Faith Mighty Faith!

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see," (Heb. 11:1).

1.Faith is an important word in the Bible. Faith is where the Promises and Work of God are made real to His redeemed.

A.Ephesians 2:8-9, We are saved by faith.
B.Rom. 1:17, We live by faith.
C.Rom. 4:13, We receive righteousness by faith.
D.Rom. 5:1, We are justified in Christ by faith
E.Rom. 5:2, We have access to God's grace by faith.
F.2 Cor. 1:24, We stand firm in our belief by faith.
G.Gal. 3:14, We receive the promise of the Spirit by faith.
H.1 Tim. 1:4, We do God's work by faith.
I.Gal. 5:5, We wait for the return of Christ by faith.

2.What is Faith?

A.According to Webster's Dictionary faith is "an unquestioning belief that does not require proof or evidence."

B.Though Webster's Dictionary says we don'tneed evidence to have faith, as Christians we do have evidence for our faith. Examples are:
We have the Bible: 66 books, 40 authors, written in 3 languages, over 1600 years, prophecy, and moral and spiritual truth, We have the resurrection of Jesus; confidence in His words, and evidence of God's truth in our lives.

The nearest definition we have in the Bible of what faith is is found right here in Hebrews 11:1

A Christian understanding of faith is very different, and John Calvin proves especially helpful in defining faith: "Now we shall have a proper definition of faith if we say it is a steady and certain knowledge of the Divine benevolence toward us, which being founded upon the truth of the gratuitous promise in Christ is both revealed to our minds and sealed in our hearts by the Holy Spirit" (Institutes of the Christian Religion, III.2.vii).

The Proper Object of Faith
According to Calvin, the object of faith's knowledge is Jesus Christ. He defines faith by proceeding to the center of a series of concentric circles: God's existence, God's power, God's truthfulness, God's will "toward us" as revealed in Scripture, and finally Christ. All these circles are implied in faith, but only the last is properly understood as the object of faith.

Calvin goes so far as to say that those who say that God is the proper object of faith "rather mislead miserable souls by vain speculation, than direct them to the proper mark" (Institutes III.2.i). Christ as mediator is necessary if humans are to know God. Christ is not set over against God. Rather, Calvin asserts, Christ is the means—the only means—by which we can believe in God.

True Knowledge of Christ

To explain what this means, Calvin writes: "This, then is the true knowledge of Christ—to receive him as he is offered by the Father, that is, invested with his gospel; for he is appointed to be the object of our faith, so we cannot advance in the right way to him, without the guidance of the gospel…The gospel certainly opens to us those treasures of grace, without which Christ would profit us little" (Institutes III.2.vi). Christ, who is the object of faith, is understood in terms of the gospel, which, in turn, is explained by reference to grace.