Faith is the opposite concept one’s best efforts.
1) The Offering of Cain – Trying to Earn Righteousness by His Own Works
| Our salvation is not something that originates from our own actions; it is solely obtained through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9). When we strive to earn salvation through our best efforts, faith is not at work. Instead, human striving stands in opposition to faith. The moment we choose our own best works, faith becomes unnecessary. On the contrary, when we choose faith, human striving and our best efforts are insufficient because they have completely different foundations. Human works are rooted in our own efforts and best intentions, while the foundation of faith rests solely in God, His Word, and His power. Therefore, faith is about enjoying everything that God has accomplished. The foundation of faith is something that human effort, even at its best, cannot achieve; only God can grant it. Faith is the human response to God’s grace. However, if faith is misunderstood, it can lead to self-inflicted suffering, self-sacrifice, or extreme efforts, where people attempt to impress or move God to achieve salvation or something they desire. They may believe that through their own actions and best works, they can earn salvation or attain their desired goals. The deeper one’s religious convictions, the more likely they are to misunderstand their own best efforts with faith. What is clear is that such self-reliant efforts, even when done at their best, lack the grace of God. Faith is believing in God’s character and His promises, both what He has already fulfilled and what is yet to come. Through faith, we wait upon God and receive His abundance by grace. Therefore, faith is what makes grace even more gracious. |
》Scripture Prayer
(Genesis 4:1-12) Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten a man with the help of the LORD.” And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. The LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.” Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” And the LORD said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground. And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.”
(Hebrews 11:4) By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks.
》Pray that the Word may become the Conclusion.
1. Cain sought to gain God’s approval through his own efforts and offerings. However, when things didn’t go his way, he became angry and even committed the sin of murder. Let us pray for God to reveal and expose the false sense of self-assurance within us, which believes in our own best efforts rather than trusting in God’s Word. Let us pray that false religious practices, philosophies, and beliefs that promote reliance on self rather than faith may be broken down.
But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin. (Romans 14:23)
2. Let us repent to God of the times when I tried to manipulate God by offering what I thought were sacrifices or efforts to move Him to respond. And let us pray and confess that our lives are solely dependent on the grace of the Cross.
But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace. (Romans 11:6)
2) The Faith of the Centurion that Pleased Jesus.
| The faith of the Gentile Roman centurion was greatly praised by Jesus. The one thing he did to obtain a response from Jesus was simply to believe in Him. He didn’t bring an offering or fast to get Jesus’ response. He didn’t claim his righteousness by giving alms or serving more than usual. He didn’t try to qualify himself in any way. He simply believed that Jesus was able. He looked solely at the almighty power and grace of Jesus. And he believed and relied on the authority of Jesus, who is God. This was enough. What pleased Jesus was precisely this faith—coming to Him seeking only God’s grace and believing in Him. Therefore, “faith is the hand that receives God’s grace freely” and similar expressions hold true. We just need to believe. The God who loves us has a reason to respond on His own. We just need to approach God with faith, seeking His grace. |
》Scripture Prayer
(Matthew 8:5-13) When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.” And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.” But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment.
》Pray that the Word may become the Conclusion.
1. Jesus was pleased with the centurion’s faith. According to the centurion’s faith, the words of Jesus would be enough to heal his servant. Also, he was able to enjoy the blessing of experiencing the glory of Jesus Christ, the Son of God who created the heavens and the earth through his divine authority of the Word. Let us pray that we may also enjoy the blessing of witnessing the glory of God through faith just like the centurion.
Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” (John 11:40)
2. God has a reason to respond to our prayers because of His great love for us and the world, enough to give His Son’s life. Do you believe this? If so, are you able to move forward in faith, seeking God’s grace, in the face of difficulties, fear, anxiety, and discouragement that may trouble you? Let us pray that God may grant us the peace and conviction that the world cannot give nor understand so that we may boldly face the world and its circumstances.
But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. (James 1:6)
3) Abraham Who Experienced the Promise by Faith Alone
| The reason Abraham was considered righteous before God is because of his faith in God. Believing in God may seem simple and easy, but having faith like Abraham, who believed against all hope, is not an easy task. The visible reality can often seem bleak, and there may appear to be no possibility for God’s promises to be fulfilled. Therefore, believing may have seemed reckless. Even in the midst of such circumstances, Abraham believed in God. He believed that God is the one who will surely fulfill His promises, and that there is nothing too hard for Him, no matter the circumstances! The basis of faith is not our own abilities or possibilities. It is believing in God’s word regardless of the visible circumstances. Abraham’s faith did not weaken even in the face of the utterly impossible situation. Instead, he focused on God’s promises and believed that they would be fulfilled. In the end, he witnessed the fulfillment of God’s word. Likewise, we should take the truth as our conclusion and pray in faith for its fulfillment. Then, we will surely see the word becoming a reality. |
》Scripture Prayer
(Romans 4:1-5) What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness,
(Romans 4:17-22) as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”–in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.” He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.”
》Pray that the Word may become the Conclusion.
1. Is the visible situation the conclusion or is God’s word (promise) the conclusion? God’s promise to Abraham, who was incapable of having children, was the unchanging: “I have made you the father of many nations.” Abraham knew his limitations well, but his faith did not weaken but believed in God without any doubt. If this is the case, then, what is the content of faith that God would require from the believers today? It is faith in the gospel of the cross, filled with the Holy Spirit, seeking the glory of God’s kingdom rather than my own glory. Let us pray that our lives, filled with faith, will become lives that see the fulfillment of this promise, just as God is bringing about the fulfillment of all His words for the day when the glory of the Lord will cover the earth like the waters cover the sea.
For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. (Habakkuk 2:14)
2. Let us pray for the glorious church of Christ. The current state of churches in the world, as reported in the news, is often shameful and can bring disgrace to the name of Jesus Christ. If the current state of the Church is all there is, then all of God’s blessed promises to the Church might seem like distant stories. However, those promises are still valid in Jesus Christ, and the restoration of the Church rests in the hands of the Lord, who is the head of the Church. It may be impossible for us, but nothing is impossible for God. Let’s not lose this faith and look up to the Almighty God. Let’s earnestly pray in faith for the restoration of the glorious Body of Christ, the Church.
But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26)
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