Back to the Faith*

      Remaining steadfast in our faith in God and Jesus Christ is the most important part of our walk as a Christian and faith has played a major role in the founding of this ministry from the beginning. Without faith, it is impossible to please God, the scriptures say. Some of the last words of Moses to the Israelites concerned their lack of faith: "Of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten the God what formed thee. And when the LORD saw it, he abhorred them, because of the provoking of his sons, and of his daughters. And he said, I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end shall be: for they are a very froward generation, children in whom is no faith...I will move them to jealousy with those which are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation." (Deut. 32:21).

     The LORD said that He would hide His face from Israel because they had no faith in Him.

     The prophet Habakkuk was told by God to write the prophetic vision and made it plain so that those who read it may run with it: "For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith (enumah - steadfastness in the commands and principles of God)." (Hab. 2:1-4).

     We see the Hebrew word, enumah, for "faith" and its meaning. In the English dictionary, faith is defined as belief, confidence, absolute certainty in the principles of God. Each pictographic Hebrew letter in the word enumah, or faith, has an individual meaning. When the meanings are combined, the letters give this message: "Behold the heir of the throne's faithfulness is joined in the mighty stream of Adonai/Lord." The Lord is faithful and mighty, and we are able to trust in Him.

     As Jesus told the parable of the widow who approached the unjust judge demanding to be avenged of her adversary, He concluded by saying of God's elect who cried out to Him: "I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?" (Lk. 18:6-8, excerpt). Jesus wondered if we would remain in faith.

     It is through faith that we were saved: "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which Gid hath before ordained that we should walk in them." (Eph. 2:5-10, excerpt). Paul also wrote that although we as Gentiles in the flesh, were previously without Christ and aliens from Israel, with no covenant, no hope and without God, now we have been drawn near by the blood of Christ, with the walls of partition broken down by the blood of Christ: "For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us." (v. 11-14). The partitions of separation between Jews and Gentiles and between man and God were done away with through the blood of Christ. We are now to provoke Israel to jealousy as we have drawn near to God by faith through Christ, as Moses declared above.

     Paul wrote to the church at Corinth, who were able to bear the milk of the Gospel but not the meat, because of their worldliness. He wrote that "...ye are God's building," and he, Paul, the master builder who had laid the foundation: "For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ." (1 Cor. 3:9-13, excerpt). We are the temple of God made of living stones, but Jesus Christ is the foundation of that temple. 

     Isaiah received the prophetic Word of the LORD concerning those who would scorn this precious and vital foundation Stone of our faith: "...hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem. Because you have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overwhelming scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood we have hid ourselves: Therefore thus saith the LORD God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste...hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and waters shall overflow the hiding place." (Isa. 28:14-17). Judgment and righteousness, Isaiah wrote, will overflow the lies and false confidence of the scorners. There will be no place to hide from the judgment.

     The religious leaders in Jesus' day, scorned and refused Jesus as being the Savior sent by God. 

     Psalm 118 declares: "I will praise thee: for thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation (yeshooaw - salvation, help, deliverance, health, saving, welfare). The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner. This is the LORD's doing; it is marvellous in our eyes. This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." (Ps. 118:22-24). The stone, Jesus, was rejected, but God made Him the head stone, the cornerstone of the foundation upon which His house is built. The Hebrew word used in this verse for "salvation", yeshooaw, is also Jesus' Hebrew name. Earlier in the psalm, it is written: "It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence (see definition of "faith" above) in man. It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes....The LORD is my strength and song. and is become my salvation (see yeshooaw above)." (v. 8-9, 14).

     Our confidence or faith is not in man, but in the LORD. 

     From Psalm 71, it is written: "For thou art my hope, O LORD God: thou art my trust from my youth. By thee have I been holden up from the womb: thou art he that took me out of my mother's bowels: my praise shall continually be of thee." (v. 5-6). David also declared in a psalm that the LORD knew him before and while he was formed in his mother's womb. (see Ps. 139:13-17).

     Do we have this kind of confidence and assurance, or faith, in the Lord?

     Paul wrote to Timothy: "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness....Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity." (2 Tim. 2:14-19, excerpt). 

     Paul also wrote to Timothy that there were those who were teaching at that time that the resurrection of the dead was past already, "overthrowing the faith of some." This is why it is necessary for us to have that firm foundation of Christ and His word. The scriptures that Timothy were to study were the Torah and the Prophets, which we call the Old Testament, because the New Testament had not yet been written and compiled at that time. The chief corner stone of the foundation of our faith, Jesus, was written of in the Torah and Prophets as well, as we see above examples. We are to study and know the Word of God for ourselves, and, as Paul said, we are to depart from iniquity.

     Israel did not continue steadfastly in the first covenant. Therefore the LORD made this prophetic promise of a new covenant with Israel: "For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days...I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: And they shall not teach every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more." (Heb. 8:1-12, excerpt, see also Jer. 31:31-34).

     The new covenant is based on faith, the abundant confidence in the principles of God. Jesus lived and taught the Torah. He is coming back as He departed - in the clouds. Will He find faith in the earth when He returns?

*Based upon Dr. Kenneth E. Stevenson, Jr.'s 2/1/26 message to the church. If you would like to hear the complete message, you can find it on the Facebook page of Kenneth E. Stevenson Jr. Dr. Stevenson's video messages are also found on You Tube at the Kenneth Stevenson channel. To contact or support this ministry, or to request prayer, you can write to PO Box 154221, Waco, TX, 76705. To find out more about the Shroud of Turin, which is evidence of Christ's suffering, death, and resurrection, and to receive a free e-book now available in several languages, go to http://www.theshroudofturin.org/freebook. Also the book NAZAH: White Linen and the Blood of Sprinkling, written by Dr. Stevenson, is available on Amazon.