Principles of the Doctrine of Christ of Christ!
From the Desk Of Stan Almendro
Faith towards God (Lecture 3)
This like every chaper in this series iswhat I believe, to be the VERY HEART of the Christian walk and that is “The Principles of the Doctrine of Christ”.
The importance of this series cannot be stressed enough as it is the total basis of our “Walking and Living (Not Talking) in the Truth of the Word of God” You might have not ever been introduced to these teachings BUT it is important that every believer be given instruction on this important doctrine.
The earlier in a Christian Life the better to avoid developing bad habits of a Hit and Miss Approach to our Christian Walk! Our lives are not a set of RULES of DOES and DONT”S but it is A Walk with God where His Word (The Principles of His Doctrines) burns in our hearts! A BETTER understand of the word “PRINCIPLES” might make it easier for us to GRASP the worth of this truth and help us to also SEE the need to be governed by A Set of Principles and not a load of Does and Don’ts! Principle of Morality:
It represents a set of values that orientates and rule the conduct of a sound society. The law establishes an obligation in the individual's conscience that belongs to the cultural field in which such values are accepted.
When this VALUE is at work we do not need an OUTSIDE force to make us live in LINE with the PRINCIPLE being addressed. The Moral, Ethical and Spiritual VALUE SYSTEMS are and become part of our own Human Behaviour pattern.
So the Principles of the Doctrine of Christ are WHAT God wants us and expects us to live by. It goes beyond Right and wrong and even DEEPER than Good and Evil. It finds us Evaluating and DISCERNING Spiritual things with Spiritual.
To do this and LIVE by it we need to have a RELATIONSHIP with God that is TELLING, A HUNGER for His Word and THE ABILITY BY THE HOLY SPIRIT TO HAVE OUR EYES OPEN TO THE WORD OF GOD. This goes beyond BEING fed like babies with BABY food but we get into the REAL issues of the SCRIPTURES and a DESIRE to really please God.
As mentioned in the Introduction the series of studies comprise the following an at the end of each study there will be a Question Sheet which needs to be answered and returned to Whisper Bible College on a weekly basis.
The series of studies are:
• Introduction to the Principles of the Doctrine of Christ.
• Repentance from dead Works
• Faith Towards God
• Doctrine of Baptisms
1. Baptism into the Body of Christ
2. Baptism in Water
3. Baptism in the Holy Spirit
4. Baptism into Suffering
• Laying on of Hands
• Resurrection of the Dead
• Eternal Judgement
In this study we handle “Faith towards God”: as read in Hebrews 6 verses 1 to 3: Hebrews 6:1-3 - Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of Faith toward God, Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. And this will we do, if God permit. Faith toward God is the second foundational stone listed in Hebrews 6:1-2, after repentance from dead works.
In many ways it is a SIMPLISTIC doctrine BUT the problem lies in Human Nature to either NOT understand OR Not want to understand very basic truths.
Let us look at the two sets of words which are:
• Faith
• Towards God
1. Faith is NOT a LONG sought after ability to get things OR to tell God what we want. It is not an AUTHORITY to deal with Satan (In Rebuke when not even the Angels do it) It is also not a theory we learn but an inborn resolute and experience to take God at His Word and to LIVE in that word (Again it is not the demanding of things or shouting at the devil)
A Practical definition of Faith—believing that what God said He can do, that he can and will do it. Faith is an actual agreement with God in His abilities to perform His Word. “Faith doesn’t just believe on the Word of God, but believing in the God of the Word.” Biblical Definition- Hebrews 11:1 Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen… to clarify this statement it is the reverse order of natural law, seeing is believing, into believing is seeing.
Why is Faith Important—Hebrews 11:6—but without faith it is impossible to please God. I believe an understanding of this statement is one of the greatest needs in our spiritual lives. God has built His relationship with us, based on our faith toward Him.
No measure of works, no measure of prayer, no measure of Bible study, will ever meet the basic requirement of living by faith. God limits His ability to help us by the measure of faith we place in Him. Romans 1:16-17—gives us the key thought that the just shall live by faith.
So faith isn’t just an action, but a constant activity in the life of the believer. You don’t just jump from one faith experience to another, but there is a continual walk of faith in every day. Ephesian 2:8—for by grace are ye saved through faith—faith is so essential in our lives that God even ties salvation to it.
He gives us the grace that is His part, we accept it by faith, that is our part, and we are saved. Another reason why faith is such an important teaching for every believer is that everything you face in life, you face it from God’s perspective, (unlimited ability) instead of from your perspective, (limited ability).
For with God nothing shall be impossible—Luke 1:37 Jesus said, unto him, if thou can believe, all things are possible to him that believes. II. What is the Source of Faith Faith is a gift from God—John 3:27—a man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.
Every good and perfect gift cometh from above. God will not allow human effort to perform divine results—it is all God, zero man, he will not share his glory. Faith is an imparted thing—spiritual in nature—I Corinthians 12 lists faith as a manifestation of the spirit, Galatians 5:22-23 lists faith as a fruit of the spirit.
Faith cannot be worked up—it is not an emotional thing. You can yell, shout and scream at the devil or disease; it will not be moved until you move into the spiritual realm of God imparted faith.
Faith is tied to God’s Word—Psalms 138:2—for thou has magnified thy word above thy entire name. God places infinite value on His Word, because if you couldn’t trust his Word, you could never trust him.
Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God—Romans 10:17—this is probably such a simple point, but it didn’t say faith comes by memorizing the word, even though memorization is a great tool.
It didn’t say faith comes from hearing a good sermon, even though preaching/teaching is important in our lives. It didn’t even say, by reading the Word of God you have faith.
It is by hearing—rhema- as you read a spiritual Word, you hear a Spiritual voice, then obtain a spiritual truth.
2. Towards God is SIMPLY explained that we DO not put our trust in who we are, our abilities, our talents, our status, our education and NOT even in our SPIRITUALITY.
This is a VERY subtle thing and we as humans like to feel good (Nothing wrong with this) about who we are and what we do. We do not need to deny our self worth BUT even see this (Self Worth) as God created inn us.
When we grasp the fact that FAITH is taking God at His Word, believing that He is Not a Man that He should Lie, we will not struggle with the “Towards God” because our whole being and existence will be relying on Him Now
WE cannot separate this “Faith towards God” from “Repentance from Dead Works” because while we continue to trust in our WORKS to get us to Heaven we are NOT showing our “Faith towards God”
Can we now see the IMPORTANCE of THE PRINCIPLE of Faith towards God?
This is the third of the ten (10) studies and with each study we will aim at bringing us to a place of understanding that The Right/Wrong concept of Christian living is SHALLOW and that our lives need to be GOVERNED by PRINCIPLES. (The LAW of God to bring us to a PLACE living in Him) By grasping the deep rooted desire of the HEART of God for us, His children, will better equip us in Rightly Dividing the Word of God and in many senses it will bring us to places of decision and a Life Style that will be to the Glory of God.
When we come to the END of this series it will only mean that we have been given a “Lot of Theory” and the challenge will be to look at each Principle and see how we allow ourselves to be GOVERNED by the Divine Word of God.
The process of APPLYING this Doctrine and in Fact the Word of God in full is a LIFE long and ongoing experience. We are encouraged in the Word of God “That we henceforth are no longer children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the sleight of men and their cunning and craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive” (Ephesians 4 verse 14).
Can I encourage you to take these studies seriously and God will break to each one of us “The Bread of Heaven”. He will multiply this bread as he did the Loaves and the Fishes and we will be a PART of feeding the multitudes.
Stan Almendro
Kind regards,
Yours in Christ