Committed to Faith

Committed to Faith
Your new beginning! 
Terry R. Baughman

“… Continue to advance in faith, assured of a firm foundation to grow upon. Never be shaken from the hope of the gospel you have believed in” (Colossians 1:23 TPT).

Our faith is what sustains us and enables us to continue the journey of Christ’s calling. Faith is also the expression of our convictions and the embodiment of our belief system. Faith is the means of our salvation and the substance of our relationship with an invisible God. The writer of Hebrews said, “Now faith brings our hopes into reality and becomes the foundation needed to acquire the things we long for. It is all the evidence required to prove what is still unseen.” He goes on to say, “And without faith living within us it would be impossible to please God. For we come to God in faith knowing that he is real and that he rewards the faith of those who give all their passion and strength into seeking him” (Hebrews 11:1, 6 TPT). 

Through faith we can please God, have access to all He provides, and can be assured of the enduring quality of our relationship with Him. Faith not only brings us to the knowledge of God, but provides a lifelong compass to grow into the person God has designed us to become. Paul instructed Timothy, his son in the gospel, “Continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:14–16 NIV).

We must be committed to the Word of God and our faith in Him. Faith that is based on the Word and rooted in a genuine relationship with God will endure the onslaught of every test of our faith. Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, “I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:1–2). 

From the abundance of biblical references it becomes apparent that we can expect opposition and increasing godlessness in our culture. There is a spiritual battle going on and the war of the ages has already begun. The conflict is between the kingdom of righteousness and the ruler of darkness of this world who casts his doom of darkness over the eyes of all who refuse to believe in truth. Never has the contrast been more obvious. The darkness of this world seeks to suppress all illumination of righteousness. Paul said we live as, “Children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life” (Philippians 2:15-16).

Hold on to righteousness and be firmly committed to faith. We have the promise of a positive outcome. “In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls” (1 Peter 1:6–9 NIV).

In your new beginning know that the end result of your faith is the salvation of your soul. Be encouraged to persevere and endure to the end. Commit to faith and know the One in whom you have believed!
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Theme passage:
“Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them” (Isaiah 42:9 NKJV).

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