FOR WE WALK BY FAITH, NOT BY SIGHT
In the Book of 2 Corinthians 5:7, Paul tells us that as Christians, we walk by faith and not by sight. The steps to Salvation are steps of faith in Christ, leading to heaven, which we have not seen with our eyes, nor heard of Him personally. What we heard is through preaching by ministers and reading of the Bible. Thus Faith is of the utmost importance in believing in Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord, the proclaimed prophesied Messiah of the Old Testament. Faith is believing in what is not seen, but what is hope for.
WALK
The word "WALK" has a very wide meaning, to rove, to go along advancing, to go at the ordinary pace, not to run, to move about or to depart, to be dismissed, to act, conduct oneself, or live in a specified way, to go through, to lead, drive, The act of walking, the pace, step, a stroll, the route chosen, a piece of ground laid out for walking, a foot-path, a hawker's district. Figuratively, it is one's profession, occupation, and a sphere of action. The word can mean a lot of things. Walk by faith may mean the route chosen as a sphere of action on one's life. (Definition based on The Concise English Dictionary)
WALK BY FAITH
The phrase of "Walk by Faith" is spiritual and not physical. Most Christians normally walk by sight for our eyes show us the way. Christians are told to walk by faith and not by sight. Spiritually speaking, Christians are to follow Jesus Christ in their behaviour and not follow their natural, instinctive desires which may lead to outrageous outcomes. Desire for sex, money, status, indulgence in food or drinks may lead to the spiralling destruction of the self. Lack of self control hastens the paths leading to damnation. Two very important persons of eminence are Abraham in the Old Testament and Jesus Christ in the New Testament. We should follow the faith of both Abraham and Jesus.
FAITH IS UNSEEN AND BASED ON OBEDIENCE
Hebrews 11:1
- Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
FAITH IS BASED ON OBEDIENCE
Abraham showed his faith by his complete obedience to the voice of the Lord. He left Haran when God told him, leaving his family for a foreign land, and finally offering to sacrifice his only son when told. This is what is meant by walking in faith. If you have faith, you must prove by your works that you have it.
Hebrews 11:8
- By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.
Hebrews 11:9
- By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:
Hebrews 11:17
- By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac:
James 2:21-24
- Was Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? ...
- You see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.
James 2:26
- For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
FAITH IS LOVE
"But such a saving faith is never alone in Luther’s understanding, even as it is presented in Scripture. “Faith...gives Christ to you with all His possessions,” he wrote, but continued: “Love gives you to your neighbour with all your possessions.” Again: “It is impossible for him who believes in Christ...not to love and do good...” an echo of James’ affirmation that faith without good works is barren and dead, being by itself."
A Christian is supposed to love God and to love his fellowmen. To love God and his neighbours is to respect, honour and to help them when they are in need. Consider the parable of The Good Samaritan who helps a Hebrew when he lay helpless after being robbed by thieves. The Samaritans were supposed to be enemies of the Hebrews, but he was the only one who came to help. A priest and a Levite looked on and passed by without lifting a finger to help.
To love your neighbour as yourself is to help any one in need in spite of race, colour or religion. This is what constitutes being a Christian.
Galatians 5:6
For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.
FAITH IS RIGHTEOUSNESS
http://www.biggergod.com/mercy2.html
"For what does the Scripture say [in Genesis 15:6? 'Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.'" So the point of verse 3 is not that people who are justified by works can boast before men but not before God. The point of verse 3 is that Abraham was not justified by works. "He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness."
Galatians 5:5
For we through the spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.
FAITH IS PROGRESSIVE
Faith should not be stagnant, but progressive. A step is taken at the lowest rung of the ladder until the top is reached, and then you can survey the whole world. You would have reached the summit like that of Mount Everest. Then you can rest on your laurels and master of all you survey. When you reach the top, thank God you have reached the utmost for the highest Our aim in life is to be accepted as the children of God who will eventually dwell with Him in His court in heaven.
1 Peter 1:5-7 show a glimpse of the progression of faith, which is the first step until you reach salvation. "Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. (6) Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a reason, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: (7) That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ."
You will be tested through trials and temptations, but hang on to your faith and keep your eyes on to Jesus for He will see you through. Do not waver or look back as Lot's wife did and was turned to a pillar of salt.
1 Corinthians 13:13
- And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.
For these three steps from faith, hope, charity (love), we can reach love which is on the highest level. From faith which we cannot visualize, we can progress to hope for better things to materialize and finally we reach love. Love has no boundaries and can forgive a multitude of sins. When we truly love someone, we can forgive all faults and forget all sins against us to the exclusion of none.
Jesus was asked how many times we should forgive our brother and the answer was until seventy times seven, which is 490 times. Are we to record all the 490 times we forgive the one that we love? Definitely, no!
FAITH IS TESTED
Faith will be tested to see whether faith is real or false. It must also have endurance, must hang on to no matter what the circumstances are.
Hebrews 11:17
- By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son.
Abraham failed on two occasions, once when he was in Egypt he told Sarah to tell a lie that she was his sister (Genesis 20) and the second time when he took Hagar as his concubine at the insistence of Sarah (Genesis 16).
Daniel 3:1-30
Test of faith by Daniel's three friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace. They came out unscathed with not a hair of the head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them (v.27).
THE FAITH OF ABRAHAM
Abraham's faith in the living God was counted as righteousness for he truly and sincerely believed in God's words. He followed without hesitation, without questioning! Such is the faith of Abraham, like that of a young child clinging to his mother.
Romans 4:3,9,11
- For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.
- ... that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also:
Jews and non Jews alike who believed in God are saved for it is written in Genesis 12:3, "And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed." God, indeed, is merciful to the whole world.
James 2:21-23
- Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar:
- ...
- And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.
WALK BY FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST
Jesus Christ was born more than two thousands years ago. He was the promised Messiah to the Jews and a Saviour to the Christians who accepted in faith as Abraham believed in God and was accounted as righteous in the sight of God. Jesus is God in the flesh, and if we accept Him, we accept God the Father. To walk by faith in Jesus Christ would be to follow God's will.
God had promised that in the New Covenant, His Holy Spirit would dwell in the hearts of the Christians to guide them into all truth. The Holy Spirit of God is the Spirit of Jesus. On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit poured down on the disciples. Walk by faith means to follow Jesus' footsteps and to obey Him in truth and love. In Jesus Christ, we would have salvation.
Romans 1:5
- By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations for his name.
Romans 5:1
- Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
Galatians 5:6
- For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.
JESUS, THE WAY, THE TRUTH, THE LIFE
The walk to salvation is through Jesus, the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6). No one can come to God except through Jesus, who is God's manifestation on earth. The Spirit of God is also the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ. He is given all authority on earth according to the will of God. All roads may lead to Rome, but the road to heaven is only one narrow way through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour.
TRUTH
In Jesus there is truth for it is stated in John 16:13, "Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come."
RAISED FROM DEATH TO LIFE
Four days after Lazarus died, he was raised from death to life by Jesus (John 11). Jesus said to Martha, "I am the resurrection, and the life; he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: (v 26) And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die, Believest thou this?"
JESUS IS RIGHTEOUS
Psalms 145:17
- The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works.
1 John 2:1
- And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous:
Proverbs 11:30
- The fruit of the righteousness is a tree of life.
JESUS IS MERCIFUL
God is merciful to the sinful people of this world and He sent His son, Jesus to the world to rescue them from their sins.
Jesus in the sermon on the mount includes the blessing of mercy in Matthew 5:7.
- Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
Luke 6:36
- Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.
JESUS IS NOT JUDGMENTAL
Jesus came to the world to save sinners and not to condemn any one. Take the case of the adulterous woman whom the crowd wanted to stone her and asked Jesus to condemn her. His reply was that anyone without sin should cast the first stone. One by one, the crowd dispersed until Jesus was the only one left with the woman (John 8:1-11). Instead of condemning the woman, Jesus urged them to look into their own hearts to see whether they were without sin. Jesus seemed to be a master of psychology.
Judas Iscariot was not condemned either for what he intended to do. In fact, Jesus was humble enough to wash his feet, hoping that Judas would change instead.
John 3:17
- For God sent not his Son to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
JESUS IS FORGIVING
Matthew 18:21-22
- Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.
Matthew 6:14-15
- For if ye forgive men their trespasses, you heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
FAITH IN PREACHING THE GOSPEL TO THE WORLD
Jesus after His resurrection and before His ascension, appeared before His eleven apostles and said to them, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned (Mark 16:15-16).
During Jesus' sojourned on the earth, the numbers of his followers were unnumbered and therefore history had not recorded the event. During the time James was preaching, it was recorded that 3,000 were baptized on a day, and a further 5,000 were mentioned.
WikiAnswers.com.
"However, it is now impossible to say with any certainty, as, while practising Christians have been in decline in some Western countries, there has been a recent surge in 'membership' in parts of the West, and in the East the numbers who are becoming new
Christians daily is astronomical. There are estimated now nearly 100 million Christians in China (compared with just 5,000 in the 1960s) and in South Korea, churches regularly have tens of thousands of members each. In one church, the Yoido Full Gospel Church in Seoul, there are over 800,000 members who meet each Sunday in several sittings in a vast hall. So, whilst it is difficult to give a definite answer to the actual number of Christians in the world (estimates range from 2 - 3 billion), Christianity remains the most dominant of the world, and is still growing at an astonishing rate."
'Walk by Faith, Not by Sight' | JW.ORG Videos
www.jw.org/en/publications/videos/walk-by-faith-not-by-sight/Watch the video about Jesus' prophetic warning to Christians and their flight from Jerusalem to Pella. See how trust in God helped them walk by faith, not by ...
WALK BY FAITH THE BETTER WAY
Walk by faith is clearly proven to be the better way of life for it promises of life after death. Jesus is the only way which is by walking in faith, the path to belief, righteousness, and salvation. The Holy Spirit of Jesus dwells in the Christian heart and guides to all truth for the Holy Spirit of Jesus is the Spirit of God Almighty who is omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient.
GOD'S HOLY SPIRIT IS JESUS' HOLY SPIRIT http://hubpages.com/hub/godholyspiritisjesusholyspirit
GOD'S LAWS AND MAN'S LAWS http://hubpages.com/hub/godslawsandmanslaw
GOD'S SABBATH OR MAN'S SABBATH http://hubpages.com/hub/godormansabbath?
GOD'S MANIFESTATIONS: THE HOLY SPIRIT AND JESUS CHRIST http://hubpages.com/hub/godsmanifestationsholyspiritjesuschrist
FOR WE WALK BY FAITH, NOT BY SIGHT (2) http://einron.hubpages.com/hub/forwewalkbyfaithnotbysight-2
FOR WE WALK BY FAITH, NOT BY SIGHT
Do we follow what the Bible says?
Do you know that faith is righteousness?
Do you know that faith in Christ promises of life after death?
Link
- FOR WE WALK BY FAITH, NOT BY SIGHT (2)
To WALK BY SIGHT is the complete opposite of to WALK BY FAITH. It is walking like a blind man groping and waving his white stick before him to find his way. Why is walking by sight described as a blind man?...
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