Message 19 - By
Jerry D. Green
Faith, Faiths, and The Faith
Quite often we hear the term, “Abraham, the father of faith.” And even though it is not scripturally
verbatim, and even though Abraham was not the first man to believe God, it is scripturally true that “…Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness” (Romans 4:3). Some years back, while
waiting in the barber shop, I picked up a December, 2001 issue of National
Geographic magazine. It had an article titled, “Abraham, Father of Three
Faiths.” This immediately caught my attention because I knew it was not a
scriptural term, nor scripturally substantiated. The author told how three
major religions, the Jew, the Christian, and the Muslim, all claim Abraham as
their beginning. I suppose this could be considered factual, but faith as a
religious doctrine, or faiths
as multiple religious doctrines, is not what the scriptures are speaking of in
this case. We need to understand the difference between “faith,” which is simply believing
in someone or something, and “the
faith” as the doctrine (or body of dogma) of any religion which one may believe
in. “Faiths” is simply the
plural of the latter, meaning more than one of the multitude of religious
doctrines in which men ignorantly believe and trust in to conciliate themselves
to, and with, God; all to no avail. This multitude of religious doctrines
include many Christian doctrines, of which, far too many are also false.
Nevertheless, if it is “faiths” (plural), we can know immediately that
all but one is false, for “…the holy scriptures…” plainly tell us
(Ephesians 4:4-6) that “there is (only) one body (the truly, born
again, church of God; the body of Christ; and), …one Spirit (the Holy Spirit
of God, and), …one hope… (the “…blessed hope…” of resurrection
from the dead by Jesus Christ; and); one Lord (the Lord Jesus Christ), ONE FAITH (which is THE TRUE gospel of Jesus, the Christ; and), one baptism (not of man, but
“…OF GOD…”) by whom all true believers are “…baptized into Christ…” (Galatians
3:27; Romans 6:3; I Corinthians 1:30; and), one God and Father of all (all true believers [who put their FAITH, hope,
trust, and confidence IN the Lord and Savior, Jesus, the Christ, and IN the pure, true, FAITH of Christ [the true gospel of Christ]; Galatians 1:6-8). And again, this “…one God…,”
who is above all, and through all, and in you all” (all truly born again believers [who
believe “…that Jesus is the Christ…”; I John 5:1] and, the true gospel of
Him).
We hear it said by many to “just keep faith,” or, “keep the faith,”
or “don’t lose faith,” etc.; but even though this may be what they mean to
imply, they never mention God, or His Son, Jesus, the Christ, or the gospel of
Christ. To most people, this simply means to have a strong, positive, can do,
never give up attitude of self
assurance. But soul saving faith
is so much more than just believing in ourselves
and our own abilities; i.e., anything we are able to do. Having faith
in God, is to simply have unwavering
faith in God, and, the “rightly divided” written WORD of God (II Timothy 2:15), which also contains
the record God gives of His Son. The
record of God’s Son, Jesus, the Christ and all the things He suffered for us, is “the true gospel of Christ;”
and vice versa.
The primary definition of faith, given in Strong’s Greek
Dictionary, is Strong’s #4102 pistis (pis'-tis); from #3982; and means, persuasion, i.e. credence;
moral conviction (of religious truth, or the truthfulness of God or a religious teacher), especially reliance upon Christ for salvation;
abstractly, constancy in such profession;
and by extension, the system of
religious truth (the [true] Gospel, or) [true] doctrine of Christ itself; JDG). In the KJV this Greek
word is translated -- assurance, belief, believe, faith, and fidelity. My gleanings from all this is
unwavering faith (or belief) in which one is absolutely
free from doubt concerning someone and/or something; and, that someone and/or
something which we must put our faith in is the Almighty God of heaven, His
Son, Jesus, the Christ, and, “the true gospel of Him,” which is also “the true
gospel of God” (I Thessalonians 2:8-9;
Colossians 1:5-6).
In the King James Version of the Bible, Jesus speaks of “…so great
faith…” and “…ye (and/or ‘…thou…’) of little faith….” Having already
looked up the definition of faith, Strong’s #4102 above, let’s now look up the Greek word which was translated
into the two English words, “…so great….” It is Strong’s #5118 tosoutos (tos-oo'-tos);
tosos (meaning - so
much; apparently from 3588 and 3739) and 3778 (including its variations); which means - so vast as this, i.e. such
(in quantity, amount, number or space). In the KJV, it is also
translated, large,…(long, many, much), and these many.
Judging from the definition of these two Greek words, 5118 and 4102, “…so great faith…” seems to be a reasonably good
translation, yet it is hard to reconcile with some of the sayings Jesus used in
His parables concerning faith (Matthew
17:20; Luke 17:5-6), especially
if you take into consideration the Greek word, Strong’s #3640, and how it was translated; which we’ll discuss next.
Unlike “so great faith,” “…ye of little faith…” was not a good
translation. If “so great faith” is
to be unshakable and unwavering concerning our belief in someone or some thing; a more
accurate translation of the Greek word translated “…thou of little faith…” (and/or) “…ye of
little faith…” would simply have been “thou
doubters” or “ye doubters.” The definition of the Greek word from
which “of little faith” is
translated, is Strong’s #3640 - oligopistos (ol-ig-op'-is-tos); from 3641 and 4102; it means, incredulous,
i.e. lacking confidence (in Christ):
In the KJV it is consistently translated “O
ye (or thou) of little faith…,” but a better
translation would have been, “O ye
doubter (or doubters), wherefore
didist thou doubt
(The Greek word, Strong’s #1365;
here translated doubt, means to waver; Matthew 14:31).” When His disciples ask why they could not cast the
demon out of a man’s son, Jesus said, it is “…because of your UNBELIEF: for verily I
say unto you, IF ye HAVE FAITH as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this
mountain, remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall
be impossible unto you” (Matthew 17:20).
Jesus makes it clear in His parables of the kingdom, that the mustard seed is a
very small seed (Matthew 13:31-32 and
Mark 4:31-32). In light of this: It
seems to me Jesus was simply saying, faith is not measured in big, little, large or small sizes, it’s simply that you believe (“…doubt not…”) or, you don’t believe; you waver in your heart. Either
you believe (you have faith) or you don’t believe (you don’t
have faith). There is no in between.
“…So
great faith…” is to simply and consistently believe unshakably and
unwaveringly in someone or something; in this case it is in God, His Son Jesus,
the Christ, the living Word of God,
and the Holy Bible which is the recorded
Word (the record) of God, given by
inspiration of God.
In the 21st verse
of Matthew 17, the King James,
and perhaps, a few other versions add this: “Howbeit this kind goeth
not out but by PRAYER and FASTING.” Most of the more recent versions have
either completely omitted this twenty
first verse or have it placed
in ( [brackets] ). The reason for this is that most all of the newer versions
are translated from corrupted manuscripts (namely, Nestle). The King James, and a few of the other older versions
which have this verse, are all translated from the Textus Receptus manuscripts. There are at least
two whole and one partial New Testament verses which are in the Textus Receptus manuscripts that
are not in the Nestle manuscripts. Which is correct? There is evidently no way
of knowing or proving with certainty; but obviously there are opinions in favor
of each. I have my own opinion of course, but as always in such matters as
this, I’ll just point out the discrepancies and let you decide for yourself. I will say that I believe each of these
discrepancies must be decided on an individual basis. For more on these omitted or added verses (depending on
how you judge them) see the *footnote at the end of this message.
Personally, I believe in fasting, and I know that prayer is
absolutely essential to power with God. However, I remain totally convinced
that the greatest reason for unanswered prayer is “…unbelief….” In Matthew 21:21, concerning the cursing
of the fig tree, “Jesus…said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye HAVE FAITH, and DOUBT NOT ([Mark 11:23] “…in… [your] heart…”), ye shall not
only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this
mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.” To doubt is to
waver: meaning, according to the American Heritage Dictionary, “To move unsteadily
back and forth.” And James says, “…let… (a man) ask in faith, … (NOT) wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave
of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. “…Let not
THAT man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord” (James 1:6-7). So how shall we sum up all of this? I can
only say, fast, pray, and believe God, and
doubt not in your heart. Nevertheless,
this kind of faith comes only from God; believing that which the Holy Ghost has
spoken directly to the person.
Something we have a tendency to forget is this which Jesus Himself
tells us in John 5:19, “… ‘Verily, verily, I say unto you, The
Son can do nothing of himself, but what (or, that which) he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he (the Father) doeth,
these also doeth the Son likewise.” And, John 5:30, “I can of mine own self do nothing:
as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own
will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.” And again, in John 15:5, “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that ABIDETH IN ME, and I IN HIM,
the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.” Even as Jesus, when He was walking this earth in a natural
body, could do nothing except He had first seen or heard it of
the Father; neither should we think we can do anything except we first see or
hear it of the Father (by His Spirit; by the Holy Ghost). And no one will ever see or hear
anything from Him, except they first abide
in Him (Him being Christ).
II Corinthians 4:4
“In
whom (whom
here, being “…them
that are lost:”) the god of this world (that old serpent, called the devil, and Satan (Revelation 12:9, 20:2; which) hath blinded the minds of them which believe
not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image (a likeness)
of God (Genesis
5:1-3; Hebrews 1:1-3), should shine unto
them.”
Two of the most
powerful tools the devil has in his arsenal (by which he blinds the minds of
the children of God) are the words of songs. By these, he ever so subtly (pronounced
sut-uh-le) blinds our minds to the truth of the
scriptures, and therefore, to the gospel. True gospel songs and music can
certainly inspire and bless; but unfortunately, untrue gospel songs and music
can also influence our thinking with that which is untrue; and in that, can mislead
us and blind our minds to the truth of the gospel. One example, and there are so many more:
“There’s power in prayer, so much power in prayer.” NO!
I’m sorry, but there’s NO power in prayer. Prayer is only the means of
getting your petition to God, the Father; who is the source of all power. This
may seem contrary to the words of Jesus in Matthew
28:18, where He says, “…All
power (authority) is given unto me in heaven and in earth,” but, He also says in John 16:26-27, “At that day (after the comforter [the Holy Ghost; the Holy Spirit of God
the Father] has come) ye shall ask (pray,
petition the Father) in
my name: (in my authority, and my character; Strong’s #3686) and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for
you (On your behalf; Jesus is not saying, pray to me, and I
will in turn, pray to the Father to answer your prayer. Instead He is saying, I’m telling you in
advance, that you will NOT pray to me): For (at that day [after I have suffered, shed MY blood, died on the cross,
been buried in a tomb, been resurrected, and returned to the Father, you will
pray directly to) the
Father himself (who also) loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came
out from (Him) God” (Therefore, He will hear and answer your prayers directly;
by His Holy Spirit [i.e., by the Holy Ghost].).
Like as prayer, “faith” has no power in
itself; whether its “our faith,” or “our now faith,” or anyone else’s
faith, or now faith. There is no power in faith to save, to heal, or to
do anything else. The fact of the matter is: Faith of itself (concerning
the saving of the soul) can do nothing for anyone. This is the reason Jesus
says in Mark 11:22, to “…Have faith in
God.” Despite this fact,
most churches today put more emphasis
on “faith,” the believing part, than on “the faith,” which is the all important
doctrine of the true gospel of Jesus Christ which one must believe to be saved
(Romans 1:16). It is true that “…without FAITH it is impossible to please
Him (Him being God): for he that
cometh to God must (first) BELIEVE that He IS (that is, we must
believe that God exist), and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6). “Our faith” must be “IN
GOD,” the all powerful one, who is able, and willing, to reward “faithful
believers.” One can then put their faith in God’s provision for our salvation,
which is always the TRUE gospel of His Son, Jesus, the Christ. God must be the
primary object of our faith, for salvation, for healing, or for anything else
we receive of Him. Again, Jesus
instructs His disciples to “…have faith in God” (Mark 11:22); and in another place, “…ye believe in God, believe also in me” (John 14:1). The Pharisees believed in God; but could not
believe that this Jesus of Nazareth was the Christ, the one sent from God. Jesus also asks this question of us, “…when the Son of
man cometh (speaking of Himself), shall he find faith on the earth” (Luke 18:8)? Will He find those who are
still expecting, still believing in God; still believing in Him, still
believing the true, life exchanging gospel of Him? Will He find faithful
servants who watch and pray, or will he find wicked, fearful servants who hide
their talents in the earth (Matthew
25:14-30); servants who “…sleep in the night…,” who “…smite…” their fellow
servants, and, who “…eat and drink with the drunken…;” servants who
say,
“My
lord delayth His coming” (Matthew 24:48-49; I Thessalonians 5:4-8)? But “…the fearful, and (the) *UNBELIEVING (*Strong’s #571, disbelieving,
faithless; all of those “…who *obey NOT [*Strong’s #544, meaning, to disbelieve, willfully
and perversely] the gospel of God…,” and His Son,
Jesus Christ; I Peter 4:17). And, “…the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and ALL
liars, SHALL have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and
brimstone: which IS the second death” (Revelation 21:8).
In my early years there was an old radio preacher who would always
end his programs, saying, “It does make a difference what you believe.” These words are still so very true
today. What is it then that we must believe to be saved? Jesus said to His
disciples, “…How
hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!” (Mark 10:23). With that, the disciples
ask, “… who then can be saved?.” Jesus answered, “…With men (and all of their religious works) it is impossible,
but not with God: for with God all things are possible” (Mark 10:27). At the time Jesus spoke
these words it was still impossible for any man to be born again, which, Jesus
said we must be to see the kingdom of God (John
3:3), for at the time He spoke these words, He had not yet hung on the
cross and shed His blood (i.e., the “Lamb of God” had not yet been offered).
But God had a plan for the salvation of man and the perfect man to implement
it. It was His only begotten (of a
fleshly body) Son, Jesus, the Christ. Did Jesus look forward to all the
suffering the salvation of man would Certainly not for He prayed, “…O my Father, cost Him? if it be possible (if there be any
other way),
let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt” (Matthew 26:39). So, “…despising the shame…,” He “…endured the cross… (and all of the
other horrible sufferings) …for the joy that
was set before Him…” (Hebrews 12:2).
What was this joy that was set before Him? It was the joy of seeing you and I,
and as many as would ever hear and believe the true gospel of Him, have the
opportunity of enjoying all of the same wonderful benefits of a sinless relationship (i.e.,
fellowship; in I John 1:3-4 the
Greek word is Strong’s #2844 and
actually means partnership) with the Father that He, Jesus had (and has) with
the Father (John 17:21-26). But in
the fact that He was willing to endure those sufferings, “…He is able also to save them to the uttermost (entirely;
completely) that come unto God BY Him, seeing He ever liveth to make
intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25).
So then, “…Looking unto Jesus, the author (‘…the captain…’; Hebrews
2:10) and finisher (the completer, i.e., the consummator) of OUR FAITH…” (OUR in this
verse is an added word which is fine as long as we understand that the writer
IS speaking of that WHICH WE BELIEVE
[“…THE faith…;” “…the gospel…”] and NOT of our ability to believe); “…and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God;” Hebrews 12:2). THE FAITH of
Jesus Christ is a complete, finished work. There is nothing more for Him to do,
as far as our salvation is concerned.
Neither is there anything more for you and I to do concerning this great
salvation; other than to hear and BELIEVE
the good news, i.e., repent of our sin (and sins), and submit
ourselves unto that which God and His Son accomplished on our behalf.
Now, back to Abraham and what it was he believed that was “…counted (Genesis 15:6; Romans 4:3; “accounted”; Galatians 3:6; and “reckoned”; Romans 4:9) unto him for
righteousness.” It was the word of God unto a hundred year old man. I say old, because in the natural (in the mind of Abraham) this was a
part of the impossibility of the promise of God to him. He was a man who had no
heir (no child) by Sarah, who was his first, and lifelong wife (until [at
Sarah’s counsel] he took and married her handmaid). Sarah’s womb was the other
impossible circumstance. This circumstance was the fact that the promised child
would be born of her; the one who had been barren for all those many years.
God’s promise to Abraham was this, “…Sarah thy wife shall… (bear thee) a son” (Genesis 18:10). The promised son
was to be of Sarah; even though she
had never for all those years been able to bear. Nevertheless, the word of God to Abraham was
this, “…behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be
a father of many nations… for a father of many nations have I MADE THEE” (Genesis 17:4-5). This was the promise of God which Abraham would at last, have
to believe. For you and I today, God’s
promise is the same as it was to those Jews to whom Jesus spoke in John 8:30-36; except for the fact that,
for us, the work of Calvary is already finished. Nevertheless, just as surely
as Abraham had to believe the
promise of God to receive it in his day; so must we believe the promise of God
to receive it in our day.
Jesus said to those
Jews who believed on Him, believed that He was Jesus, a prophet
from Nazareth of Galilee; believed
He was the son of Joseph the Carpenter, believed
He could work miracles, believed He was “…the Son of David…”, etc. (Mark 12:35; Matthew 21:9-11),
and I could go on; but even though they believed
all these things about Him, and more, they could
not, and/or would not, believe that He was THE CHRIST that
should come. These things are also believed
by most all professing believers
today. But just as those Jews could not
believe that Jesus was the Christ that “…taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29); neither can most professed
believers today believe that He was and is the Christ that would “made an end of sins” (Daniel
9:24). “And she shall bring
forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his
people FROM their sins” (Matthew 1:21). They could not believe the record God gave of
His Son. Nevertheless, as New Covenant believers,
we must also hear and believe the record
of the benefits we have under the New Covenant; “…that Christ Jesus
came into the world to SAVE sinners…” (I Timothy 1:15). We must believe that through His sufferings, we
can be MADE FREE FROM sin
(something which those Jews could not
yet receive at the time He was speaking to them); but had to continue (to trust) in his words until after He had
suffered for them (and for us) before they and we could partake;
i.e., after He had finished the work He was sent to do through the offering of
His body and blood. We must first hear
and believe the gospel truth before
we can ever “…KNOW
the truth… (of the gospel of Him, which) shall (and will) MAKE… (us) …FREE INDEED” (FROM sin; John 8:30-36). But
they answered, “We be Abraham’s seed, and were never
in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?” (John 8:33).
These people had
a great need, but they either
couldn’t see it, or had no desire to
be MADE FREE FROM it. Now, as an
ambassador of Jesus Christ (II
Corinthians 5:19-20), I’m asking you, have you yet been made free from
sin. If not, you have a need to be made free from sin? If your answer is yes, my
next question is this; do you have a desire
to be MADE FREE FROM sin?
What is your answer? What do you say? Abraham believed God’s word (“…he
staggered not…;” he didn’t waver;
Romans 4:20) and he received God’s
promise to him (which was a child [an heir] of his own body by his [hitherto]
barren wife Sarah). Likewise, we must hear,
believe and submit ourselves completely unto the Word of His gospel if we are
ever to experience the promise of being MADE
FROM sin (John 8:34-36; Matthew 1:21).
JDG Message 19 - Faith
-----------------------------------------------
Equally as important as knowing the WORD of truth is rightly dividing it (II Timothy 2:15). “Study (make a prompt, earnest effort) to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, (in) rightly dividing the word of truth.”
-----------------------------------------------
*Footnote
Omissions or
Additions?
KJV (Textus
Receptus manuscripts)
NIV (Nestle
manuscripts)
Words bold faced in the KJV verses
(manuscripts) are omitted in the NIV verses (manuscripts).
There was no Greek word or words in either manuscript, to support the text which
is bolded,
underlined
and italicized.
Matt 17:20 and 21
20 KJV And
Jesus said unto them, “Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye
have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this
mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall
be impossible unto you.”
20 NIV He replied, “Because you have so little faith.
I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed,
you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move.
Nothing will be impossible for you.”
-----------------------------------------------
21 KJV “Howbeit this kind goeth
not out but by prayer and fasting.”
21 NIV The entire 21st verse is OMITTED.
-----------------------------------------------
Mark 9:29
29 KJV And he said unto them, “This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.”
29 NIV He replied, “This kind can come out only by
prayer (and fasting is OMITTED).”
-------------------------------------------------
John 5:3 and 4
3 KJV In these lay a great
multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, (and) withered, waiting for the moving of the water.
3 NIV Here a great number of
disabled people used to lie-- the blind, the lame, the paralyzed (The last seven
words of this verse are omitted in
the NIV.).
-----------------------------------------------
4 KJV For an angel went
down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then
first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever
disease he had.
4 NIV
The entire verse is OMITTED.
-------------------------------------------------
JDG Message 19 - Faith
Equally important as knowing
the WORD of truth is rightly dividing
it. II
Timothy 2:15: “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a
workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly
dividing the word of truth.”
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