For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.
My church had our Tuesday night Bible Study last night as we always do. This week we were studying “Paul and Silas in Prison” Acts 16:16-40. It was a great study with lots of good discussion. I was also reading the study helps at the bottom of my study Bible and one part caught my attention and held it there.
It was a part that was discussing verse 16:31, “and they answered, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, you and your household’”. The study part was talking about it beginning with faith. Faith is a big thing for me and something I think about and talk with God about often. Faith is so important.
Here is what my study part said (in part): “What does it mean to believe, and what does it mean to be saved? Belief includes but is more than just an intellectual assent. Belief includes the idea of total trust, dependence, and submission of oneself to Christ as Lord. To be saved is to be delivered. We are delivered from the very presence of sin and evil and will be delivered into the very presence of God. We receive this new life by faith”.
The best part of this study area was where it showed a summarization of this in the acrostic:
Forsaking
All
I
Take
Him
What a great way to put it. Faith is forsaking all and taking Him. When we forsake everything of this world and choose to take Christ into our hearts, our faith grows, and we are delivered from sin into the very presence of God.
Have faith. Forsake the things of this world and hold tight to Him.