A good friend and I were having a great DEEP conversation about faith at our local Panera Bread resturant(something about tasty food and conversation at that place-I could stay there for hours and just talk) Though we talked about many things, this was the question that was brought up. Hoping you can all place some input or light on this question....ALL comments are welcome...but don't answer quickly...I think I have changed my thoughts many times the more I think about it. No comment is wrong...so feel free to voice all thoughts.
ok ...here we go.
If faith is a gift from God that no man should boast...then why were Abraham and the others in the faith chapter commended?
Ok...here was my thought...but like I said...I have changed it many times...
Boasting is prideful...so you should not boast about yourself and your faith since the faith you have is not your doing...it is a gift of GOD. And Abraham, Job, etc were commented because the "showed" their faith...though their life. By trials and suffering...they were not prideful in their faith...they relized that everything comes from him, through him and to him are all things...that the glory of all is HIS.
Any ideas on scripture????
2 comments:
"If faith is a gift from God that no man should boast...then why were Abraham and the others in the faith chapter commended?"
Well, I think it's there as an example of how to HAVE faith. I just read a passage from Exodus 15:19 - 17:7. It talks about the Israelites out in the dessert after they were delivered from Egypt. They lacked faith in God, and he tested them. I think that (to some extent) God tests each of us and our faith. The examples of Abraham and Job show that we should have absolute faith in God in every situation.
It's kind of like the old saying of: "Actions speak louder than words". Think of the priests and pharosies that are mentioned in the Bible. They usually come off as arrogant, and always have a lot to "say". I think that God wants us to have complete faith and trust in him, and to lead others by example. (Unless of course you are called to the ministry as a preacher or missionary!)
Faith is a free gift from God, but we have to take it, use it, exercise it, apply it. That is what the Hebrews 11 people did and therefore why they were commended. Just my humble thoughts. :-)
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