Communion With the Christ:: The Object of Our Faith

"Jesus replied, "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed,"Lk:16:6a

Some people believe that faith is nothing but a mental assent to a truth, that if you believe a thing is true, then you are exercising faith. But faith is more than simply believing something is true.

Some believe that faith is a feeling, a feeling of confidence If you to have confidence, you have faith; if you do not have confidence, then you have little or no faith, faith then depends upon how deep of feeling(s) you can generate. But that is not true faith, and that kind of definition of faith deceives many people.

There are some who think that faith actually is a type of self-deception. Somebody has said that "faith is a way of believing what you know is not true". There are people who actually try to believe something which they know is not true and they “talk themselves” into believing it, and call that faith.

What is faith? Many will say "I do not have enough faith", or "I lack the faith to receive answers to my prayers". What then is faith and how does faith work?

Faith is not the Law

Faith is not the keeping of a religious the Law or attempting to live up to a standard that accompanies a form of performance-based religion, nor is faith finding acceptance with God based on our performance. This will not work; it has never worked because keeping the Law is beyond the means of Humanity.

St. Peter and St. Paul addressed this truth that we cannot live up to the holy perfect slandered of God even its minimum form, in fact St. Paul tells us that the Law of God exposes our very inability to keep it bring our sinful nature to the forefront.

St. Peter called “performance-based religion”, “a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear?” Acts: 15:10b

St. Paul put it this way.

"When we were controlled by our old nature, sinful desires were at work within us, and the law aroused these evil desires that produced a harvest of sinful deeds, resulting in death".Rm:7:5

To the Corinthian Christians St. Paul tells them, and we all, that the very empowerment of sin over our lives come through the Law.

"for the strength of sin is the Law"1Crth: 15:56

What the Law does do, is, to expose our need for a Savior. We cannot save ourselves, Law keeping may have benefits but it will not save us.

Before faith there was the Law, which points us to our need for Christ and to Christ but the Promise(s) by faith, that is we did not nor cannot earn them.

Before the coming of this faith we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.

So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.f you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise."Gal:3:23-29

No matter how well we do, we will fail, regardless of our “will power” or skill or personal Inclination or personal devotion, we will fail. What the Law does do is, to define sin, and points us to our need for Jesus Christ but the Law never brings the Righteousness of God nor the Promise of God.

The Law tells you what to do, but does not give you the capacity to do what it requires of us.

The Old Covenant Mind Set

Understand, that the Old Covenant, of which the Law was the central focus, was not just a codified system, but rather it is was a "mind set" that was in place as to how to approach God, meaning, it was thought, that our relationship with God is "performance based”. Many Christians, even to this day live in, and under, an Old Covenant mid-set relationship, they sincerely are attempting to either earn their salvation or earn God's favor and or love thru a performance-based religion.

This Old Covenant approach to God produces a form of legalism, which produces either "Self-Righteousness" or "Self-Condemnation". That means, that, a legalist can never be at "rest" . The legalist will either over value their performance which produces "Self-Righteousness" or under value their performance which produces "Self-Condemnation”.

But, when we look to Jesus alone and understand that it is Jesus who has saved us apart from any performance of our own, then we can be at rest in Christ.

Faith of Christ

Even the faith which we might experience is not our own. Faith by which we experience salvation dose not find origins in our selves but is granted by God. St. Paul , called it the faith of Christ

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Gal: 2:20

This tells us that Jesus himself had faith that he would accomplish the salvation of any who will but freely receive it.

This same faith which belongs to Jesus, is shared with us through the Holy Spirit. This faith is described as both a “gift” and a “fruit” of the Holy Spirit. It is a “fruit” so that we receive all that our Lord has bequeathed for us. , and a “gift” so that we will participate in Jesus' ongoing ministry, for with out faith we can not please God. How much better is it that we are granted to share in our Lord’s perfect faith that we might be found pleasing the Great God.

Gal: 5:20:22-23, 1Corth:12, Heb:11:6

Promises Discharged Through faith:

Faith secures the promise(s) from God. What the Law could not do, faith does. We are accepted and loved through faith; grace brings this promise of God to us in the same manner that Abraham received them through the "Promised Seed" whom St. Paul identifies as Jesus.

"It was not through the law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. For if those who depend on the law are heirs, faith means nothing and the promise is worthless, because the law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression.

Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who have the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all.As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not." Rm: 4:13-17

Abraham's heart was turned completely away from himself to God and to his promise(s).

St. Paul says that what we receive from God is all through Jesus. All things are ours’ in Christ.

"So then, no more boasting about human leaders! All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God."1Crth:3:21-23-

What Faith IS

The Patriarch Abraham looked to God, not the physical circumstance- He looked at God’s Power to do what he promised that he would do.

"As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.”He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not.

Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God,"Rom 4:17b-20a

In these verses, we find, that the important factor is not the “amount of our faith” but rather, who the Object of our faith is. Here we see the obstacles of faith which is the physical circumstances which can, and do, obscures our view of the Great God. Abraham looked beyond the obstructions and kept his view riveted upon his God whom he knew could and would bring to pass all that he had promised to do.

You see, the "quality of faith" nor the "amount of our faith" of "our" faith has anything to do with the Object of our faith. If we are focused on the person of Jesus Christ, through whom God the Father has provided the answer to all our needs then we like Abraham will have the confidence to receive the promises of God.

This is why Jesus said in Mk: 11:20-24 “Have Faith in God” (who tis he Object of our faith)

“Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them ,Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours" Mk:11:22-24

Even if our faith is the size of a mustard seed, but our hearts are fixed upon Jesus then we will say to the mountains to be moved and moved they will be. It is not the size of our faith but the "object of that faith-" that brings the results we need regardless of the circumstances which we might be facing.

Do not Doubt in your heart, that is, do not doubt our Lord God.

Jesus also said, that you will "speak to the Mountain” not speak about it, but to it. If you talk about the mountain it will grow, if you talk to it will go- that is we are to assert that God has the power to deal with mountain in our lives and that we should speak about His divine power to move the mountain which we all will face.

That is why you should not talk about your faith; talk, instead about the God in whom your faith is fixed! It is not a question to the amount of our faith but rather the power of our God

Abraham saw his circumstances, the age of he and Sara’s bodies, yet, Abraham saw the obstacles and he looked past the “problem” and focused on the God who could accomplish anything.

What Abraham Focused On

Abraham focused on the fact that God has the power to raise to life the dead and calls what is not into being. Abraham knew that God could bring life into any situation which he, or we, might face and could bring things in to being, whatever he wanted.

We have already exercised greater faith then Abraham, when we accept by faith that God has raised His Son from the dead. Abraham was only looking for the return of vitality to his and Sarah’s bodies; we look to a Son raised from the grave and death

Challenges to our faith

Abraham hoped against hope and he saw the conditions but looked to God. He accepted God at His word, he did not say "God won’t do this for me, or maybe it’s not His will or this is not the time”, rather he accepted the fact that God would bless him.

Abraham looked at the conditions in which he was in, they were far past child bearing years, yet he knew that God could raise the dead, renew life to their bodies or any situation-. He focused on the God who could do these things.

Abraham knew that God could bring into being anything, he knew that God wanted to bless him. It could become realty because of the God in whom his faith in.

The Patriarch knew that nothing is too hard for God? Abraham was fully persuaded that God could do what he promised.

God is The Object of faith

When we look to, and rest our faith in Jesus, not in the circumstances, and to know that God moves with power, we should then talk about the God who can do all things, who builds and moves and creates that this God, can meet all of our needs. Have faith in Jesus, not in our own faith, or the size of our faith, but in Jesus alone who is the object of our faith.

Benediction: May we each and all ever rest with our hearts and minds fixed upon our Lord Jesus who is the object of our faith, today, tomorrow and forevermore.