In 1 Peter 5:7, it states that we are to cast all our worries on God, for he really cares about you and me. Yes, God truly cares… Let’s continue on the thought of overcoming. To overcome, the believer or Christian must live by faith in order to receive anything from God. What is this “faith”? Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (NLT). Another translation reads … (NLT). It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we can not yet see. I like to say it this way, Faith is; seeing that which is not as though it is according to God’s Word. In Romans 10:17 we find out where Faith comes from; yet faith comes from listening to this message of good news—the Good News about Christ.
Yes, NOW faith is…this faith is not hope but without hope you can not have faith for they work together. For hope is always out there in the future, but faith is to be now. But FAITH reacts or takes hold NOW, and the results are the substance of the thing hoped for. If faith is not NOW, it’s not faith.
In other words, faith is, believing NOW for the thing which you are asking for (His Promises) and expecting, anticipating the answer, the end result of what you have asked for to come about.
The promises of God have already been spoken. The Word, His will, is yes and amen. It’s a matter of us receiving what He has already done. In Romans, Paul talks about faith being a law. Romans 3:27 “Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.” The New Living Translation says it like this; “can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on our good deeds. It is based on our faith.”
So, the law of the Old Testament was a law of works. But now, under the New Covenant, it’s by the law of faith. Under the law, (the Old Testament) their works made them righteous. Righteousness is not by works, but today under The New Covenant, it’s by the law of faith. Faith must come from the heart…not the head.
In other words, faith must be developed. It takes time to develop faith. To continue to be an over-comer, one must stay connected with Christ through prayer, studying His Word, and applying what He says. The Holy Spirit will guide and lead us into all truth. We receive this truth by this law of faith. Faith in a risen Savior, the Savior of our soul, yes, our Lord and Master.
I once heard a person state, “It takes too much work to be a Christian.” There lies the problem. It is NOT by works that we become a Christian and maintain our relationship with Him. It must be from the heart and by faith, faith in the finished work and faith in the Word of God, that we live the Christian life. Unrighteousness, not living right, always comes from a heart issue.
Yes, I will say, it will take our part in consecration to guard ourselves from worldly and carnal ways. With that said, reading the Bible and praying must come from the heart, a desire and hunger to understand more of God and build a relationship with Him.
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