A few weeks ago I received a letter from a minister in Illinois that was upset because I was teaching faith. He said that if we could just eliminate faith teaching, then the church wouldn’t be in such turmoil.
Well, I’ve been thinking about what he said. And you know, I think he’s right. If we would just quit teaching about faith and anything related to it, the church would not be in turmoil. You know why? Well, it’s because without faith, there would be no church.
What do I mean, there would be no church? Well, it’s this way. The church is not a building. The church is not a denomination. The church is not a ministry. The church is a group of people who have accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior of their lives. The church is a body of believers.
The church is the Christians who collectively make up the body of Christ. If you are a Christian, you are the church. The church building, which is commonly referred to by many as the church, is not the church, but it is the meeting place of the church. Christians are the church.
Now, with that in mind, let’s look at how you become a Christian. The Bible says in Ephesians 2:8, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.”
Did you catch that? “For by grace you have been saved through faith.” Without faith there is no salvation. If no one gets saved, then there is no church. We need faith for salvation.
Also, Hebrews 11:6 says, “Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”
Is faith important? Well, without it we cannot please God. It doesn’t say that it is difficult to please God, it says that it is impossible to please God. If we want to please God, we must have faith.
Let’s pretend that there was a way to get saved without faith (which there isn’t), and let’s pretend that there was a way to please God without faith (which there isn’t), and somehow we became a Christian without faith (which we can’t).
At this point it would still be impossible to function as a Christian because we wouldn’t be able to pray. In James the first chapter, it says that when we pray we must pray in faith because if we don’t pray in faith we cannot expect to receive anything from the Lord.
In other words, we can pray all we want, but if we don’t pray in faith, we might as well be doing something else, because our prayers will be in vain.
Here is another interesting thing about faith. In Hebrews 4:2 it says, “For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard (the Gospel) did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.”
This verse says that the Gospel, the Good News, was preached to two groups of people. But even though one group heard the gospel, it didn’t profit them because they did not mix it with faith. According to the Bible, without faith the Gospel will not profit you.
To sum it up, let me say this. As the church we need faith. Without faith the church cannot exist.
What is faith? Faith is believing God and acting on what you believe. Where do we get faith? Romans 10:17 says, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
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Dr. Larry Ollison is founder and Senior Pastor of Walk on the Water Faith Church and founder of Larry Ollison Ministries. With over forty years in the ministry, he is a very popular speaker nationally and internationally and ministers the Word of Faith through radio, television, Internet, and daily e-mail devotionals. As the author of twelve books (including The Power of Grace, The Practical Handbook for Christian Living, Breaking the Cycle of Offense, Life is in the Blood, and recently released The Paradise of God), he is in frequent demand for radio/TV interviews, book signings, and magazine publications.
Dr. Ollison was raised a Southern Baptist. While majoring in theology at Southwest Baptist University, he received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. For many years he traveled extensively speaking at Full Gospel Business Men's meetings and conventions. He later earned an M.A. in Theology and a Ph.D. and Th.D. from Life Christian University.
Currently President of International Convention of Faith Ministries (ICFM), Dr. Ollison is also Vice-President of Spirit FM Christian Radio Network, Missouri State Director of Christians United for Israel (CUFI), and a Trustee on the boards of several international ministries. He is also the host of The Cutting Edge Radio Broadcast and authors The Cutting Edge Daily Devotional.
As the owner of a marine dealership, his extensive business background brings a unique flavor to his teaching. He founded and served as chairman of the Missouri State Marine Board, President of the Marine Dealers’ Association, Vice-President of a bank holding company, along with holding several directorships in various corporations.
Dr. Ollison's strongest areas of teaching are the blood of Jesus, faith, relationships, the Hebrew language, the Holy Spirit, the end times, and heaven. During ministry, he operates freely in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. His use of humor and his ability to make a theological concept simple makes it enjoyable and easy for everyone to understand. Countless testimonies have been received from people who say their lives have been changed after experiencing Dr. Ollison's unique ministry.
Dr. Ollison is a pastor, pilot, teacher, and author. His number one goal is to meet the needs of the people through the teaching of faith in God's Word. He and his wife, Loretta, have two children and six grandchildren.