FAITH - VISION
NOW YOU ARE HEADED SOMEWHERE
Faith is trusting commitment of one person to another, particularly of a person to God. Faith is the central concept of Christianity. One may be called a Christian only if one has faith.
Because the Old Testament does not have a word equivalent to the English noun, "faith," does not mean the idea of faith is unimportant for the Old Testament. Habakkuk 2:4 was properly taken by Paul as the center of Old Testament religion. God prepared the way for His people in mercy and grace, then called them to obedience. To accept the responsibilities of God's covenant was to trust His word that He alone was God and to commit one's life to His promises for the present and future. That is faith.
Outside the Gospels faith is related to the keynote concepts of the Christian message:
THE STATE OF SALVATION
SANCTIFICATION
PURIFICATION
JUSTIFICATION OR IMPUTED RIGHTEOUSNESS
ADOPTION AS CHILDREN OF GOD
Each of these comes by faith. As in the Gospels, faith is an attitude toward and relationship with God mediated by Christ Jesus. It is surrender to God's gift of righteousness in Christ rather than seeking to achieve righteousness alone.
Faith is also called a fruit of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:22)--something God creates in a person. In another place "faith" is used quite differently as a gift of the Holy Spirit that is given to some but not to others (1 Cor. 12:8-9). Apparently such special gifts of faith refer to the ability to do great acts for God, what Jesus called moving mountains.
The New Testament sometimes uses "faith" to designate Christianity itself or that which Christians believe.
In this usage it is clear that an element of what we call belief is essential to the personal relationship we are calling "faith." Here it would be well to note Hebrews 11:6 also--"But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is.... " In this verse also the word translated "believe" is the Greek verb form of "faith." Context here dictates that we understand it in the sense of intellectual acceptance of a proposition, "belief." To have a right relation with God, it is necessary to "believe" that God is, that God has revealed Himself in Christ, and to accept God accepts you.
If faith is the religion itself, it is so in more than an intellectual way. Faith is also the living out of the religion; it is Christianity in action. This is the meaning of:
"Walking" represents the totality of one's way of life. Paul wrote that "faith," both in the sense of Christian piety and of the trust and confidence one puts in God, determines action in life. Faith changes the standards and priorities of life. Similarly, using the imagery of a soldier's armor, Paul said that faith is a shield against sin and evil in our lives.
If Christianity itself may be called "the faith," then it is a small step to the New Testament usage of the participle of the verb form of faith to designate Christians. This form is often translated "believers" (it occurs most often in the plural) or "those who believe" (Acts 4:32; Rom. 1:16). If we continue our distinction between faith and belief, we would prefer the translation "those who have faith" or the ungrammatical "those who faith."
The nearest the New Testament comes to presenting a definition of "faith" per se, is in:
Thus, Hebrews closely ties faith very to Christian hope. The personal conviction of faith encourages the Christian to continue hoping for the fulfillment of the promises of God, but it is not the substance (as in the KJV) of these "things hoped for" in any normal sense of "substance." The "things hoped for" have a reality greater than anyone's hoping for them. Faith is then meant as a sort of foretaste of the hoped for things.
Faith as the Way to Salvation The concept of faith is primarily that of a personal relationship with God that determines the priorities of one's life. This relationship is one of love that is built on trust and dependence. We receive it by trusting the saving work of Jesus. Faith is the basic Christian experience, the decision for Christ Jesus. It is the acceptance of Christ's lordship (i.e., His God-given, absolute authority). In this sense faith is doubly a break from the past: it is one's removal from sin, and it is one's removal from all other religious allegiances.
As a break from the past, faith is the beginning of relation to God and not an end. It is, especially in Paul's letters, the inauguration of incorporation "in Christ," in which one continues to grow and develop.
If faith is primarily a relationship into which one enters through acceptance of Jesus' authority, it also includes a certain amount of "belief." As a derived use, then, "faith" may also denote the content of what is believed. In this sense faith is the conviction that God acted in the history of Israel and "that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself.". In theological usage "the faith" may refer to many more doctrines and dogmas that have been developed since New Testament times, but in the New Testament "that which must be believed" was more limited as Romans 10:9-10 may demonstrate.
CONCLUSION
Faith is what we believe, it is Christianity itself, but primarily it is the relationship we have with God through what Jesus accomplished in His death and resurrection.
But Faith is only the beginning. Peter teaches we must add to it so it will grow and no longer just be "blind faith."
MORAL EXCELLENCE - GOOD INTENTIONS
Now that we have the beginning (Faith), we make up our mind to do the right thing.
KNOWLEDGE - STUDY AND LEARN
To GOOD INTENTIONS we need to add knowledge. What good would good intentions be if we didn't know what to do?
The first step... is to know that we are ignorant. David Cecil
A process of piling up facts; wisdom lies in their simplification. Martin H. Fischer
KNOWLEDGE
Translation of several Hebrew and Greek words covering a wide range of meanings: intellectual understanding, personal experience, emotion, and personal relationship (including sexual intercourse, Gen. 4:1, etc.). Knowledge is attributed both to God and to human beings.
GOD'S KNOWLEDGE IS SAID TO BE OMNISCIENT.
HE KNOWS ALL THINGS
HIS UNDERSTANDING IS BEYOND MEASURE
HE KNOWS THE THOUGHTS OF OUR MINDS AND THE SECRETS OF OUR HEARTS
HE KNOWS PAST EVENTS
PRESENT HAPPENINGS
AND FUTURE EVENTS
The knowledge which God has of nations and human beings indicates that He has a personal interest--not merely an awareness--of people.
To be known by God may mean that a nation or individual is chosen by God to play a part in God's purposes in the world.
The Bible speaks often about human knowledge. Knowledge of God is the greatest knowledge and is the chief duty of humankind.
In the Old Testament, the Israelites knew God through what He did for His people.
In the New Testament one knows God through a knowledge of Jesus Christ.
The apostle Paul closely connected knowledge to faith. Knowledge gives direction, conviction, and assurance to faith.
Knowledge is a spiritual gift which can grow, increase, be filled, and abound. It consists in having a better understanding of God's will in the ethical sense, of knowing that God desires to save people, and of having a deeper insight into God's will given in Christ.
But though Paul recognized the importance of knowledge, he also knew that it could be a divisive factor in churches such as at Rome and Corinth where some Christians claimed to be more spiritual because of their knowledge of spiritual matters. Paul argued that knowledge puffs up but love builds up, and the knowledge exercised by the "strong" in faith could cause the "weak" in faith to go against their Christian conscience and lead to their spiritual ruin. Knowledge can be misused. Love is more important than knowledge, yet knowledge is still a gift, necessary for Christian teaching and for Christian growth toward a mature faith.
Knowledge of God is closely related to faith, expressing the perception and understanding of faith. Full knowledge is possible only after Jesus' glorification, since the disciples sometimes failed to understand Jesus. In John, knowledge is expressed in Christian witness which may evoke belief in Jesus and in love. Whereas Jesus' knowledge of the Father is direct, the disciples' knowledge of Jesus is indirect, qualified by believing. The Christian's knowledge of Jesus is the perception of Jesus as the revelation of God which leads to obedience to His word of love. So the Christian is caught up into God's mission of love to the world in order that the world may come to know and believe in Jesus as the revelation of the Father's love for the world.
SELF-CONTROL
APPLICATION OF KNOWLEDGE
Now that we have added KNOWLEDGE, we need the SELF-CONTROL to walking according to it.
The highest form of rulership. Apocrypha
The hardest victory. Aristotle
SELF-CONTROL
Freedom in Christ does not give believers liberty to cast off all moral restraint as some members in Galatia and other churches apparently believed. Nor does it call for a withdrawal from life and its temptations. It calls for a self-disciplined life following Christ's example of being in the world but not of the world.
PERSEVERANCE OR PATIENCE
Now that you have SELF-CONTROL you need to "STICK IN THERE."
PATIENCE
Patience is an active endurance of opposition, not a passive resignation. Patience is endurance, steadfastness, longsuffering, and forbearance.
God is patient. He is slow to anger in relation to the Hebrews. The Hebrews were frequently rebellious, but God patiently dealt with them. Jesus' parable of the tenants depicted God's patience with His people. God's patience with sinners allows time for them to repent, especially in the apparent delay of the return of Christ.
God's people are to be patient. The psalmist learned to be patient when confronted with the prosperity of the wicked. Christians should face adversity patiently. Patience is a fruit of the Spirit. Christian love is patient. Ministers are to be patient.
Christians need patient endurance in the face of persecution. Hebrews stressed endurance as the alternative to shrinking back during adversity. Jesus is the great example of endurance (Heb. 12:1-3). Perseverance is part of maturity. Job's perseverance is another example for suffering Christians. John frequently highlighted the patient endurance of Christians. Christian patience is ultimately a gift from God.
GODLINESS
To all of the formentioned, we need to add godliness. With all we have accomplished thus far there is a danger of becoming satisfied with our progress and stopping here. We need to stay alert. God never sleeps and He is not limited to doing things the same way they were done in the past. If new problems come into our lives He will give us new ways to meet them. His supply is never exhausted. He has whatever is needed for the present time and will have whatever is needed to face the future.
If we have godliness, we will be able to face new problems too. We will still be able to learn. We will still be able to adapt to new situations. Being godly requires the right kind of change. Right is right and wrong is wrong. That does not change. But the things we must do to accomplish God's will, to preach His Word, and to avoid the wrong DO CHANGE. If no one was able to adapt to new methods of preaching - like the use of the internet - many would not hear God's Word.
HAVING THE SAME ATTITUDE AS CHRIST
We need to have the sttitude of Christ and that is an attitude and style of life that acknowledges God's claims on human life and seeks to live in accordance with God's will. In pagan Greek sources eusebeia (godliness, piety) refers to worship of the gods and to respect for the representatives of institutions regarded as divinely ordained (parents, judges, the emperor). Eusebeia was sometimes distinguished from dikaiosyne (righteousness) as concerning one's relationship with the gods rather than with other persons.
BROTHERLY LOVE - "PHILADELPHIA"
CONDITIONAL LOVE
BROTHERLY LOVE is a concept which appears throughout the Bible, but the specific word for this type love appears only in the New Testament. Brotherly love is not the goal but it is a step toward the goal of unconditional love.
The word which is usually rendered "brotherly love" in the New Testament is the Greek philadelphia and is used only five times. A similar word, philadelphos, appears in 1 Peter 3:8, and means "loving one's brother." However, the idea of brotherly love is much more extensive than these few occurrences.
New Testament Brotherly love in the ancient Christian literature means to treat others as if they were a part of one's family. This kind of love means "to like" another person and to want what is best for that individual. The basic word used for the brotherly type of love, phileo, sometimes means "to kiss," which was to show close friendship (Mark 14:44). This kind of love is never used for the love of God nor for erotic love.
Jesus constantly taught His followers the principle of "brotherly love," even though the New Testament never records Him using this very word. He declared that the second great commandment is, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself," and in the parable of the Good Samaritan He explained who that neighbor is. He also encouraged forgiveness of a brother and offered the Golden Rule as a guide in relating to one's brother.
Paul spoke of "brotherly love" in the context of the community of believers, the church. Twice he used the term philadelphia: first in 1 Thessalonians 4:9, then in Romans 12:10. In both cases he encouraged Christians to live peaceably with one another in the church. He underlined the idea of love for the brethren in Galatians 5:14, "For all the law is fulfilled in one word,... Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." Also in Romans 13:8-10, he declared, "Owe no man any thing, but to love one another," and in 1 Corinthians 8:13, on causing a weaker brother to stumble, he wrote, "If meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh...."
In the Johannine writings, brotherly love is a dominant theme. Jesus gave a new commandment "that ye love one another." The idea is repeated in John 17:26, "that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them." A series of emphatic statements on brotherly love in 1 and 2 John are designed to show that this is truly the central command of Jesus.
In the Epistles the specific word, philadelphia (brotherly love) appears in Hebrews and in 1 and 2 Peter. Hebrews 13:1-2 connects it with "hospitality to strangers," 1 Peter 1:22 with being pure, and 2 Peter 1:7 has it in a checklist of virtues which Christians should possess. See Love; Hospitality; Ethics.
LOVE - "AGAPE"
UNCONDITIONAL LOVE
Unselfish, loyal, and benevolent concern for the well-being of another. In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul described "love" as a "more excellent way" than tongues or even preaching. The New Testament maintains this estimation of love throughout. The King James Version uses the word charity instead of "love" to translate the Greek word Paul used (agape). The word charity comes from the Latin caritas which means "dearness," "affection," or "high regard." Today, the word charity is normally used for acts of benevolence, and so the word love is to be preferred as a translation of agape. Nevertheless, the reader who comes to the agape of the New Testament with the idea of benevolence in mind is better off than the reader who comes with the idea of physical pleasure and satisfaction.
In the Old Testament In the Old Testament, the verb "to love" has a range of meanings as broad as the English verb. It describes physical love between the sexes, even sexual desire (Judg. 16:14; 2 Sam. 13:1-4). It describes the love within a family and among friends (Gen. 22:1-2). Love as self-giving appears in the significant commandment that Israelites love the stranger. The basis for such selfless love is God's act of redemption (Lev. 19:33-34).
Hosea used the image of married love to teach us to understand both the faithlessness of Israel and the faithfulness of God. Israel's love is "like a morning cloud, and as the early dew it goeth away" (6:4). God desires steadfast love, but Israel had been unfaithful. His own relationship with an adulterous wife allowed Hosea the insight that God had not given up Israel in spite of her faithlessness. The Shema (Hebrew for "hear") of Deuteronomy 6:4-6 is echoed in Paul's declaration that love is the fulfillment of the law (Rom. 13:10).
In the Teachings of Jesus In Jesus' teachings in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, the Shema of Deuteronomy (the command to love God) is united with Leviticus 19:8 ("Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself"). Just before the parable of the Good Samaritan, a lawyer quoted the two commands to love and then asked Jesus: "And who is my neighbor?" Jesus gave the story of the Samaritan who took care of the man who fell among robbers to illustrate the selfless love which is to be characteristic of citizens of the Kingdom.
In Matthew 5:43-48, Jesus gave the radical command to love one's enemies and to pray for those who persecute. Loving only those who love you is, according to Jesus, no better than those who are not His disciples. The love that Jesus' disciples have for others is to be just as complete as God's love.
In these teachings, of course, the selfless love is a response to God's prior activity. It is a way of living expected of those who are citizens of the Kingdom. The teachings of Jesus on love of enemy, it will be noted, are a part of the Sermon on the Mount which is directed to Christian disciples. See Sermon on the mount.
In the Teachings of Paul In the poem on love in 1 Corinthians 13, Paul associated love with the all-important biblical words of faith and hope and declared love the greatest. The context for this poem on love is Paul's discussion of relationships within the church. First Corinthians 13:1-3 indicate that the gifts of the Spirit (ecstatic speech, wisdom, faith, and self-sacrifice) are good for nothing without love; only love builds up. The Spirit distributes His gifts for the common good. First Corinthians 13:4-7 characterizes love: Love is patient and kind, not jealous or boastful, not arrogant or rude. Love is not selfish, irritable, or resentful. Love does not rejoice at wrong but in the right. Love bears, believes, hopes, and endures all things.
Finally, 1 Corinthians 13:8-13 contrasts love with preaching and knowledge, on the one hand, and faith and hope, on the other. All of these (with love) are important aspects of our lives here and now. Love in contrast to these, however, is not only for the here and now; it is forever. Love, therefore, is "the greatest" of the most significant realities we experience as Christians.
Paul's understanding and discussion of love make love a central theme, and his use of the noun agape makes that term almost a technical term. Prior to Paul, in fact, the Greek term agape was little used. Instead of using a word for love already filled with meaning, Paul took the seldom-used term and filled it with Christian meaning. This love of which Paul wrote is somewhat different from the love we normally experience and speak about. Christian love is not simply an emotion which arises because of the character of the one loved. It is not due to the loving quality of the lover. It is a relationship of self-giving which results from God's activity in Christ. The source of Christian love is God, and the believer's response of faith makes love a human possibility.
Even though love does not begin in the human heart, the believer must actualize love. In Paul's admonition to Christians to love, the nature of love as self-giving is manifest. The Christian walk is to be characterized by love so that Paul could even speak of "walking in love." The Christian is to increase and abound in love.
Christian love is evidence of and a foretaste of the goal of God's purposes for His children.
The command of Jesus to love one another gives us insight into the nature of Jesus Christ for the church and the nature of Christian love. What is commanded is not an emotion; it is the disciplined will to seek the welfare of others. Jesus speaks with the authority of the Father, the only One with authority to make such demands of men and women. Jesus speaks as the incarnate Word. He has authority to give conditions for discipleship. The relationship of this commandment to Leviticus 19:18 should be noted. Both command love, but Jesus' commandment includes the clause: "as I have loved you."
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