Faith that Saves
-Introduction
-Luke 5:17-26
-General Context: early in the Galilean Ministry
-Jesus had left Judea and had traveled north to Galilee
-While in Galilee, Jesus would continue to reveal Himself more and more.
-John 4:46-54 - healing the nobleman’s son from a distance
-Luke 4:16-32 - Jesus was rejected in Nazareth and traveled to Capernaum.
-Capernaum would serve as Jesus’ primary location for the remainder of the Galilean
Ministry.
-Luke 4:31-41 - authoritative teaching, authority over demons
-Luke 4:42-44 - Jesus and His disciples toured Galilee (1st of three tours).
-Jesus returned to a house in Capernaum and a crowd gathered.
-Mark 2:1-4
-vs 2 - stresses the fact that it was very crowded
-vs 3 - palsy - the Greek word from which we get our English word “paralytic”
-vs 4 - press = multitude, crowd
-He Saw Their Faith
-The passage under consideration reveals important information about Biblical faith.
-Notice, Jesus saw their faith. Their faith was evident.
-It wasn’t limited to some mystical feeling.
-It wasn’t restricted to the realm of belief only.
-It was something within these men that was evident to others.
-How was their faith evident? - by their actions
-It is important to understand that there is a relationship between faith and works.
-Jas 2
-It is important to realize that works don’t invalidate grace and grace does not
eliminate the necessity of works.
-Eph 2:4-10
-Faith comes from the word of God (Rom 10:17). The word of God (scriptures)
“thoroughly furnish us unto all good works” (2 Tim 3:17). Again, there is a
relationship between faith and works.
-Obviously, these men had faith in Jesus and His abilities to heal. But, what if they had
simply turned around and went home when they saw the crowd? What if they hadn’t
followed through with their actions?
-But, we see that when they combined action with their faith, healing (physical and
spiritual) was obtained.
-Rom 1:1-5; 16:25-26 - Biblical faith is a faith that is obedient and active.
-We need to make sure that our faith is an obedient, active faith - evident in our lives.
-Thy Sins are Forgiven Thee
-Jesus had already revealed His ability to heal physically. At this point, He revealed His
authority to heal spiritually with the forgiveness of sins.
-Rather than focus initially on the man’s physical needs, Jesus focused on His spiritual
needs.
-But, there was some opposition from the Jewish leaders.
-They thought Jesus was guilty of sin. Here was their reasoning/argument:
-1. Only God can forgive sins. 2. This man is not God. 3. Therefore, this man’s
claim is blasphemous.
-Their line of logic wasn’t necessarily erroneous. Their second premise was.
-Here’s the line of thought that should have led them to a proper conclusion:
1. Only God can forgive sins. 2. This man is forgiving sins. 3. Therefore, this
man is God.
-Luke 5:22-24 - The physical miracles of Jesus revealed His power and authority.
-They validated His claims and verified His true identity.
-John 20:30-31
-In this passage, Jesus made it very clear that He has the authority and ability to forgive
sins.
-Luke 24:46-47
-We can have confidence knowing that we are granted forgiveness when we respond
with an obedient and active faith!
-Glorifying God
-Luke 5:25 - This man went home “glorifying God.”
-A person might say, “Of course, he was glorifying God. He had just been healed
(physically). He was carried from his home but he walked back.
-Yet, this man had another reason to rejoice and glorify God - a reason that we share
today - spiritual healing - forgiveness of sins.
-Isn’t it amazing, that “little ole’ us” can live our lives in such a way as to bring glory to
our Glorious God?!
-What a privilege and honor it is to be a child of God, a member of the church He
established through Jesus, His servant. What an honor it is to glorify Him!
-Invitation
-What about you this evening? Do you have an obedient, active faith?
-If not, you can respond to the invitation this very evening:
-Believe (John 3:16, 8:24), Confess (Matt 10:32, Rom 10:9-10), Repent (Luke 13:3,5;
Acts 17:30), Be Baptized (Mark 16:16, Acts 2:38)
-If you’ve previously obeyed the Gospel, but haven’t maintained an active, obedient
faith, then you can confess your shortcomings, repent of them and pray for forgiveness
(1 John 1:7-9, Acts 8:22-24).
Date: February 26, 2006