling of uncertainty or lack of conviction.
Distrust: The feeling of not being able to rely on someone or something.
Skepticism: A doubting or questioning attitude.
Disbelief: A refusal to accept something as true.
Uncertainty: The state of being unsure or doubtful.
Distrustfulness: The state of being distrustful.
Mistrust: Doubt about someone's honesty or reliability.
