29 Faith

Message Faith is a gift of the Holy Spirit and an obligation for human beings.

Contents Faith is a gift of the Holy Spirit

Faith in the triune God and His promises
Faith in Jesus Christ leads to salvation

Catechism CNAC-QA 11, 240, 278 (address in the lesson)

CNAC-QA 239, 241–242 (background information)

Discuss homework What does faith signify to you?

The teacher listens to the answers and writes them on the board in point
form.

1 Lead-in
Explain “Faith is one of the basic realities of human life. It does not refer primarily to
a particular doctrine or view of the world, but rather to a more or less well-
founded conviction, in other words, something held to be true as contrasted
with verifiable knowledge. Furthermore, faith in the non-religious sense
signifies a subjective attitude of confidence in someone.
“All people believe, regardless of whether they profess a religious doctrine or
not. Their way of life is predominantly defined by that which they believe. In this
respect, an individual’s personal beliefs also shape his personality.
“In the religious sphere, faith is manifested when a person binds himself to a
divine being or principle.
“The foundation and content of Christian faith is the triune God. The belief in
God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit has been made accessible to mankind by
Jesus Christ” (CNAC 1.4).

There are many things that cannot be grasped with our intellect, for example:

– the fact that God has always existed from eternity

– the rapture of the bridal congregation at the return of Christ
– life in the new creation
– life after death

None of these things can be explained or proven through human inquiry. They
elude verification and corroboration. Faith is the only way to gain access to any
of these matters.

Workbook The students do exercise A in their workbook. The solutions are discussed.
exercises A and B Afterward the students do exercise B. Also these answers are discussed.

Summarise Faith is already necessary for our natural life. However, in the spiritual sphere
we would be helpless without faith.

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2 Faith is a gift of the Holy Spirit
What does the How do human beings come to believe? This question is answered in
Catechism say? CNAC-QA 11 (please read together and discuss).

Tell A man travels to a foreign country and does not speak the local language.
When he arrives, he attempts to decipher the various signs he sees in order
to find a place to stay, places to eat, and many other things. Then a local man
approaches him and offers to translate and explain the writing in order to
make it understandable for him. The traveller is happy to accept his offer, and
believes his explanations. Later on he confirms that everything really is as the
man had explained to him, and thus arrives at the conclusion: “The local man
told me the truth. Believing him was the right thing to do!”

Ask What was the deciding factor in ensuring that the traveller could be
helped?

Listen to answers The traveller believed the local man because the latter explained things to him
and supplement in a language he was able to understand.

Elaborate If God would no longer speak to us, we would no longer know anything
about Him or His plan of salvation. The Holy Spirit speaks to us in our
God speaks to us language—through the Bible, through the sermon, and through the words
and deeds of believing people. Many things that were previously
incomprehensible or concealed to us become clear as a result.

We believe Him Apostle Paul wrote: “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word
of God” (Romans 10: 17). If we believe the word of truth and trust in the Lord,
our knowledge will be deepened. Faith is not merely a matter of holding certain
doctrinal statements to be true, but is—first and foremost—a matter of trust:
we trust in God and in those whom God has sent.

We do what He says If we truly believe, we will also act in accordance with the will of God. Faith
and works belong together: “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only,
deceiving yourselves” (James 1: 22).

We experience that If we do this, we will also be able to experience our faith. Let us trust in
His word is true God and allow ourselves to be led by the Holy Spirit. Then our faith will be
strengthened and become certainty.

What does the How does a person come to believe? This question is answered in
Catechism say? CNAC-QA 240 (please read together and discuss).

3 Faith in the triune God and His promises

Explain We believe in God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We believe that God
has become Man in Jesus Christ. We believe in God’s deeds of salvation and
Faith: the foundation in His promises. “But without faith it is impossible to please Him [God], for he
for everything who comes to God must believe that He is” (Hebrews 11: 6).

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This faith is the foundation upon which we build. This is to be illustrated by way
of the following example.

Tell When the Lord was active on this earth, only a few people recognised Him as
the Son of God. One day He asked His disciples who the people were saying
Peter professes He was. The disciples responded that some of them were saying He was John
his faith the Baptist or Elijah or Jeremiah or some other prophet. Then the Lord Jesus
asked His disciples: “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter, who—along
with the other disciples—believed and followed Jesus, attested, “You are the
Christ, the Son of the living God!” (Matthew 16: 16).

Jesus Christ responded to this profession of Peter as follows: “Blessed are

you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My
Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 16: 17).

Confidence Belief in the merciful and gracious God, through whom we receive access to
all salvation, gives us great confidence. In the letter to the Hebrews we read:
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not
seen” (Hebrews 11: 1).

4 Faith in Jesus Christ leads to salvation

Through the incarnation of God in Jesus Christ, our faith receives a new
dimension. Jesus Christ has thus become an object of faith. Through faith
in Him it becomes possible for us to be reconciled with God and enter into
fellowship with Him. It is for this reason that Jesus Christ appeals to us as
follows: “[Believe] in God, believe also in Me” (John 14: 1).

What does the What are the fundamental prerequisites for obtaining the grace offered in the
Catechism say? gospel? This question is answered in CNAC-QA 278 (please read together and
discuss). The terms righteousness/justification should be explained. See peach
text box).

The main points

I also want to … … believe in Jesus Christ with all my heart!

Homework The confirmands write down on a piece of paper what hope means to them.

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