Question 1 -- Find two or three biblical passages that illustrate the key points of
biblical faith, and the fundamental dilemma posed by history. For each, give the
reference, quote at least part of the passage, and explain how it makes the point or
shows the dilemma. Try not to use passages used by other students or by me in
class.
The key point of Biblical Faith is whatever God says, is. And faith is the only thing
that is going to save us. From my point of view the Bible is a tool used to encourage
and sustain ones faith in God. God has made many promises in the Bible, some
which have been fulfilled as well as others, which have yet to be fulfilled.
In John, Jesus talks to Nicodemus, who came to Jesus by night. He recognizes Jesus
as a teacher sent from God and that he is able to do his works. Jesus teaches
Nicodemus and tells him that people must be baptized, or “re-born” in order to go
to Heaven. John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that
whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” This passage makes a
strong point to me. I know that believing in Jesus is more than just stating, “I
believe in Jesus”. God sent Jesus to earth to be an example to us, the sinners. Jesus
came down to earth to show us the way, the truth, and the light, and we must strive
to be like him. It is impossible for any of us on earth to be perfect as Jesus is, but we
must strive for that perfection- for that is what will ultimately save us. Believing in
Jesus is putting your faith in his prophecies. We must strive to be better people on
earth and love one another as Jesus loves us. Jesus took our sins to the cross, but
only if we have faith in him will we be saved.
In John 8:32, Jesus says, “If you find the truth, you will be free”. For me, this
statement is talking about the truth being the teachings in the Bible and having faith
in it. You will be free meaning that you will not be condemned. In the world, there is
always question about God and Jesus and how this earth came to be. Many try to
argue the big bang theory. I believe that the only truth we will be able to see is what
we read about in the Bible and pray to God about. Find the truth- have faith. It’s
hard for me to try and understand how people can go through their lives without
having faith in God. People have faith in so many things, and they don’t even realize
it. Faith that the sun is going to rise each day, faith in seeds that are planted, faith
that they will wake up in the morning… Find the truth- have faith in the Bible, in
Jesus, and in God.
1 John 15-17: Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the
world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world- the cravings
of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does- comes
not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but
the man who does the will of God lives forever. For me, this shows another example
of how we are promised eternal life through having faith in God. In this world,
society makes it seem like we must have the best things in order to be happy. People
go in to debt to buy things, or they lie to make themselves look good, or they take
from others to better themselves. What we have is a worthless and sinful world. Too
many times people think that the things of the world are going to better themselves.
But the truth is, the only thing that is going to better them is having faith in God
and the Lord Jesus Christ. People are so focused on the “right now” that they don’t
see past today. They don’t see going into debt as a big deal, they are just happy that
they got the loan they can’t afford. The sad part is that more times than not people
lose their jobs, and lose everything they have because of it. Or they get in so deep
over their heads that they cant even begin to try to dig themselves out. When we die,
the things that we have on earth, we cant take them with us. The only thing that we
can take with us is our experiences and our faith.