Title: Faith Story
Contents
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1. After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram, for I am your shield and your exceedingly great reward.
2. Abram said, "O Lord GOD, what will you give me? I have no children, and my heir is Eliezer the Damascus.
3. Abram said again, "You have not given me seed, and he who is brought up in my house shall be my heir."
4. And the word of the LORD came to him, saying, This man will not be your heir, but he who comes from your own body will be your heir.
5. He took him outside and said to him, “Look up to heaven and count the stars, if you can. And he said to him, ‘So shall your descendants be.
6. Abram believed the LORD, and the LORD counted it as his righteousness.
7. And he said to him, I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land for your possession.
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1. Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen.
2. This is how the ancestors got the evidence.
3. By faith we know that the whole world was created by the word of God; for what is seen was not made out of things that are seen
4. By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than that of Cain, and he received evidence that he was righteous, for God testified of that gift. He died, but by his faith he still speaks.
5. By faith Enoch was taken away so that he might not see death, because God had removed him, and he was found no more. Before he was transferred, he received the testimony that he was a God-pleaser.
6. Without faith it is impossible to please God, for he who comes to God must believe that He exists, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
Content
Title: Faith Story
Text: Genesis 15:1-7, Hebrews 11:1-6
These are the questions 1) and the answers of the Westminster Shorter Catechism (107 items). ‘What is man’s chief end?’ ‘Man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him’ (1 Corinthians 10:31). Question 2) and the answer. 'What rule has God given us, directing us how to glorify and rejoice in him?' 'The Word of God, written in the Old and New Testaments, is the only rule that directs how we should glorify and rejoice in him' (2 Timothy). 3:15-17). The glorification of God and the enjoyment of God are included in one item. It is like the back of the hand and the palm of the hand. “The Tragedy of Paradise Lost” is “a sad story of the loss of paradise” (Genesis 3). The cause was the result of falling into Satan's deception, namely, disbelief in God and His Word.
Today's texts are for the blessed paradise. 'Abram believed the LORD, and the LORD counted it as his righteousness' (Genesis 15:6), and 'without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever comes to God must know that he is, and that he rewards those who diligently seek him' (Genesis 15:6). You must believe that it is a ' (Hebrews 11:6). I am reminded of the faith that Abraham, the father of blessing and father of faith, had. The tragedy of Paradise Lost, which began with unbelief, continued outside of Eden. After the sacrifices of Cain and Abel, it appeared as the murder of his brother (Genesis 4). It leads to Noah's Flood, and after the flood, the Tower of Babel is built (Genesis 11). In spite of this rebellion on the part of man, the love on God's part does not cease. These are the ‘original gospel’ (Genesis 3:15)- ‘Noah’s Ark’ (Genesis 6:14)- ‘Rainbow Covenant’ (Genesis 9:13)- ‘The advent of Abraham’ (Genesis 12~).
Faith is the reaction on the part of people that is necessary for all these works of grace. These are the stories of the faith that took place during the public life of Jesus, who came to this earth in the flesh. These are things that make you think of the verse of the entire Bible (John 3:16). Those who believed that Jesus was the Christ and received the salvation they needed and those who did not. The reactions that occurred at that time can be divided into three categories. 1) There were stories of the reaction of faith that received the joy of Jesus. 2) There were stories of unbelief that rejected Jesus' salvation. 3) There are faiths that did not reach joy, but were saved nonetheless. Stories belonging to the first appear among the Gentiles. This is the story of the centurion (Matthew 8:10) and the Canaanite woman (Matthew 15:28). Faith pleasing to God transcends religious and racial limits.
Stories belonging to the second category appear in the mainstream of Jewish religious people (the scribes and Pharisees) (Matthew 23:13-33). Among the abominations of fallen religion, the representative distrust is the problem of hypocrisy. Outward appearance is pretentiousness and pretense, that is, hypocrisy (僞善). False beliefs are false beliefs. It is because they close the gates of heaven in front of people, and not only do not allow themselves to enter, but also prevent those who are about to enter. The third story happened around Jesus. This is the story of a father who came to the Lord's company to be cured of his son's epilepsy when the Lord was on the Mount of Transfiguration (Mark 9:14-29). This is the story of Simon Peter who drowned while walking on the Sea of Galilee (Matthew 14:22-33). We experience salvation through the teaching and help of the Lord, our Savior. Jesus Christ is the Lord of faith. He is also a perfecter” (Hebrews 12:2a). He is the master of making faith from unbelief.