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Subject: FAITH
Replies: 8 Views: 719
gbopp 9/12/2006 - 10:12:10
As told from the writings of Paul *
gbopp 9/12/2006 - 10:55:16
Paul never tires of pointing out the important place faith has in the Christian life. He does not see it as a mere intellectual adherence to certain doctrines, as has sometimes been thought. Faith for Paul is a warm personal trust in a living Saviour. Faith is a transforming attitude. When a person believes their whole personality is affected. The entire Christian life accordingly is a life of faith, or, as Paul puts it ''For 'we walk by faith, not by sight'' >2corinthians5:7<. Paul links faith particularly with the reception of salvation. Repeatedly he insists on this. >This needs wisdom and understanding<. ''For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe'' >1Corinthians 1:21< *
gbopp 9/12/2006 - 11:14:06
And if it was ''God's good pleasure'' the people could do nothing about it. Paul had not always seen it this way. In his days as a Jew he had striven for righteousness according to the law ''concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless'' >1Philippians3:6<. But now he see that righteousness does not come by way of the but by faith ''Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law'' >Romans3:28<. All boasting is excluded >see Romans3:27; Ephesians2:9<. Paul's whole emphasis is on faith [see Ephesians2:8; Galatians3:26; Romans1:16]. Paul loves to appeal to scripture, and one of the great OT passages for him is [Habakkuk2:4] Which he quotes in [Romans1:17 and Galatians3:11]. *
gbopp 9/12/2006 - 11:36:52
''For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ''The just shall live by faith'' >Romans1:17> which is apparently a way of saying ''faith from first to last''. The ''Righteousness of God'' he understands as the right standing that a person obtains from God, and this he links with faith repeatedly. [see Romans3:22; 9:30; 10:6; Galatians5:5; Philippians3:9]. Paul links various aspects of Christ's atoning work with faith, such as justification [see Romans5:1; Galatians3:24] propitiation [see Romans3:25] or adoption [Galatians3:26] and access to God [see Romans5:2: Ephesians3:12]. So ''That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you being rooted and grounded in love'' >Ephesians3:17< [New King James Bible]. It is abundantly clear that Paul sees faith as that one *
gbopp 9/12/2006 - 11:59:37
right attitude that God seeks in people. Paul is fond of thinking of Abraham as the Christians prototype in treading this path of faith. He characterizes that patriarch as 'Strong through faith. ''He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving Glory to God'' >Romans4:20< and as having the ''Righteousness of faith'' [see Romans4:13]. It was his faith that made him the ''father of all believers'' [see Romans4:11]. Thus he see's Christians, believers, as the true sons of Abraham. Paul thus thinks of faith as central. Christians ''Stand by faith'' [Romans11:20: 2Corinthians1:24] they ''walk by faith'' [2Corinthians5:7. But he does not think of faith as static. He tells the Thessalonians of his desire to ''perfect that which is lacking in your faith'' [see 1Thess3:10], and *
gbopp 9/12/2006 - 10:15:20
later he renders thanks that the faith of this same group of believers ''groweth exceedingly'' [see 2Thess1:3]. Faith is a growing active thing. There is such a thing as ''your faith of works'' [1Thess1:3]. Paul has a very descriptive phrase when he writes to the Galatians of ''faith working through love'' [see Galatians5:6]. It is clear from Paul's Epistles that the apostle ascribes a very high place indeed to Christian love. For Paul, neither operates in isolation. Love for him is not an attitude that springs from the inner being of the natural man. It is the product of a right Christian faith. And the exercise of right Christian faith necessarily leads to love. Love is the way faith works. As in the case of repentance, Paul regards faith as in some sense the gift of God. *
gbopp 9/13/2006 - 12:36:53
He can say, ''God hath dealt to each person a measure of faith'' [see Romans12:3]. Paul will say nothing that obscures the divine initiative. For him it is basic that salvation proceeds from God. It is divine from first to last. Though there are conditions from the human end if salvation is to be recieved, yet those conditions do not enable men to claim the credit for any part in their salvation. They could not produce repentance and faith without divine assistance. They come only as God's gift. This is the basis of Paul's notable arguement against human wisdom [see 1Corinthians1:18; 2:16]. Here he is arguing that natural wisdom will never lead anyone to God. The Corinthians, like other Greeks, evidently ascribed a very high place indeed to the exercise of wisdom. The thrust of Paul's arguement in this opening section *
gbopp 9/13/2006 - 12:54:05
of his epistle is that man, left to himself, can never find God. Whatever its value, human wisdom cannot accomplish that. Only those humble enough to accept this truth and walk in the path that God shows them will enter salvation. The centrality of faith is seen in the way Paul uses it as more or less synonymous with Christianity. Thus he characterizes the Gospel as ''the word of faith, which we preach'' [see Romans10:8] and he gives the report of his conversion in the words ''He that once persecuted us now preacheth the faith of which he once made havoc'' [see Galatians1:23]. He speaks of the church as ''the household of the faith'' [see Galatians6:10]. Grace and apostleship, he says, are ''unto obedience of faith'' [see Romans1:5]. So he looks to the Colossians to continue in the faith, and to be ''established'' in it *
gbopp 9/13/2006 - 1:33:53
[Colossians1:23; 2:7]. And his discussion on the resurrection in 1Corinthians is concerned with the question of whether their faith was ''vain'' [eg; ''empty'' or ''futile''; see 1Corinthians 15:14-17]. Were faith to be emptied of its force in this way, the implication runs, then Christianity has become an empty shell. It is well-grounded faith which gives it content. Paul delights to dwell on faith and its consequences. Often he speaks of believers as being ''in Christ'', and sometimes also of Christ as being ''in them.'' Faith brings about a union that is so close that it is possible in this way to speak of mutual indwelling. This is a strong way of expressing the truth that the believer surrenders himself completely to Christ and the complementary truth that contact with the living Christ brings man into a new life. *
