Hold On To Your Faith pt. 1 holding on to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and so have suffered shipwreck with regard to the faith. I Tim. 1:19 NIV

What are some things that can cause you to let go of your faith? Hold On To Your Faith pt. 1

Faith in God is listed as one of the fundamental teachings of Scripture (Hebrews 6:1–2). In fact, Christians are told that “without faith it is impossible to please Him” (Hebrews 11:6). However, Jesus Christ, looking ahead to the end of this present age—our time today— raised a sobering question to His disciples. He asked, “when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8). Hold On To Your Faith pt. 1

In the new testament the Jews who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ were tempted to abandon their faith in Christ, and to return to the Old Testament standards. The cause of this was persecution. These Jewish Christians were being reproached and mocked by their fellow Jews. And thus they were tempted to abandon faith in Jesus Christ. Hold On To Your Faith pt. 1

For we too confess faith in the Lord Jesus Christ For we too confess faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Most of us have done that publicly in the church – some recently, some many, many years ago. We believe in Him and trust in Him for all of our salvation. We too can expect conflicts, persecutions and struggles in our Christian walk. Hold On To Your Faith pt. 1

How can trials and struggles impact your faith in God? Hold On To Your Faith pt. 1

Hold On To Your Faith pt. 1 Psalm 13 David experienced a feeling of isolation from God. He believed that God was not with him during his time of intense trials and he talked to God about it.  It is common and natural to feel isolated from God when we experience difficult times, however, the Bible assures us that God is present even when He seems far away. He is watch over us. Hold On To Your Faith pt. 1

When we experience difficult trials and tribulations, and times of suffering, we normally pray to God and ask Him for immediate relief. However, as we all know, God answers prayer in His own time, so we may not receive immediate help from Him. We may have to go through many days, or weeks, or months or years of trying times. It takes faith in God’s word to hold on. Hold On To Your Faith pt. 1

And after suffering awhile sometimes our faith may begin to waver and we start wondering why God hasn't intervened. We sometimes begin questioning ourselves. What have I done to deserve this and then we begin to question whether or not God even cares. We may feel as though God has abandoned us and that He is nowhere to be found. We may feel alone and isolated from God. We must hold on to our faith in God. Hold On To Your Faith pt. 1

Who are some of the other characters in the bible that dealt with difficult situations and how did it impact their faith? Hold On To Your Faith pt. 1

Faith in God must be from the heart. It is not merely intellectual Faith in God must be from the heart. It is not merely intellectual. It is spiritual. “For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:10) Faith causes you to know in your heart before you see with your eyes. “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” (2Cor 5.7) Hold On To Your Faith pt. 1

Keeping faith, and being conscious of well- doing; for some, by not doing these things, have gone wrong in relation to the faith I Tim.1:19 (BBE) Because you have faith and a good conscience. Some people have ruined their faith because they refused to listen to their conscience I Tim: 19(CEB) Hold On To Your Faith pt. 1

One cannot be on friendly terms with having faith in God and with sin at the same time. The result of putting away good conscience is, one loses faith also. Those who put away good conscience and don’t repent of their sins or ask for forgiveness for their wrongs "make shipwreck with respect to faith." Hold On To Your Faith pt. 1

Holding faith, and a good conscience Holding faith, and a good conscience..... By "faith" is meant, not the grace of faith, but the doctrine of faith, a sense in which it is often used in this epistle; see 1 Timothy 3:9 The "holding" of it does not intend a mere profession of it, and a retaining of that without wavering, which is to be done by all believers; Hold On To Your Faith pt. 1

but a holding on to our faith in the ministry of the word, in opposition to a concealing or dropping it, or any part of it; Holding fast to our faith, without wavering, and in opposition to a departure from it or any cowardice about it and against all odds. Hold On To Your Faith pt. 1

What is Faith Hold On To Your Faith pt. 1

The word faith comes from a Latin word fidere, which means to trust, believe, or have faith. Faith has been defined as an “unquestioning belief” in God, religion, an idea, a person or organization. Faith generally means having a strong conviction, deep trust, reliance upon, or loyalty to something. Hold On To Your Faith pt. 1

The general sense of the word, to have faith is to believe in something or someone, to fully trust, to be so confident that you base your actions on what you believe. To have faith is to be fully convinced of the truthfulness and reliability of that in which you believe. Hold On To Your Faith pt. 1

What Faith is Faith is a spiritual force What Faith is Faith is a spiritual force. Faith in God is a response to God’s Word which moves God to act. Jesus said in Mark 11:23, “For assuredly I say to you, whoever SAYS to this mountain, ‘Be removed and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but BELIEVES that those things he SAYS will be done, he will HAVE whatever he SAYS.” Words mixed with the real, pure faith can and will move mountains or any other problem that we face Hold On To Your Faith pt. 1

What Is Faith Faith is a spiritual substance. When you have this spiritual substance in you, it communicates to you a certain inner knowing that the thing you are hoping for is certainly established, even before you see any material evidence that it has happened. Hold On To Your Faith pt. 1

Hold On To Your Faith pt. 1 What Faith Is Not Faith is not religion. Many times people say “We have our faith”. What they mean is this: “We have our religious ideas and doctrines, our traditions, our ways of doing things passed down through the generations.” This is not the Biblical idea of faith. Hold On To Your Faith pt. 1

Faith is not a way to manipulate God. It is not a power by which we make God do what WE want when otherwise He would be unwilling to do that thing. It is not a kind of magic through which we make God into our servant! Hold On To Your Faith pt. 1

Faith is not hope, nor positive desire. Hope is good, and relates to the future. Faith, however, takes the promise as done NOW. Many people have hope and are anxiously looking for results, but they lack the settled confidence and present assurance which faith has. Hold On To Your Faith pt. 1

Hope is a condition for faith Hope is a condition for faith. Hope is “a positive unwavering expectation of good”. Hope is for the mind (1 Thessalonians 5:8; Hebrews 6:19), an anchor for the soul. It keeps us in the place where we can believe, but it is not in itself “faith”. Yet, without hope there are no “things hoped for”, and therefore there cannot be faith. Hold On To Your Faith pt. 1

Hold On To Your Faith pt. 1 Faith is not mental consent. It is not agreeing with your mind, “Yes, that is true.” Many professing Christians believe mentally that the Bible is the Word of God, but this faith does not change the way they live. It is not a faith that can save. (James 2:14) Even demons have that kind of faith. They know and believe that God exists (James 2:19) – and tremble. They have no loving confidence in God. Hold On To Your Faith pt. 1

Faith is the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not [yet] seen” (Hebrews 11:1). Substance means assurance, realization, something like a title or deed to a house or piece of property. Evidence entails proof. Real faith rests on solid proof—not just feelings, conjecture or wishful thinking. It is a living unshakable confidence,” Hold On To Your Faith pt. 1

Brethren, we must never give up on God and our faith just because we go through suffering situations. The Bible teaches us that we are going to suffer in many different ways. And when we suffer, let us remember these three important principles: (a) If we are faithful, God is present, even when He seems far away; (b) God’s timing is perfect and (c) During our times of suffering, the most important thing to do is keep our faith and trust in God. Hold On To Your Faith pt. 1

Next Week 4/15/15 Topic: Holding To Your Faith pt. 2 Scriptures: I Tim. 1:18-20 I Thess. 5:21 II Thess. 2:15 Phil. 2:16 Titus 1:9

Reference HOLDING ON TO YOUR FAITHDURING DIFFICULT TIMES: www.biblecenter.com/smallgroupstudies/Ho lding