Jesus Is The Source Of Our Faith
esus is the source of our faith because Jesus is the son of God. Jesus gives the living water by which we can be saved through grace. That grace and mercy are given to us by God. Faith is from God . God gave His one and only Son to atone for our sins. What a precious gift! We dont deserve this most extravagant gift. Yet, God loves us so much that He made the decision to give His Son so that we may live .
Jesus was born in humble surroundings, lived a life of servanthood, preached to thousands, healed the sick, followed the will of His Father, and gave the ultimate sacrifice for us.
The wounds and agony Jesus suffered on the cross help us remember the dedication and love of Father and Son. The grief of his mother Mary, and the followers of Jesus, are shared in Scripture.
Hearing or reading the word of God can bring us closer to Him. Through sharing fellowship, good times, and difficult times, we can call to Jesus and have faith He is with us.
Jesus intercedes for us when we pray to God.
At the end of prayers, the words, In the name of Jesus may be spoken, written, or thought. With those words, we are asking Jesus to intercede on our behalf.
Characteristics Of Conviction And Belief:
Changing:
Belief: A belief can change over time.
Conviction: Convictions mostly remain without changing over time.
Basis:
Belief: A belief is based on personal opinions.
Conviction: A conviction is not based on personal opinions. It requires concrete information.
Nature:
Belief: Belief can be weak and shallow.
Conviction: Unlike a belief, a conviction is stronger and deeper.
What Is Conversion And What Happens When It Is Complete
In Philippians 2:12-13 we are encouraged, Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.
God wants to help us overcome sin. Why?
God wants to give us eternal life. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance .
Notice Hebrews 12:1-2: Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses , let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.
A Christian is admonished to overcome sin and endure to the end. And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations .
So, what is the end result of conversion? The apostle Paul answers that in 2 Timothy 4:7-8: I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.
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Conviction : Literal 6
We believe God created the universe in six literal days around 6000 years ago
God says that He created the heavens and the earth in six days, and He did it all by Himself . Many Christians today believe that God created over billions of years, and He used evolutionary processes to do it. These two views approach the Bible in divergent ways. The first view allows the words of the Bible to stand at face value, describing the events of the origin of the universe from the perspective of the one eyewitness to those events God Himself. The second view attempts to reconcile the Biblical record with currently prevailing scientific theories about origins.
We believe the issue of origins is important. It is not simply a debate about how things began. How you view the first three chapters is indicative of how you view God, the Bible, and fallen man.
On this issue, The Nature of God is at stake.
The creation displays Gods eternal power and divine nature . Gods ability to speak into existence things that did not formerly exist is an important evidence of His nature and power. Throughout the Bible God stakes His own reputation His identity as the only true God, His power to rescue His people from their enemies, His ability to comfort, and His power to save people from their sins on His ability to create everything from nothing.
On this issue, The Nature of Scripture is at stake.
On this issue, The Nature of Fallen Man is at stake.
A Converted Life Begins
After one receives Gods Spirit, a converted Christian will focus on what Jesus said in Matthew 6:33, But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
Seeking the Kingdom of God and His righteousness is not easy. It is obvious that the apostle Paul was a converted Christian. He had repented, accepted Christ and received the Holy Spirit.
But living a Christian life and overcoming sin was a struggle.
Notice some of the comments Paul wrote in Romans 7:7-23. First, Paul discusses the issue of sin: What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, You shall not covet .
Next, he speaks of the fact that sin was a powerful force and continued to manifest its evil ways: But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died .
Paul then discusses the carnality that he knew he had to overcome. For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice but what I hate, that I do. If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me .
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People Of Biblical Conviction
1 THESSALONIANS 1:2-8 We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, 3 remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 4 For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. 6 And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, 7 so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. 8 For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything.
In todays scripture, we observe a young church in Thessalonica commended by the Apostle Paul for their Biblical conviction. Granted, they did not have the Bible as we do, but they had the Word. From them, lets identify the source of Biblical conviction and then three pieces of evidence that we are a people living out Biblical conviction.
People of Biblical conviction. It is only those type of people who leave an impact in their worlds for Christ. May we be such people before a watching world.
PRAYER: Father, help me to be a person of deep and unwavering Biblical conviction that shows in my life and speech.
What Does A Criminal Record Include
A criminal record, formally known as a summary criminal history, or more commonly known as a rap sheet, is a list of arrests and convictions. … The history also lists all your criminal convictions, including the date of the conviction, the charges, the sentence, and whether the crime was a felony or a misdemeanor.
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Conviction Of The Holy Spirit
Living out these convictions is not something we naturally do under our own power. We need the conviction of the Holy Spirit. He is the one who will help us. When we admit were weak and need his help, hes more than able to step in, and nudge our spirit, with the right choice, and the strength to follow through on that right path.
When youre at your wits end with the kids, or the job or __________, and then one more thing happens, and you can feel yourself snapping The Holy Spirit can and will remind you that a gentle answer Right Now, will save a lot of heartache later. He can give you the words to use, or the ability to remain silent for a few moments, to calm and regroup.
When the Holy Spirit convicts you, sometimes its to say hey, thats wrong. Dont do that. Sometimes, its conviction that this is the right path, and encouragement and companionship as you take the road less traveled.
Inspired by the Holy Spirit while doing this Bible study, Ive recently been convicted, and convinced, that the sabbath rest is one way God takes care of us, and shows us he loves us. Filling me up with himself, and restoring my energy. If we enter into that rest, were loving ourselves, which is the base, for being able to love others. Its counter-culture, but powerful!
The Holy Spirit Is Specific:
The Spirit says, Fix this one thing and youll be free. He commands you to take one specific action to make a choice of your will. And you must not turn aside, for then you would go after futile things which cannot profit or deliver because theyre futile. For the Lord will not abandon His people. The conviction of the Spirit is specific to the sin. The Spirit defends you against your over-sensitive conscience. He draws you to God.
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Why Conviction Is An Undeserved Gift
I dont like being confronted with my failures.
Because of this, I tried to avoid conviction for a long time. Id justify my sin and make excuses: Im not really that bad most of the time. Im getting better. Im overthinking the situation anyways. But no matter how many excuses I could conjure up, Id always end up facing the reality that I still fell short, that I was still a sinner. Conviction was just a harsh reminder of my failure to get better. What good could come from that?
But as I studied the Scriptures, I began to see that they do not treat conviction as something to be avoided, but rather as a gift from God that draws us closer to Him. While conviction does reveal our sin, it also reminds us that Christ has saved us from that sin and that through the Spirit we too can overcome.
What Does The Bible Say About Conviction
There are many scriptures that deal with conviction. We think of conviction as something bad when in actuality its good and it shows man his need for forgiveness. Here are 25 awesome scriptures to help you to learn more about conviction.
Christian quotes about conviction
Having convictions can be defined as being so thoroughly convinced that Christ and His Word are both objectively true and relationally meaningful that you act on your beliefs regardless of the consequences. Josh McDowell
What gives us conviction of sin is not the number of sins we have committed it is the sight of the holiness of God. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
When Holy God draws near in true revival, people come under terrible conviction of sin. The outstanding feature of spiritual awakening has been the profound consciousness of the Presence and holiness of God Henry Blackaby
Conviction of sin is Gods way of inviting you to restore fellowship with Him.
Conviction is not repentance conviction leads to repentance. But you can be convicted without repentance. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
When Holy God draws near in true revival, people come under terrible conviction of sin. The outstanding feature of spiritual awakening has been the profound consciousness of the Presence and holiness of God Henry Blackaby
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Conviction Comes From The Holy Spirit
The Bible makes it clear that conviction comes from the Holy Spirit. A good preacher wants said, as believers we should be professional repenters. The Lord is continually refining us and tugging on our hearts. Pray that the Holy Spirit shows you areas in your life He finds displeasing. Allow the Holy Spirit to guide you so that you can have a clear conscience before the Lord.
4. John 16:8 And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of Gods righteousness, and of the coming judgment.
5. Acts 24:16 This being so, I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men.
6. Hebrews 13:18 Pray for us we are convinced that we have a clear conscience and desire to live honorably in every way.
Conviction produces true repentance
But conviction doesnt do us any good if we ignore it and do nothing about it. We must repent and sin no more! Jesus left His Holy Spirit with us to be our guide. He guides us through conviction which leads to repentance. There can be no reconciliation without repentance and theres no repentance without conviction. Repentance is not just confessing our sin, but also turning away from that sin.
7. 2 Corinthians 7:9-10 Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.
Conversion Begins With Repentance
Notice Gods desire in Isaiah 55:7: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts let him return to the LORD, and He will have mercy on him and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.
In order for one to become a Christian, one must repent of sin. Notice what Christ said in Luke 13:3: I tell you unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.
When Jesus started to preach His gospel message of the Kingdom of God, He said in , Repent, and believe in the gospel.
So, one must repent and believe, but this action does not yet make anyone a Christian. This is just a first step toward Christian conversion. As weve seen above, one needs Gods Spirit.
How does one receive Gods Spirit? The apostle Peter answers this in Acts 2:38: Then Peter said to them, Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
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Encouragement Is Gods Message:
He encourages you to rely on Gods power, not on your own righteousness or strength . The Holy Spirit encourages you to be anxious for nothing and most times doesnt give a deadline. He comforts and encourages the broken hearted and proclaims liberty for the captives . He even makes intercession for you .
What Is A Belief
In terms of belief, one should also distinguish between believe in and believe that. For example, I think the sky is blue. This describes a reality . However, I know that the atmosphere has no color and that it is a lot of physical phenomena that give it this aspect. But if I tell someone that the sky is blue, he will see it all the less as he is blind. It does not have the same meaning for him and for me. If he tells me I think the sky is blue, he will rely on the bottom of the air and the temperature. I understand that it is 18 ° C. and that there is no wind but it will tell me nothing about the color of the sky that can be cloudy. Whereas to believe in is to trust, which comes from experience as from intuition
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The Bible Speaks Of People Who Are Saved By Faith But It Also Mentions Others Who Have Faith Yet Are Not Saved What Then Is Required In Order For A Person To Believe To The Saving Of The Soul
Saving faith requires three things. First is conviction. One must be convinced in his heart that God exists – Hebrews 11:6. Yet, this conviction alone is not enough to save, since James 2:19 says that demons believe there is one God, but they are not saved. So, something more must be required in order for one to have saving faith.
Faith also requires trust in God. One must depend on God as the source of salvation. Daniel was saved from the lions, because he believed in God . He did not just accept in his heart that God exists. He trusted God to deliver him from the lions.
Yet, one does not really trust God unless he has the last element of faith, and that is obedience. Now, many people will tell you that you are saved by faith without obedience. But the truth is that faith that does not obey is faith that does not save. James 2:14-26 shows that faith without obedience cannot justify, because it is dead and barren. Hebrews chapter 11 is the role call of Old Testament people of faith. But, when you study their lives you will see that every individual was rewarded by God only after his faith led him to obey God – never before that!
For more information about salvation and what it requires, please visit our Bible Instruction website at /instruct/and study our in-depth article about obedience and also our article aboutsalvation by faith only vs. obedient faith.
Copyright David E. Pratte, 4/1996