16
BIBLICAL FAITH 7-DAY DEVOTIONAL

Biblical Faith - What The Bibles Says About Faith (KJV Study Bible)

Embed Size (px)

Citation preview

Page 1: Biblical Faith - What The Bibles Says About Faith (KJV Study Bible)

BIBLICALFAITH

7-DAY DEVOTIONAL

Page 2: Biblical Faith - What The Bibles Says About Faith (KJV Study Bible)

What does the Bible have to say about Faith? Take a

deeper dive with these bite-sized daily studies. Each

day’s reading looks at a short passage of Scripture

illuminated by study notes drawn from the King James Study Bible, Full Color Edition. Verse-by-verse

annotations provide background information to help

you put the Bible’s events and teachings into their

proper setting. Doctrinal study notes provide

explanation, illustration, and a practical application

for daily living.

Day 1: Characteristics of Faith

Day 2: Definition of Faith

Day 3: Faith Demonstrated by Works

Day 4: Failure of Faith

Day 5: Justification by Faith

Day 6: Prayer of Faith

Day 7: Saving Faith

BIBLICAL FAITH

Page 3: Biblical Faith - What The Bibles Says About Faith (KJV Study Bible)

Day 1Romans 4:16-22

16 Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed;

not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of

us all, 17 (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even

God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.

18 Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to

that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. 19 And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own

body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb: 20

He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; 21

And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. 22 And therefore it

was imputed to him for righteousness.

Page 4: Biblical Faith - What The Bibles Says About Faith (KJV Study Bible)

Day 1

Revelation 21:1-2

4:16. Father of us all: Only those who have the faith of

Abraham are the spiritual seed of Abraham, whether

Jew or Gentile.

4:17–22. There are five essential characteristics of faith.

(1) Faith must have a valid content. Paul quotes

Genesis 17:5; the content of Abraham’s faith was valid

because that content was the revelation of God (verse

17a).

(2) Faith must have a valid object. The object of

Abraham’s faith was God, the giver of the revelation

(verse 17b).

(3) Faith is contrary to hope and yet rests upon

hope. This is a hope in which there is no element of

uncertainty (verse 18a).

(4) Faith has a purpose. The purpose of Abraham’s

faith was that he might become the father of many

nations, realizing the promises given him in the

Abrahamic covenant (compare Genesis 12:1–3; verse

18b).

(5) Faith produces works. Abraham’s faith conditioned

the way he lived. He staggered not at (did not doubt)

God’s promises.

Characteristics of Faith

Page 5: Biblical Faith - What The Bibles Says About Faith (KJV Study Bible)

Day 2Romans 1:17

For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written,

The just shall live by faith.

Page 6: Biblical Faith - What The Bibles Says About Faith (KJV Study Bible)

Day 2

Six kinds or expressions of faith occur in Scripture.

(1) Doctrinal faith, called “the faith,” refers to the

content of Christian belief (Jude 3).

(2) Saving faith is trusting in Christ and in Him alone

for salvation (Acts 16:31).

(3) Justifying faith is the believer’s reliance on the fact

that God has declared him righteous (Genesis 15:6).

(4) Indwelling faith is trusting God’s Word in and

through us (Galatians 2:20).

(5) Daily faith is that day-by-day dependence on

God, which is part of the sanctification process (2

Corinthians 5:7).

(6) The gift of faith is a special ability of faith, resulting

in a vision of what God can do, faith that is the means

by which we can achieve that vision, and the power

with God to get answers to prayer (Hebrews 11:1–3).

Illustration

God’s hall of faith (Hebrews 11) identifies a number of

Old Testament saints who experienced God’s blessing

as a result of their faith. Although they did not all

experience the same kind of victories, all pleased God

by faith (Hebrews 11:6).

Application

The Christian should remember that it is impossible to

please God without faith (Heb. 11:6). (First Reference,

Genesis 15:6; Primary Reference, Romans 1:17; compare

Romans 4:20.)

Definition of Faith

Page 7: Biblical Faith - What The Bibles Says About Faith (KJV Study Bible)

Day 3James 2:14-26

14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save

him? 15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, 16 And one of you say unto them, Depart

in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the

body; what doth it profit? 17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew

thee my faith by my works. 19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe,

and tremble.

20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified

by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? 22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works,

and by works was faith made perfect? 23 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. 24 Ye see then how that

by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.

25 Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had

sent them out another way? 26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

Page 8: Biblical Faith - What The Bibles Says About Faith (KJV Study Bible)

Day 3

Can faith save him? This statement and others in

verses 14–26 persuade some critics that James is

teaching salvation through faith and works. Luther

called this epistle “strawy,” believing it emphasized

works too much.

Today, some regard it as a late writing in which the

author is reacting to Paul’s doctrine of salvation by faith

alone. This is not the case. James’s teachings reflect

neither a negative nor a positive response to Paul’s

teachings. For Paul, faith practically equals salvation.

James, however, sees two kinds of faith: saving faith

and professing faith (much like the usage today). For

Paul, justification is by faith (Romans 4:5). For James,

justification is by a faith that works—by a genuine faith

that manifests itself in post conversion works.

Before salvation, these Jews had believed in the

efficacy of works. Now some were reacting at the

opposite extreme, imagining that works play no part in

the salvation experience. James retorts that the kind of

faith that does not produce works is not saving faith.

As Calvin said: “Faith alone saves, but a faith that saves

is never alone.” Thus, James’s question is not simply

“Can faith save?” but as the Greek text may suggest,

“Can that faith save him?” Can merely professed but

undemonstrated faith save? (See verses 21–24 for further

discussion.) The Greek grammar expects a negative

answer to the question that ends verse 14. Hence it can

be rendered, “That faith [i.e., the one mentioned in verse

14a which is without works] cannot save.”

Faith Demonstrated by Works

Page 9: Biblical Faith - What The Bibles Says About Faith (KJV Study Bible)

Day 4Romans 4:20

He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God.

Page 10: Biblical Faith - What The Bibles Says About Faith (KJV Study Bible)

Day 4

There are six New Testament expressions that trace

the decline of faith in an individual.

Before a person is saved, he may have:

(1) “vain faith” or belief in the wrong doctrine (1

Corinthians 15:14–17); or

(2) “dead faith,” or belief in orthodox doctrine without

personal belief in Christ (James 2:19, 20).

After a person is saved, he can experience the

following varieties of faith:

(1) a kind of unbelief—experienced by believers who

fail to accept the whole work of Christ (Mark 16:11–14);

(2) “little faith”—a mixture of faith and unbelief (Mark

7:26);

(3) “weak faith”—referring to belief expressed as mere

legalism (14:1); or

(4) “strong faith”—faith that is rooted in the promises

of God (Romans 4:20).

Illustration

As Christians mature, they should grow in faith. This

was the experience of Abraham. Early in his pilgrimage

with God, he could not trust God to protect him in

Egypt. This was weak faith (Genesis 12:10–20). He was

later able to trust God, in sacrificing his son Isaac. This

was strong faith (Hebrews 11:17–19).

Application

The Christian life is a continual growing adventure in

faith. (First Reference, Genesis 15:6; Primary Reference,

Romans 4:20; compare Rom. 8:16.)

Failure of Faith

Page 11: Biblical Faith - What The Bibles Says About Faith (KJV Study Bible)

Day 5Romans 3:21-26

21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the

prophets; 22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them

that believe: for there is no difference: 23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 24

Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 25 Whom God hath set

forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins

that are past, through the forbearance of God; 26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he

might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

Page 12: Biblical Faith - What The Bibles Says About Faith (KJV Study Bible)

Day 5

3:21. The righteousness: The emphasis here is on

the gift of personal relationship to God imparted to

those who trust Christ (compare 5:17). But now: Paul’s

emphasis shifts to the new age or dispensation. He is

not contrasting Jew and Gentile but the time when

the law held sway and the present time when grace

prevails.

3:22. Faith of [or “in”] Jesus Christ: Jesus Christ is the

only valid object in which man must place his faith.

3:23. For all have sinned: The human need and the

divine provision are alike applied universally. Come

short of the glory of God: Man can exceed his own

standards but never, left to himself, can he attain to

God’s standard of righteousness.

3:24. Being justified (Greek dikaioumenoi) indicates

being declared righteous. It signifies the believer’s

judicial standing before God. Freely: There is no just

cause in man to warrant justification. By his grace:

Unmerited favor is bestowed through the redemption

(release on payment of ransom). Christ’s death is the

ransom. The sinner is released on the basis of the

ransom’s having been paid.

3:25, 26. Through faith: Christ’s death satisfies the

Father’s righteous demands. Its benefits are appro-

priated only through faith in His finished work. In his

blood: The emphasis is not on the blood as it coursed

through Christ’s veins, but as it was shed for our

sins. This is how the propitiation was accom plished.

Just, and the justifier: God can remain just (true to

His nature) and still declare sinners to be righteous

only because Christ has paid for sin and satisfied

(propitiated) His holy law. The sinner is not rendered

guiltless but pardoned. Christ has taken the sin on

Himself and has imputed His righteousness to the

sinner.

Justification by Faith

Page 13: Biblical Faith - What The Bibles Says About Faith (KJV Study Bible)

Day 6James 5:15

And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins,

they shall be forgiven him.

Page 14: Biblical Faith - What The Bibles Says About Faith (KJV Study Bible)

Day 6

The prayer of faith entails both the prayer of the sick

person and the prayer of the elders who in faith meet

the requirements of this passage. But it suggests

much more, because this faith is effectual. Some sick

have had little faith, yet have been healed (Acts 3:4–8);

others, like Paul, have had great faith, yet have not

been healed (2 Corinthians 12:7–10). Further, those who

possessed the gift of healing in the early church were

at times unable to perform healing as they may have

wished (compare 2 Timothy 4:20).

The Greek text might suggest this reading: “The prayer

produced by that faith will heal.” The prayer that

results from true faith is effective. Elijah experienced

this prayer of faith (verses 17, 18). Elijah knew God’s

Word and will, and so persistently prayed (1 Kings

18:36, 37, 42–46).

Faith is people acting in accordance with God’s known

purpose (1 John 5:14). The prayer of faith does not

include a gift of healing. It does not exert extraordinary

spiritual strength (Acts 3:12); otherwise all spiritual

Christians would be healthy (but compare 3 John 2).

Nor does it merely involve the ritual of verse 14. The

prayer of faith discerns God’s will and perseveres until

it is accomplished. God’s will, however, is not to heal in

every case, and true faith can discern and accept that

(Romans 8:26, 27).

Prayer of Faith

Page 15: Biblical Faith - What The Bibles Says About Faith (KJV Study Bible)

Day 7Ephesians 2:8

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.

Page 16: Biblical Faith - What The Bibles Says About Faith (KJV Study Bible)

Day 7

Saving faith is part of humanity’s response to God in

the salvation experience. It is as simple as looking to

Jesus for salvation (John 3:14–16). Saving faith is both

simple and complex. It is as simple as a drowning man

reaching for a rope, yet at the same time it sets in

motion all the judicial machinery of heaven, in keeping

with the ultimate purpose of God. While believing is

simple, there are some for whom it is too simple, and

they find that difficult. In the Scriptures, the intensity

of one’s faith is not as important as its object. Often

belief in the gospel produces an emotional response

(Acts 16:34), although, because individual personalities

differ, it is not wise to use emotion as a test of faith.

Ultimately, saving faith is expressed as an act of the

will. Repentance and faith are in essence two sides of

the same coin called “conversion.”

Illustration

When the Philippian jailer asked, “What must I do to

be saved?” (thus reflecting a spirit of repentance), Paul

and Silas responded, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,

and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:30, 31).

Application

To be saved a person must trust Christ alone for his

salvation. (First Reference, Hebrews 11:1–4; Primary

Reference, Ephesians 2:8, 9; compare Romans 3:28.)

Saving Faith