"For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation [offering it and making it available] for all people" (Titus 2:11, ESV).
Some Secular Humanists believe faith is caught much the way one catches a cold; i.e., by hanging around believers and becoming "infected." Richard Dawkins wrote The God Delusion to elucidate, expound, and articulate this premise, and he believed we must be cured of our so-called illness or "mind-virus" that only those naive enough fall prey to; which is just like Freud saying religion is either a neurosis, or even a psychosis that must be healed by therapy.
The Bible does say that walking with the wise makes you wise, but no one gets faith by osmosis or being in the right crowd (it doesn't just rub off on us!), and we certainly don't inherit it either; no one gets in automatically, as from heredity or lineage, but must go through a turnstile or individually, one by one! It isn't who you know that bears any weight with God! God's open invitation to "[taste] and see that the LORD is good" (cf. Psalm 34:8) is valid for all who desire to know Him, and the proof of the pudding is in the eating!
We aren't converting to a creed or adherents to a philosophy of life, but followers of a person we can have a relationship with and know individually--we are converted to Jesus! Scripture says in Romans 10:17 (NIV) that "Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ." Preaching is God's methodology of choice and the Word is His seed that He plants into our souls and causes us to grow into faith. Preaching isn't the method of the madness but opens doors and we are born through the power of the Word (1 Thess. 2:13, ESV, says, "And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers"). God opened Lydia's heart to respond to the gospel (cf. Acts 16:14). God quickens faith within us and awakens us by regeneration to believe in Him and repent of our sins. God opens our hearts (cf. Acts 14:27).
The problem why some don't believe is that they refuse to repent: they love their life too much to want change or transformation; i.e., they love sin, especially their pet sins and think the price is too high to get saved from them--the price for not repenting is higher! People don't have an intellectual problem but a moral one--that they don't want to live their lives for God! You must have penitent faith (or believing repentance, if you will) to respond to the gospel message--you cannot come on your own terms!
It is true that believers encourage each other and can enable or build each other up by edification or a prophetic word, but God doesn't save groups or churches en masse, but only one by one! The Bible challenges the skeptic to search for God; for God is no man's debtor (Matt. 7:7 says, "seek and you shall find") and God is always willing to authenticate Himself: "Taste and see that the LORD is good..." (cf. Psalm 34:8); Peter says in 1 Pet. 2:3 (NLT): ".... now that you have had a taste of the Lord's kindness [goodness]," meaning God never disappoints anyone and no one will ever be put to shame because of Him, but God will make him a vessel of honor, doing His work.
Faith isn't something you have, it's something you do and see--our testimony must not be jeopardized! James would testify that you can see his faith by his works, while Paul said the flip side: "I'll show you my works by my faith!" Faith is knowledge in action; it's not believing despite the evidence, but obeying in spite of the consequences, they say. It's important to have good role models during the formative years and to plant seeds in the youth, even if they aren't saved yet because God guarantees fruit if we don't give up (cf. Prov. 22:6). Parents are in the unique position as role models and authority figures to stand in the place of God or, in loco Dei, in Latin, and they can influence the character and attitude of their children most during their innocent (cf. Deut. 1:39 mentions an age of accountability by inference) and formative or impressionable years.
But the Bible makes it plain that faith is not rubbed off or caught like a fever, but the Holy Spirit opens our hearts to hear the Word of God as it's preached and expounded. Again, faith isn't inherited, but parents in the unique position of having more direct and indirect influence, and leaving lasting impressions they'll never forget, even in old age! For example, a child may recall: "I remember how Grandma used to always say grace before meals and say a good-night prayer to bless everyone in the family!"
Someday conviction will catch up with them and the Hound of Heaven will come knocking at their door to be let in for salvation and fellowship. The key to remember is that children are experts at spotting insincerity, acting, pretense, and hypocrisy--you cannot pass on a dubious faith as a lasting legacy! The problem with most children is that they have grown up to be just like Dad, and that is not good news in some cases!
Every family needs its own Great Awakening and spiritual rebirth, regardless of whether parents are believers--only planting seeds of the Word are guaranteed fruit, not worldly wisdom or common sense. Just like Socrates suddenly awoke from his dogmatic slumber, you never can tell the potential in a person who gives his life to Christ--and we all have unrealized potential that God sees in us as vessels of honor.
It all boils down to conviction of the Holy Spirit: "And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts" (2 Pet. 1:19, NIV). In the final analysis, it's not always how big your faith is, but how thorough your repentance. Soli Deo Gloria!
Some Secular Humanists believe faith is caught much the way one catches a cold; i.e., by hanging around believers and becoming "infected." Richard Dawkins wrote The God Delusion to elucidate, expound, and articulate this premise, and he believed we must be cured of our so-called illness or "mind-virus" that only those naive enough fall prey to; which is just like Freud saying religion is either a neurosis, or even a psychosis that must be healed by therapy.
The Bible does say that walking with the wise makes you wise, but no one gets faith by osmosis or being in the right crowd (it doesn't just rub off on us!), and we certainly don't inherit it either; no one gets in automatically, as from heredity or lineage, but must go through a turnstile or individually, one by one! It isn't who you know that bears any weight with God! God's open invitation to "[taste] and see that the LORD is good" (cf. Psalm 34:8) is valid for all who desire to know Him, and the proof of the pudding is in the eating!
We aren't converting to a creed or adherents to a philosophy of life, but followers of a person we can have a relationship with and know individually--we are converted to Jesus! Scripture says in Romans 10:17 (NIV) that "Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ." Preaching is God's methodology of choice and the Word is His seed that He plants into our souls and causes us to grow into faith. Preaching isn't the method of the madness but opens doors and we are born through the power of the Word (1 Thess. 2:13, ESV, says, "And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers"). God opened Lydia's heart to respond to the gospel (cf. Acts 16:14). God quickens faith within us and awakens us by regeneration to believe in Him and repent of our sins. God opens our hearts (cf. Acts 14:27).
The problem why some don't believe is that they refuse to repent: they love their life too much to want change or transformation; i.e., they love sin, especially their pet sins and think the price is too high to get saved from them--the price for not repenting is higher! People don't have an intellectual problem but a moral one--that they don't want to live their lives for God! You must have penitent faith (or believing repentance, if you will) to respond to the gospel message--you cannot come on your own terms!
It is true that believers encourage each other and can enable or build each other up by edification or a prophetic word, but God doesn't save groups or churches en masse, but only one by one! The Bible challenges the skeptic to search for God; for God is no man's debtor (Matt. 7:7 says, "seek and you shall find") and God is always willing to authenticate Himself: "Taste and see that the LORD is good..." (cf. Psalm 34:8); Peter says in 1 Pet. 2:3 (NLT): ".... now that you have had a taste of the Lord's kindness [goodness]," meaning God never disappoints anyone and no one will ever be put to shame because of Him, but God will make him a vessel of honor, doing His work.
Faith isn't something you have, it's something you do and see--our testimony must not be jeopardized! James would testify that you can see his faith by his works, while Paul said the flip side: "I'll show you my works by my faith!" Faith is knowledge in action; it's not believing despite the evidence, but obeying in spite of the consequences, they say. It's important to have good role models during the formative years and to plant seeds in the youth, even if they aren't saved yet because God guarantees fruit if we don't give up (cf. Prov. 22:6). Parents are in the unique position as role models and authority figures to stand in the place of God or, in loco Dei, in Latin, and they can influence the character and attitude of their children most during their innocent (cf. Deut. 1:39 mentions an age of accountability by inference) and formative or impressionable years.
But the Bible makes it plain that faith is not rubbed off or caught like a fever, but the Holy Spirit opens our hearts to hear the Word of God as it's preached and expounded. Again, faith isn't inherited, but parents in the unique position of having more direct and indirect influence, and leaving lasting impressions they'll never forget, even in old age! For example, a child may recall: "I remember how Grandma used to always say grace before meals and say a good-night prayer to bless everyone in the family!"
Someday conviction will catch up with them and the Hound of Heaven will come knocking at their door to be let in for salvation and fellowship. The key to remember is that children are experts at spotting insincerity, acting, pretense, and hypocrisy--you cannot pass on a dubious faith as a lasting legacy! The problem with most children is that they have grown up to be just like Dad, and that is not good news in some cases!
Every family needs its own Great Awakening and spiritual rebirth, regardless of whether parents are believers--only planting seeds of the Word are guaranteed fruit, not worldly wisdom or common sense. Just like Socrates suddenly awoke from his dogmatic slumber, you never can tell the potential in a person who gives his life to Christ--and we all have unrealized potential that God sees in us as vessels of honor.
It all boils down to conviction of the Holy Spirit: "And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts" (2 Pet. 1:19, NIV). In the final analysis, it's not always how big your faith is, but how thorough your repentance. Soli Deo Gloria!
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