FAITH IS LOOKING CONTINUALLY AT THE WORD AND BEING A DOER OF IT

Firm Foundation Chapter 19

by

Doug Woolley

2/27/89

Faith is Looking at the Word

Faith is not hoping that a promise will come in the future, but it is believing that we have the fulfillment of the promise now.  As a result of our belief, we will act according to what we are assured of.  Faith will grow as we continually look into the Word and study it.  Prov. 4:20‑22 encourages us to incline our ears to His Word and to keep God's Word before our eyes and in the midst of our hearts'.  As we study the Word and obey it, our faith will increase and we will not be defeated and weak.  Instead, we will be more than conquerors as we stand on God's promises in the Bible and refuse to look at the contrary circumstances.  God's Word shall succeed and accomplish its purpose.

Faith is Evident by our Confession

Rom. 10:10 implies that our confession is evidence of what we really believe in our heart.  Jesus said that "out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks."  Our words will reveal what we truly believe, because our beliefs influence the words that we speak.  If our thinking is lined up with God's Word, then our confessions will increase our faith.  Jesus taught a principle about our confession in Mark 11:23 when He said "If you believe what you say shall come to pass, you can have whatever you say."  We need to know what God's will is, and as we confess that it is ours and truly believe what we speak, then we will see the reality of it.  We overcome the enemy by the word of our testimony.

Two Examples of Faith in Action

In the Old Testament, Joshua put his faith and trust in what God had told him.  Joshua believed God when He told him that God had given the city of Jericho into Joshua's hand.  This did not mean that Joshua and the children of Israel would not have to do anything.  They were required to have an active faith.  They needed to act as if they had the city.  Seven priests carried rams' horns before the ark and went around the city with the army once a day for six days.  On the seventh day, the children of Israel marched around the walls six times, and on the seventh time they shouted that they had the victory, and then the walls fell down.  This was faith in action.

In the New Testament, some men brought their paralyzed friend to Jesus to be healed because they were assured that Jesus could and would heal him.  When they could not press through the crowd, they went up on the roof and let their friend down a hole that they had cut.  Jesus saw their faith.  They really believed that Jesus could heal their friend; otherwise they would not have gone through so much trouble.  Their faith stimulated them to action.  The paralyzed man also acted in faith as he believed and obeyed Jesus words saying that he could arise and walk.

Faith is Demonstrated by Works

James 2:17 says that "faith without works is dead."  Clearly, faith is demonstrated outwardly by works.  Abraham demonstrated his faith by offering up Isaac.  Abraham believed so strongly that God was going to use Isaac to fulfill His promise that he did not consider the natural circumstance that killing Isaac would invalidate the promise.  He believed the promise and conjectured that God would probably raise Isaac from the dead, if he had killed him, in order to fulfill the promise.  Abraham did not die to his vision.

We must be doers of the Word.  A hearer of the Word but not a doer is likened to one who looks in the mirror and walks away forgetting what he looks like (Jas. 1:23‑24).  When looking in a mirror, we are constantly seeing ourselves.  Similarly, we must continuously "see" the Word so that we will not forget to do it.  We must not forget what God says about us in His Word; otherwise, we will see ourselves as defeated old creatures.  Faith requires that we have God's Word continuously before us and that we are actively living in accordance with what we believe God has done in our lives'.