th<\/sup> Street<\/i>, a character in the movie said, “Faith is\n believing in something when common sense tells you not to.”\n C. Another intellectual stated, “Faith begins where reason ends.”<\/p>\n
D. Many people apply such definitions to biblical faith.<\/p>\n 1. They approach the Scriptures with a suspension of common sense.\n Rationality is tossed out the window.\n
2. To believe is to leap where reason cannot take you.<\/p>\n E. It is seen even in our dictionaries. The American Heritage Dictionary defines faith\n as, “belief that does not rest on logical proof or material evidence.”\n 1. If this is what the Bible means by faith, then it would absurd to argue with\n anyone about the truthfulness of the Bible.\n
2. Faith to the world does not rest on objective evidence.<\/p>\n
III. God’s definition of faith – Hebrews 11:1<\/p>\n
A. “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for”<\/p>\n 1. The word translated assurance means a foundation or in the abstract,\n something that gives confidence.\n
a. It is the reality of something (“person” or “nature” in Hebrews 1:3)<\/p>\n
b. It is the opposite of something imaginary.<\/p>\n
2. Faith, then, is the foundation on which the rest of Christianity is built.<\/p>\n
a. It allows us to act as if these things are so.<\/p>\n b. You may have never been to Sidney, Australia, but you could plan\n a trip there, confident that such a place exists.\n c. Without seeing God, angels, or heaven, we can act in confidence\n that such exist.\n
3. Our hope is our future salvation – Romans 8:23-25<\/p>\n
a. We have not seen heaven, but we long to dwell there.<\/p>\n b. It is faith in the promise of God that heaven awaits us which gives\n us the endurance to remain faithful to God.\n
B. “Faith is the conviction of things not seen”<\/p>\n
1. The word translated “conviction” means evidence or proof.<\/p>\n
2. It is a convincing argument of what you have not witnessed<\/p>\n a. When all the evidence is weighed and you conclude that it cannot\n be anything else but that conclusion.\n b. It cannot be something you have seen because the witness\n establishes it as a fact – II Corinthians 5:4-8\n
3. Our confidence allows us to act on what we did not see.<\/p>\n a. A jury, after listening to the evidence, draws a conclusion as to the\n guilt or innocence of the one charged with a crime.\n b. They did not witness the crime, but their confidence in the drawn\n conclusion allows them to give a sentence.\n
C. Faith is based on evidence<\/p>\n
1. Why do we believe in a Creator? – Romans 1:18-20<\/p>\n
a. I find a watch lying in the dirt.<\/p>\n
(1) Do I conclude that it evolved there by random events?<\/p>\n (2) No, its complexity and functionality leads me to conclude\n that it was made by someone far more intelligent and\n capable than the watch.\n b. There is evidence in the existence and functionality of the universe\n to compel a reasonable man to acknowledge that there is a God.\n
c. A God who must be greater than what was created.<\/p>\n
d. Hebrews 11:3<\/p>\n (1) We have faith that the world was created by the word of\n God\n
(2) We have confidence that the things we see around us did not come from pre-existing matter.<\/p>\n (3) Notice that the Hebrew writer starts from the very\n beginning. If you don’t believe that God created the world\n as stated in Genesis then how can you have confidence in\n anything else that God has told us or has done?\n
2. Do we blindly believe that Jesus is the Son of God?<\/p>\n
a. We are asked to believe the evidence presented – John 5:31-47<\/p>\n
(1) The testimony of Jesus<\/p>\n
(2) The testimony of John<\/p>\n
(3) The testimony of God through miracles<\/p>\n
(4) The testimony of the Scriptures<\/p>\n b. Jesus told his audience not to believe if there was no evidence –\n John 10:36-38\n
3. Faith comes from hearing – Romans 10:17<\/p>\n
a. Hearing what?<\/p>\n
b. Hearing the evidence of the gospel<\/p>\n D. Faith then affects the believer’s life. We act in accordance to what we believe –\n Romans 1:17\n
1. Our confidence then becomes the stable foundation from which we act.<\/p>\n
IV. The effect of faith in people’s lives<\/p>\n
A. Abel offered a better sacrifice because of his faith – Hebrews 11:4<\/p>\n
1. That faith lead to God’s testimony of his righteousness<\/p>\n
2. That faith left a legacy that has lasted thousands of years.<\/p>\n
B. Enoch’s faith also left a lasting memory – Hebrews 11:5<\/p>\n 1. He did not die because God took him. Another testimony to a man’s\n righteousness\n
2. His faith pleased his God.<\/p>\n
C. Faith is absolutely necessary – Hebrews 11:6<\/p>\n 1. A faith that is confident in God’s existence, else why would anyone live\n righteously.\n 2. A faith that is a rock in its expectation of being rewarded for doing what\n pleases God.\n
D. This is the type of faith that allowed Noah to spend 120 years building an ark – Hebrews 11:7<\/p>\n 1. In a world that probably never saw rain, yet Noah was confident that God\n was going to wipe out the world with a flood.\n 2. He condemned the world because he believed God’s word while the rest\n did not. They had no excuse.\n E. The list goes on of people acting in accordance with their confidence in God in\n regards to things they could not know in advance.\n
V. The question is do you have confidence in God?<\/p>\n
A. Do you really believe there is a God who will one day judge this world?<\/p>\n B. Do you really believe that God means what he says? That you must live in\n obedience to his word?\n
C. Do you? Then why aren’t you doing something about it?<\/p>\n
D. James 2:14-20<\/p>\n
E. Act as if you believe God. Live your life as if what God has said is a reality.<\/p>\n
F. The example of Paul’s confidence – II Timothy 1:12<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Text: Hebrews 11:1-6 I. Imagine a tight rope stretched across Niagara Falls. A crowd gathers around a man who pulls a unicycle out of a box. “Ladies and gentlemen,” the man announces, “may I have your attention! In my hands is a unicycle. How many of you believe that I can ride this unicycle across…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[119,32],"tags":[49],"class_list":["post-25215","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-audio","category-sermon","tag-faith"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":27676,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-a-woman-left-her-husband-because-of-verbal-abuse-and-he-then-becomes-a-christian-does-she-have-to-go-back\/","url_meta":{"origin":25215,"position":0},"title":"If a woman left her husband because of verbal abuse, and he then becomes a Christian, does she have to go back?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 2, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: My friend has been through verbal abuse with her husband for years.\u00a0 She has prayed, fasted, and believed for him to come to Christ.\u00a0 A few months ago she confronted him on his behavior and left for a while to see what would take place.\u00a0 In that period he\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":749,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-belief-include-anything-more-than-trust\/","url_meta":{"origin":25215,"position":1},"title":"Does belief include anything more than trust?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 30, 2003","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Does belief include anything more than trust? Answer: Belief or faith is of primary importance to a follower of God. The writer of Hebrews state, \"But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":85380,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/a-desperate-man\/","url_meta":{"origin":25215,"position":2},"title":"A Desperate Man","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 6, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Adam Litmer His son's life is on the line, and he's desperate. He's heard about a great healer named Jesus. Packing up his son, he rushes off to find this man. He will beg Jesus to heal his son as he has reportedly healed so many others. When he\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":22213,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/was-faith-an-absolute-requirement-for-jesus-healing-people\/","url_meta":{"origin":25215,"position":3},"title":"Was faith an absolute requirement for Jesus’ healing people?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 17, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Was faith the absolute requirement for Jesus' healing people? Answer: \"Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4279,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/where-can-i-find-information-about-the-falling-of-jerichos-walls\/","url_meta":{"origin":25215,"position":4},"title":"Where can I find information about the falling of Jericho’s walls?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 27, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am doing a paper for school trying to prove that the Bible is true. One example I was going to use was the walls of Jericho.\u00a0 What I have to do is find the verses, and then try to prove it looking in books, interviews, the Internet, etc.\u00a0\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":82322,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-nothing-defiles-a-man-include-things-like-alcohol\/","url_meta":{"origin":25215,"position":5},"title":"Does nothing defiles a man include things like alcohol?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 22, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello! I've been having difficulty connecting the dots with a verse in Mark 7 and thought you might be able to help. In verse 15, Jesus says that there is nothing coming from the outside that can defile a man. Does this include alcohol? 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