Depending on who you speak to, belief in God is conflated with faith. Am I assuming incorrect when I read faith as belief+trust+no fear? Guiding your life according to Gods plan, no matter what. Live right, do right. Seems like many people just say they have faith, and all it means is that they grew up in a christian home, and since they mesh in various sins, and pretend like it is compatible with christianity. Go out and sleep with someone new each weekend, or blaspheme, steal and cheat, etc, and still they say they have faith. What does it generally mean here? Seeing as it means nothing in my country.
I read some denomination thread today, and struggled with definitions, so could not understand what it meant. It was about dead sins, which I think I understand. That if you stop sinning, the sins are dead, and you are good, and in a position to pray forgiveness. But then there was this bit about true faith. Here is the passage. And thread.
True Faith Changes Us
"If we are in Christ Jesus, by genuine faith in him, we are no longer dead in our sins, but we have been crucified with Christ to sin and we are living to Christ and to his righteousness. We once walked in sin. We once conducted our lives in sinful practices. But now we no longer make sin our practice."
Beloved one, there is no need for you to depend on who you speak to understand about faith but you will understand faith when you hear the words of God.
So when you heard people speaking about faith, you have to go back to the words of God written in the Holy Scriptures to perceive and understand whether they have rightly spoken to you or just saying their perception apart from the truth of God’s words.
Beloved one, what is important not just talking about faith
but how you may obtain faith. This is what we have heard:
“Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those
who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:”
II Peter 1:1 NKJV
So beloved one, you can obtain faith
by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.
You may ask, “what is
the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ ?
This is what we have heard :
For I am not ashamed of
the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. -Romans 1:16
For in IT the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith." -Romans 1:17
So beloved one, the righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Beloved one, as you have read what is written in Romans 1:17, that the righteousness of God is
revealed from faith to faith.
Beloved one, you may ask,”How the righteousness of God is revealed from Jesus Christ’s faith to your faith ? How does faith come to you ? This is what we have heard:
“So then faith
comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
Romans 10:17 NKJV
So beloved one, faith comes to you
by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
The obvious question,”how do you hear the word of God?” This is what we have heard in the gospel of Jesus Christ that Jesus have spoken that you may hear:
“For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command,
what I should say and what I should speak.”
John 12:49 NKJV
So beloved one, you can obtain faith by the righteousness of God and Savior Jesus Christ that is revealed in the gospel, that comes by hearing the word of God, that God the Father who sent Christ gave Christ a command, what He should say and what He should speak.
So beloved one, in what manner you are
revealed the righteousness of God in the gospel of Jesus Christ ? This is what we have heard our Lord Jesus Christ have said:
“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing.
The words that I speak to you are SPIRIT, and they are life.”
John 6:63 NKJV
Beloved one, unless you perceive and understand the words that Christ have spoke to you are SPIRIT and His words are life, you can’t perceive and understand that the righteousness of God has been revealed to you.
For we heard apostle Paul have explained:
“
These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.”
I Corinthians 2:13 NKJV
Beloved one, you can only perceive spiritual things comparing with spiritual, for that is how Holy Spirit teaches us.
For we also heard our Lord Jesus Christ Himself said:
“If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?”
John 3:12 NKJV
Beloved one, you are unable to understand the revelation of the righteousness of God in the gospel of Jesus Christ
unless you perceive and understand the words that Christ have spoken are Spirit and His words are life. For the words that Christ Jesus have spoken, came from the Father who is in Heaven, who have spoken to you heavenly things, that is of faith.
Beloved one, also consider this:
“God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.””
John 4:24 NKJV
Beloved one, communing with God, you need to perceive God is Spirit. So hear the words that Christ have spoken that are Spirit and life, and you will have faith.
Beloved one, if you are considering an English Bible, I would recommend you to choose New King James Version. You can choose the pocket version, that is smaller, lighter and cheaper.
To God be glory. Amen.