REPENTANCE & FAITH“Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of:1.repentance from dead works and of 2.faith toward God, and of 3.instruction about washings, 4.the laying on of hands, 5.the resurrection of the dead, and 6.eternal judgment.

(Hebrews 6:1-2)

PART II: THE DOCTRINE OF FAITH IN GOD

Prepared by: Jean-Louis Kaliningondo – jlouiskali@dev-net.rw - 0738302925

June 8th, 2013

• The Meaning of Faith (Lexical approach)– In the Old Testament– In the New Testament

• The Meaning of Faith (NT Description)• Truth Nuggets about Faith• References & Resources for further study

Outline

The Meaning of Faith (Lexical Approach)1. In the Old Testament (Vine’s Expository Dictionary)FaithfulnessA. Noun.'emunah (H530), "faithfulness." In the Hebrew Old Testament, the noun occurs 49 times, mainly in the Book of Psalms (22 times). The basic meaning of 'emunah is "certainty" and "faithfulness." ...The Septuagint translations are: aletheia ("truthfulness; dependability; uprightness; truth; reality") and pistos ("trustworthy; faithfulness; reliability; rest; confidence; faith"). The KJV gives these translations: "faithfulness; truth; set office; faithfully; faithful. “B. Verb.'aman (H539), "to be certain, enduring; to trust, believe." In the Old Testament, the word occurs fewer than 100 times.Three words are derived from this verb: 'amen ("amen"—30 times; e.g., Psa 106:48), 'emet ("true"—127 times; e.g., Isa 38:18), and 'emunah ("faithfulness").

The Meaning of Faith (Lexical Approach)1. In the Old Testament (Vine’s Expository Dictionary-OT)BelieveA. Verb.'aman (H539), "to be firm, endure, be faithful, be true, stand fast, trust, have belief, believe." It appears in all periods of biblical Hebrew (about 96 times) and only in the causative and passive stems.B. Nouns.'emunah (H530), "firmness; faithfulness; truth; honesty; official obligation." In Exo. 17:12 (the first biblical occurrence), the word means "to remain in one place": "And his [Moses'] hands were steady until the going down of the sun." 'emet (H571), "truth; right; faithful." This word appears 127 times in the Bible. The Septuagint translates it in 100 occurrences as "truth" (aletheia) or some form using this basic root. C. Adverb.'amen (H543), "truly; genuinely; amen; so be it." The term 'amen is used 30 times as an adverb. The Septuagint renders it as "truly" (lethinos) once; transliterates it as "amen" three times; and translates it as "so be it" (genoito) the rest of the time.

The Meaning of Faith (Lexical Approach)2. In the New Testament (Vine’s Expository Dictionary-NT)Faithpistis (G4102), primarily, "firm persuasion," a conviction based upon hearing (akin to peitho, "to persuade"), is used in the NT always of "faith in God or Christ, or things spiritual.“The word is used of:(a)trust, e.g., Rom 3:25 [see Note (4) below]; 1Co 2:5; 1Co 15:14, 1Co 15:17; 2Co 1:24; Gal 3:23 [see Note (5) below]; Php 1:25; Php 2:17; 1Th 3:2; 2Th 1:3; 2Th 3:2; (b)(b) trust-worthiness, e.g., Mat 23:23; Rom 3:3, RV, "the faithfulness of God"; Gal 5:22 (RV, "faithfulness"); Tit 2:10, "fidelity"; (c)(c) by metonymy, what is believed, the contents of belief, the "faith," Act 6:7; Act 14:22; Gal 1:23; Gal 3:25 [contrast Gal 3:23, under (a)]; Gal 6:10; Php 1:27; 1Th 3:10; Jud 1:3, Jud 1:20 (and perhaps 2Th 3:2); (d)(d) a ground for "faith," an assurance, Act 17:31 (not as in KJV, marg., "offered faith"); (e) a pledge of fidelity, plighted "faith," 1Ti 5:12.

2. In the New Testament (Vine’s Expository Dictionary-NT)Belief, Believe, BelieversA. Verbs.1. pisteuo (G4100), "to believe," also "to be persuaded of," and hence, "to place confidence in, to trust," signifies, in this sense of the word, reliance upon, not mere credence. It is most frequent in the writings of the apostle John, esp. the Gospel. Usage:Matthew (10 ), Mark (10), Luke (9), John (99).

2. peitho (G3982), "to persuade," in the middle and passive voices signifies "to suffer oneself to be persuaded," e.g., Luk 16:31; Heb 13:18; Act 17:4, Act 27:11, in Act 28:24.

B. Noun.pistis (G4102), (see preceding slide)

C. Adjective.pistos (G4103), (a) in the active sense means "believing, trusting"; (b) in the passive sense, "trusty, faithful, trustworthy."

The Meaning of Faith (Lexical Approach)

Hebrews 11 – The Greatest Chapter about Faith “Now faith is the substantiating of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Darby) “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (MKJV) “Or la foi est une ferme assurance des choses qu'on espère, une démonstration de celles qu'on ne voit pas. ” (FLS)

The Meaning of Faith (NT Description)

Truth Nuggets about Faith1. Faith in Jesus-Christ is the sole condition for Eternal SalvationRom. 1:16-17 “For I am not ashamed of the glad tidings; for it is God's power to salvation, to every one that believes, both to Jew first and to Greek: for righteousness of God is revealed therein, on the principle of faith, to faith: according as it is written, But the just shall live by faith.”

ESV, Romans 3:21-27 “But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. …It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”

Romans 5:1-2 “Therefore having been justified on the principle of faith, we have peace towards God through our Lord Jesus Christ; by whom we have also access by faith into this favour in which we stand, and we boast in hope of the glory of God.”

Eph. 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

2. Faith is the basis for pleasing GodMat. 8:10 When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, "Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. Heb 10:38 Now, "the Just shall live by faith. But if he draws back, My soul shall have no pleasure in him." ESV, Heb. 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please him (God), for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. .”

3. Faith is a living principle, it produces fruits (good works)ESV, James 2:14, 17 “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? ... So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” Eph 2:10 “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

4. Faith opens the way for our HealingMat 8:13 And to the centurion Jesus said, "Go; let it be done for you as you have believed." And the servant was healed at that very moment.Mat 9:29 Then he touched their eyes, saying, "According to your faith be it done to you."Mar 5:34 And he said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease."

5. Faith is our only option in TribulationsDan 3:17-18 ”If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thy hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image that thou hast set up.”1Pe 1:6-7 “[salvation]..in which you greatly rejoice, yet a little while, if need be, grieving in manifold temptations; so that the trial of your faith (being much more precious than that of gold that perishes, but being proven through fire) might be found to praise and honor and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,”

6. Faith is our defense against the Enemy of our soulsEph 6:16 “besides all these , having taken the shield of faith with which ye will be able to quench all the inflamed darts of the wicked one.MKJV, 1Pe 5:8-9 Be sensible and vigilant, because your adversary the Devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking someone he may devour; whom firmly resist in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions in the world are being completed in your brotherhood.

7. Faith is our Victory over the world1Jn 5:4-5 For everything that has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

Further Study Resources

Questions

• How can we strengthen our faith in God?• What about other faiths (religions)?• Can someone lose faith?