Have you ever thought, 'Am I the kind of person that God wants to save during the tribulation and bring to the new world?' Of course, surviving involve a number of factors, but one important requirement is emphasized by the Apostle Paul: Without faith it is impossible to please God well. "(Hebrew 11: 6) This may sound very basic, but the truth is that" faith is not the possession of all the people . "(2 Thess: 3: 2) These texts will help us understand how important it is to cultivate a strong faith.
The apostle Peter drew special attention to the importance of faith when he spoke of his "tested quality" that "found reason for praise and honor and honor in the revelation of Jesus Christ" ( 1 Peter 1: 7). Since the tribulation is rapidly approaching, we do not want to make sure that we have the kind of faith that puts us among those whose faith will be praised by our glorious king when it is revealed? There is no doubt that we want to be "the kind who has faith in the preservation of our lives" (Hebrew 10: 39). With this purpose, we may demand as the man who said, "Help me where I need faith!" (Mark 9:24) Or we may be moved to say, as the Apostles of Christ: "Give us more faith" - Luke 17: 5.
The need for more faith raises some questions. How can we build this quality? How can we show that we have faith? What assurance do we have that our requests for more faith will be answered?
WHAT IS FAITH?
“Faith is the assured expectation of things hoped for, the evident demonstration of realities though not beheld.” (Heb. 11:1)
True faith is not credulity, that is, a readiness to believe something without sound evidence or just because a person wants it to be so. Genuine faith requires basic or fundamental knowledge, acquaintance with evidence, as well as heartfelt appreciation of what that evidence indicates. Thus, although it is impossible to have real faith without accurate knowledge, the Bible says that it is “with the heart” that one exercises faith.—Rom. 10:10.
Why do many people not have faith?
- Lack of accurate Bible knowledge: The Bible is a product of God’s spirit, being inspired by God. (2 Tim. 3:16, 17; 2 Sam. 23:2) Failure to study it hinders any development of true faith. Although church members may have Bibles, if they have been taught the ideas of men instead of the Word of God, they will lack real faith in God and his purpose. To solve life’s problems, they will be inclined to rely on their own ideas and those of other humans.—Compare Matthew 15:3-9.
- Disillusionment with Religion: Many have been disappointed by the hypocrisy of the churches of Christendom, who claim to teach the Word of God, but not to live in harmony with what they say. Others were followers of a non-Christian religion, but they saw bad fruits from their practices or found that their beliefs did not really help them cope with life's problems. Since they have no exact knowledge of the true God, such persons move away from anything that has anything to do with religion. - Compare Romans 3: 3, 4; Matthew 7: 21-23.
- Do not Understand God's Permission of Wicked: Most people do not understand why God allows badness and blame him for all the bad things that are happening. They do not realize that man's inclination to wickedness is not because of God's will, but because of Adam's sin. You may not know about the existence of Satan, the devil, and his influence on world affairs. Therefore, they attribute to God the abominable things that Satan committed. If they are reasonably aware of these things, they may feel that God is reluctant to take action, because they do not see the issue of universal sovereignty clearly, and do not grasp the fact that God 's patience has until then given them an undeserved opportunity Salvation offers. (Romans 2: 4; 2 Pet. 3: 9) Nor do they fully realize that God has a definite time to destroy forever those who practice wickedness. 22: 10-12; 11:18; Hab. 2: 3.
- Lives dominated by fleshly desires and viewpoints: Generally, persons who lack faith that has real substance have devoted themselves to the pursuit of other interests. Some may say that they believe the Bible but they may never have thoroughly studied it or may have failed to meditate appreciatively on what they read, on the reasons for it, and how it applies to everyday life. (Compare 1 Chronicles 28:9.) In some cases, they failed to nourish the faith they had but, instead, allowed a desire for unrighteous things to dominate the inclination of their heart so that they drew away from God and his ways.—Heb. 3:12.
How can a person acquire faith?
Rom. 10:17: “Faith follows the thing heard.” (Compare Acts 17:11, 12; John 4:39-42; 2 Chronicles 9:5-8. A person must first find out what the Bible says, and he will strengthen his conviction if he examines it carefully so as to be convinced of its reliability.)
Rom. 10:10: “With the heart one exercises faith.” (By meditating on godly things to build up appreciation for them, a person impresses them on his figurative heart.)
Faith is strengthened when a person acts on God’s promises and then sees the evidence of God’s blessing on what he has done.—See Psalm 106:9-12.
Illustration: Perhaps you have a friend of whom you would say: ‘I trust that man. I can count on him to keep his word; and I know that if I have a problem, he will come to my help.’ It is not likely that you would be saying that about anyone you met for the first time yesterday, is it? He would have to be someone with whom you had long association, someone who had proved his dependability time and again. It is similar with religious faith. To have faith, you need to take time to get to know GOD and his way of doing things.
Faith that there is a God
Faith in the prospect of a righteous new system of things
When a person becomes familiar with God's dealings with his servants, he comes to share the standpoint of Joshua, who said, "You know with all your heart and with all your soul that not a single word is of all good words, Jehovah. your God, who spoke to you, failed, they all came true for you, not a word of them failed. "- Josh. 23:14.
The promises of the Bible for a new health, the resurrection of the dead, etc. are strengthened by the miracles Jesus Christ performed. These are not fables. Read the Gospels and see that they carry all traces of historical authenticity. Geographic locations are named; the names of contemporary secular rulers are given; more than one eyewitness account is received. As you meditate on this evidence, you can strengthen your belief in the promises of the Bible.
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