Faith is the greatest gift God has given to all His children. It is motivated by His perfect love and applied through His amazing grace.

The faith that I am referring to is not about man’s natural ability to believe, for man by nature does not have that ability. As the Scripture says, a natural man is spiritually dead and totally depraved!

The faith that God gives only comes by hearing the Word of God. (Romans 10:17.) That is why there is a need for God’s people to preach and share the Word; for a spiritually dead man cannot believe and would not have the desire and the ability to know, understand; much more to apply God’s Word. This must encourage us believers to share and get the Word to reach all men. It is only the faith God gives that will enable man to know his sinful status before God and his need of salvation. It is the faith of the Son of God that will help man realize that Christ paid for his sin on the cross and lead him to confess and believe unto salvation.

Faith is the first act of the Holy Spirit in man’s life to guide him to the saving grace by pointing him to Jesus. There is always this question: when does the Holy Spirit indwells a person. Is it during the time when he was chosen before the world begun, so that a man who is called is already saved without confession and repentance? The Bible says clearly in Romans 10:9 that man is saved after confessing and believing in God; and all these things are the workings of the Holy Spirit.

All believers have faith but not all exercise it faithfully. It is the exercise of faith that pleases God. (Hebrews 11:6.) The exercise or the working out of faith results in good works and in Christian service. When faith works; it is supernatural for it shows the power and the glory of God. Since faith is from God, it allows all christians to give and serve more than his ability. If we only live and serve God within the ability we possess, it means the faith that He gave is not being exercised according to God’s purpose and will.

Faith gives us the willingness and the boldness to be a witness for Christ. It takes away the fear of man, even the fear of death. Faith produced the martyrs of the past who gave their lives for Jesus Christ. (Hebrews 11). It is faith that drives the Pastors and missionaries to obey and surrender to the Mission field. It is faith that gives boldness for every believer to live contrary to what the world offers; and it gives us confidence to fight the good fight of faith. It is faith that moves the believers to give more than what they can afford to give; for faith helps us tap on God’s unlimited resources. Faith places God in a position to bless us and to open the windows of heaven.

If you are saved, you have faith! But having faith is nothing if it is not exercised according to God’s Word. It is not possible for someone who is truly saved, have faith and not exercise it. The question is are we abiding in faith or are we living by faith? Abiding and living by faith is the manifestation of the faith of Christ through our life, service, and behavior, consistently. Faith is taking God at His Word; not just professing that we posses it, but manifesting the power of God in right living, faithful service, and godly behavior.

The unbeliever is totally void of faith. Nothing they do will ever please God. It is the believer’s responsibility to share with them God’s Word so the Holy Spirit can begin to guide and show them to live and serve God. This must therefore behoove us to keep on sharing the truth to introduce them to the Living Word!

Conclusion:

Hebrew 11:1 gives a wonderful definition of Faith to show us that faith is not our doing. It is all God’s doing in and through us, His children.

It is a “substance” or it gives substance or it substantiate what we claim we profess to believe by showing the proof or the evidence, which is the power of God in us. It is not to show the works of the flesh; for It is through the exercise of faith that we manifest the unseen, which is the presence of Christ in us.

The unbeliever does not have faith for they are dead! They do good and serve; not to show the living Christ, but to show his self righteousness and self glory.

If you are a child of God; you have the true faith and you will show it one way or another; but only those who are faithfully and consistently exercising this faith until Christ comes will be rewarded in glory.

May the faith that we claim to possess will always manifest the presence and power of Christ in us!