Sample Studies: Old Testament | New Testament | Themes | Characters
    

Introductory Study: Focus on Faith - a Study on Ten Old Testament Characters

The following studies are designed to focus our thoughts on FAITH, a concept with which we are all familiar - or are we? Let's begin this Introductory Study by asking: 'What is faith?' To help discussion consider these questions:

• In what ways do we need to exercise faith in daily living?
• What helps us to put faith into practice?

(As you pool ideas, your group leader might write them on a large sheet of paper.)

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A story is told of six blind men who were asked to describe an elephant after being given a minute to 'get the feel' of it! One said an elephant was like a house (he'd felt its sides); one said it was like a tree (he'd gripped its leg); one said it was like a fat snake (he'd run his hands along its trunk). And so on. Faith is like that. It has so many different aspects that it is a demanding task to compile a total definition. So, we are going to ask you to look at Hebrews chapter 11, which has been called 'God's gallery of faith - heroes', to discover the particular aspect of faith which each character contributes. For instance, when we read about Abraham in verses 17-19 we learn that faith is obeying God even though it involves deep personal sacrifice and trusting Him implicitly about the final outcome. As a group, discuss each character listed below and try to put in a sentence what you learn about FAITH from each one.

Now look at the definition of faith given to us in Hebrews 11:1 and 6. Would you say, from these verses, that faith is a combination of:

• putting absolute trust or confidence in God,
• being sensitive and obedient to His will; that means taking the next step He shows, even though we don't know the pathway ahead,
• living in a way that involves personal sacrifice because it cuts across worldly standards?

How do these 3 ideas tie up with what you have written on your sheet of paper? How does faith in God differ from faith in anyone or anything else?

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Can you see faith operating at 3 different levels in the following testimonies?

1. David is a young married man with 2 small children. He writes: 'For four years I attended Church services and Bible Studies on a regular basis, seeking to know the truth about Jesus. I was trying to prove the claims of Jesus (e.g., John 14:6) before accepting them, but all I found were testimonies and statements from people supporting these claims. As I had been trained at University to be an Engineer, this sort of verbal argument was not the conclusive, tangible and logical proof I sought, but I could not gain peace of mind by dismissing the New Testament as being unfounded.

'In order to resolve this conflict, I gave up trying to prove Jesus, and just said I would believe. Now I, too, can testify that if you have faith in Jesus and ask Him into your life He is real, and answered prayer is all the proof anyone needs.'

2. 'One local church in Tasmania was challenged through a message given in Sunday morning worship about having a 'sense of direction' as far as its local strategy was concerned. The deacons conceded amongst themselves that there were indeed no 'unified, co-ordinated objectives towards which the congregation was heading.' So they decided to have an evening of prayer and discussion, waiting on the Lord for His Word to them as a fellowship. It came, with a unanimous conviction that a visitation campaign should be commenced in the vicinity of the church. Creative faith arose out of humbly acknowledging their lack of certainty and waiting upon God until the direction was unmistakably clear.'
(Quoted from 'When I Say Move', S. R. Dinnen, CLC, UK, 1972)

3. Jenny says: 'As part of a team of Christian workers, my husband and I have seen overcoming faith vividly expressed in a young woman. After much prayer, holding on in faith for her and regular counsel, she wonderfully changed. Whereas before she was negative, rebellious and prone to ill health, she became free, positive and useful to the Lord.' In the past 2 years she has worked as a nurse in some of the most difficult places in the world. This is nothing short of a miracle.'

The three levels suggested are:

1. CLAIMING FAITH
   This means simply accepting what God in His love graciously offers us, e.g., receiving Christ as Saviour (John 1:12).
2. CREATIVE FAITH
   This is a positive, expectant attitude towards God, believing that He will work in a specific situation; it will be accompanied by some practical step which commits the believer. For examples see Luke 5:1-8; 7:1-10; 8:43-48.
3. CONQUERING FAITH
   This is trusting God to overcome negative Satanic forces that are opposing or hindering His purpose, the basis of our faith being Christ's breaking of Satan's power at the Cross (1 John 3:8 and 5:4).

Can you fit the experiences of the characters in Hebrews 11 into one or other of these categories?

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As we go on to study ten Old Testament characters who showed their faith by what they did, keep in mind the following words, and apply them to yourself day by day - 'Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead' (Jas. 2:17 NIV). Are you in today's terminology, an 'Action Man' (or woman)? Group members would benefit from reading biographies of people who have been strong in faith, e.g., Hudson Taylor, C. T. Studd, George Mueller.

Study 1
Eve - Faith Introduced

Questions

DAY 1: Genesis 2:20-24.
a) What reaction did Adam show to the wife whom God had created from Adam's own body?
b) What vital teaching on marriage can we learn from the way in which Eve was created (Eph. 5:33)?

DAY 2: Genesis 3:1-6; 1 Timothy 2:14; James 1:13-15.
a) Do you think Satan had some reason in choosing Eve rather than Adam to try his wiles on?
b) Matthew 4:1-11. Can you see some connection between the 3 areas of temptation Satan put to Eve and later to Jesus (compare Gen. 3:6 with Matt. 4:3, 6, 9)?
c) Suggest some illustrations of how we may be tempted along the same 3 lines.

DAY 3: Matthew 4:4, 7, 10; Ephesians 6:16, 17.
a) What are two powerful weapons against Satan's temptations?
b) Genesis 2:25 - Compare Genesis 3:7, 10, 21. What was the immediate effect of Adam and Eve's sin? Can we learn anything in our modern society from this?

DAY 4: Genesis 3:8; (Ps. 139:7-12).
a) What evidence do we have that sin breaks communion with God?
b) Romans 5:12, 18, 19. What far-reaching effect was there from the sin that Adam and Eve committed?

DAY 5: Genesis 3:11-13 (compare David in 2 Sam. 12:13); Proverbs 28:13.
a) What good things can we learn from their reply to God's challenge?
b) What bad thing should we avoid? (Compare Saul in 1 Sam. 15:19, 21.)

DAY 6: Genesis 3:16; 1 Timothy 2:13,14.
Comment on Eve's punishment.

DAY 7: Genesis 4:1-16.
a) Try to put yourself in Eve's place and describe how you feel as you hear about your firstborn Cain murdering his brother, and then being banished by God.
b) What are some lessons we can learn from the story of Eve's life?

Notes

We commence this series of studies right at the beginning, with our first mother, Eve. God desired to have a whole family of sons and daughters who would love Him, and with whom He could have fellowship. As the home for this family, God created planet Earth, a tiny speck in the vastness of space. He began that great family with one couple, Adam and Eve, and planned that they should love and obey Him. He wanted them to depend solely on Him as the source of their life - physical and spiritual. That is what faith is all about.

EVE'S TEMPTATION - THE TEST AND FAILURE OF HER FAITH

We don't know how long Adam and Eve lived together in the Garden of Eden in perfect harmony with their Creator-Father God and with each other, enjoying complete fulfilment in their lives. Perhaps for many years. God could have made them mere puppets, but He preferred to have children who CHOSE to trust and obey Him. Hence the test. The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil had been forbidden to them, since God planned that, as they lived in dependence on Him, He would guide them into all His will for them. He only had their welfare at heart. Then, one day Satan the tempter, in the form of a wily serpent, came to Eve as she was alone near the forbidden tree. He began by putting doubts in her mind about the reliability of God's Word. Then came the insinuation that He was holding back something really desirable from her. The implicit faith Eve had always had in God's truthfulness and His love began to wane. The seeds of doubt took root. She gazed at the fruit, took it, ate it, and gave to her husband. He too, ate the fruit.

THE RESULT OF EVE'S FALL

Not only did Adam follow her example, but their children inherited a bent towards sin and independence. Death, physical and spiritual, for all mankind is the result of Adam and Eve's choice to act independently of God. And yet we see a spark of that old faith returning when, some time later, Eve exclaimed with joy, 'By the Lord's help I have acquired a son!' She never returned to that former perfection of faith, but she did recognize that she could not live her life apart from God. Have we recognized that fact?

GOD'S PROVISION FOR RESTORATION OF FAITH AND FELLOWSHIP

Although God had to expel His unfaithful children from the Garden of Eden, He did not desert them. He, Himself, made the first sacrifice for their sins, and clothed them with animal skins, a picture of the perfect sacrifice that Christ the Saviour would later make. And, lest we should think too harshly of Eve for giving us our fallen nature, God made a promise that through her would come the One who would deal a deathblow to Satan. Yes, Jesus was the offspring of mother Eve. In His sacrifice on the cross, Jesus undid all that Satan had done to the human race. And as we put our faith in Jesus, we become the sons and daughters God created us to be; those who would love and trust Him not because they have to, but because they choose to.

KEY THOUGHT: Faith is trusting God's Word, even when we do not understand.