Faith

I want to take up where I left off last time- with the 3 non negotiable parts of faith.

[These have been stated in different ways by different men. For example Spurgeon called them 1. knowledge 2. belief  3. trust. Martin Lloyd Jones called them 1. awareness 2. assent 3. commitment. Faith is  intellectual, emotional,and volitional; it involves the mind, the emotions (the heart), and the will.

It is a commitment of all that we are responding to all that God is and all that God says.

Part One: Intellect- knowledge
     Faith comes by hearing the Word of Christ. No one comes to true faith without truth about God. One cannot grow in Christ without truth about Christ. RC Sproul said, 'before one can believe 'in' Christ one must believe 'that' Christ...' and Greschem, 'nothing can pass into the heart without first passing through the visibul of the mind'. the Heidleburg Catechism teaches, 'true faith is a certain knowledge, sure and incontestible knowledge of truth of God.'

Faith cannot exceed ones knowledge. It is based on ones knowledge of God, is found exclusively in the Word of God not in self- feelings or dreams.

The content of the Word is referred to as 'the faith', the whole councel of God, the knowledge of the truth, the apostles teaching, sound doctrine, and right theology. In Acts 6: 7, the 'word of God' and 'the faith' are used synonomously.

Your faith will be strong and real only as it is built upon the impregnable fortress of the objective written word of God.]

You may come to the conclusion that I love God's Word and esteem it very highly. I believe God's Word, the Bible, is Truth. It does not contradict itself in any way.

Is your faith built on the truth of God's Word? How much time do you take daily to read, study, memorize and then meditate on it so that your faith is based in truth? I pray that you will take up this joyful duty and perform it faithfully and watch out- God will perform His work in you who believe!!!

by His grace and for His glory alone,
Norma