Power in Believing

Background Scripture: Romans 10
Lesson Scripture: Romans 10:8-17

Introduction

In the King James Version of the Bible, the terms believing and faith are used interchangeably. In our present-day usage, faith may have a broader meaning than just believing. Regardless of which term we use, truly believing has the elements of commitment and trust. God has given us the choice, or ability, to believe or not to believe his Word and Spirit. We must exercise the power of belief to be saved, and we will need to continue believing throughout our lives.

Key Verse

And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God (Acts 8:37).

Lesson Scripture

Studying the Lesson

The Israelites were given the Levitical law, which contained moral, ceremonial, and civil or judicial qualities. Bible students say that there are 613 commandments in the Levitical law. These commandments helped to restrain wickedness and bring about clean living. The law also helps man to recognize God as supremely righteous.

The law was intended to bring man to Christ. Those who truly feared God sincerely tried to keep the commandments, yet they were continually reminded of their sinfulness by their inability to keep the commandments in perfection: “By the law is the knowledge of sin” (Rom. 3:20).

Unfortunately for many of the Israelites of Jesus’s day, the law did not bring them to a vision of their need; rather, they felt satisfied in their position. Their own righteousness stood in the way of accepting that they were sinners in need of deliverance.

Seven hundred years before Jesus came, God had already lamented over the Israelites’ dead works: “To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the Lord: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats. When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts? Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them” (Isa. 1:11-14).

This lesson points us to a better way: the way of faith, the way of believing in Jesus. By Him alone can we have peace with God and be successful in our Christian lives.

Practical Truths for Today

Most of the world’s religions are based on the merit of works, but Christianity is based on a gift from God. In Philippians 3:4, the apostle Paul said, “Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more.” But then he says, “I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ” (Phil. 3:8). Paul told Timothy that he believed he was the chief of sinners, indicating that if God was merciful to him, then all have a chance (1 Tim. 1:15-16).

Men have been able to achieve outstanding goals by having faith in themselves and a determination to succeed. Demosthenes, of the fourth century BC, was a legendary Greek statesman and orator. He had a dream of success, but he had speech impediments and a tendency to hold one of his shoulders higher than the other. He was ridiculed for his deficiencies, but he refused to give up. History says he would resort to a place on the seashore where the sound of the waves would be a disadvantage to being understood and practice speaking with pebbles in his mouth. He also would hang a sword at the proper level so that when his shoulder rose to create an awkward physical posture, the sword would prick him, triggering him to lower it. With such extreme efforts, Demosthenes was able to overcome his weaknesses.

A teenager had a habit of chewing his fingernails. One day his older brother, in a rather disparaging manner, let him know how such a practice shows a lack of self-control. This spawned a determination in the younger brother to never again chew his fingernails. By this, he completely broke the habit.

The above examples show what man can do when he sets a goal and believes that the goal can be attained. This kind of determination and belief in a certain goal can accomplish good results. Self-control is indeed a needful virtue throughout life; however, while man can achieve great things, he cannot conquer his sinful nature and make himself righteous by the power of positive thinking and human effort. While we may do quite well in some areas, every person has natural inclinations that tend to bring him into bondage. One can make many resolutions but will continue to fail when depending on the power of self, and even though we may reform ourselves, there is still the debt of accumulated past sins.

“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” (Heb. 11:6). We only experience a true cleansing and victory when we believe in God as One who can do all things and trust that our faith in Him will not be in vain.

“For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. . . . For to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do” (Rom. 7:14-15, 18-19). This illustrates the frustrating battle of one who tries to serve God by his own power. In Romans 8, Paul speaks of victory: “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. . . . In all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us” (Rom. 8:2-4, 37).

Man is insecure without God and naturally seeks satisfaction in things that can never satisfy him, whether that be by good works or the pleasures of sin. The first temptation in the garden of Eden was Satan’s concerted effort to take Adam and Eve’s dependence away from God, still one of his major tactics. When we become small in our own eyes, own our depravity, and believe in the greatness of God, we can be partakers of his power.

It has been said that faith is not faith until it is all we are holding on to. Without a genuine love for the truth, man tends to accept an intellectual belief as an add-on to his human efforts. The true saving faith is not an add-on; rather, it is a capitulation, a believing “with all thine heart” (Acts 8:37). A believing faith empowers a trust in Jesus as our only and absolute hope; we come to Him with a contrite and humble spirit, willing to give up all our sins and our own righteousness. Faith is not just something to console ourselves with, but a power within that gives us the grace to live a godly life. Those who are not willing to commit themselves to God and his church tend to find ways to justify themselves. The example of Abraham being willing to sacrifice his son of promise is an excellent example of the faith that avails with God.

When we are converted, we enlist in God’s service for life; it is the beginning of a walk with Him. Jesus said, “Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life” (Matt. 7:14). It appears some Christians pass through the narrow gate, and then the road widens. Carnal liberties are easily accepted, such as materialism, sports, indulgence in reading material that defiles, and other lusts. These things tend to make one’s heart cold, self-reliant, and independent and bring a loss of vision. Jesus said, “No man can serve two masters” (Matt. 6:24). We hinder God’s power in our lives when we do not fully believe his promises to the extent of being willing to give up material security and the things our flesh desires. When we try to carry along what we like, using an intellectual belief for our justification, we cannot expect to have overcoming power and grace, but when we lay it all on the altar of sacrifice, our eyes are then opened, and our hearts can be blessed.

Daily decisions regarding our material, physical, and spiritual affairs encompass the challenges of life and cannot be evaded. We must shoulder responsibilities relating to our families and our interactions with our fellowmen. The choices we make in how we clothe ourselves and our families, the vehicles we drive, the way we make our living, and our daily walk of life all give witness to what we really believe. Our Father is interested in these matters, whether minor or major, and the devoted Christian does not rely only on his own proving but is ever prayerful and sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, “All things are possible to him that believeth” (Mark 9:23). There is no prayer too difficult for God to answer. Jesus said in Matthew 21:22, “And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.” There is no situation too hard for God, but if we have an unwilling spirit or an unconcerned attitude, we can limit God. Satan would like to take advantage of our failings and influence us to succumb to discouragement, but “we have an advocate with the Father” (1 John 2:1). If we honestly and humbly bring everything to Him, we can again be cleansed and empowered.

Questions

1. How does the power in believing differ from a strong determination to succeed?
2. What keeps people from believing and experiencing the power this lesson depicts?
3. Why do we not see more power displayed today in miracles such as in prayers for healing?
4. What is a proper vision or understanding regarding an assurance of salvation?
5. What is the answer for someone who is in bondage to an addiction or besetting sin and keeps falling back into these things?

Source: COGICM Daily Bible Readings (Daily Bible Readings, PO Box 124, Glenn, CA 95943).