Romans 4:20-21(NKJV) 20He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, 21and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform.
In yesterday’s post, we found that the difference between the promises of God and everything else in the Word of God is that a promise is personal. I also believe the Lord wants us to concentrate on this idea of the promises. I believe it is important right now that we begin to read the promises as coming from the Father to each one of us. The bible contains promises that cover every area of life. As we find them, we find the heart of God for our future.
Yesterday’s scripture was Hebrews 10:23 where Paul tells us “he is faithful” who made these promises to us. That is the most important thing we must focus upon. It is not the words themselves that are important. It is not how they are put together. Although there are bible truths to be learned about confessing the Word of God, how you confess the promise is not what is most important to understand. It is not the promise but the one who gives that promise that makes them dependable and powerful.
In the early days of what became the “Word of Faith movement”, we heard many teachings that focused on the practical side of faith in God. I know that my life was transformed by the idea that I could apply the Word of God to my circumstances and see things changed. We found that there were principles that, if applied to our faith walk, always produced a result. We learned those principles and we learned how to work them.
We had many teachings that involved “steps.” There were teachings like “five steps to the highest faith” or “seven steps to a deeper prayer life.” These step teaching appealed to our sense of order. They gave us something we could do that would help us walk in the power of these wonderful principles. However, there was a problem with this kind of thinking. We boiled things like faith down to a series of steps. Faith, like many of the principles of God, is much more alive than that. Faith is not a matter of steps; it is a matter of relationship.
It is not wrong to have steps to follow. These are principles and they work a certain way. However, when we forget the relationship aspect of anything concerning God and his dealings with man, that thing will become law. We found ourselves in a culture of “faith law.” If someone did not follow the steps, there was often condemnation directed toward them. They just did not have faith. They did not know the Word as we did. Their confession was all wrong. Both faith and the movement that grew up around some very important teachings got a bad name and were, in many circles, rejected.
If we want to understand faith, we must understand that faith is a product of relationship. You cannot have faith in the word of any individual if you do not know that individual well enough to trust them. If a stranger comes to you and promises to do something for you, you will discount his word because you do not know that person. You have no frame of reference for whether or not they will keep their word. You have little faith in their promise because you have little relationship with them.
If someone that you know and trust makes a promise to you, that is a totally different thing. If you know them, you know if they keep their word. If they do, you begin to make plans based on their promise to you. If you trust them, you know that they will do all in their power to follow through with their promise to you.
It is no different with God. You cannot have faith in someone you do not trust, even if he happens to be the God of the universe. You cannot trust someone you do not know. You may mentally agree with the principle that God will do what he says he will do however, that is not real faith. Real faith is knowing that someone will do what they said they would for you.
Once you know that is true, you can apply steps and principles to the promise. You can fulfill the conditions of the promise knowing that “the one who promised is faithful.” If you do not believe that, all the steps in the world will produce nothing. If you believe in the faithfulness of the one who promised, you might get some steps wrong but the relationship between you and he will make up the difference.
Two stories in the bible illustrate this very well. The first is the story behind today’s scripture. I believe Romans chapter 4 is a textbook of faith. From this chapter we can learn the steps Abraham took in order to obtain the fulfillment of the promise of God for his life. However today’s verse tells us what was behind all the steps. Abraham believed that what God had promised, God would do.
Abraham was not a young man when God made this promise to him. He was seventy-five years old when God made covenant with him. He was one hundred years old by the time it was fulfilled. He had a long history with God. God had blessed him, given him victory in battle and protected him when he made some serious mistakes. God had instructed him to leave his homeland when he was a young man and for all the years between then and the giving of this promise, God had been faithful to do what God said he would do.
Because of his relationship with God, Abraham believed God. It was this faith that God accounted for righteousness. He followed the steps of faith because of his relationship. I do not think he had a list of things to do in order to get God to move. I believe he did those things naturally as a product of his trust in the promise giver. We can study his steps and learn from them. However, we must never think the steps themselves are the relationship. Many people confuse the two.
We find the second story in Luke 7:6-10. It is the story of the Roman centurion who had, what Jesus called, great faith. He sent word to Jesus that his servant was ill. Jesus was on his way to the centurion’s house when the centurion sent him a second message. He told Jesus there was no need to come to his house. He said he was not even worthy to come to Jesus. This was a reflection of the Jewish attitude toward Gentiles at the time.
He makes a statement that is very revealing. He says, “I know that you are a man under authority and when you give an order it will be carried out. All you have to do is say the Word and my servant will be healed.” The centurion did not need Jesus to come to him. He did not need to know what words Jesus said to produce this healing. It was enough that it was Jesus who said them. Jesus marveled at this man’s great faith.
Most of the time we focus on the fact that the centurion believed the word of Jesus alone as the reason his faith was so great. That is not the full truth. The centurion trusted Jesus words for a reason. He did not know Jesus personally, but he knew him by his reputation. He knew him by the testimony of others. He knew enough that he trusted in the character and integrity of Jesus. He knew him well enough to know that Jesus was a man under authority and therefore in authority. He did not just trust the words of Jesus. He trusted Jesus.
As Christians, we can know God on a level that no other people have been able to know him since the Garden of Eden. He lives in us. He has redeemed us, made us new creatures and, in the words of Jesus, he and the Father have made their abode in us. However, we often try to have faith without really cultivating that relationship. When we do, our faith is weak. We may see some things happen but it is not until our faith rests not only in the Word of God, but also in the God of the Word and our relationship with him that we will do great things for God.
If you want to have great faith in the promises of God, spend time with the God of the promises. Think about all the times God has been faithful in your life. Resist the urge to complain about what has not yet happened. That hinders relationship. Instead, thank him personally for his goodness. You will see God do great things.
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