First Principles: Faith Towards God

20 February 2011

1. Introduction

Heb. 6:1-3 “Let us go on to perfection (maturity), not laying again the foundations …”

(a) Jesus came to reveal His Father – reveal what God is really like, a loving Father

• Heb. 1:3 “… bring the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person”
• Jn. 14:9 “… He who has seen me has seen the Father…”
• Jn. 10:30 “I and my Father are one”.

(b) Jesus came to call us into relationship with the Father – sons and daughters

• Jn 14:3 “I go to prepare a place for you – that where I am you may be also”.
• Jn 1:18 “…the only begotten Son which is in the bosom of the Father has declared Him”.

(c) God calls each of us to be born again into His Family and then to grow up”

• Rom 8:29 “… He predestined us to be conformed to the image of His Son …”
• 1 Jn. 2:12-13 Children (precious infants) - Young men – Fathers.
• Spiritual fathers – one who represent God the Father and reproduce His Life.

(d) Growth to maturity is not automatic – requires foundation to be laid

• The First Principles of Christ are foundational for growth. (Heb. 6:1-3)
• Heb. 9:14 Blood of Jesus Christ … cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God.
• Dead Works = activities that have no life or love of God. 

Works activated out of guilt, fear, duty, personal gain.

• Called to Repent = totally turn from dead activities and selfish motivation.
• Blood of Jesus Christ has power to cleanse the conscience so free.
• “Serve Living God” = activities that flow from love and trusting obedience.
• Jn. 6:29 – “This is the work of God that you believe on Him whom He has sent”.

2. Faith – What is It?

Heb 11:3 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for …”

(a) Faith is not the same as Hope

• Hope is directed to the future – an attitude of expectancy concerning things to be.
• Faith is established in the present – now!

It is a confidence, something real and definite within us here and now.

• Substance       = 5287 NT = to set in place under, confidence, assurance.

Evidence         = 1650 NT = connection, proof, assurance.

(b) Faith is established in Heart not Head

• Hope is anchored in the head. (1 Thes.5:8 .. helmet, hope of salvation)
• Faith is established in the heart.
• Rom 10:10 with the heart man believes unto righteousness.
• Faith is not a mental acceptance of bible facts – produce no change.
• Heart faith produces genuine change in the life of person who has it.
• Believe is always associated with a change or motion – “into”.

(c) Faith deals with things “Not Seen”

• Heb 11:1 “…evidence of things not seen”
• Not seen = not exist = they are invisible to physical senses.
• Faith deals with the real spiritual realities of God’s Word (2 Cor. 5:7).

(d) Faith produces a rest from struggle, uncertainty, doubt

• Heb 11:3 “We who have believed do enter that rest …”
• When faith is present in the heart – there is also a rest from struggle.
• Often there is a conflict between what we see and what God’s Word says.
• Faith produces a deep confidence that what God says is true in spiritual sense.
• Rom 4:17 “… call the things that do not exist as though they did”.

(e) Faith expresses itself in confession – speaking in agreement with God.

• Rom. 10:10 “with the heart man believes, with the mouth confession is made to salvation”.
• Whatever the heart is full of overflows in our life.
• Confession = Gk homologia = to say the same thing as.
• When there is faith in our heart we speak out what God says (2 Cor. 4:13)
• Heb 3:1 Christ is the high priest of our confession.

He represents us in heaven using the words we have spoken.

3. Faith and Relationship with God

Heb. 11:6 “without faith it is impossible to please God…”

(a) Faith is foundational to our relationship with God

• Faith is basis for entering relationship and for continuing relationship.

(b) By Faith we enter into relationship with God

• Eph. 2:8 “By grace have you been saved through faith, and that, not of yourselves it is a gift of God, not of works …”
• Grace = the supernatural enabling power of God given to us.
• Grace = Gift, nothing that we have done except believed.

(c) “By Faith” we continue in relationship with God

• Faith in Jesus Christ positions us as Children of God – Our New Identity.
• Eph 1:3-1 He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ”.

- We have a new nature, identity, acceptance, forgiveness, redemption.

- We already have these things we don’t have to work for them.

• Gal. 5:1-6 Stand fast in the liberty by which Christ has made us free and do not be entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

- We must not fall back into trying to please God by doing.

- Learn to receive the Love of Father – it energises our faith.

(d) Faith can be cultivated and grown

• Faith is cultivated through intimacy and hearing God’s voice (Rom. 10:17)
• Faith can be “little” or “great” or “dead”.
• Faith is cultivated by meditating in Word of God.
• Faith that is real has works that can be seen (Ja 2;17.