Bible verse teaching about faith

James 1:5-8

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, without doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”

In this verse, the Apostle James is teaching believers a fundamental principle for answering prayer: faith. According to James, whenever we approach God in prayer, He looks for one very important thing in our hearts, and that is FAITH. When He sees it, we get our prayer answered.

How is that? It is because FAITH is the only vehicle able to convey the answer to our prayer from God to us; nothing else. So, when God needs to dispatch the answer to your prayer and you send Him ‘DOUBT’ to collect the answer instead of faith, then be rest assured that the answer will remain with Him. So, whenever you pray, always do so with a heart full of faith and nothing else, and you’ll get answers to the prayers you make.

Ephesians 2:8-9

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that is not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

In this scripture, the Apostle Paul teaches that our faith in the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus is what has earned us a place in the kingdom of God. Having never set our eyes on Christ Jesus Himself or God the Father, we still believe that Christ actually came to this earth to save us from sin. The emphasis is on believing in the saving power of Christ and not on anything we can do. It means trusting God and not ‘our’ works for salvation.

Romans 1:16-17

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘the just shall live by faith.’”

In this passage, the Apostle Paul is teaching about the saving power of the gospel of Christ for all who believe. As we overcome the different kinds of challenges that come our way, our faith tends to grow from one level to the next. This is why the apostle tells us that the righteousness of God is revealed in us from faith to faith in an ungodly and unrighteous world.

Galatians 2:16-17

“Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.”

In this passage, the Apostle Paul reminds us that we have been born again and will remain so through our faith in Christ Jesus. According to Paul, only faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ at Calvary is all we need to be saved, not observing the law. This is because if you choose to keep the law, the moment you break one, you become guilty of all and hence disqualified from partaking of eternal life. However, thanks be to God, because that is no longer how it works. We get saved and remain saved ONLY BY FAITH in the gospel of Christ.

Galatians 2:20

“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

In this scripture, Paul is reminding the brethren in Galatia that when you believe in Christ Jesus, you die to yourself. This means that you are no longer in charge of your life, but Christ is. Consequently, everything that you do is informed by Christ Jesus and not your former self. That means the decisions you make and the actions you take are informed by the word of God.

All this you do while still in this corruptible body of sin, which awaits transformation with the appearing of Christ. It is not an easy undertaking, as the flesh is constantly at war with the spirit. And at times, the flesh wins. However, by rising up again and continuing in the good fight of the faith in Christ Jesus, our flesh is brought to submission to the word of God. Remember, the Bible encourages us in 1 John 4:4 by stating,

“You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.”

John 3:36

“He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

These were the words of Jesus to Nicodemus when he went to seek answers about the gospel of Christ. Consequently, Jesus emphasized to him that believing in the saving power of the Son was all that Nicodemus needed if he desired to enter the kingdom of God.

As of that time, Israel was awaiting the unveiling of the Messiah, whom they believed would deliver them from occupation by the Roman Empire. That means they expected the Messiah to be a military figure. So when Jesus appeared on the scene, claiming to be the Messiah, they failed to reconcile their expectations with the simple person that Jesus represented. That was the reason for their unbelief. They could not understand how, Jesus, a ‘mere carpenter’ could claim to be the ‘Son of God’. Hence, they rejected Him.

This is why the message of the gospel of Christ was taken to the Gentiles, some of whom still find it difficult to believe. But for those who believe, God releases everlasting life immediately, while for those who don’t, they still abide in condemnation.

Philippians 4:13

“I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.”

In this scripture, Paul is pointing us to his faith in Christ as the source of his strength in all that he endeavors to do. It is this strength that motivates him to keep going, even when the going gets tough, until he accomplishes whatever he begins.

So what can we learn from this scripture? This is the lesson: in whatever activity we engage in, we should never rely on our abilities and/or resources ALONE to succeed. Instead, we should also rope in Christ’s STRENGTH while meeting our obligations, and we are sure to emerge victorious despite the setbacks.

1 John 5:4

“For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that overcomes the world—our faith.”

In this scripture, the Apostle John gives us the formula born again believers can use to overcome the world, which is faith in the gospel of Christ.

2 Corinthians 5:7

“For we walk by faith and not by sight.”

This scripture reminds us that, as Christians, we believe in things even before they physically manifest, especially concerning our prayers.

James 5:14-15

“Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.”

In this scripture, the Apostle James teaches about the power of the prayer of faith. According to James, when believers pray over sick brethren, the prayer of faith does two things. One is that it saves the sick by bringing healing to them. Two, the prayer of faith causes God to pardon the sin of the sick person.

Mark 5:34

“And He said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.’”

These were the words of Jesus to a woman who had suffered an issue of blood for twelve years, after witnessing her extraordinary level of faith. The Bible records that even after seeing many physicians, her condition kept going from bad to worse. One day, she heard that Jesus would pass by and thus made up her mind to meet Him.

However, because it was taboo for unclean people to mingle with the rest of society, she decided to approach Jesus from behind and just touch the hem of His garment. This is because she believed that as long as she could make physical contact with Christ, she would be healed. Therefore, on reaching Jesus, she touched the hem of His garment, and immediately, the fountain of her blood dried up. Her faith got her healed on the spot.

This is a perfect demonstration of radical faith that we can emulate whenever we feel hard pressed by life’s issues and in dire need of heavenly intervention.

Ephesians 6:16

“Above all, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.”

In this scripture, we learn that the devil is constantly unleashing fiery darts towards us, and it’s only by taking up the shield of faith that we can quench the said darts. This basically means fully trusting in the saving power of Christ and not relying at any moment on our abilities or resources to overcome these attacks.

The shield of faith represents a continual trust in God and in His Son, Jesus Christ, to come through for us in whatever situation we face.

Mark 9:23

“Jesus said to him, ‘if you believe, all things are possible to him who believes.’ Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, ‘Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!’”

In this passage, Jesus is having a conversation with a certain man whose child had a mute spirit that had caused him to become epileptic. The man had brought this child to the disciples of Jesus, but they were unable to cast out the spirit. Thus, the man brought the boy to Jesus to see if He could heal him.

The first thing we see Jesus asking the man is whether he believed his son could be healed. The man said yes, he did believe. However, he goes ahead to ask Jesus to ‘help his unbelief.’ This is because the man still had doubts in his heart as to whether his son would ever get well. Knowing that he was incapable of getting rid of his doubt, he called on Jesus to help him do it.

Upon getting this reply, we see Jesus commanding the deaf and dump spirit to depart from the boy, and he got healed.

An important lesson to learn from this passage is that, sometimes we have doubts in our hearts despite knowing that all is possible with God. It is at such times that we should learn to call upon the Lord to help our unbelief’ so that we can receive answers to whatever we are asking from Him.

This is because God does not answer prayers coming from a doubtful heart, as recorded in James 1:5–6, which says

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.”

Matthew 9:27-30

“When Jesus departed from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out and saying, ‘Son of David, have mercy on us!’

And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him. And Jesus said to them, ‘Do you believe that I am able to do this?’

They said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord.’

Then He touched their eyes, saying, ‘according to your faith, let it be to you.’ And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, saying, ‘see that no one knows it.’”

We learn two important things from this passage. Firstly, the blind men followed Jesus because they were convinced that He could heal them. That action of ‘following Jesus’ is important to us Christians, as it teaches us to always be where Christ is, if we are to receive anything from Him.

Secondly, before Jesus did anything, He asked them whether they believed He could heal them, and their response was in the affirmative. Interestingly, we see Jesus releasing healing upon them ‘according to their faith.’

This means that it is our measure of faith that brings us answers to the petitions we make to God. Thus, where there is no faith, no answer will be forthcoming.

Romans 10:8-10

“But what does it say? ‘The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart’ (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

From this passage, we learn that it is through faith in the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus that we receive salvation.

Mark 10:51-52

“So Jesus answered and said to him, ‘what do you want Me to do for you?’

The blind man said to Him, ‘Rabboni, that I may receive my sight.’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘go your way; your faith has made you well.’ And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.”

In this passage, we again see a blind man receiving his sight back because of his faith in Jesus’s ability to heal him. It was this faith that actually delivered healing from Jesus to him.

Hebrews 11:1

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

According to this scripture, faith is tangible because it is a ‘substance.’ It is ‘something’ that one can see because of what you are expecting. That is why the Bible says when Jesus ‘saw’ their faith, he healed the paralytic man, according to Mark 2:5. So, whenever you have faith, it can actually be seen.

So when Jesus sees your faith when you pray for something, you get answers as per the measure of that faith.

Hebrews 11:6

“But without faith, it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”

Perhaps this is the most frequently quoted scripture while teaching on the subject of faith.

No human being has ever seen God because He is the Spirit. Yet, we still believe that God exists because of His creation around us. That is why God honors those who believe in Him even without having seen Him.

With this faith, one is able to do the things that please God and abhor those that He considers distasteful.

We should not only believe that God is, but also that He rewards those who seek Him with diligence.

Mark 11:22-24

“So Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore, I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you will receive them, and you will have them.’”

In this scripture, Jesus emphasizes the importance of faith without doubt as the key to answered prayers. He further states that, when we pray, we should always believe that we have already ‘RECEIVED’ whatever we asked for, even before it physically manifests, and it shall be done.

Romans 12:3

“For I say, through the grace given me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.”

This scripture teaches that we receive different measures of faith from God. Accordingly, we should avoid getting puffed up when we realize that our measure of faith is higher than that of our fellow brethren.

Matthew 14:29-31

“So He said, ‘Come.’ And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, ‘Lord, save me!’

And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?’”

This is another scripture that teaches against having doubt if we want our prayers to be answered. Initially, Peter had sufficient faith to give him the confidence to step out of the boat and walk on the water towards Jesus. As long as his eyes were fixed on Jesus, he continued walking on the water. However, he later turned his focus to the wind and how threatening it was. As a result, fear crept into his heart, and immediately he began to sink.

The lesson we learn here is that we should NEVER remove our eyes from Jesus once we begin to run the race of faith. It is only by so doing that we shall not fall into the temptation of looking back and end up suffering loss, as recorded in 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 that 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, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Luke 17:5

“And the apostles said to the Lord, ‘increase our faith.’ So the Lord said, ‘if you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea, and it would obey you.’’”

The mustard seed is among the smallest seeds on Earth. Therefore, by telling His disciples to have faith the size of a mustard seed, He simply means that as long as one has faith, however small, he can do wonders with it.

Matthew 17:19-20

“Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, ‘why could we not cast it out?’

So Jesus said to them, Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you. However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.’”

In this passage, we see the disciples of Jesus approaching Him to find an answer as to why they were unable to cast out a demon from a certain person. Jesus pointed out that the demon could not come out because of their unbelief or doubt. However, He introduced the principle of fasting as a way of backing up our prayers of faith. Thus, by combining our prayer of faith with fasting, we can really achieve much.

Conclusion

This article has discussed Bible verses teaching about faith. The major point emerging from these scriptures is that our faith plays a very vital role when it comes to receiving answers from God. Thus, when we make prayers to God for anything, we must do two things. One, we must believe that God is able to do what we are requesting Him to do. Secondly, we must believe in our hearts that we have received whatever we asked for during prayer before it even physically manifests. By so doing, ours will be an exciting journey of faith in Christ, as we approach the Day of the Lord.

I hope the information was helpful. Thank you.

Related Post: Bible teachings on faith | 23 lessons for us

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Prayer to become a born-again Christian

“Lord Jesus, I confess that I am a sinner and hereby ask for your forgiveness;

I believe in my heart and confess with my mouth that you are the only begotten Son of the living God.

I believe that you were sent by your Father to the earth to save sinners like me.

I now accept you as my personal Lord and Savior.

Come into my heart and baptize me with The Holy Spirit.

Thank you for saving me.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,

Amen!”

Congratulations friend! You are now a born-again Christian!

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Benediction

“The LORD bless you and keep you;

The Lord make His face shine upon you,

And be gracious to you;

The LORD lift up His countenance upon you,

And give you peace.”

(Numbers 6:24-26)

Shalom.

Source: https://www.biblegateway.com/