Playlist: Faith, Importance of (topic)
Our Faith Is the Victory
Sermon by Martin G. CollinsFaith is the victory that overcomes the world, and it is indispensable: without it no one can please God or qualify for His Kingdom. Drawing on I John 5:4-5, the world is far stronger than anyone born into it, so overcoming requires a power beyond natural ability. That power comes from new birth and from a living connection to …
Faith and the Christian Fight (Part One)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughFaith is the foundation of the Christian's warfare and of every aspect of Christian life, since God cannot be seen and is known through what He has caused to be written. Love is the goal, but faith supports it. Salvation is by grace through faith, and faith itself is God's gift (Ephesians 2:8), coming through hearing the gospel …
Faith and the Christian Fight (Part Seven)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughOutside of God's grace and Christ's blood, not even love is as important as faith, because faith is our response to God's love. Without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). Abel's acceptable sacrifice, Enoch's walk with God, and Noah's ark all came by faith, and a person is justified by faith in Christ's blood …
Faith and the Christian Fight (Part Nine)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughFaith is the foundation that supports and sustains the love of God, and it is what enables a believer to endure to the end amid trials, uncontrollable events, and unfulfilled promises. The patriarchs of Hebrews 11 served God for a century or more and died in faith without receiving the promises, yet they persevered because they …
Lord, Increase Our Faith
Sermonette byFaith is a gift which requires continual practice and exercise. God will grant us more faith if we faithfully use what He has already given us.
Faith and the Calendar (Part Two)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughWithout faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6), and the faith in view is not mere belief that God exists but a living, disciplined conviction that He rewards those who diligently seek Him, meaning those who search in order to become like Him. The decisive issue in questions such as the calendar is therefore faith in …
Maintaining Good Health (Part 13)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughFaith is the highest priority in the Christian life because it is what God mainly intends to produce in the relationship with Him, and it motivates and sustains right action. Paul says to take the shield of faith "above all," and Hebrews teaches that without faith it is impossible to please God, that the just live by faith, and …
Trials and Suffering
Sermonette by James BeaubelleTrials and suffering are woven throughout God's purpose for humanity, shaping His people for their eternal inheritance.
Prayer and Fervency
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughReal faith is not abstract belief or mere assent to facts about God. Pagans display zealous religious faith, even sacrificing children, but it is a human faith directed at idols and demons (I Corinthians 8, 10). True faith is an operation of God, an energy given through His Spirit that lets believers see Him as Creator, Father, …
The Covenants, Grace, and Law (Part Five)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughFaith is the very purpose of everything God did through Christ. Citing John 6:29, "This is the work of God, that you believe on Him whom He has sent," the point is that all Christ said and did, up to and including the crucifixion and resurrection, was meant to produce faith. Its importance is shown by failure: Adam and Eve …
Hope to the End (Part Three)
Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh (1932-2023)Faith is the foundation of the Christian's preparation to overcome in the coming tribulation, and it is the first of three eternal virtues, faith, hope, and love, that Paul links in 1 Corinthians 13:13. Unlike prophecies, tongues, and knowledge, which fade when their usefulness ends, these three last forever. They stand or fall …
Limiting the Holy One of Israel (Part One)
Sermon by Martin G. CollinsGod has self-imposed limitations when we go against His commands, testing His patience, purposely limiting Him by our faithlessness, robbing ourselves of blessings.
Values and Conversion
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughFaith is central to God's purpose because conversion means exchanging the death-producing values absorbed from family, tradition, and culture for God's eternal values, and the human heart, deceitful and committed to what it already holds dear, resists this change. In John 6, when the people ask what works they must do, Jesus …