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I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me (Galatians 2:20b, ESV, emphasis added).
The primary Greek word in the New Testament for faith is “pistis” or “pistos,” both used about 300 times from Matthew to the Book of Revelation.
So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love (1 Corinthians 13:13).
Okay, Pastor Grant, besides you being a Greek geek, why should we take a moment and give homage to faith?
Because it is by grace we are saved through faith (Ephesians 2:8); without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6); our Christian walk is from faith to faith (Romans 1:17); anything not proceeding from faith is sin (Romans 14:23); we are healed by faith (James 5:15); our prayers must have faith (Matthew 21:22); we gain wisdom from faith (James 1:6); and faith is the mustard seed from which everything good happens while following Jesus (Matthew 17:20).
I could list about 200 other verses, but that would take me over the 500-word limit for this blog post. However, below are seven of my “faith lessons” that I’ve learned from walking in faith for over 50 years…
- It’s not blind faith, because it’s ultimately based on the resurrection of Jesus.
- It’s easier to walk by sight than by faith.
- As soon as I decide to take a step of faith, I’m often assailed by doubting in the flesh and an attack on my confidence from the evil one.
- My most significant moments of growing in faith have come after significant loss.
- The world is too complicated; we can’t figure it out. The only way to find peace is to have faith in Jesus.
- The fruit of true faith is a realistic presence of the Spirit.
- Living by faith makes life an adventure worth living.
I’ve written several blog posts on faith in Interruptions. You might enjoy going to GrantEdwardsAuthor and reading Ten Faith Lessons or Five Dollar Faith. I’ve written over one million words in 1,958 Interruptions, so I asked Alice, my AI assistant, to read them all for this blog post and give me what she would consider my favorite statement that I’ve written on faith. Her answer…
Based on your blog, your personal quote on faith, that was also included in a sermon that you preached decades ago, would be, “Faith is only a gesture on our part, but it becomes a handhold that God uses in snatching us out of difficulties.”
I agree with Alice on this, especially when I think about all the “snatching” faith I’ve experienced with God, but I would also add this…
Faith is the first step to our future!
