© 1998 by Gary W. Crisp
Spiritual Faith
Even though this teaching was originally placed here in 1998, much has happened since then. As referred to on our Home Page, September 11th, 2001 has changed us all -- changed who we are, what we think and what we believe. Recently, while talking to a dear brother in the Lord, he raised the question of faith in a context that reminded me of this teaching. For that reason, and others, we place it here again. However, we have added some updates, and changed and edited a few things along the way. As always, if you have any questions, comments or even complaints about any of our teachings, please let us know.
Before we get to the meaning of “gift”, let me say this: I am aware that this teaching will not sound like a teaching on the “gift of faith” at first glance, but please stay with me as we look at this particular gift from, perhaps, a slightly different angle. I do this because this “gift of faith” is a very unique and special gift...one that demands we spend a little time with it. Also, this “gift of faith” (or references to that gift) have been pretty much abused and misused since I’ve been a Christian, and for that reason alone I do not want to leave anything to question. So, if you don’t mind, I’d like to spend some “quality time” with faith. I appreciate your patience as we slowly go forward.
Let’s take a moment to see what that simple word “gift” means. Taken from the Greek word charisma, we can immediately recognize it as a word used to describe someone who has the unique ability to gain other people’s loyalty or devotion. One who is charismatic is usually one who can influence (or even control) the hearts and minds of others. The original Greek definition, however, had a little more “meat” to it, meaning: “Divine gratuity, such as deliverance from danger or passion; specifically a spiritual endowment or miraculous faculty; also, a free gift.”
All the gifts of the Lord and from the Lord are free. They cannot be earned, bought or bartered, though many have tried. They are His Gifts -- Gifts of Grace -- given without charge or payment, except for the Payment Christ made when He paid all of our debts. Grace (from the Greek word, charis), means “graciousness, benefit, favour, gift and the divine influence upon the heart.” We will discuss this last meaning in more detail a little later. Think of these Gifts as Charisma or Charis Gifts...Gifts of Grace. These Gifts are given freely and without grudge, and all He expects of us is that we honor the Gifts, honoring Him as we use them, and that, by extension, we honor His Body as well. How do we “honor” Him or His Body? It is by strengthening, edifying and encouraging His Body as each of His Gifts are used.
Now, I am fully aware that there are those that sincerely believe that any kind of charisma gifts extended to us as Christians -- whether it be faith, prophecy, healing or even the very important gift of discernment -- are no longer available to us today, because (they think) the terms and “time of expiration” having long since passed. The reasoning is usually the gifts have “passed” at the death of the last apostle of the 1st century church (but you can not even find as much as a “hint” of this in Scripture anywhere). A few years ago, I spent many hours reading some on-line teachings put forth by well-meaning Christians, and all of these teachings were dealing with not only why there are no charisma gifts for the church today, but they very specifically were directed at and against any type of “full-gospel”,
“Pentecostal” and/or “Charismatic-type” Christian. They focused mainly, if not entirely, on the problems brought forth and created by “Charismatics”.
Yes, Charismatics Can Be a Problem
Now...anyone reading this, who has read any of our other teachings (most specifically “Moving the Church from A to Z” and the corresponding Abiathar and Zadok teachings), can plainly see that we have listed many faults and addressed many problems within the “Charismatic” and “Pentecostal” community (singular, not plural, for these two are (whether they admit it or not) the same thing! At least, by the true definition of the words they should be. The problem areas I listed were even more of an indictment than what I’ve read from those who
“denounce” anything and all things “Charismatic”. However, there were two major points of difference, and these were:
First -- I have spent over thirty years inside the “Charismatic/Pentecostal” community, seeing the inequities and the iniquities from within. I had also spent over seven years in one of those denominational-type-churches who are so visciously attacking spiritual gifts and full-gospel ways today, which brings me to Point Two: Secondly -- While I have most assuredly seen and experienced some very un-Christ-like things, and while I have heard some very “strange” and unsound Biblical teachings along the way, and even though I have known of many soulish and carnal manifestations in churches I have been in, I have never, never forsaken the Scriptural Truth that what God did for one generation He’ll do for the next, and the next and the next...in spite of foolish, carnal Christians!
There is also a very interesting third point that I could make -- concerning all of the inequities and iniquities and carnal behavior that I have seen -- and that point would be this: The very same inequities, iniquities and carnal behavior also dwells within the best of the denominational churches that so strongly oppose and so loudly decry the charismatic/pentecostal people. The lesson here? Let him who is without sin cast that first stone... and yet there seems to be a lot of people headed quickly for the rock pile who think they have no sin.
Quoting Hebrews 13:8, we see a verse quoted often and by many, regardless of their denominational persuasion -- “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and for ever.” A wonderful verse, a most powerful verse, but do we truly believe it, or do we believe it with the limitations those over us have placed there? For many Christians do not show that particular verse the respect it deserves.
Let’s look at the preceding verse (7), as well as the verse following (9) --
Verse 7 -- “Remember those who have the rule over you, who have spoken to you the Word of God -- follow their faith, considering the end of their conversation.” In very simple terms, Paul is telling us that those who have the rule over us, who teach us the Word of God and whose faith we are to follow are the very ones who shape and mold “what” and “how much” we believe -- no matter what the denomination, and no matter how large (or small) it may be.
Does Our Faith Truly Allow
Jesus to Be the Same?
With the previous verse (7) in mind, we look at verse 8 -- “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and for ever,” almost as a reminder to both teacher and student: God never changes -- period, end of argument -- but so many “scholars” try and explain why this verse is really not so, twisting and bruising the Word of God for their own ends, justifying their own thoughts, and all the while proclaiming they believe and honor and understand the scriptures, while those they denounce do not! And many, if not most of these preachers and teachers and writers, are so persuasive and so convincing, for they know their Bible...only not as well as they proclaim they do.
Not long ago, I was reading a certain teaching, and it was a teaching strongly denouncing and ridiculing and attempting to refute any kind of spiritual experience concerning “tongues” in the New Testament believer (and, in doing so, they also strongly denounced and ridiculed and attempted to refute all of the other gifts of the Spirit). This teaching was well thought out, very well done and well-written, but they were dangerously wrong in their conclusions. As I read page after page, looking at the “evidence” brought forth, I couldn’t help but think, “Boy...this guy is digging himself a very deep hole which will be very hard to get out of”. The reason I thought such a thing is because the very “evidence” he presented -- upon which he based his whole belief system -- I knew would soon crumble, because he stated that “tongues” were only for the Day of Pentecost (see Acts 2), and anything beyond that or anyone claiming anything otherwise was only basing their experience on just that... their experience! And he boldly declared we must not base anything in our Christian lives on anything other than the Word of God, the Holy Scriptures, the Bible. And I wholeheartedly and completely agree with that...we must base all we do, all we teach and all we believe on God’s Word and His Word alone.
And yet, in claiming such a thing and demanding such a thing, this writer I was reading violated that very guideline! He made
“assumptions”, stated “facts” and announced “truths” that were simply not scriptural. And where did he learn or receive these “truths”?
I know this, because he kept alluding to “this situation” or “that situation” or some other error he had seen or heard of. He cited things he’d heard of or read about or received as third-hand reports, and apparently he deemed these reports as truthful and correct. Once again, let me say this in very simple terms: This man had learned what he was now teaching from those who had the rule over him, who had taught him the Word of God and whose faith he followed -- these were the very ones who had so carefully shaped and molded “what” and “how much” he believed, and he had willingly and (I suppose) gladly yielded to their tutelage. This, dear saints, is experience! This is what experience is!
Now, I know of no man, anywhere, who knows the entire and complete Truth of all things! No one. But many people certainly claim they do! And their persuasive power -- which is charisma, by the way -- is the very thing they are so desperately trying to denounce! Concerning this man’s claim, that Pentecost and tongues were only a “one-time” event, he soon had to deal with the other such instances in Acts (Acts 8:15, 10:46 & 19:6), not to mention Paul’s extensive teaching in 1st Corinthians 12 & 14. And I will not even go into how he clumsily tried to “explain away” those incidences, except to say that he had so soundly and so plainly laid his whole foundation of why there were “no tongues beyond the day of Pentecost”, that by the time he got to the other incidences in Acts, his teaching collapsed like a house of cards! But, that’s what happens when you gamble...
Established with Grace
Now, let me quickly touch on Hebrews 13:9, for I said I would discuss the verse following “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and for ever”. Here is verse 9...
“Do not be carried about with divers (various, diverse) and strange (foreign or different) doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein.”
What the writer of Hebrews is teaching us here is that we need be careful of what we “eat”. He even couples that thought with the reference: “be established with grace, not with meats”. He wanted the Hebrew Christians (who had come “out of” the law of Moses) to know and fully understand that it is not what they ate, drank or touched that would defile them (most of this concerned articles allowed or forbidden by the Jewish law). Rather, it would be the doctrines and the teachings they would gather themselves unto. When he says that “it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace”, he is saying to them (and to us) that it is beautiful, honest and virtuous to be established in our faith and in our relationship with Christ.
That word, established, means to be “firm, stedfast and sure”. So we need to be “firm, stedfast and sure” in Grace, which is our whole relationship and position under the influence of God’s Grace. Grace, as we have already seen, is that Greek word, charis, meaning “the divine influence upon the heart”, and one of the most profound of “divine influences” in our lives will be faith. This is why I wanted to spend some time looking, first, at faith (and the associative word grace), and then get to the actual gift of faith. For we cannot truly understand this great Gift, if we do not have a clear and solid understanding of its meaning.
So, while many Christians today may claim and adhere to the thought that all that “happens to us” must be established and proved in the Word of God, and not by any kind of “experience”... what they often miss, in all their zeal and their desire to be “accurate”, is this very simple scriptural Truth: Grace (charis) is that “divine influence upon our hearts and lives”, without which (for starters) none of us would ever have been drawn by the Holy Spirit to a place of repentance (and “repentance”, dear brother and sister, is an “experience”). And without this experience of “Influential Grace” upon our lives, none of us would ever have been cleansed and washed by the Precious Blood of the Lamb. So, I thank God for each and every ounce of Grace He sends my way, and I pray that I never deny, dismiss or refuse to accept any of it.
I realize I’ve spent a lot of time on Grace, when we’re supposed to be looking at Faith, but the two go “hand in hand”, and we should really have a good understanding of Grace, before we walk into that place of Faith. Without Grace, I would not be writing this, nor would you be reading it... this is how vital and important Grace is in the heart and life of each and every child of God. Let us accept that Truth, for it is a necessary Truth. So, hoping we have that understanding, let’s move on into Faith.
The Gift of Faith
1st Corinthians 12:9a
“The gifts He gave were that
some would have...faith”
Most of us have been overloaded with teachings about faith...there have been “how-to” seminars, special symposiums, and even huge conventions dealing with the subject. It is not my intention, here and now, to attempt to give some great definitive answer to “what faith is” ...nor is it my goal to down-play what faith can be. All I will simply try to achieve is address the question of “what is this gift of faith?” Keeping that in mind...let us look more closely at faith.
Faith is a most interesting word, used almost 250 times in the New Testament, while appearing only twice in the Old Testament (KJV). One of those times, in Deuteronomy 32:20, it is used in a negative sense: “And He (the Lord) said, ‘I will hide My Face from them, and I will see what their end shall be. For they are a very froward (perverse) generation, children in whom there is no faith’.” This is a pretty severe observation, but it is, nonetheless, what God said of Israel and their inability to trust and obey Him. The other place we find faith is in the writings of an obscure Old Testament prophet, Habakkuk.
is not upright (righteous) in him, but the
just shall live by his faith.” Habakkuk 2:4 ~
This is the first time we see faith as a thing of necessity for the man or woman who “believes in”
and intends to “walk with God”. All throughout scripture, faith is everything from “the just living by his faith, to “according to your faith be it unto you”, and even “faith being the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” It is here, with this last verse, that we find ourselves in The Faith Chapter, Hebrews 11. Here we will learn that through faith great and wonderful things can be accomplished.
Through Faith...
“...we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God.” “...Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain...he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts.”
“...Enoch was translated that he should not see death, and...he had this testimony: he pleased God.”
“...Noah, being warned of God of things not yet seen, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house...becoming heir of the righteousness which is by faith.”
“...Abraham, when he was called, obeyed...going out, not knowing where he went, sojourning in the land of promise.”
“...Sara received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged Him Faithful Who had promised.”
“...Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.”
“...Moses kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood.”
“...the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days.”
“...the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, because she had received the spies with peace.”
“...men subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions.”
“...men quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.”
“...women received their dead raised to life again, and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection.”
“...many had trials of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment. They were stoned, were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword; they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented (of whom this world was not worthy); they wandered in deserts, in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.”
These are just a few of the things listed in Hebrews 11, where we see a very vivid and powerful picture of the things faith can accomplish in our lives. And just as they were not made perfect in their faith, why should our faith be any less powerful than theirs? In other words, what God did for them, will He not do the same for us? If we are just and righteous in the Lord, should He not deal with us in the same manner?
The Just and Their Faith
Hebrews 11:39 & 40 tells us that “all of these (those in the Old Testament, even though they) obtained a good report through faith, still did not receive the (Complete and Fulfilled) Promise (which was and is Christ Jesus). God provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.”
We know what that Promise is...we can look back and see just how that Promise was fulfilled and all that it means for us and what it gives to us. The Old Testament believers had to “look forward” and trust, not knowing exactly what was to come or even how or Who it might come by, which is why so many during the time of Jesus did not know Who He was! He stood right before them, preaching Words of Truth and Life, performing daily miracles, and He was their own God, manifested in Flesh! Even so, they still missed Him! This is why Paul said, “God provided some Better Thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect (or complete)”. The Better Thing is the evidence we have before us: The written Word, historical facts, not to mention the Gift of the Holy Spirit, given to us by the Father when Jesus departed back to Heaven.
Let’s take a moment to look at the New Testament verses, where we see the “The just shall live by faith”.
Romans 1:17 -- “For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith. As it is written, The just shall live by faith”.
Galatians 3:11 -- “But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident, for: The just shall live by faith”.
Hebrews 10:38 -- “Now the just shall live by faith, but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him”.
Faith Is Not Persuasive Words
As we said, faith is a most powerful word, and the definition is rather lengthy, but we’ll get through it as quickly as possible. The Greek word, pistis (pis’-tis), means: “persuasion, moral conviction (of religious truth, the truthfulness of God or a religious teacher), especially reliance upon Christ for salvation; also -- a constancy or stability in such a profession; by extension, the system of religious Truth itself (meaning the Gospel); the assurance, belief, faith and fidelity in this Truth (the Gospel); the ability to convince (by a fair argument), to pacify or conciliate (by other fair means); to assent (to evidence or authority), to rely (by inward certainty), therefore to agree, assure, believe, have confidence, be content, or to be persuaded.”
What does all of this mean? The simplest way I have heard it explained is this: “Faith is that place where you know that you know that you know.” I like that definition, except for the fact that I have known people -- thinking that it makes them “sound” more spiritual -- who add one or more “know that I knows” to that little equation. But, dear brothers and sisters, it doesn’t matter what we say or how many times we say it... faith, in the final analysis, must be that deep-down-inside assurance that no man, demon or feeling can shake from our hearts and
souls. It must be that firm confidence in Him and His Word that keeps us strong and solid on the Rock of His Foundation. Faith, our faith, our profession, our belief in Him is what keeps our “spiritual heart” beating, our quickened soul alive and our hope and trust intact in Him.
Standing in front of a mirror and repeating “I know that I know that I know” is not much of a strength or platform upon which I stand, for when I walk away from that mirror, I had best be certain that I truly
“know” what I think I know! Let me give a quick example: While attending a very highly-touted men’s prayer meeting, which was at a church we visited for a while, I was told to “expect great things”, for these men who attended were “men of God”. I had hoped so... I truly did, but once there I saw the same soulish manifestations I saw in most “highly-touted” prayer groups.
What do I mean? Everyone was “strutting their spiritual stuff”, with even one brother posing as some great man of
faith. I do not say these things to belittle these brothers, but to make a much-needed point. And I loved these men... don’t get me wrong, but sometimes you must call it like you see it. We had not even gotten started praying, and one of the men was talking (in a very casual conversation) to a second man about some minor deafness he’d had for some years now. He wasn’t saying this as some kind of prayer request; it was just part of their conversation. A third man, overhearing this, came up and asked the first man, “Are you having ear problems?” The first man answered he was. This third man told him, rather boastfully I might add, “Well you won’t after tonight, because I have the faith to pray for healing in your ear. Tonight your ear will be healed!”
Now...to this third man, the proclamation he made “sounded like” faith, but I knew as soon as he spoke those words that it was just his pride and presumption speaking, wanting some attention. I believe in healing (and those of you who have read any of these teachings know this is so), and if the Lord had wanted to heal that man that night, He could have and would have, but that night was an embarrassingly soulish fiasco. It had been a long while since I had seen a group of men so full of themselves. Needless to say, that man was not healed that night. And to add insult to injury, the man so “full of faith” had completely (or conveniently) forgotten his declaration. No one even hinted at praying for the man’s ear. And I was so thoroughly disgusted at two wasted hours of soulish nonsense, that I did not have the faith to pray for him or anyone. I just sort shook my head in disbelief all the way home.
As I arrived home and walked in the door, I was greeted by my wife who had been so excited. “Well...how was it?”, she asked expectantly. She had heard such wonderful things about this group of Godly men, but she could tell from my expression that it was not good. You see...it does not matter how much faith we “say” we have; and talking about faith does not mean we have it; nor does convincing others we have it mean we have it. A person can strut around all day, with their chest stuck out, boldly proclaiming their great faith and loudly professing, “Oh, I know that I know that I know...!” We can do all of this silly posturing, and feel good doing it, but faith is something you either have or do not have. We cannot, my brother or sister, “fool God” by our many presumptuous ways and words.
click here: So, What Is this Gift of Faith?.
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