WHY THE IMPORTANCE OF FAITH
By W. G. Guy
This article is about the need to maintain faith and being faithful to what God has said in His Word, what He has promised, and the words spoken through His prophets.
The word faith comes from the New Testament Greek word pistis which means: persuasion; confidence; assurance; faith; trust; and fidelity (faithfulness).
Many prophetic words that were given prior to the 2020 general election said President Trump would be re-elected to serve another four years. However, as nearly everyone knows, the corrupt electoral system gave the election to Joe Biden through fraud and deceit. Many people, including some of those who prophesied Trumps victory have recanted their own prophecy; they lost their faith in the Word that God gave them to declare. This is a dangerous error that could have grave consequences. It has also greatly disillusioned many believers who trusted in their prophetic words.
Losing faith and confidence in the Word of God allows the darkness of evil to enter the minds and hearts of people so disturbed by not seeing the fulfillment of these prophetic words. Their faith has been shaken and possibly destroyed.
Hebrews 10:38 – Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back (from faith), my soul shall have no pleasure in him.
Therefore if faith is lost or destroyed, how shall we yet live? They become like the waves of the sea tossed about and becoming unstable, as it is written.
James 1:6-7 – But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
Those who do not hold to their faith do not receive the benefit of what is made available by faith. They lose what they had, and can have, which is exactly what Satan wants to do to us as believers. Satan, the enemy of our faith, tries to cause us to doubt what God said:
Genesis 3:1 – Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
We are instructed in scripture what to do regarding our faith and confidence.
Hebrews 3:6 – but Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.
Note the conditional word “if” in the above verse and consider what would be the result of not holding fast your faith or confidence firm to the end. A similar instruction is given to us in the following verses:
Hebrews 4:14 – Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold
fast our profession.
Hebrews 10: 23 – Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)
Hebrews 3:14 – For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end;
What would be the result of not holding your faith and confidence steadfast to the end? It may mean having your faith and confidence devoured – destroyed!
1 Peter 5:8-9 – Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.
The enemy of your faith is out to destroy your confidence in what God said, both in His Word, and through His prophets. The following verses tell what can happen to your faith through doubt, or by looking at and accepting circumstances that seem to go contrary to what God said.
1Timothy 1:19 – holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck:
Consider the typical result of a shipwreck: you now have a vessel that is no longer sea worthy, able to sail, or to be of any further use.
1 Timothy 5:12 – …having damnation, because they have cast off their first faith.
Faith can be cast off, so what is the result of the person who does this? Having damnation, which simply means that without
faith you are no longer a child of God since salvation is by grace, (God’s provision), through FAITH, (your acceptance of what God provided). Thus, with no faith, means no salvation, or for that matter, without faith you will not be receiving anything from God – (ref. James 1:7 above)!
2 Timothy 2:18 – ….who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some.
Here we see that a person’s faith can be overthrown by false teaching or believing a lie from the enemy. Faith that is overthrown will fail and not hold up to any challenge. Overthrown faith means there is nothing of any substance to hold on to.
Revelation 2:13 – I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.
Here we see that when and where Satan is operating it is more of an effort to keep the faith, because of challenges that move us to deny it. Notice that Jesus sees and acknowledges those keeping the faith in the face of opposition.
Hebrews 11:6 – But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Hebrews 10:35 – Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward.
The reward of faith gives us answers to prayers along with God’s sovereign fellowship and watch over us, His lovingkindness, and finally eternity with Him. Therefore it behooves us to trust God, in His promises and His Word, whether written or spoken. We need to be faithful to Him and trust God and His Word.
Psalms 25:2 – O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies (especially Satan) triumph over me.
Proverbs 3:5 – Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
Our own understanding of what is going on may go contrary to what God said, so we need to seek Him and His Word with all our heart and trust Him.
Proverbs 30:5 – Every word of God is pure; He is a shield unto them that put their trust in Him.
By trusting in Him and His Word means He has you covered and preserves your way.
Isaiah 26:3 – Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee; because he trusteth in thee.
With your faith in His Word, you will not be troubled by those contrary situations and conditions that you see because confidence in His Word gives you perfect peace and allows you to praise and worship Him in spite of any opposition.
One thing to consider about the foretelling prophetic words; they are spoken before there is any indication of their fulfillment; and in some cases, long before their fulfillment; otherwise they would not be prophetic. In addition, many prophetic words appear to be contrary to existing circumstances; thus the need to have faith in those words – sometimes, strong and long lasting faith.
1 Timothy 4:1 – Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
Here we see that some will depart from the faith by the works of the enemy who Jesus said in John 10:10 “comes not but to steal, kill and destroy”. One of the devil’s most used weapons is lies and deception. If we believe what we see or hear instead of what God has said, then you are in danger of departing from or losing your faith.
Mark 11:22 – And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.
By W. G. Guy
This article is about the need to maintain faith and being faithful to what God has said in His Word, what He has promised, and the words spoken through His prophets.
The word faith comes from the New Testament Greek word pistis which means: persuasion; confidence; assurance; faith; trust; and fidelity (faithfulness).
Many prophetic words that were given prior to the 2020 general election said President Trump would be re-elected to serve another four years. However, as nearly everyone knows, the corrupt electoral system gave the election to Joe Biden through fraud and deceit. Many people, including some of those who prophesied Trumps victory have recanted their own prophecy; they lost their faith in the Word that God gave them to declare. This is a dangerous error that could have grave consequences. It has also greatly disillusioned many believers who trusted in their prophetic words.
Losing faith and confidence in the Word of God allows the darkness of evil to enter the minds and hearts of people so disturbed by not seeing the fulfillment of these prophetic words. Their faith has been shaken and possibly destroyed.
Hebrews 10:38 – Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back (from faith), my soul shall have no pleasure in him.
Therefore if faith is lost or destroyed, how shall we yet live? They become like the waves of the sea tossed about and becoming unstable, as it is written.
James 1:6-7 – But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
Those who do not hold to their faith do not receive the benefit of what is made available by faith. They lose what they had, and can have, which is exactly what Satan wants to do to us as believers. Satan, the enemy of our faith, tries to cause us to doubt what God said:
Genesis 3:1 – Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
We are instructed in scripture what to do regarding our faith and confidence.
Hebrews 3:6 – but Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.
Note the conditional word “if” in the above verse and consider what would be the result of not holding fast your faith or confidence firm to the end. A similar instruction is given to us in the following verses:
Hebrews 4:14 – Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold
fast our profession.
Hebrews 10: 23 – Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)
Hebrews 3:14 – For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end;
What would be the result of not holding your faith and confidence steadfast to the end? It may mean having your faith and confidence devoured – destroyed!
1 Peter 5:8-9 – Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.
The enemy of your faith is out to destroy your confidence in what God said, both in His Word, and through His prophets. The following verses tell what can happen to your faith through doubt, or by looking at and accepting circumstances that seem to go contrary to what God said.
1Timothy 1:19 – holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck:
Consider the typical result of a shipwreck: you now have a vessel that is no longer sea worthy, able to sail, or to be of any further use.
1 Timothy 5:12 – …having damnation, because they have cast off their first faith.
Faith can be cast off, so what is the result of the person who does this? Having damnation, which simply means that without
faith you are no longer a child of God since salvation is by grace, (God’s provision), through FAITH, (your acceptance of what God provided). Thus, with no faith, means no salvation, or for that matter, without faith you will not be receiving anything from God – (ref. James 1:7 above)!
2 Timothy 2:18 – ….who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some.
Here we see that a person’s faith can be overthrown by false teaching or believing a lie from the enemy. Faith that is overthrown will fail and not hold up to any challenge. Overthrown faith means there is nothing of any substance to hold on to.
Revelation 2:13 – I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.
Here we see that when and where Satan is operating it is more of an effort to keep the faith, because of challenges that move us to deny it. Notice that Jesus sees and acknowledges those keeping the faith in the face of opposition.
Hebrews 11:6 – But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Hebrews 10:35 – Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward.
The reward of faith gives us answers to prayers along with God’s sovereign fellowship and watch over us, His lovingkindness, and finally eternity with Him. Therefore it behooves us to trust God, in His promises and His Word, whether written or spoken. We need to be faithful to Him and trust God and His Word.
Psalms 25:2 – O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies (especially Satan) triumph over me.
Proverbs 3:5 – Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
Our own understanding of what is going on may go contrary to what God said, so we need to seek Him and His Word with all our heart and trust Him.
Proverbs 30:5 – Every word of God is pure; He is a shield unto them that put their trust in Him.
By trusting in Him and His Word means He has you covered and preserves your way.
Isaiah 26:3 – Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee; because he trusteth in thee.
With your faith in His Word, you will not be troubled by those contrary situations and conditions that you see because confidence in His Word gives you perfect peace and allows you to praise and worship Him in spite of any opposition.
One thing to consider about the foretelling prophetic words; they are spoken before there is any indication of their fulfillment; and in some cases, long before their fulfillment; otherwise they would not be prophetic. In addition, many prophetic words appear to be contrary to existing circumstances; thus the need to have faith in those words – sometimes, strong and long lasting faith.
1 Timothy 4:1 – Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
Here we see that some will depart from the faith by the works of the enemy who Jesus said in John 10:10 “comes not but to steal, kill and destroy”. One of the devil’s most used weapons is lies and deception. If we believe what we see or hear instead of what God has said, then you are in danger of departing from or losing your faith.
Mark 11:22 – And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.
