.1
Each One Teach One Discipleship Lessons
Part One:
FAITH THAT LOOKS UP:
Establishing your Faith in God
LESSON ONE:
The WAY to SALVATION
“In the Beginning…” mankind was in fellowship with God. In the Bible, we read that Adam and Eve talked with
Him in the Garden of Eden. But after their sin of rebellion, they were cast out of the Garden, and cut off from an
intimate relationship with Him. Each generation thereafter continued to sin–as the scripture says, “ALL have
sinned and come short of the glory of God” [Romans 3:23]. So sin has created a giant “chasm” between Man
and God.
Yet in each generation, there have been those who earnestly desired to bridge that chasm in some way and be
restored into fellowship with God. The Bible records their attempts, their successes and their failures. Are you
one who earnestly desires that fellowship? If so, how have you been going about seeking it? Even today, and
even among those who call themselves Christians, there are a wide variety of beliefs, opinions and theories on
how Man can bridge that chasm.
The most widespread belief about solving this problem is probably the one that says, “I am a member of the
(___________) Church. My church is accepted by God, therefore I am accepted by God.” Many such people
seldom attend services at “their church.” But they were baptized there as an infant or a small child, and their
family has been affiliated with that church for generations. So they are confident they are “in” with God. Others,
who have not had a “religious” family background, may realize something is missing in their life, may fear stories
they have heard about hell, and may become a member of some church as “insurance” against having to spend
eternity in hell.
.2
Is this an effective strategy? Is there a “package tour” available that assures anyone on board safe passage “back
to God”?
No–There is no church organization with enough “power” to take its members to God. At best, such
organizations can only point the way to God. Unfortunately, many of them are not even able to do that. If such
an organization goes down, you may have to “bail out” to avoid going down with it!
***** The Israelites in the prophet Jeremiah’s time felt just like some modern Christians. They were confident of
God’s blessing just because they could go to His temple in Jerusalem. But Jeremiah warned them with the words
below. Look up this passage, and fill in the missing words.
[Jeremiah 7:4,12,14]
Do not trust in deceptive words and say, ‘This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the
temple of the Lord!’… Go now to the place in Shiloh where I first made a dwelling for my Name, and see
what I did to it [The Ark was taken captive and the glory departed from there]… Therefore what I did to
Shiloh I will now do to the house that bears my Name, the temple you _______________, the place I
gave to you and your fathers.
Many people have come to realize that church membership by itself is no guarantee of “getting right with God.”
So another strategy has also had an enduring history. According to this belief, “I have been a good person. I do
all the things expected of a good Christian–I study my Bible, go to church services every week, pray before
every meal and at bedtime, am kind to elderly women and puppy dogs, put money in the offering plate at church
every week. So God obviously has to accept me!”
.3
Is this an effective strategy? Can you build a bridge “back to God” paved by your religious works?
No, this strategy is doomed to fail. There is nothing underneath to support the bridge–it will fall of its own
weight as the worker tries to continue building.
***** The Lord Jesus made it clear that religious works were not what justified a man.
[Luke 18:9-14]
To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told
this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The
Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men- robbers,
evildoers, adulterers- or even like this tax collector. I ________________ ______________________
and give a ____________ of all I get. But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look
up to heaven, but beat on his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’I tell you that this man,
rather than the other, went home justified before God…
Some people have come to realize that just regular “good works” don’t “add up” to enough to earn salvation.
They realize even “lukewarm” church-goers can go through the motions. So they have improved on this strategy
by adding zeal to their works. They don’t just “warm a pew.” They are out on the front lines protesting at
abortion clinics, they go to the inner cities to “street witness,” they may even join a missionary effort to primitive
areas of the world. They reason, “I am risking my personal safety, giving up the comforts of the easy life,
tackling the impossible–surely God must accept me now. I’ve paid my dues!” Is this an effective strategy? Can
you earn your way “back to God” by zealous works?
A person with this strategy is much like a motorcycle dare-devil who is sure he can soar longer and longer
distances if only he gets enough zealous momentum. Can a believer propel himself “back to God” by
accomplishing zealous works?
.4
Street Missionary Abortion
Witnessing Trips Marches
The problem with this strategy is that the true distance back to fellowship with God is too far no matter the
human momentum we work up!
***** The Lord Jesus makes it clear that just doing zealous works that look mighty to the world does not
“earn” His favor and bring the worker close to Him:
[Matthew 7:22-23]
Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive
out demons and perform miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I __________________
_____________ ______________. Away from me you evildoers.’
If doing works don’t work, what does work?!
[Ephesians 2:8-9]
For it is by _________that you have been saved, through _________. And this is not from
______________ . It is the ________________ ,not by _________, so that no one can ___________.
[Hebrews 11:6]
And without _________it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must
___________ that He exists and that He rewards those who __________________.
[John 3:16]
For God so loved _________ that He gave His one and only Son, that whosoever
____________________ shall not perish, but have ________________________ .
.5
[John 1:12]
Yet to all who ________________, to those who __________ His name, He gave the right to become
__________________ .
If we want to return to that intimate relationship with God that He intended in the beginning, if we want to be
“righteous” before God, (back in a “right standing” with Him)–we need to travel the way that He provided …
through faith in his Son.
II Co. 5:18-19
All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of
reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins
against them.
Gal. 3:26
You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
The central message of the Bible is often called the Gospel. That is a word that means “good news.” The Good
News is:
[Romans 1:17]
In the Gospel a righteousness FROM GOD is revealed, a righteousness that is by ________ from first to
last, just as it is written, ‘The ______________ shall live by _____________.’
There is nothing you can do to earn salvation. The price is too high for any man or woman! But Jesus paid that
price you owed. He “redeemed you” by His blood, just as a man in ancient times could pay a debt owed by a
slave and “redeem” him from slavery. Your only “job” in this is to receive that redemption by faith. You can
return to an intimate relationship with God, bridging the chasm caused by sin, through faith in Jesus.
.6
But perhaps you are not quite sure what faith is. Christians have a way sometimes of “tossing around” words
without really clarifying what they mean.
[Hebrews 11:1]
Now faith is being _________ of what we __________________ and certain of what we
___________________.
The word faith implies a belief, trust and confidence that does not require physical proof or evidence. How do
you get that kind of faith? The Bible says that it is a gift of God. It isn’t something you “work up” inside yourself,
or something someone can “talk you into” with persuasive words. The initial faith you need to accept the Gospel
comes from God. It is, as the scripture says, a “measure” of faith. [Romans 12:3] You DO have a responsibility
if that faith is to remain in you, and is to grow. Your part is to “act on” that faith by believing, confessing and
receiving Jesus as Savior and Lord.
[Romans 10:8-9]
… the word of faith that we are proclaiming: That if you ____________ with your mouth “Jesus is
Lord,” and believe _______________________ that God raised Him from the dead, you will be
___________ .
But it doesn’t stop there. You are “saved through faith,” but you then must go on to LIVE by faith.
In our next lesson, we will consider how you can know you have
LIVING FAITH.
REVIEW:
1. Salvation comes by faith–not religion.
2. Salvation comes by faith–not works.
3. Salvation comes by faith–not zeal.
4. Faith comes from God.
5. Faith is a free gift of God.
6. After you are saved by faith, you must live by faith.
.7
MEMORY VERSES:
Ephesians 2:8-9
For it is by grace that you have been saved,
through faith–
and this is not from yourselves,
it is the gift of God–not by works, so that no one can boast.
Hebrew 11:6
And without faith it is impossible to please God,
because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists
and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
QUESTIONS:
1. What kind of righteousness is revealed in the Bible?
____________________________________________________________________________________
2. Write a definition of faith.
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
3. Why is faith so important for salvation?
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
4. Write Ephesians 2:8-9 here from memory.
For it is by ___________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
.8
5. Write Hebrews 11:6 here from memory.
And without faith _____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
6. How could it be possible that someone could do great, zealous works in the name of Jesus but not really have
faith in God?
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
7. How does faith grow?________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________