Complete Faith

Introduction: Is Your Faith Complete?

A. Many think of faith the way the modern dictionary defines faith:
“Firm belief in something for which there is no proof” (Webster).
1. If that is all your faith is, your faith is not biblical; your faith is not
complete.

B. Faith is so much more than mental assent or acceptance that God exists or
personal acknowledgement that Jesus is Lord (James 2:19).
1. Belief in God’s existence is of course an important part of faith, but
saving faith is so much more!
a. Faith and believe are synonyms (Heb. 11:6). Notice how critical
faith is to pleasing God and how genuine faith expresses itself.
2. Faith or belief is in fact a work! (John 6:27-29)
a. Jesus referred to belief in Him as a work we must do and indeed
genuine, saving faith takes effort.
b. Faith is more than mere mental acceptance that God is real or
that Jesus is the Son of God. Faith takes effort on our part.

C. Faith that saves, that is complete, is comprised of three major components:

1. Assurance or strong conviction of the truth of anything or anyone.
2. Trust – belief in the integrity, ability, effectiveness, or genuineness of
something or someone (Webster).
3. Obedience to God and His will as revealed in the Scriptures

D. If you are lacking any of these three components, your faith is incomplete and
will not result in your eternal salvation. If this is the case, complete your faith!

I. Faith is Assurance or Strong Conviction.

A. Faith is “the assurance of things hoped for” (Heb. 11:1, NASB).

1. Example: Your faith in going to heaven in Christ is great assurance!
a. Your hope of heaven in Christ is not wishy-washy, wishful
thinking, but “a living hope” (1 Peter 1:3).
2. You are confident and you are absolutely certain!

B. Faith is “the conviction of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1, NASB).

1. A conviction is a strong persuasion or belief. You are completely
convinced that it is true, even though you cannot see it with your eyes.

2. Example: You know for a fact that your sins were forgiven and you
received the gift of the Holy Spirit when you were baptized into Christ
(Acts 2:38).

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 C. Faith is based upon “substance” and “evidence” (Heb. 11:1, NKJV).
Example: Humans first landed on the moon by spacecraft on July 20, 1969 and six hours
later (July 21st) walked on the surface of the moon. You believe because of the evidence.

1. Faith is a great assurance, a strong conviction because you base your

beliefs on the evidence that God has provided. Faith has substance!
a. The evidence of Creation (Rom. 1:18-20).
b. The evidence of the resurrection of Christ (1 Cor. 15:1-8).
c. The evidence of “the Scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:3-4; Rom. 10:17).
(1) The more you hear or read God’s word, the stronger
your faith or your convictions will become!

II. Faith is About Trust (John 14:1).

A. To have faith in God is to have trust in God who is trustworthy (Ps. 9:9-10).
1. When you come to “know Thy name” – know who God is, what He
stands for and the work He does, you can trust Him completely!
(e.g. Exodus 34:5-7).
2. You go to God for help because you trust in His name! (Prov. 18:10).

B. Putting your faith in God is to trust Him to guide you in life.

1. Without the help of the all-wise God who is perfect in love, we are lost,
without purpose, meaning, and direction in life (Jer. 10:23).
2. Faith in God is to trust God and allow Him to lead you in life by the
guidance of the Scriptures (Prov. 3:5-7).
3. Instead of constantly questioning God and resisting His lead, you trust
God that He will lead you in the right way, that He only wants what is best
for you; you recognize His wisdom is higher than your own and therefore
you totally submit to His will (e.g. Luke 22:42).

C. Faith is trusting in God to keep His word (e.g. Rom. 4:20-22, ESV).
1. To live a life of faith, you have to put your trust in God (Heb. 11:6).
a. You believe that God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek
Him. You trust God with all your heart and therefore trust Him
with the salvation of your soul! (2 Tim. 1:12).
b. You know that God, “who cannot lie” (Tit 1:2) will fulfill all of
His promises. Faith is confidence in the trustworthiness of God!

D. Faith that trusts God will not doubt Him (e.g. Mat. 14:28-31).
1. The opposite of faith is doubt – “to be uncertain about something; to
believe that something is not true or is unlikely” (Webster).
2. Peter in this instance did not put His complete trust in Jesus when he
saw the strong wind and thus he became afraid and began to sink.
a. We also begin to “sink” in our lives when we do not put our trust
in God (We are consumed by fears, worries, trials, tribulations).
3. God is worthy of your trust. Do not doubt Him!

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III. Faith Works.

A. Real, genuine, saving faith is demonstrated by acts of obedience to God.

Your faith is not complete without your obedience!
1. If your religious convictions are indeed strong, if you are fully
convinced that God is real, that His Son Jesus is both Savior and Lord, and
that the Bible is His word, then you will do what God says (Luke 6:46).
2. If you indeed trust in God, you will obey His word (Isaiah 50:10).
a. Obedience to God goes hand in hand with trusting in God
(e.g. Mark 16:16).
a. Those who say they believe in Jesus, but are unwilling to get
baptized in His name do not really trust Him enough to do what He
says!
“I believe in you Jesus, but this baptism thing, well that sounds too messy. I don’t want to
be immersed in water. Oh, and there will be people around watching me. That’s just too
much. Isn’t my belief in you enough?”

Example: It’s like telling someone you trust him/her to be a good driver, but then you are
unwilling to lend them your car. It’s like telling someone you trust them, but are
unwilling to let them watch over your children. It’s like saying: I trust you, but then you
are unwilling to share with them what your troubles are. Where’s the trust in that?

b. If you really believe in Jesus, you will show it! You will
demonstrate your trust in Him by obeying His commands for your
salvation (Luke 13:3; Mat. 10:32; Mark 16:16).

Note: If you are afraid of being immersed in water (phobia), put your trust in the Lord and
get baptized anyway! (He won’t let anything bad happen to you!).

3. If you truly believe that forgiveness and freedom from sin is found in
Jesus, then obey from the heart His gospel (trust Him) (Rom. 6:17-18).
B. Faith is not complete in the life of a Christian unless it is working through love
(Gal. 5:6).
1. To keep your faith alive, you must do your best to obey God’s word and
do the good works He commands! (James 2:14-26).
“As a result of the works, faith was perfected” (complete!)

Conclusion: In your life, are you truly walking by faith? (2 Cor. 5:5-9).
A. To walk by faith is a confident assurance of going to heaven that is based upon
evidence, the Scriptures, and the promise (“guarantee”) of God! (Not blind faith!)
1. “Not by sight” (Does not mean our faith is blind!); while away from the
Lord (v. 6) and we cannot see Him, we walk or conduct our lives by faith!
B. To walk by faith is your trust in God to fulfill all His promises to you.
C. To walk by faith is make it your aim in life to please God in all you do!
D. In preparation for the Judgment Day, make sure your faith is complete! (v. 10)