Faith has lost its meaning to us today. Today the word faith means kind of a hazy vague belief of some kind in something or other; the word faith doesn't really mean much. But in God's Word it means much more than that! It is the substance, it is the "hupostasis", it is the title deed!
Nearly 400 years ago, when they were translating the Greek New Testament into English, the translators ran into a puzzling problem: How should they translate the word "hupostasis" in the 11th Chapter of Hebrews.
They knew from the way this word "hupostasis" was used in other Greek literature that it apparently meant something fairly substantial.
But just a few years ago archaeologists uncovered the burned ruins of an old inn in Northern Israel. There they found a small iron chest containing apparently the valuable papers of some Roman noblewoman who had been traveling in Israel at that time, for the purpose of checking up on her various land holdings, properties that she owned in Israel. In this little chest they found that most of the papers were labeled with a big title "hupostasis". All of these papers which had the title "Hupostasis" across the top were, guess what?--Title deeds to her properties! But this was long after the Bible was translated, so they didn't have the advantage of that discovery.
If you want to turn to Hebrews the 11th Chapter, the word "substance" is just as good and conveys the message and I'm quite sure it's sufficient, but if you want to make it even clearer and more explicit, you can write above that word "substance", in parentheses, "title deed". Now faith is what?-The title deed!
This Roman woman perhaps had never seen her properties she'd bought in Israel, but she knew she had them and she could prove her ownership even though she had never seen them.
A friend gave me a car once; I got the title through the mail. Though I'd never seen the car, never driven it, didn't know what it was like, I knew I owned a car. I knew I had it because I had the title in my hand.
If you've got real faith, even though you haven't seen the answer yet, you've got the title deed to it! What you asked for is yours; your name's written on it, and you will see it eventually-that's faith!
It is impossible to have faith unless you have the Word
If you’re weak in faith it’s because you’re weak in the Word! The best cure for doubts is the Word! "Faith cometh by hearing the Word of God." (Romans 10:17)—That’s the law of faith. So if you feel like, “I just don’t have much faith!”, it’s because you don’t have the Word. –Because faith comes from the Word! Faith comes—it grows by hearing the Word of God. It’s not a sudden boom, it is something that is built by faithful study of God’s Word.
So please don’t neglect His Word, for it is food for your soul and gives you strength for the battle! It is His Word by His Spirit in His Love that makes you strong! Lord help us to stay in the Word of God, grounded in the Word of God. It’s the Word that will increase your faith. The main thing is to know the Word. Faith is built on the Word! Read it prayerfully and ask God to guide you! He never fails! He’ll always answer the hungry heart! God bless you and help you to find faith!—In His Word.
Nearly 400 years ago, when they were translating the Greek New Testament into English, the translators ran into a puzzling problem: How should they translate the word "hupostasis" in the 11th Chapter of Hebrews.
They knew from the way this word "hupostasis" was used in other Greek literature that it apparently meant something fairly substantial.
But just a few years ago archaeologists uncovered the burned ruins of an old inn in Northern Israel. There they found a small iron chest containing apparently the valuable papers of some Roman noblewoman who had been traveling in Israel at that time, for the purpose of checking up on her various land holdings, properties that she owned in Israel. In this little chest they found that most of the papers were labeled with a big title "hupostasis". All of these papers which had the title "Hupostasis" across the top were, guess what?--Title deeds to her properties! But this was long after the Bible was translated, so they didn't have the advantage of that discovery.
If you want to turn to Hebrews the 11th Chapter, the word "substance" is just as good and conveys the message and I'm quite sure it's sufficient, but if you want to make it even clearer and more explicit, you can write above that word "substance", in parentheses, "title deed". Now faith is what?-The title deed!
This Roman woman perhaps had never seen her properties she'd bought in Israel, but she knew she had them and she could prove her ownership even though she had never seen them.
A friend gave me a car once; I got the title through the mail. Though I'd never seen the car, never driven it, didn't know what it was like, I knew I owned a car. I knew I had it because I had the title in my hand.
If you've got real faith, even though you haven't seen the answer yet, you've got the title deed to it! What you asked for is yours; your name's written on it, and you will see it eventually-that's faith!
It is impossible to have faith unless you have the Word
If you’re weak in faith it’s because you’re weak in the Word! The best cure for doubts is the Word! "Faith cometh by hearing the Word of God." (Romans 10:17)—That’s the law of faith. So if you feel like, “I just don’t have much faith!”, it’s because you don’t have the Word. –Because faith comes from the Word! Faith comes—it grows by hearing the Word of God. It’s not a sudden boom, it is something that is built by faithful study of God’s Word.
So please don’t neglect His Word, for it is food for your soul and gives you strength for the battle! It is His Word by His Spirit in His Love that makes you strong! Lord help us to stay in the Word of God, grounded in the Word of God. It’s the Word that will increase your faith. The main thing is to know the Word. Faith is built on the Word! Read it prayerfully and ask God to guide you! He never fails! He’ll always answer the hungry heart! God bless you and help you to find faith!—In His Word.
