Focus: The Rule of Faith

Text: Rom.14:23

"For whatsoever is not of faith is sin."

Faith determines everything that has to do with our relationship with God. It is by faith that we approach God and by it we please Him. Anything we do that is not decided and determined by faith is an abomination to God. Faith is total reliance upon and allegiance to God.

Let us look at some aspects of faith.

*Life of faith

Habakkuk says, "The just shall live by his faith" (Hab.2:4). This expression is repeated in the New Testament by Paul and the writer of Hebrews (Rom.1:17; Gal.3:11; Heb.10:38). On the lips of Habakkuk, the word 'faith' meant loyalty, fidelity, or faithfulness, not just faith. When Paul mentioned faith as a fruit in Galatians 5 he was referring to faithfulness. The Spirit produces in us the fruit of faithfulness. It is one thing to have faith, and another thing to be faithful. Faith is the gift that produces the fruit of faithfulness.

Our faith informs and dictates our lifestyle. We function by the rule or canon of faith. Our faith is not a cultural thing. It is not a subculture, but rather a counterculture. Our lifestyle is different. We live by the word of God, by the law of faith, by the law of the Spirit, by the law of love, and indeed by the perfect law of liberty.

*Sight of faith

Moses by the faculty of faith saw the invisible (Heb.11:27). Heb.11:13 says, "These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having SEEN them afar off…"

Faith sees the invisible and things that are afar off - future things. Faith sees beyond the facts or temporal realities. Faith lives by what it sees - invisible and future things.

*Walk of faith

Paul says, "(For we walk by faith, not by sight:)" (2Cor.5:7). Faith lightens our path. By faith we see our way through the darkness. We walk circumspectly. Our faith is our guide. Faith decides and guides our movements. Outside of faith we are cripples. Faith gives us mobility. Enoch walked with God faithfully for 300 years.

*Tongue of faith

Jesus says, "For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall SAY unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he SAITH" (Mk.11:23).

Paul says, "We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak" (2Cor.4:23). Faith speaks God's language. It says what God says. It's 'homologeo' in the Greek, which means, to say the same thing. Faith agrees and aligns with God. We move mountains by faith. We speak the words of faith. Faith speaks the very words of God. Our tongue is regulated by faith.

*Worship of faith

Faith worships by the standard of God's truth. We cannot do worship as we want, but only as God wants it. God accepted Abel's offering, but rejected Cain's. In Egypt, God insisted that His people should worship Him in the wilderness. God decides and faith complies. Faith gladly bows to and adores God.

*Work of faith

James tells us that faith without work is dead. Paul tells us that faith works by love. Work of faith is whatever you do by the prompting of faith. Work of faith is doing what God wants. God is pleased by our work of faith. Jesus says, "I do always those things that please him" (Jh.8:29). Enoch walked with God and received the testimony that he did please God (Heb.11:5). Nothing done outside of faith pleases God.

*Touch of faith

John tells us of "that which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our HANDS have HANDLED, of the WORD of LIFE" (1Jh.1:1). Faith is the hand that takes what God gives. It touches the intangible.

The woman of issue of blood said to herself, "If I may but TOUCH his garment, I shall be whole" (Mt.9:21). She came from behind and touched Jesus' garment, and Jesus said to her, "Thy faith has made thee whole." It was the touch of faith. It was not the multitude that crowded or thronged Him that got healed, but the lady who touched Him by faith.

At another time, we read that the people "besought him that they might only touch the hem of his garment: and as many as touched were made perfectly whole" (Mt.14:36).

Faith touches the intangible.

Our faith governs every aspect of our lives. No part of our lives is left for the world to decide, determine, or manage for us. The life of faith is not open for negotiation. It is not optional. Our dealing with God is entirely by faith, from start to finish. The life of faith is opposed to sinning.

by Bishop Moses E. Peter