True Faith


“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:” – Ephesians 2:8

Faith is a gift from the Father. This subject is directly tied to Salvation which is given to all those who have been given the gift of Faith by Yahweh and through His Son Messiah Yahshua.  Therefore, Faith should never be defined as one who belongs to a religious organization or even obtained by one who recites a couple of instructed words.

“Now Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen.” – Hebrews 11:1

Faith is the confidence that what was spoken by God will actually happen. If I tell my son that when he turns eighteen, I will purchase him a new car.  But I didn’t have a job or even a car myself.  He would naturally have difficulty believing it would actually happen.  However, if I have never lied to him and did everything that I ever promised to him, even though it didn’t make any natural sense, he will still hope and even anticipate it coming to pass because I have previously proven the integrity of my promises.

Faith is evident by ones actions which serves as a witness for others to see. Faith then essentially is not physically material but spiritual in nature; however, it must have an observable witness which verifies its activity.   For instance, as the birthday moves closure, he begins to tell his friends he is getting a car for his birthday; when he gets his paycheck from work he goes and buys some floor mats and other car products.  He has not seen the car but he is resting and trusting in my words that were spoken to Him.  This is his faith and the witness of his faith is that he is preparing for the car I said I will give him.

So what then is biblical Faith? It is the undoubting  belief in the words which transcends the limitations of natural perception spoken by Yahweh, Messiah Yahshua, and those sent i.e., His appointed Prophets, Apostles, and Teachers.  In addition, the words spoken or instructed are trustworthy and as a result this reality produces an outward witness as evidence that Faith has been obtained.

“It was by faith that Abel brought a more acceptable offering to God than Cain did. Abel’s offering gave evidence that he was a righteous man, and God showed his approval of his gifts. Although Abel is long dead, he still speaks to us by his example of faith.” – Hebrews 11:4

Faith is the vehical in which a person can please the Father. In Hebrews chapter 11, 12 and 13, it repeatily uses biblical characters to illustrate how faith was shown after hearing the words spoken to them by Yahweh.  Lets break down a couple of them to see what exactly happen and why some of these characters where consider righteous because of faith.

Abel was a sheppard and the second son of Adam and Eve and in the view of his parents he was not considered very important.  How do we know that? We can gain a little insight from the name his parents gave him. The name Abel comes from Abel (habal 463) meaning act emptily, become vain. The noun is hebel (463a) and is spelled the same as Abel, meaning vapour, breath, in the negative sense of having no substance and being something very close to nothing. The famous Ecclesiastes saying, “vanity of vanities; all is vanity,” uses these same words (1).

With the anticipation of the Messiah to restore all things, the first born was highly esteemed and in that culture. Cain was the first born and as a result I can image that he was esteemed more hightly by his parents than Abel.  However, it is clear in scriptures that Abel offered YHWH what was desired and Cain did not.  Abel, who was thought of as vanity by his family is now the one who has gain the favor of YHWH, Cain was furious and and killed his brother.

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” – Hebrews 11:6

Faith produces favor with YHWH, the world will hate you because of it but we can overcome any opposition because He has revealed Himself to us and we have been given the gift of faith which can not be taken from us by man, or angel.  Therefore, we willingly give even our very lives up for the Love for the Father and His Son who has revealed to us that He exists!

(1)  http://www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/Abel.html

  • Please read the next in the series of lessons – Many Called, Few Chosen by Richard Evans >>>