B-A-C
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- Dec 18, 2008
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It seems that when we want or ask God to something in our lives, it has a lot to with faith, equally it has to do with doubt.
Matt 13:57; And they took offense at Him. But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household."
Matt 13:58; And He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.
I don't think it's a question of "can" Jesus do miracles. I think it's a question of do we believe He can do miracles.
Jas 1:6; But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind.
Jas 1:7; For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord,
It seems usually whenever Jesus did something in people lives, it depended on their faith, not His. He already knew what He could do. I don't think Jesus ever doubted whether He could do a miracle or not.
Over 38 times in the New Testament Jesus mentions "your" faith. The verses below are from the NASB.
About a fourth of these are duplicates of the same story repeated in more than one gospel, But even so, both
versions mention "your" faith.
Matt 9:22; But Jesus turning and seeing her said, "Daughter, take courage; your faith has made you well." At once the woman was made well.
Matt 9:28; When He entered the house, the blind men came up to Him, and Jesus *said to them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" They *said to Him, "Yes, Lord."
Matt 9:29; Then He touched their eyes, saying, "It shall be done to you according to your faith."
Matt 15:28; Then Jesus said to her, "O woman, your faith is great; it shall be done for you as you wish." And her daughter was healed at once.
Mark 5:34; And He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be healed of your affliction."
Mark 10:52; And Jesus said to him, "Go; your faith has made you well." Immediately he regained his sight and began following Him on the road.
There is scripture that says even our salvation depends on our faith, not God's
Luke 7:50; And He said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."
Luke 8:48; And He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace."
Luke 17:19; And He said to him, "Stand up and go; your faith has made you well."
Luke 18:42; And Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight; your faith has made you well."
Whether we succumb to sin/doubt can sometimes depend on our faith. It seems our faith can fail.
Luke 22:32; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers."
Rom 11:20; Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited, but fear;
I feel sometimes there are verses taken out of context about this, for example.
1 Cor 2:4; and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,
1 Cor 2:5; so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.
This is sometimes taken to mean God is in control of your faith, however what Paul is saying is..
I demonstrated the Spirit and power of God to you, so you wouldn't just believe persuasive word of wisdom.
1 Cor 15:14; and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain.
It also seems that faith can grow over time.
2 Cor 10:15; not boasting beyond our measure, that is, in other men's labors, but with the hope that as your faith grows, we will be, within our sphere, enlarged even more by you,
Jesus talks to the disciples about not having enough faith. Was it Jesus that didn't have the faith? Or was it the disciples?
Matt 17:19; Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not drive it out?"
Matt 17:20; And He *said to them, "Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you. ... (also see Luke 17:6; )
Col 2:5; For even though I am absent in body, nevertheless I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good discipline and the stability of your faith in Christ.
It seems that distractions of the world can cause us to doubt and affect our faith.
1 Thes 3:2; and we sent Timothy, our brother and God's fellow worker in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you as to your faith,
1 Thes 3:3; so that no one would be disturbed by these afflictions; for you yourselves know that we have been destined for this.
1 Thes 3:5; For this reason, when I could endure it no longer, I also sent to find out about your faith, for fear that the tempter might have tempted you, and our labor would be in vain.
Sometimes God allows our faith to be tested. It seems there would be no reason to do this if it was His faith.
Jas 1:2; Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials,
Jas 1:3; knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.
Peter goes so far as to say, it it is the testing of OUR faith that decides our salvation.
1 Pet 1:6; In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials,
1 Pet 1:7; so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
1 Pet 1:8; and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,
1 Pet 1:9; obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.
1 Pet 5:8; Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
1 Pet 5:9; But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.
It seems it isn't God's faith that saves us or gives us the ability to see God's power in our lives.
It is OUR faith.
In spite of all the scripture above to the contrary, much doctrine has been built around one verse.
Eph 2:8; For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
However the verse is taking about 3 things here. Grace, Salvation (been saved), and Faith.
Definitely the grace and salvation are the gift God. However it seems from all of the other verses about OUR
faith, the faith comes (at least partially) from us.
Matt 13:57; And they took offense at Him. But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household."
Matt 13:58; And He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.
I don't think it's a question of "can" Jesus do miracles. I think it's a question of do we believe He can do miracles.
Jas 1:6; But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind.
Jas 1:7; For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord,
It seems usually whenever Jesus did something in people lives, it depended on their faith, not His. He already knew what He could do. I don't think Jesus ever doubted whether He could do a miracle or not.
Over 38 times in the New Testament Jesus mentions "your" faith. The verses below are from the NASB.
About a fourth of these are duplicates of the same story repeated in more than one gospel, But even so, both
versions mention "your" faith.
Matt 9:22; But Jesus turning and seeing her said, "Daughter, take courage; your faith has made you well." At once the woman was made well.
Matt 9:28; When He entered the house, the blind men came up to Him, and Jesus *said to them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" They *said to Him, "Yes, Lord."
Matt 9:29; Then He touched their eyes, saying, "It shall be done to you according to your faith."
Matt 15:28; Then Jesus said to her, "O woman, your faith is great; it shall be done for you as you wish." And her daughter was healed at once.
Mark 5:34; And He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be healed of your affliction."
Mark 10:52; And Jesus said to him, "Go; your faith has made you well." Immediately he regained his sight and began following Him on the road.
There is scripture that says even our salvation depends on our faith, not God's
Luke 7:50; And He said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."
Luke 8:48; And He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace."
Luke 17:19; And He said to him, "Stand up and go; your faith has made you well."
Luke 18:42; And Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight; your faith has made you well."
Whether we succumb to sin/doubt can sometimes depend on our faith. It seems our faith can fail.
Luke 22:32; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers."
Rom 11:20; Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited, but fear;
I feel sometimes there are verses taken out of context about this, for example.
1 Cor 2:4; and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,
1 Cor 2:5; so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.
This is sometimes taken to mean God is in control of your faith, however what Paul is saying is..
I demonstrated the Spirit and power of God to you, so you wouldn't just believe persuasive word of wisdom.
1 Cor 15:14; and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain.
It also seems that faith can grow over time.
2 Cor 10:15; not boasting beyond our measure, that is, in other men's labors, but with the hope that as your faith grows, we will be, within our sphere, enlarged even more by you,
Jesus talks to the disciples about not having enough faith. Was it Jesus that didn't have the faith? Or was it the disciples?
Matt 17:19; Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not drive it out?"
Matt 17:20; And He *said to them, "Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you. ... (also see Luke 17:6; )
Col 2:5; For even though I am absent in body, nevertheless I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good discipline and the stability of your faith in Christ.
It seems that distractions of the world can cause us to doubt and affect our faith.
1 Thes 3:2; and we sent Timothy, our brother and God's fellow worker in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you as to your faith,
1 Thes 3:3; so that no one would be disturbed by these afflictions; for you yourselves know that we have been destined for this.
1 Thes 3:5; For this reason, when I could endure it no longer, I also sent to find out about your faith, for fear that the tempter might have tempted you, and our labor would be in vain.
Sometimes God allows our faith to be tested. It seems there would be no reason to do this if it was His faith.
Jas 1:2; Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials,
Jas 1:3; knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.
Peter goes so far as to say, it it is the testing of OUR faith that decides our salvation.
1 Pet 1:6; In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials,
1 Pet 1:7; so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
1 Pet 1:8; and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,
1 Pet 1:9; obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.
1 Pet 5:8; Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
1 Pet 5:9; But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.
It seems it isn't God's faith that saves us or gives us the ability to see God's power in our lives.
It is OUR faith.
In spite of all the scripture above to the contrary, much doctrine has been built around one verse.
Eph 2:8; For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
However the verse is taking about 3 things here. Grace, Salvation (been saved), and Faith.
Definitely the grace and salvation are the gift God. However it seems from all of the other verses about OUR
faith, the faith comes (at least partially) from us.
)
