Sixth Grade Lessons, Block 4—The Way of Salvation
Week 17
Through Faith
Reading Reference: The Gospel of God, ch. 14; Heb. 11:1; 1 John 5:9; Mark 11:24
Memory Verse: For this reason I say to you, All things that you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and you will have them. (Mark 11:24)
Suggested Songs: Hymns, #690, #330
Scripture Reading: Heb. 11:1; 1 John 5:9; Mark 11:24
Points to Emphasize
According to the Bible there is only one condition for salvation—faith. Together the words faith and believe occur in the Bible over five hundred times.
Why do we have to believe? God wants to make the method of salvation so simple that everyone can obtain it. That is why He requires only faith. If salvation is from God, it must be universal. If God’s salvation were just for a certain group of people, God would be partial. If God’s way of salvation required something from us, that something would become an obstacle to our salvation. If there were the simple requirement that man had to wait five minutes before he could be saved, even that would greatly diminish the number of saved ones in the world. Many people do not have even five minutes to wait.
- The Function of Faith—Substantiation—Heb. 11:1
Everything in the world, whether animals, plants, or minerals, has to be substantiated by us. While we live on the earth, we are constantly substantiating things around us. My eyes substantiate every sight and color. If there were a singer or some wonderful music here, I could substantiate it with my ears. Our nose can identify a good or a bad smell. Our tongue can identify a sweet or a salty taste. All these are substantiations. [Use the example of a blind man that cannot see colors.]
What is faith? Faith is not making something out of nothing. Faith is substantiating what is there. Faith is not daydreaming or the speaking of a dream. Faith is to manifest what is there already.
- Through Faith in God’s Word—1 John 5:9
Hence, what is faith? It is nothing other than the receiving of God’s testimony for the work of His Son. When we believe in His Word, we are believing in Him. First John 5:9 says, “If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater.”
Over the past eighteen hundred years, George Müller may be considered as one of the men with the greatest faith. When others asked him what faith was, he answered that faith is when God says something, I say the same. Faith is to believe in God’s Word. It is to believe in God through His Word.
- Receiving by Believing that We Have Received—Mark 11:24
Now we have to see how we have to believe. In the Bible, faith has its own laws. In the whole New Testament, there is only one place that tells us how to believe—Mark 11:24: “For this reason I say to you, All things that you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and you will have them.”
Mark 11:24 shows us clearly that faith is to believe that we have received. Faith is not to believe that we will receive. It is not to believe that we shall receive, are about to receive, or can receive. All these “wills,” “cans,” and “shalls” are not faith. Only the faith that believes that one has received is the faith that the Bible talks about.
Thank the Lord that it is the simplest thing on earth to receive salvation. God says that He has died. I say that I believe He has died. God says that the Lord Jesus has resurrected and become a proof. I say, “Yes” and agree that His resurrection has become a proof of my justification. He says that my sins are forgiven, that He has saved me. I will not wait. I believe, and the matter is settled. When I believe, I have received.