Faith in Jesus Christ is easy. Faith in things is not. Faith, in regards to our personal life issues, has been talked about as if it was some magic ability. If you believed then you could receive. If you didn’t receive, then you didn’t believe enough. Personally, I could not make the connection between believing and receiving as people taught. What did I have to do to believe more? How can people preach about giving them more money which will then lead me to receive more than I gave? Those were mysteries in my mind for a long time. I heard people preach about others not having enough faith and then bad things would happen. Or they feared instead of believed, and this would result in something negative due to their unbelief. What a merry-go-round this is. Hope was similar because it seemed like wishing. Unwinding all this incorrect teaching has taken a long time, not because I was unwilling to learn, but because I was surrounded by preachers who preached incorrectly thus reinforcing the wrong teaching. Those preachers did not believe what they were preaching but they repeated their scripted talking points because their denomination or Bible college told them that they had to. What it seemed like to me was that people were asking me to trust God, but they didn’t clarify that we should trust in Him alone, and not trust Him to fulfill my personal will or personal wishes, but to fulfill His will. Preachers didn’t suggest that we develop our relationship with Him to learn His will. They did suggest that the Elohim was going to give us what we wanted if we asked, we just have to have faith/trust and then our will will be done. If a preacher wants to build a new building he asks us to give him money and then God will bless us for giving. We don’t know whose will it is to build the building but if it is God’s will then I don’t have to be enticed or manipulated with promises that God will multiply my donation. Wouldn’t God tell me to give because it is His will? Why would my faith need manipulation to become activated? Wouldn’t it be more logical (according to their teachings), for the preacher to give me, say $20, then when God gives him $40, he can give that to me too, so that he has $80, until he receives the amount that he wants? This is a more logical way (according to their doctrine) to build a building, give others money so it can be multiplied back to the preacher. When we fail to receive what we believed for then we assume that God doesn’t love us. Since that is not true we have to look for our misunderstanding.
Our brain is basically plastic (neural plasticity), not cement, and this allows us to develop new neural pathways. We can change or expand our thinking when we have corrected or enhanced information. We are not stuck thinking incorrect thoughts unless we do not want to change. Practice doesn’t make something we do perfect, but perfect practice makes what we do perfect. Our dilemma is that we have enough alterations and distortions in scripture that we have unknowingly memorized and practiced imperfectly. For example, many people have memorized Paul’s words, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” People apply this phrase to things like physical activities such as rock climbing, or believing for a new Corvette, as if repeating it enough times makes it so. In that verse Paul is referring to being poor and in need, or having all his needs met. In both of those cases he can be abased or abound through Christ. No one wants to be content being poor and having need, but Paul is explaining that he has the strength to endure.
We should not resist relearning and changing so that we can develop a strong foundation and relationship with Yahweh when we first become believers in Jesus the Messiah. David spent his younger years herding his father’s sheep, while singing and praising the Elohim. This was David’s foundation which enabled him to go on to achieve great things for Yahweh. Elijah was a Zadok priest from the city of priests. We do not know how old he was when he left to start his ministry but we do know that he was seasoned in the words and ways of Yahweh.
History records that Abraham grew up with Noah and Shem, living with them until he was around forty years old. Isaac was about thirty seven when he went with Abraham up one of the mountains of Moriah as a sacrifice. Afterwards, Isaac went to school with Shem and Eber for three years. Jacob served in the tents of Yahweh with Shem and Eber until he was about fifty seven years old. Today we think that if we went to a bible college for a few years then we are all ready to tell the world what we know. But the Bible doesn’t always bear this out. We have elevated young people to be role models only to later be disappointed that they decided to reject Yahweh. What we need is time and experience to learn how to fight the lion and the bear because spiritual pressure will come, the squeeze will happen, and when it does we need to be stable and steady in the fight.
Paul gives us the answer in talking about faith. Our faith needs time to grow and increase. If someone walks away from Yahweh after years of service, we can conclude that they lost their faith or their faith was shaken when a storm came. David’s faith wasn’t shaken slaying giants. Elijah’s faith wasn’t shaken even though he wanted a face to face meeting with Yahweh. Both examples show us that their foundations were strong so that when the storm came they were steady.
https://musingsofawinsomeheart.blogspot.com/2021/07/little-faith-law-of-faith-from-credence.html
https://musingsofawinsomeheart.blogspot.com/2021/07/so-simple-judging-in-righteousness.html
https://musingsofawinsomeheart.blogspot.com/2020/12/will-he-find-faith-out-of-persuasion.html
https://musingsofawinsomeheart.blogspot.com/2021/11/expectations-cheerful-perseverance.html
https://musingsofawinsomeheart.blogspot.com/2020/12/understanding-expectation-our.html
Romans 1:17 G1343 For righteousness G1063 G2316 of God G1722 [2by G1473 3it G601 1is revealed] G1537 from G4102 belief G1519 unto G4102 belief; G2531 as G1125 has been written, G3588 But the G1161 G1342 just G1537 [2of G4102 3belief G2198 1shall live].
1343
δικαιοσύνη
dikaiosunē dik-ah-yos-oo'-nay From G1342; equity (of character or act); specifically (Christian) justification KJV Usage: righteousness.
1342
δίκαιος
dikaios dik'-ah-yos From G1349; equitable (in character or act); by implication innocent, holy (absolutely or relatively) KJV Usage: just, meet, right (-eous).
What is equity? Equity is the act of being fair and impartial. Equity is not equality. Equality is giving the same to all, let’s say a $20 bill. Equity is giving some people $20, some people $30 and some people $40, because not all people start out with the same amount of money, some people get more than others so that the end results are the same. In our societies we would say that this equity is unfair, as the people who received less money worked harder for their overall wealth, whereas the people who received more money did not work as hard to gain their wealth. To be equitable means that all people are given something in fairness and impartiality. Righteousness is equity. Each individual becomes righteous by Jesus’ blood. One person cannot be more righteous than another if both believe that Jesus is Yahweh and that he rose up on the third day. The equity for the Elohim is uncovered in us from out of faith. Whether someone just believed Jesus is Lord today or someone else has believed for many years, both have the same righteousness.
The comparisons and adjustments we try to make regarding equity are usually incorrect. Our judgments for equity is not between believers in the Messiah because all are equitable. The comparison made between believers in Messiah and non-believers in Messiah would then suggest that the Elohim is inequitable. We cannot attempt to apply the same equity to non-believers in Christ, which is like comparing apples and oranges. The burden is on humans to be persuaded in Jesus. The foundation is first whether one is a believer, then equity can be applied. All believers are saved by grace, not works, no matter if someone is a believer for one day or for many years. All receive salvation equitably. By contrast, the unbeliever in Christ does not receive salvation. One cannot receive salvation apart from Yahweh Jesus Messiah.
In a societal sense, all people should be judged equitably, fairly, and impartially, according to that nations’ laws. But this is rarely the case as the rich have highly paid lawyers and often receive light judgment, while the poor with their public defenders receive a harsher judgment. Also, people can receive preferential treatment based on whether they are part of certain political persuasions or clubs that agree with the judge and jury. Equity is not attainable in society because humans are fallible. The Elohim is equitable, fair, and impartial, towards all humans in salvation, and those who receive Jesus receive salvation equitably.
Equity for the Elohim is uncovered in us, from out of credence into loyalty.
“Righteousness for Elohim uncovered (apokaluptō) in us, from out of faith into faith just as written ‘but the just live from out of faith’”.
“Righteousness for Elohim uncovered in us, from out of persuasion into persuasion, just as written ‘but the just live from out of persuasion’”.
The gospel is the miraculous power of salvation for all, and righteousness/equity/fairness/impartiality for the Elohim is revealed in us from out of persuasion into moral conviction. From out of confidence into reliance. From out of confidence into trust. From out of belief into fidelity. Faith is not just a thing that one has regarding Jesus, it grows deeper from believing that Jesus is Lord to fully knowing that Jesus is Lord. What is revealed in us? What is the apocalypse in us? Righteousness. Why? It is credence to fidelity. Faith is not just accepting that something is true but devotion and continued loyalty to said truth. From out of faith into faith. Both the centurion and the Canaanite woman went from out of faith, talking to Jesus asking for a miracle, into faith when the miracle of healing took place. Do you think that they both were devoted to Jesus after that day? Yes. Unlike the Israelites who saw miracles and still rejected Jesus, we are to deepen our faith so that we are not dying sheep.
To better understand the progression that Paul is talking about we can say from out of credence into fidelity. Credence is acceptance and another word for faith. Fidelity is loyalty or dedication, and is also another word for faith. Acceptance happens when we first believe on Jesus as Yahweh and Messiah. As we grow up we become more and more loyal to Yahweh Jesus Messiah. Paul is trying to explain that David has the same righteousness that we do. Or that Elijah has the same righteousness that we have. That righteousness, that equity, is the same for all believers, and it is uncovered or revealed in us as we grow from acceptance to loyalty, or credence to fidelity.
Paul quotes Habakkuk here. The just live from out of faith. The just live from out of persuasion. No matter how evil the Chaldean/Babylonian invaders are, who come with Yahweh’s judgment against Judah, the just, the righteous, will live. As the captivity of Judah was for 70 years, the just lived through that time from out of their trust in Yahweh. The key here is trust or faith in Yahweh.
Our righteousness is uncovered in us from out of faith into fidelity, and the righteous live from out of fidelity. No one is rescued from out of trials if they are not righteous, which means they must have faith. Or one must have faith to be righteous. What if someone does not have faith?
Faith is not a magic brain wave that pierces the cosmos to force a result. I have known people to hang pictures of things they want on mirrors or refrigerators so that they can “believe” for them. People also cut out magazine pictures of a model to “believe” for their own body to look like that model. There is something seriously wrong with this way of thinking. The Elohim is not obligated to do what we want. The start of faith is the simplicity of belief that Jesus is Yahweh and Messiah. We can break that down further in asking: did Jesus walk on the earth? Did Jesus heal people? Did Jesus open the eyes of blind people? We can start there and as we come to know Him we can know His ways, which will cause us to grow. We accept that Jesus is Lord and that he rose up on the third day. Then we become loyal to Him.
As we grow up in Him we come to know Him more and more, we learn His ways, we learn about the universe that he created so that our faith grows. Faith is like building a brick house until we are closed in. No big bad wolf can blow it down. Time is an element in our development. Young believers may not have the brick work on their house finished as longer term believers will. David and Elijah spent time with Yahweh before they did the tasks they were asked to do. Time is key. From out of faith into faith. From out of acceptance into loyalty. Faith starts out small and grows in time. Faith should always be in Yahweh, not in people, not in things, not in healings, not in miracles. When someone who was a Christian influencer falls away from Yahweh then that one’s house may have been built with hay upon the sand.
Hope is another mystery because it is not wishing, as it is often portrayed, it is expectation. Faith has a prominent part in hope. Faith is understanding expectation, that something hasn’t been seen yet. An example would be, faith is understanding the expectation that we will meet Jesus in the air. We will meet him someday, but maybe not today. We expect that because the Bible says that. Faith is understanding the words of the Holy Spirit and recognizing that those words will come to pass if we believe in Jesus.
Hebrews 11:1 G1510.2.3 [3is G1161 1And G4102 2belief G1679 5of hoping G5287 4 the reality] G4229 of things, G1650 the proof G3756 not G991 being seen.
“But persuasion is understanding expectation, deeds proof not seen.”
Faith or pistis is not a “substance” or an “assurance”. Those things are not solid. How many times have we been assured that things will be fine when they are not? Substance sounds like something mysterious, something we don’t know how to attain. This leaves us with a problem in how to attain faith. Is it like a smiling nurse who doesn’t want to give us the bad news? Or is it a thing that we have to search for but we may not know it if we have found it? The unusual translation has caused us problems. It is hupostasis, “under-standing”. It is hupo meaning “under”, and histēmi meaning “to stand”. Understanding is “comprehension, grasping, mastery, or perception”. Therefore faith is understanding.
To break down these words, persuasion (noun) is pistis, meaning “faith or moral conviction”. An example of faith is that we all believe air is safe to breathe, and that the ground is firm to stand on. It is something that is concrete in our perception. We were born with this reality and we don’t question it. It is something that we are persuaded in. We don’t wear weighted space suits and breathe oxygen from a tank all day long. Understanding (noun) is hupostasis meaning “perceiving reality”, it is the foundation that one stands on. We comprehend that air is safe to breathe and that the ground is safe to walk on. We believe it, we grasp it. We are not afraid to get out of bed and put our feet on the ground. We are not afraid to inhale. We don’t spend undue time thinking about it, we simply do it. Expectation (verb) elpizō means “to hope for, look for, or expecting”. We expect that when we breathe, the oxygen will be safe for us. We expect that when we stand up, the earth will not cave in underneath us. We expect that the sun will rise whether we see it or not. We expect that storms will come whether we are in them or we watch them from far off. Expectation is a supposition or a calculation that something will happen. We know it will happen, but we do not always know when.
Persuasion is a thing, understanding is a thing, and expectation is an action.
We could say that our moral conviction is the understanding of what we expect will happen, the proof of deeds not yet seen. The two verbs in both statements are “expecting” and “seen”. We are taking action in expectation of what is not seen. Faith is understanding expectation. We are expecting to see the proof of deeds not yet seen. Our moral conviction is a perceived reality for us. We have calculated that the proofs of the workings of Yahweh, in the people who have come before us, are indeed truth. We calculate that if Yahweh can work in those people and they trusted Him, then Yahweh can work in us and we can trust Him.
Expectation is a key for us. Faith is understanding expectations. Let’s say I need transportation so that I can work. Yahweh knows I need transportation. I might pray for and believe for a specific car. I might try and use my brain power to make a certain type of car come into my life. Instead, faith is understanding that Yahweh knows I need transportation, so my faith is in him to provide something, not in him to be a genie granting wishes. Yahweh may provide me with a car, a scooter, a bicycle, or a carpool ride. If we are really serving him it won’t matter. We can be content in any situation, we can be abased or abound.
Our faith pleases the Elohim. When we have faith then we draw near to Him to find out what our next step is. Is it a car or a bicycle? Or do we need to take the bus because someone on that bus may need to hear that Jesus loves them? Are we thankful for whatever he provides or do we have a tantrum like a chid because we didn’t get what we want? We don’t live for ourselves we live for Him.
Hebrews 11:6 G5565 But apart from G1161 G4102 belief G102 it is impossible G2100 to well-please; G4100 [6to believe G1063 1for G1163 2it is necessary G3588 3for the one G4334 4coming forward G3588 G2316 5to God] G3754 that G1510.2.3 he is; G2532 and G3588 to the ones G1567 seeking after G1473 him G3406 [2a paymaster G1096 1he becomes].
“But apart from persuasion unable/incapable please, for it is necessary the draw near to the Elohim to have faith that is, and the seek Him out, becomes rewarder.”
The righteous live by their convictions or by their acceptance and loyalty; faith. Faith is trust. It does not matter what all the chicken littles say. It does not matter what the big bad wolf threatens. It does not matter what the plans of Drakōn and Satanas are for the future. What matters is something as simple as faith, trust, conviction. Faith makes us righteous and righteousness saves us from out of death.
It may be that we have misunderstood the idea of asking and receiving. The context of Luke 11 is The Lord’s Prayer, or Jesus instructing his disciples in how to pray. If you ask, as in The Lord’s Prayer, for Yahweh’s will to be done on earth, or for daily food, or for forgiveness, or for the evil one not to tempt us, or for us to be rescued from all evil, then we will have what we ask for. Jesus then goes on to explain that the heavenly Father is good. He will provide if we ask. Therefore we are to keep on asking, seeking, and knocking, and then we will receive the Holy Spirit. That is the context. The context is not asking for a Corvette, a mansion and a yacht, or excess riches. Jesus is connecting the context of The Lord’s Prayer and asking for the Holy Spirit.
Wouldn’t it have been great for David to ask for fire and brimstone to wipe out all the Philistines so that he could go home and relax? Instead David fought with his own hands and Yahweh directed him. Wouldn’t it have been great for Elijah to ask for a hole in the earth to swallow up all the people that were not adhering to Yahweh’s covenant? Instead Elijah openly mocked all the false prophets and the government, and thus the common people knew that the prophet of God had power. Daniel wasn’t spared from the lions den, he was protected in the lions den. Noah and his family went through the flood, and Job went through great loss, but Yahweh saw them through. They all did what Yahweh wanted and not what they wanted. They all had faith in Yahweh not in their own desires and abilities.
Our faith grows as we mature. We start out with the simple belief that Jesus is Lord because we see what is written about him. We learn his ways which builds our understanding of expectations. We can rewire our thinking to match the word of the Elohim. When we are in need, the first thing we do is ask Yahweh what we are to do. There are no magic words to be declared. When we pray we seek Yahweh. When Yahweh directs us then we use our authority because he is behind it. When we are confronted spiritually, we have a shield, faith. The question we have to ask ourselves is how high are our brick walls? Our brick walls determine the solidity of our faith. Spend time with Him so that the walls can grow taller.
