The Object Of Faith

Our text from Ephesians chapter 2 talks about how God gives us saving faith.  And if we don't feel we have saving faith, the common sense remedy for that is to go to GOD and ask Him for more faith to trust Him; to believe in Him, so that we will trust Messiah as our Redeemer.

In Isaiah, Chapter 26, the Prophet also mentions this fact that our faith comes from GOD.  Isaiah 26; it's a prayer here; verse 13.  Maybe I should read verse 12 as well.  Isaiah 26, verse 12: 'LORD, you will establish peace for us, for You have also done all our works in us.  O LORD our GOD, other masters besides You have had dominion over us.  But by You only, we make mention of Your Name.'[We have been under the dominion of satan; we have been under the dominion of sin.] 'Other masters besides You, have had dominion over us.  But by You only, we make mention of Your Name.' It is only through Your grace that we can say, 'YESHUA is LORD!'  It is only by the grace of GOD; by the Spirit of GOD, that we can confess YESHUA to be LORD.  By You only, we 'make mention of Your Name.'

When GOD sends His Holy Spirit into the Believing heart, the Holy Spirit cries out through the Believer, 'Abba, Father!' The Author of our faith is Messiah!  And then the object of our faith is the GOD of our salvation.  The object of our faith; that is, the One to Whom we look for salvation, is only GOD!

Remember how David said to Goliath, 'The battle is the LORD's.  I come to you in the Name of the GOD of Israel, Whom you have defied.' The object of our faith is the GOD of our salvation!  In Proverbs, Chapter 18 and verse 12 we read: 'The Name of the LORD is a strong tower.  The righteous runs into it and is set aloft.' 'Aloft' out of the reach of harm.  So we look to GOD; looking unto YESHUA, 'The author and finisher of our faith.'  He is our saving GOD! I say that deliberately, because here, in this Kehillah, we do believe that YESHUA is as truly GOD as is the Father, or as the Holy Spirit is.  That Each has His own personhood.  And we are looking at the GOD of our salvation. 

What are the evidences that we have faith?  I mean, what evidences has GOD provided on which we can rest our faith?  There is the Word of GOD.  This Book which you and I hold in our hands; this is our evidence.  In Daniel, Chapter 10, and verse 21; we have a statement there that's worth looking at.  Daniel, Chapter 10 and verse 21.  Daniel was speaking to this supernatural visitor, who turns out to be no other than the Messiah.  And this is what Messiah says to him at the end of Chapter 10: 'But I will tell you what is noted in the Scripture of Truth.  No one upholds me against these, except Michael, your prince.' He speaks about the 'Scripture of Truth,' and by 'the Scripture of Truth,'is meant this Bible that you and I have, from Genesis to Revelation!  It is the Word of GOD.

We do not say, 'The Bible contains the Word of GOD;' that's what some theologians are saying today; even some 'Christian' theologians.  They say the Bible 'contains' the Word of GOD.  That is to imply, It also contains other words that are not the Word of GOD.  So we say, 'No, that's not our statement.'  We say, 'The Bible IS the Word of GOD; everything!  All Scripture is GOD-breathed.'  This is our foundation.

We also have other evidences.  We have the evidence of history; we have the eye-witness testimony of the prophets; of the apostles; of the Believers that were alive when YESHUA was here.  We have all these things; things that were most certainly believed among us.  Let's go to Luke, Chapter 1.  He is this gracious, Godly man called Luke.  A devout man, probably a devout Gentile.  He may have been a proselyte to Judaism, we don't know.  But it's obvious that he was a man of GOD, and Shaul refers to him as 'the brother whose praise is in all the churches.'  A quiet, self-effacing, loyal friend of Shaul.  This is how he writes to his friend.  Luke, Chapter 1, verse 1: 'Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which are most surely believed among us, just as those who from the beginning were eye-witnesses and ministers of the Word, delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus, that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed.' There is that phrase in verse 4:  'The certainty of those things in which you were instructed.'

There is a famous king of Germany, Prussia, I think, Fredrick the Great.  He turned to his chaplain and he said, 'Give me one proof that the Bible is true.'  Do you know what the chaplain replied?  'The Jews, your majesty.'  This great encyclopaedic king was silent.  There is the proof before his eyes that the Bible was true.  The Bible speaks about a nation called the Jews, and they were all around him.  'The Jews, your majesty;' they are living witnesses, living proof, of the truth of Scripture.The people that GOD redeemed out of Egypt; brought into the Promised Land; through Whom He gave us these sacred Scriptures, and through Whom He bestowed upon us the Messiah!