The Author and Finisher of Our Faith
Hebrews 12:2
I. Author - the source of our faith.
A. The word “author” indicates that Christ is the designer of our salvation.
1. He is the one that takes the lead in bringing us to Himself.
2. The fact of Total Depravity clearly shows that mankind is not only unable to initiate their own salvation, but they have no desire to be saved apart from an inward work of the Holy Spirit.
B. As a means of salvation. A lost person must receive the grace and faith from God to believe on Jesus so they can be saved. They do not have grace or faith within themselves, therefore they can’t believe to the saving of the soul. A lost person would do good to ask God to give them the faith necessary for salvation believing. The following scriptures make it abundantly clear that a lost person believes by the faith of Jesus Christ, not from their own faith.
1. Eph. 2:8,9 - For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is a gift of God.
2. Acts 26:18 - To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.
3. Gal 2:16 “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.”
4. Gal 3:22 “But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.”
II. Finisher.
A. As a means of living for Christ. The following scriptures ought to make it abundantly clear that a saved person serves God by the faith of Jesus Christ, (that is: a faith given to them by Jesus Christ) not from a faith “mustered up” from within themselves. A saved person is absolutely totally, completely dependent upon Christ, not only for their physical, and mental existence, but also for any spiritual worship they can give to God. This also reveals that when Jesus judges us, then gives us rewards for our faithfulness to Him, that we will cast those crowns back at his feet, proclaiming that He is worthy, we are not.
1. Gal 2:20 “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”
2. Eph 3:12 “In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.”
3. Eph 6:23 “Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
4. Phil 3:9 “And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:” Not only does God give us faith, the righteousness we have is also from God (by the faith He gives us). 1
B. For Healing, Acts 3:16 “And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.”
III. The means by which Faith comes to us -- hearing.
A. Rom 10:17 “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
B. Can our faith increase? YES!!!! The more we hear, and learn, of Christ and His eternal plan, the more we can have faith in that eternal plan.
1. Luke 17:5 “And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.” Jesus Christ did not reprimand the apostles for asking for an increase in faith, rather He instructed them that an increase of faith leads to an increase in obedience, not in an increase in importance, or of feelings of importance.
2. 2 Th 1:3 “We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith growth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth;”
a. It is very important to note that our faith will increase in direct proportion with the increase of our love.
b. This is not only love for God, but also love for our fellow man.
3. 2 Pet 1:5-7 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; {6} And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; {7} And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
C. More scriptures about hearing the word so our faith will increase.
1. * Gal 3:2 “This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?”
2. * Gal 3:5 “He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?”
3. Eccl 5:1 “Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil.”
4. * Luke 8:15 “But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.”
5. Ps 40:6 “Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required.”
6. Prov 18:15 “The heart of the prudent getteth knowledge; and the ear of the wise seeketh knowledge.”
7. Prov 20:12 “The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the LORD hath made even both of them.”
8. Prov 25:12 “As an earring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold, so is a wise reprover upon an obedient ear.”
9. * Mat 13:16 “But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.”
IV. Verses that teach it is our faith that we use to believe in Christ.
A. Note the following scriptures which appear in this outline, III, B.
1. Luke 17:5 “And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.”
2. 2 Thess. 1:3 “We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith growth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth;”
3. 2 Pet 1:5-7 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; {6} And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; {7} And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
B. The following scriptures teach that it is our responsibility to exercise the faith God gives us toward the correct end.
1. Mark 11:22 “And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.”
2. Acts 3:16 “And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.”
3. Acts 24:24 “And after certain days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, which was a Jewess, he sent for Paul, and heard him concerning the faith in Christ.”
4. Rom 3:25 “Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;”
5. Gal 3:26 “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.”
6. Eph 1:15 “Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints,”
7. Col 1:4 “Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints,”
8. Col 2:5 “For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the stedfastness of your faith in Christ.”
9. Rom 4:19 “And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb:”
10. Heb 11:13 “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.”
11. James 1:6 “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.”
V. Some elements concerning our faith.
A. Matt. 9:29 - Things happen to us according to the measure of our faith.
1. These blind men were healed according to their own faith.
2. Mark 8:22-26 - I wonder if the healing of these blind men was anything like the account given of the blind man who was “imperfectly” healed.
B. Luke 8:22-25 - Jesus calming the stormy seas of Galilee.
1. Jesus asked them, “Where is your faith?”
2. If they had put their faith to the test, they might have also stopped the stormy seas.
C. I Cor. 2:5 - True faith doesn’t stand in the strength of human wisdom, but in the power of God.
VI. Our faith will be finished. (Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith.)
A. It will be finished like Lot (to our discredit) or like Job (to our credit).
1. If we follow our faith; the faith Jesus gives us by the hearing of His Word, Jesus will find us faithful and true.
2. To follow your faith is to put into daily practice those things you have heard from the Word of God.
B. The victory is in our faith.
1. Satan will attack every child of God, attacking that person’s faith. Satan knows he cannot defeat the faith of Jesus Christ, (Jesus defeated Satan’s temptation in the desert) but when Jesus gives faith to a believer, Satan might be able to defeat the faith of that believer. This is why every believer faces Satan’s attack.
a. Some will fail: will you?
b. II Peter 2:7-9 - Lot failed because he was drawn away of his own lusts.
c. James 1:14 - Every man is tempted by his own lust and enticed to sin.
d. James 1:3 - The trying of your faith worketh patience.
2. I Peter 1:7 - The trial of your faith is the most precious thing you can ever imagine.
a. Verse 9 - the end of your faith is salvation.
b. This is not working to obtain salvation, but the completion of our initial salvation experience (of the heart), working in our bodies (our Christian life) and finishing in our resurrection.
3. Luke 22:32 - Jesus prayed for Peter that his faith fail not.
a. Every person will be tested similar to how Job was tested.
b. Not with the same things, but in the same intensity of heart.
c. Some are tested with prosperity like Job was tested with poverty.
d. Some are tested with health like Job was tested with illness.
e. Some are tested with gaining good family members like Job was tested with loss of good family members.
4. I John 5:1-5 (4) - We overcome the world by our faith. These verse explain some very elementary facts:
a. How you can know that you believe in Jesus Christ to the salvation of our soul.
b. How you can tell if you love the children of God or not.
c. How you can tell if you love God or not.