We are looking at the foundation stones that lay the groundwork for everything we believe.

Last week we looked at the importance of a lifestyle of repentance.

  1. Repentance is not a one time thing
    1. Hebrews 5: 14 through training or constant use.
  3. As we continue to pursue Jesus we realize we have an God who forgives and cleanses us from all unrighteousness.

Now.

Let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and faith toward God.

A couple of weeks ago, we talked on active faith.  There we emphasized how the daily living out of the commandments of God are vital in growing our faith.

This morning we are going to look at faith as a foundation stone.

  1. Faith in God

The author of Hebrews was not writing to a secular society that had kicked God out of their culture, the author was writing to Jewish people who.

  1. Believed in God
  2. Believed he forgave sins
  3. They could go to him with their prayers
  4. He demanded repentance and as a result he rewarded obedience and punished sin
    1. If you believed these things, you would be a sadducee
  5. Went on to talk about eternal reward based on our merit
  6. God interacting with people
    1. You would be a Pharisee
  7. The one difference between the disciples of Jesus and these other groups was
    1. Belief in the revelation of Jesus
    2. Evidence of the resurrection
  8. Any belief in God has to be through Jesus Christ
    1. Romans 1: 7,8 Grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  First, I thank God through Jesus Christ for all of you.

2. Jesus is only way

John 14: 6 I am the way, the truth and the life.  No one can come to the Father except through me.  If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is.  From now on, you know him and have seen him.

All roads do not lead to heaven.

EXAMPLE: all paths lead to heaven, even heaven is different for each religion.  Islam and and so many virgins, Buddhism is a nirvana of nothingness. Hinduism is keep living lives here on earth until perfection is attained.

Not going to spend a lot of time on this this morning, but the first step of Faith in God is a belief that Jesus is the only way to God.

Starts here but I want to go in a direction that shows us what the means for us today.

3. Faith on God

Faith in God could be better translated as Faith on God so what is the difference?

Faith on god means relying on him for something.

Trust on God that he will fulfill his promises despite the lack of evidence.

this is the step beyond the Sadducees and Pharisees.The revelation you are looking for is through Jesus Christ and God has kept his promise to send the Messiah so he is going to keep all his other promises.

  1. If you have faith of a mustard seed God is able to move any mountain sized problem Matthew 17:20
  2. Don’t worry about material things what you will eat or what you will wear Matthew 6:31
  3. Simply rely on God for your needs Matthew 10:9,10
  4. Life changing faith should impact us on every level of how we live our lives.
    1. Fear about future
    2. knowing we will give account of our lives before God someday
    3. I am living untied with Christ so be careful who I bind myself to here on earth.
    4. Every area we should live different.

Belief on God is not trusting some supernatural force or that a great karma will make everything work out in the end.  It is a trust in the promises of God in our lives.

EXAMPLE:  Once a man who had two daughters went off to war.  He promised that when he returned, he would bring each off them a fine string of pearls and a new dress.  No one knew about the promises except these two girls.  After many years, he did not return from the war and everyone presumed that they were dead.  His daughters continued to hope, believe and wait.  Decades passed and the girls grew up believing that the promise of the father would happen. One day a messenger came to the girls but only found one of them.  The messenger told them that their father was returning and to prove it, he gave one daughter a string of pearls.  What is the difference between he faith of the two girls?  One knew the dress was coming because she already had the pearls.  We have Jesus )(or the deposit of the Holy Spirit guaranteeing our inheritance Ephesians 1: 14)  so we can trust the rest of the promises.

4. Active Faith

Must cast our cares on Him because he cares for you 1 Peter 5: 7

Cast your cares on him for he shall sustain you.  He shall never permit the righteous to be moved Psalm 55: 22

he will keep you from tumbling and present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy Jude 24

The righteous will live by his faith Habakkuk 2:4

All of this comes in a revelation through the person of Jesus and the knowledge of his resurrection

Faith is believing In the revelation of Jesus

Believing in the resurrection

That God who has kept these promises will keep the rest of them.

He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but  was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.  1 Peter 1: 20, 21