EPISODE 0038 | Are You Really A Christian: Faith

FaithCulture

Sep 9

THESE NOTES ACCOMPANY EPISODE 0038

Belief of faith is the foundation of our lives. The question is, belief in what and faith in whom? Your answer to this question is the answer to every other question in your life, ultimately resulting in life or death. In today’s episode we discover a deeper understanding of belief and how God changes our life by changing how we think.

The Process of Christian Believing:

1. Only a new heart results in a changed mind

John 3:3-7: 3 Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, unless someone is born again,[a] he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 “How can anyone be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked him. “Can he enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly I tell you, unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh, and whatever is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not be amazed that I told you that you must be born again.

2. God transforms us from the inside out.

The Apostle Paul when writing to the church at Thessalonica, primarily of Greek influence, helps us understand how this process works.

1 Thessalonians 5:23: 23 Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely. And may your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

3. God changes the way we think through his Word.

John 17:15-17: 15 I am not praying that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.

“Religion is about mastering God. True faith is about God mastering you.”

4. The way you think leads to what you believe.

Psalm 119:105: Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path.

God wants to speak to you, how do you know his voice, how do you know if it’s him? You know Him.

Biblical Perspectives

1. Jesus is the eternal word.

John 1:14: 14 The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

2. The Bible is one unified story about Jesus.

2 Timothy 3:16-17: 16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

3. The Bible teaches us the will and ways of God.

Deuteronomy 30:15-16 NLT: 15 “Now listen! Today I am giving you a choice between life and death, between prosperity and disaster. 16 For I command you this day to love the Lord your God and to keep his commands, decrees, and regulations by walking in his ways. If you do this, you will live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you and the land you are about to enter and occupy.