Incredibly, simple belief in Jesus Christ enables us to wage war with the devil and win, to conquer our stubborn and weak flesh, and to overcome the allurement and sparkling appeal of the world.
But saving faith is not necessarily simplistic faith. In other words, faith that saves and enables us to overcome the world is not simply "believing in Jesus." The word "faith" in 1 John 4:4 does not mean mere "belief," for the demons believe in Christ (James 2:19). Instead, "our faith" is a trusting of our entire life, our soul, our destiny and eternity, to the Person and work of Jesus Christ. Faith that overcomes is believing, in our hearts, that God accepted the payment of Jesus Christ on our behalf, that we are saved from God's wrath through Jesus, and that God raised Christ from the dead for our justification. Victorious faith believes that since Jesus died, we are forgiven, and since He has risen, we are accepted.
So, where do we get this biblical faith that overcomes? In the passages of Scripture that follow, we see that faith is a gift from God, and it comes through hearing and ingesting God's Word.
“looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:2
“For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.” Romans 12:3
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,” Ephesians 2:8
“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” Romans 10:17
In the famous Old Testament story of David and Goliath, there is a beautiful picture of both the cross of Jesus Christ and the victory that comes through faith in Him. Look with me:
“And David said to Saul, "Let no man's heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine." 33 And Saul said to David, "You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth, and he has been a man of war from his youth." 34 But David said to Saul, "Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, 35 I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him. 36 Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God." 37 And David said, "The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." And Saul said to David, "Go, and the LORD be with you!" 1 Samuel 17:32-37
Question 4. In the exchange between David and Saul, in what way do we see David’s strong faith in God?
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