Progressive Baptist Church's Website
One thing that is definitely essential to the Christian life is Faith. What is Faith? According to Hebrews 11:1, "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." As Christians, we must have faith in order to have a good relationship with God. We must trust Him completely and believe everything the Bible teaches. Some things the Bible teach about haven't happened yet, but because we are Christians and have faith in God, we believe they will happen just like God promised.
When we say we believe in God, we then take on the responsibility of obeying His word. If we believe the Bible is true and God knows what is best for us, then we will want to obey what the Bible teaches and listen to God when He speaks to us. Romans 10:17 tells us "So faith cometh by hearing and by hearing the word of God." Listening for many of us is not a skill we have fully acquired yet. We want to do all the talking. But listening is important to our relationship with God, as well as our relationship with others. When we listen attentively we can learn a lot. God has so much to say to us; but we are so busy telling Him what we want, we can't hear when He's talking to us. When we allow the cares of the world to close in on us and hinder our time with God, we weaken our relationship with Him, and our communication with Him suffers.
In Acts 14:10, we see an example of how faith comes. We read that Paul told the crippled man at Lystra to stand upright on his feet, and the man stood up. He acted on his faith. Then we all know about the woman with the bad issue of blood. After hearing about Jesus she was made whole. She thought by touching the hem of Jesus' garment she was made whole, but Jesus told her, "It was her faith that made her whole."
In Hebrews 11, we see more faith hoped for. "By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain. By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death. By faith Noah being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house: by which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith. By faith Abraham when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed and he went out, not knowing whither he goeth." Through faith also Sarah herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered a child when she was past age; because she judged Him faithful who had promised. These examples of faith and more are found throughout the Bible.
The question was asked, "Will humans be faithful to God?" This issue was raised by Satan, the devil. He raised it when he was able to get Adam and Eve to break God's law and thus join him in rebellion against God. (Genesis 3:1-6) This provided Satan with what he felt was grounds for addressing God with his challenge in the Book of Job: In so many words, Satan said, "God, people serve you only for what they get from you. Just give me the chance and I can turn anybody away from you."
Job was a man who lived many years after the rebellion had taken place in the Garden of Eden. He was a righteous and faithful servant of God. Did it really matter to God or Satan that Job was faithful? The Bible shows that it did. It tells us about an appearance of Satan before God in the courts of heaven. The story goes, "It came to be the day when the Sons of God came to present themselves before God and even Satan came among them to present himself before the Lord." The Lord said to Satan, "Where do you come from?" Satan answered and said, "From going to and fro in the earth and walking up and down in it. And the Lord said unto Satan, "Have you set your heart upon my servant Job? There is no one in the earth, a man blameless and upright, fearing God and turning aside from bad?" (Job 1:6-8) Why did God mention to Satan that Job was an upright man? Clearly, there was an issue as to whether Job would remain faithful to God or not. Think about God's question, "Where do you come from?" God was permitting Satan free opportunity to carry out his challenge that he could turn anyone away from God. What was Satan's reply to God about Job's faithfulness? Satan said, "Is it for nothing that Job has feared God? How not you yourself put up a hedge about him and about his house and about everything that he has all around? The work of his hands you have blessed, and his livestock has spread abroad in the earth. But for a change, thrust out your hand please, and touch everything he has and see whether he will not curse you to your face." By his reply, Satan was making an excuse for job's faithfulness to God. Satan said, "Job serves you because of the things you give him, not because he loves you." Satan also complained that God was using his greater power in an unfair way, saying He always protected Job. To settle the issue, God answered, "Anything he has is in your hand. Only against him do not thrust out your hand." (Job 1:12) Right away Satan began causing trouble for Job. He had all his livestock either killed or stolen. Job's ten children were killed and he lost almost everything, yet he remained faithful to God. He did not curse God. But that was not the end of the matter.
Satan again appeared with the other angels before God. Once again God asked Satan if he had seen the faithfulness of Job. God said, "Even yet he is holding fast his integrity." Satan answered, "Skin in behalf of skin, and everything a man has he will give in behalf of his soul. For a change, thrust out your hand please, and touch as for his bone and his flesh and see whether he will not curse you to your very face. (Job 2:1-5) In answering, God gave Satan permission to do whatever he could to Job, although God said, "You are not to kill him." So Satan struck Job with a terrible disease. Job's suffering was so great that he prayed to die. His own wife turned against him, saying, "Curse God and die." But Job refused to do that. He remained faithful to God. So it was proven that Satan was wrong in his challenge that Job served God for material gain and not for love. It also showed that Satan could not turn everybody away from serving God.
By his faithful course, Job made God's heart rejoice. This gave God an answer to Satan's boastful challenge that humans would not serve Him under test. Many others have also provided God with such an answer. The greatest example was the perfect man, Jesus. He held fast to His loyalty to God despite all the tests and trials Satan brought upon Him. This proved that the perfect man Adam could have done the same if he had wanted to. It also proves that God was not unrighteous in requiring full obedience from man. True, Satan was able to reduce Job to poverty and cause the death of his ten children. There is no question that this was a deep lost to Job. But when Job proved faithful, God blessed him with twice as much as he had before. Job also became the father of ten more children. Truly, there is no harm or trouble that Satan is permitted to cause that God will not correct in due time.
We may not think that it really matters how we live but it does. Whether we know it or not, our way of living supports God's side of the issue or Satan's side. So we must always keep in mind that we are the answer to the question asked at the beginning, "Will humans be faithful to God?" May all our faith be as the perfect faith of Job.
