Faith, and Unbelief

[Wired 4 Fishen]

Simple, it is not the same faith as now:

• Jeremiah 31:33 "This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time," declares the LORD. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. The promise, the New Covenant, the receiving of God's spirit into one's self, born again....not a part of the Old Covenant.
• Ephesians 2:8-9 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. Faith a gift, as a part of the New Covenant, not instituted during the Old Covenant
• Romans 12:3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. In the New Covenant, do not think of yourselves as responsible but your faith initially comes from God
• Genesis 15:6 Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness. I am not saying, even in the Old Covenant, that faith is not closely related to belief, but I can't find any translations of this verse that say faith, they say it was by belief that Abraham was credited with righteousness. I see by the above verses, to me, faith during the Old Covenant is not the same as faith in the new Covenant.
• This entire series of post was derived from a statement that one could have faith and unbelief at the same time and taken as a stand alone statement is irresponsible according to the New Covenant definition of faith: Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is not man's definition of faith but that of God, and infused into man by the ushering in of the new Covenant and the infusion of the Holy Spirit........not part of the Old Covenant!

Faith is Faith Brother nomatter if it was used 400 million years ago or 10 minutes ago Faith is Faith

 

[Dovegiven]

American school teachers are aware of the "learning spiral". Learning is based on a principle likened to a gathering hurricane, starting off as a tropical storm, the arms of clouds ever expanding as it gains strength. A bird riding a band of wind might well come full circle over an island several times, though expanding well beyond it's central island home area. Each pass represents an ever empowered band of wind expanding outward, representing a higher level of knowledge (as in wind power that carries), known as "grade" levels.
That concept .applies a little to how we are given faith by exposure to depth of knowledge. Few students could acquire a full education on their own, so it must be taught. Since faith comes by the word of God, then whatever faith one has depends upon how much of the word of God one has in them. A student knows only whatever math is presented to them and accepted (learned) by them, so that when they approach higher math they are prepared for a higher math challenge. One can't possibly acquire a high faith level based upon a few kindergarten Bible stories. Faith "comes", is presented progressively upon conditions. Another condition of mastering faith is to act upon the word of God, beyond just knowing it. So yes, I agree, faith is best grown in diversity rather than strength in one area of faith based on very little word of God.

 

[amadeus2]

Brother, what do you consider "increased" faith? Is just more of the same, or is it more in diversity?

Consider the "end of faith":

So what is it we are doing along this pathway of faith? For one thing as you said, there is a diversity:

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith." Rom 1:16-17

"Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith..." Heb 12:1-2

And then see this:
"That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:
Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls." I Pet 1:7-9

When we have reached the end of our faith, then ours is the final salvation. Then perhaps we will really be much more like Jesus.

Jesus did not "live by faith" but by knowledge, knowledge of the Father's will. We on the other hand started out our journey with faith toward God. That was the "through a glass darkly" of I Cor 13:12. The "end of our faith" should the "face to face" of that same verse. Along the road we are at best a mixture of faith in God and knowledge about God. Some of the things we hold by faith may be in error, but if we are growing toward God, things held by faith are either cast aside because they were wrong or solidified from faith to knowledge. Simple? No, for until we have the "end of our faith", we don't know for sure the difference between what we hold only in faith and what we know.

Jesus never failed to give a person what he purposed to give him. He never tried to give a person anything that it was not the Father's will to give. We, on the other hand, pray for people's physical healing without always knowing what the result will be. Jesus touched a blind man's eyes knowing the man would receive his sight. We pray for and perhaps even touch the eyes of a blind man without such foreknowledge.