Living by Faith

Note: Para palakasin ang loob ng Iglesya na natutukso na bumalik sa Judaismo, natutukso na sumamba sa Angel, natutukso na tumalikod, ay ibinalik ng manunulat ang Iglesya na ito sa ibig sabihin ng pananampalataya

• Of course, kasama po dito ang nakakapagpawalang sala na pananampalataya (justification by faith alone), ang pananampalataya na sinasabi dito ng manunulat ay mas malawak pa sa pag-aaring ganap, ito ay pumapatungkol sa pananampalataya na may epekto sa buong pagkatao ng isang mananampalataya
• The faith that justifies is also the same faith that sustains us in this life while we wait for the future glory.

MESSAGE: The faith that is grounded in the Word of God and in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ is the assurance of God’s promises for the future, and it has an effect on the lives of believers in the present.

The Sufficiency of the Old Testament Faith

Note: Heb 11:1: "Ngayon, ang pananampalataya ay ang katiyakan sa mga bagay na inaasahan, ang paninindigan sa mga bagay na hindi nakikita."

• Una, dapat nating tandaan na may mga bagay na hindi pa nakikita dahil hindi pa ito nangyayari “katiyakan sa mga bagay na inaasahan”
• Ikalawa, may mga bagay na hindi nakikita dahil hindi natin kayang makita, at ito ay totoo sa Diyos, hindi natin nakikita ang Diyos pero tayo ay nananampalataya that God exists, and that the God who exists is the God of the Bible , Or Christ as the God/Man
• At ang pundasyon ng pananampalatayang ito ay ang Salita ng Diyos, Heb 11:3: "Sa pananampalataya ay nauunawaan natin na ang mga sanlibutan ay nilikha sa pamamagitan ng salita ng Diyos, anupa't ang mga bagay na nakikita ay nagmula sa mga bagay na hindi nakikita."

Point: Our faith is sufficient when it is grounded in the Word of God.

• This means that true faith is always grounded in the Word of God.
• Because there is no true knowledge of God apart from Special Revelation.
• All true knowledge of God is saving.

[Gordon H. Clark] – “A knowledge of God as the beginning and end cannot exist without a knowledge of God as Redeemer; nor can we know God as Redeemer without knowing him as the beginning and end of all things.”

[Sin to Mortify] – Ang katamaran sa pagbabasa at pag-aaral ng Salita ng Diyos

[John Owen] – “Faith is that gracious power of the mind whereby it firmly assents unto divine revelation upon the sole authority of God, the revealer, as the first essential truth, and fountain of all truth.”

Gospel Cure/Challenge: Kung gusto nating lumago sa pananampalataya, alamin at pag-aralan natin ang mga pangako ng Diyos sa Kanyang Salita

The Superiority of The New Covenant Faith

Note: The Old Covenant people saw the coming Savior through types and shadows, but as a New Testament people, we saw Christ as the substance of this promise of God.

• Kung ang mga mananampalataya sa Lumang Tipan ay nakikita nila ang pagliligtas ng Diyos pamamagitan ng mga tipo at aninu, tayo ay naranasan natin ang pangakong ito ng Diyos noong si Jesus ay nagkatawang tao

Point: The New Covenant faith is greater because it is the fulfillment of what was awaited in the Old Testament — the incarnation of Christ, His death, and His resurrection.

• Ginawang reyalidad ng pananampalataya ang mga panghinaharap na mga pagpapala

Challenge: We ought to live by a faith that is grounded in the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ as we wait for the day of glory, and this should have an effect on the way we live in the present.

[Sin to Mortify] – Sa ating pakikibaka sa kasalanan, though alam natin na pansamantala lamang ang gratification ng kasalanan ay mas pinipili natin ito dahil ito ay malapit sa atin, hindi kagaya ng langit na malayo at hindi pa natin nakikita

[Gospel Cure] – Faith makes future realities truly real to us.

[Thomas Manton] – “Faith, substantiating our hopes, provides a remedy. Faith makes things become as real as if they were already enjoyed. Where faith is alive and strong, and is ‘the conviction of things not seen,’ it baffles and defeats all temptations.”

• While it is true that living by sight belongs to the future glory, we still have a foretaste of it through the sacraments.
• Even now, God makes His promises visible through the sacraments, and these serve as the assurance of the glory that we will receive.