What is faith? (Now tell me) what is faith?
1. Faith is God’s work in us, making us new men.
2. Faith is an increase of life within the soul.
3. Faith claims nothing less than what God promises.
4. Faith is God’s Law working out in common things.
5. Faith is what will clean the soul from ev’ry sin.
6. Faith turns ev’ry curse into a blessing.
7. Faith is what is left when earthly things are gone.
Brother have you faith? Sister have you faith?
(1) Faith is God’s work in us, making us new men.
(2) Faith is an increase of life within the soul.
(3) Faith claims nothing less than what God promises.
(4) Faith is God’s Law working out in common things.
(5) Faith is what will clean the soul from ev’ry sin.
(6) Faith turns ev’ry curse into a blessing.
(7) Faith is what is left when earthly things are gone.
Brother have you faith? Sister have you faith?
(1) Faith is God’s work in us, making us new men.
(2) Faith is an increase of life within the soul.
(3) Faith claims nothing less than what God promises.
(4) Faith is God’s Law working out in common things.
(5) Faith is what will clean the soul from ev’ry sin.
(6) Faith turns ev’ry curse into a blessing.
(7) Faith is what is left when earthly things are gone.
Playback
Instrumental – Sampled Sounds
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This song was written to help us remember that faith is not a theory, but a living power that vitally affects the life. Seven different definitions are given of faith, each one very practical.
It is a common teaching in Christian circles today, that salvation is something Jesus accomplished on the cross, and that by simply claiming that fact, one will be “saved”. But a mere mental assent to an historical fact does not change a person.
When Paul set forth Jesus Christ as “crucified” among the Galatian church members (Galatians 3:1), he was not presenting a theory or historical fact, but a living power that vitally affected them. It was as if Christ was crucified among and within them:
Galatians 6
14 But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.
15 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision avails any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.
Paul’s preaching of the cross of Christ caused a crucifixion in him, and in them, and they were reborn into new creatures.
Paul taught them that Christ “redeems us from the curse of the law,” (Galatians 3:13). But the curse of the law, which is death, comes upon the disobedient (Galatians 3:10). The “soul that sins, it shall die” (Ezekiel 18:20). The “wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).
Therefore, Christ redeems us from disobedience into obedience, or from our own attempts to keep the law, which fall infinitely short of true love, into an entirely new way of keeping the law.
The old way he calls “works of the law” (Galatians 2:16). These are our own attempts to produce righteousness, while we are still dead spiritually. These in turn only produce pride, self-satisfaction, and finally strife.
The Galatians had been delivered from this old way, by the power of the gospel, and their obedience was changed into the kind of obedience that can only be wrought by the Spirit of the Lord: pure, free, sinless, humble, and loving obedience; something the flesh can never produce of itself. This is the power of true faith, it brings loving obedience into the soul, through the new life from Christ:
Galatians 5
13 For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.
14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Performance Recommendations
There should be three groups for this song:
- The Sisters
- The Brothers
- The Wise Ones
- The Sisters and Brothers ask, “What is faith, what is faith?”
- The Wise Ones reply with their Lesson of Faith.
- The Sisters sing, “Brother have you faith?”
- The Brothers reply, “Sister have you faith?”
- The Wise Ones repeat their Lesson of Faith.
- The Sisters again ask, “Brother have you faith?”
- The Brothers again reply, “Sister have you faith?”
- All three groups join together in repeating the Lesson of Faith.
In the Instrumental MP3 file, you can distinguish these three voices:
- the Sisters are played by Flutes
- the Brothers are played by Brass Horns
- the Wise Ones are played by Bowed Strings
About “Dialogue Hymns”
John Cennick (1718-1755) was a Methodist (and later Moravian) evangelist and hymn-writer.
He was associated with George Whitefield for a few years, and was director of singing classes at Whitefield’s Tabernacle.
He introduced a special type of hymn called a “dialogue hymn”, which was quite popular at various times within the Methodist movement. It was a hymn sung alternately by different groups in the congregation, usually men and women. One group would sing one part, and the other group would answer them with the next part.
This hymn continues that tradition.
Tags: Faith, Obedience, Perfection, Victory
