How to Have Faith in God || How to Walk by Faith

Rom 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.


We have faith in God by hearing the Word of Faith; which is the Word of God.

The Word of God here, is the Word of Faith - the Gospel of Grace; the full gospel.

It is in hearing the faith filled Word of God that faith comes, and it is in hearing the faith filled Word of God that faith is nurtured.

What is preached most times on our pulpits are nothing but sin, condemnation and the wrath of God. Such breeds fear, inferiority, and doubt rather than faith.

It is the hearing of the preached Gospel of the grace and truth of God that came by Jesus Christ, that brings faith.

However, we walk by faith, by first living by faith.

We cannot walk in something we don't have. So we are to live by faith before we walk by faith.

Likewise, We live in the Spirit (i.e having the Spirit of Christ in our hearts - being born again, Rom 8:9) before we can walk in or by the Spirit,

Gal 5:25 If we LIVE IN THE SPIRIT[having the Spirit of God dwell in us by reason of the new birth-being born again], let us also WALK IN THE SPIRIT.

So we live in, before we walk in.

Same is true with faith.

We have to live by faith(i.e having first the faith that came into our hearts when we heard the Gospel of our salvation and received it by that same faith, thus becoming born again) before we can walk by faith.

Rom 1:16 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.
Rom 1:17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

So by hearing the Gospel of Christ that saves, we receive faith to believe for salvation, thus receiving Christ and becoming saved.

So in hearing the gospel of salvation, the faith of Christ was imparted unto us to believe and receive the message.

That is, we use His faith(imparted, on hearing the message; Rom 10:17) to believe the faith message,

Rom 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and SHALT BELIEVE IN THINE HEART that God hath raised him from the dead, THOU SHALT BE SAVED.

The faith to believe in the heart comes by hearing the Word of faith- the Word of God.

So the just shall live by faith that came through the preached Gospel (i.e saved and imparted with Eternal life by faith), and then should walk by that faith from then on,

Col 2:6 As ye have therefore RECEIVED CHRIST JESUS THE LORD [by faith that came through the hearing of the Gospel of Chrsit, which is the Word of faith] , SO WALK YE IN HIM[by faith]:

You should know as a believer in Christ that you already have faith in God, if not so, then you were never saved, you are not born again.

So as a born again saint of God in Christ, don't let any one tell you that you don't have faith in God, cause you do, if not you won't have been saved.

As a believer you should learn how to walk by faith, not how to have faith or live by faith; you already have and are living by it; except the term "live by faith" is conveying the thought, "walking or living the day to day life by faith"

You've already got faith, you only need to know how to use it to appropriate all that has been made available for you in Christ.

It is expedient you know how to walk by faith else you will live a defeated life as a Child of God.

You see, we can only enforce to seeing the manifestation of all that belongs to us in Christ through faith.

Eph 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

We can only walk in the fullness of these blessings only by standing and holding fast to them by faith.

We will only see the fruit or manifestations of redemption, righteousness, sanctification, wisdom, salvation, and all the other spiritual blessings by standing and walking by faith.

You can only enforce Colossians 1:13 by faith,

Col 1:13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:

A Christian praying, for ending hours, that the power or authority of witches, wizards and demons should be broken in his or her life is not walking by faith in the light of Colossians 1:13. He is trying to break what only exists in the figment of his imagination, sponsored by the devil; mental strongholds.

And we have been instructed as Christians to cast down these strongholds in 2Corinthians 10:3-5.

What Faith Is Not

Rom 10:8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, THE WORD OF FAITH, which we preach;...
10 For WITH THE HEART MAN BELIEVETH unto righteousness; and WITH THE MOUTH confession is made unto salvation.

Faith has become many things to different people due to a lack of proper understanding of the subject.

To some, faith is a mental agreement.
To others, it is positive thinking or optimism.
Suprisingly, to others, it is hope.
And yet to others, it is wishful thinking.

Faith is non of these things.

Faith is of the heart. It is not a thing of the head.

Although hope is of the heart too, it is yet not faith.

Faith is not mentally accenting or agreeing to something or anything; it is a thing of the heart, not of the head.

Faith is not optimism, and optimism is not faith. One can be optimistic about something and yet operate without faith in regards to getting that "something".

Optimism could be dashed, whereas faith can never be dashed or aborted; it is ever living.

In faith, there is exitment as well as in optimism; whereas optimism hopes to possess, faith believes it has already possessed.

We often time confuse hope for faith. Faith is faith; hope is hope. They are often confused because both are closely related and are a thing of the heart ; as well as love.

Here is what makes faith and hope closely related, yet not the same. Faiths believes, yet hope believes too.

Yes, there is "belief" in hope.

Rom 4:18 Who against hope BELIEVED IN HOPE, that he MIGHT BECOME the father of many nations; according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.

Hope believes for the future. Faith believes now.

Abraham in this passage was in hope, not faith. For he believed God will do what He had promised him only in the future.

The phrases, "believed in hope" and "that he might become" shows that Abraham was hoping, believing to possess in the future. He was not in faith.

At this point he would never have received his son Isaac.

Whenever we are believing for something, but expecting it to happen in a future date, then we are operating in hope, not faith; and ee will fail to have them.

For example, the believer in Christ hopes to be clothed with a new body when he or she exit the earth. See? This is good. It is hope. It is a future thing promised to every believer at the coming of Christ.

Faith believes, but faith believes for the present, not the future.

The Two kinds of Faith

John 20:29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, BECAUSE THOU HAST SEEN ME, THOU HAST BELIEVED: blessed are they THAT HAVE NOT SEEN, and yet HAVE BELIEVED.

There is faith that believes only what it had seen or perceived to be feasible by the senses. And there is the faith that believes without seeing.

The one is human faith, that depends on visible information; physically tangible stuff. The other is God's faith- bible faith, that depends on invisible information ; spiritually tangible stuff.

Mark 11:24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, BELIEVE THAT YE RECEIVE THEM, and YE SHALL HAVE THEM.

Jesus in this verse is telling us that the Father expects us as His children when we pray to Him, to believe right there that we have received from Him whatever it is we have asked for. He expects us to receive it in faith before we see any physical manifestations of it.

Really there can be no physical manifestation without receiving by faith first in thanksgiving.

It is actually like this because He has already provided us with this things already even before we ask of Him but will only materialize when mixed with our faith; the faith of a human.

You see God is all powerful, and in all His splendor and power He gave man this earth, and if anything is to be achieved in this earth, it most flow through a living man. So God has the power but He in His mercies gave man the sole authority to use that power on earth.

This is why Jesus when He was on earth said His disciples should pray like this, "thy[the Father's] will be done in earth, as it is in heaven", mtt 6:9-13.

You see the Father's will will never be accomplished on earth without a man enforcing it in prayer; in faith. He gave us this privileges. This is why faith is very crucial for the believer here on earth.

But this faith requires one to believe what is foolish to natural men and women. It requires one to believe what is not real to the senses; contrary to human faith.

Faith that appeals to logic is not the faith the Bible teaches. Bible faith is impossible, it is not possible to natural man. It is supernatural and requires God's help. This is why Bible faith is not of man or by man, it is a gift of God to man.

Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved THROUGH FAITH; and that not of yourselves: IT[Faith, Grace] IS the gift of God:

It is evident that it takes the ability of God in man to walk by faith(Bible faith) and not by sight(human faith).

The Dispositions Faith Takes

Heb 11:1 Now faith is the SUBSTANCE of things hoped for, the EVIDENCE of things not seen.

Your posture, body language, attitude, the steps you take, the sacrifices you make, even the quality of your praise shows just as much faith you are walking in.

Even the bunch you decide to hang around with reveals to a large extent your faith towards God and His Word.

I will dare say that our disposition regards to the Word reveals the depth of our faith.

Faith is a substance, and substance here talks about something concrete and tangible; an assurance if you will; an evidence. If it isn't firm on your inside it is not faith, it is just a mental assent or agreement in your head- it is head faith.

You see there is head faith, and also  heart faith(which is the Bible faith). I will talk extensively on this on another post.

It is only when we become fully persuaded about what we see, hear and believe from the Word that we will become faith-full and begin to assume a disposition that will position us to receiving from God what He had already accomplished for us in Christ Jesus.

If you take time to study the book of Hebrews chapter 11, the famous Bible chapter on faith(faith hall of fame), you will see the disposition this men and women as mentioned there assumed; obtaining for themselves a good report(Heb 11:2)

So lets see some of the dispositions faith assumes from these verses.

1. Faith speaks of things which do not appear(things that are not seen and brings them into the realm of the physical): Heb 11:3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed BY THE WORD OF GOD, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

Faith is seen in the kind of confessions we make. It is seen when we constantly speak God's mind(His Word) over everything, situation, and in every place. You are never in faith until you start confessing what you believe; until you start speaking the Word.

2. Faith offers sacrifices to God(sacrifice of praise, of substance, of time, of love, and so on): Heb 11:4 By faith ABEL OFFERED UNTO GOD a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.

Faith is present when we give and continue to give as we have purposed in our heart. You see, we are not in faith each time we struggle in giving of any kind.

God's Word says honor Me with your substance and with the fruit of your increase. It also says, give to the poor and I will pay you back for it. He said in His Word that when we sow, it will come back to us in 30, 60 and an 100 fold.

Now, show me anyone that finds it hard to release anything and I will show you someone that is not walking by faith in God's Word. This is true because, if one really believe the Lord and believes in the integrity of His Word, he will give, considering all His promises towards our giving.

3. Faith walks with God in fellowship(this pleases the Father well ): Heb 11:5 By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that HE PLEASED GOD.  Gen 5:24 And ENOCH WALKED WITH GOD: and he was not; for God took him.

Whenever we shy away from a place of fellowship and intimacy with God, we show our faithlessness. God will never waste your time. Whatever time you invest in His presence both in cooperate fellowship with the brethren(fellow Christians)and in quite time between you and Him; it is a time well invested no matter what.

4. Faith Makes Moves( in reverend regard towards God's instructions): Heb 11:7 By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, MOVED with fear[reverent regard], prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

The steps we take in responds to God's Word and Instruction unveils the level of our trust in Him.

Have you been instructed in your heart by God to do anything? Well what are you waiting for, take steps. If you are not, you aren't in faith.

5. Faith Obeys and acts on the Word of God : Heb 11:8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, OBEYED; AND HE WENT OUT, not knowing whither he went.

The Law of Sowing and Reaping

Mark 4:26 And he said, SO IS THE KINGDOM OF GOD, as if a man should CAST SEED into the ground;
27 And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how.
28 For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.
29 But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because THE HARVEST IS COME.

The Law of Sowing and Reaping said, give and it will be given back to you in multiplied proportion.

If then Grace had provided us with everything that pertains to life, were is the place of sowing and reaping, don't we already have everything in Christ?

Firstly, Grace cannot be taken out of the law of sowing and reaping any more than the law of sowing and reaping taken or wished away from Grace.

Grace available to mankind today is founded on this very law.

Christ sowed Himself in the grave and reaped for Himself the whole world when he rose from it; however only those who will come to Him in faith will receive it.

The Father to sowed His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ the Savior, that He might take up as a harvest countless begotten sons with Christ Jesus.

I will refrain from using this word "law", even though it is law, before we begin to associate it with the law of Moses. Sowing and reaping is a principle in God;a protocol around His very nature if you will. It predates the law of Moses.

This principle has been before time itself began.

Gen 1:3 And GOD SAID, Let there be light: and there was light.

According to Jesus Christ on His parable of the Sower, words are seeds in the kingdom of God, and if what He said is true(which it is because He is Truth,) then the phrase "and God said, let there be light" were seeds sown by God in the beginning, and the harvest  was "and there was light."

So you now see that this principle of sowing and reaping is a protocol around God, and it is on this principle that the whole world is sustained. He sowed His Word and He reaped the universe.

Gen 8:22 WHILE the earth remaineth, SEEDTIME and HARVEST, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night SHALL NOT CEASE.

Secondly, you aren't sowing anything that God in His Mercy and Grace had not sown in Christ already.

What you are doing each time you sow a seed, maybe in cash or kind to someone, you are actually giving a body to the seed God had already sown in Christ for that person.

You see, that person probably prayed earlier that day for provision, which is a seed of prayer, and then God in turn used your own seed of cash or kind as the harvest to that person.

Now, that provision had already been provided by Christ on the cross, but it only came to that person as a harvest when you decided to act in faith in giving to that person; so in effect, your giving gave body(as harvest) to what Christ had already provided(as seed).

The Law of Faith

Rom 3:27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by THE LAW OF FAITH.

Faith takes a disposition to what it believes. Bible faith is simply aligning, with corresponding action to what one has believed from the Word.

Faith is according to the Word, is, the fulfillment(or enforcing) of what had already been said or spoken concerning a matter by acting on it.

So if the promise of God as seen from scripture says you shall live and not die, faith then comes in a situation that would have warranted death and preserve the life, fulfilling that scripture.

So it is also with receiving the person of Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and what His finished works has provided after His sufferings, death, burial and resurrection. Every in the Word can only be received by faith.

This is a Word of promise from scripture for example,

Gen 22:18 And IN THY SEED shall ALL the nations of the earth be BLESSED; because thou hast obeyed my voice.

and this is how the law of faith concerning that promise after it fulfillment in Christ would respond:

Rom 10:9 That IF THOU SHALT CONFESS with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and SHALT BELIEVE in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, THOU SHALT BE SAVED.


In a nut shell this is what the "Law of Faith" is: it is seeing or hearing about the goodness of God in His promises towards us and the blessings and power supplied by the works of Christ(Grace), believing or trusting in Him in that light and then, taking a disposition to that effect to appropriate it to your circumstances.

In fact for the new testament believer, there is only a few promises left(to be received or revealed on the Lord's day), every other thing has been given to us in Christ already. This a whole other teaching, so look out for it. For now see Eph 1:3,11; 2Pet 1:3-4.

From all these you will see that believing is just a part; but taking a disposition in alignment to what we claim to believe makes it perfect; Rom 10:9 reveals this. It said, "... if thou shalt confess with thy mouth..., and shall believe". The passage is saying you don't believe alone(talking about "position"), but to confess also(talking about disposition).

Believing without corresponding action is lifeless faith as seen in James 2:20, "... faith[believing] without works[corresponding action] is dead". Believing in the other hand, with corresponding action, that is taking a disposition with it, is living faith. Perfect faith, as also seen in James 2:22, "seest thou how faith[believing] wrought with his works, and by works[corresponding action] was faith made perfect?".

THE LAW OF WORKS

Rom 3:27 Where is BOASTING then? It is excluded. By what law? OF WORKS? Nay: but by the law of faith.

For one to fully understand and tap into the fullness of what Grace is, and provides, we must or should at least understand what "The law of works" is.

The first and foremost thing one should know about "The law of works" is that it is a contract or covenant entered into based on a reward system in which the rewards could be accessed only when the full term of work is met.

Here is the contracts of the law of works according to scripture:

Deut 28:1 And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do ALL HIS COMMANDMENTS which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth:

Deut 27:26 Cursed be he that confirmeth not ALL the words of this law to do them. And all the people shall say, Amen.

Gal 3:10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in ALL THINGS which are written in the book of the law to do them.

See, it is all or nothing in this system. If you can't meet up with all, you are cursed(no reward), it doesn't matter how nearly you came close. If your neighbor met 10% and you 99.999%, you both are still on the same boat as much as this system is concerned. It is difficult to imagine right? Well look at it here in the Word,

Jas 2:10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in ONE point, he is guilty of ALL.

So if you are a 1 or a 99 in this system you are intrinsically the same, Fallen Short!

I have always wondered why some people are so full of themselves that they actually believe there can qualify or attain to the demands of the law on their own, without Christ, knowing fully well that the Word says in James 4:17 that, " Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin."