Can Faith be Taught?
Faith cannot be taught because faith is a supernatural substance that comes from God, but how to operate in faith can be taught.
Faith is not natural, it comes supernaturally from the Word of God. It cannot be produced by man, but the principles of how to use faith and operate in faith can be taught, modeled, and imparted.
It is more vital than ever to teach others, especially the next generation, how to operate by faith.
All it takes is one generation not being taught the principles of faith that Jesus taught for a nation to turn away from God.
Sadly, this is what we see happening in many nations around the world, including the United States. This is tragic, and one of the ways to fix it is to begin teaching our children faith.
Faith is a spiritual substance that comes from God by the Word of God.
So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Romans 10:17
In 2 Timothy chapter 2, Paul talks about the faith that had been present in Timothy’s grandmother and mother and was now in Timothy.
when I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also. 2 Timothy 1:5
This verse implies that the faith Timothy carried had been passed on from generation to generation.
Mothers and fathers- we carry a mandate to impart, teach, and pass on our faith to our children. We can not rely on the church to do it. We, as parents, must hold this responsibility as a top priority.
Have you ever heard the saying “the one who rocks the cradle rules the world”? I don’t know where it comes from, but there is so much truth in this statement. Please don’t underestimate the importance of training and discipling your children. It is crucial.
Why is Faith Important?
All people that partner with God to make a real impact on this earth do so by faith. Look at Hebrews 11. All of the great accomplishments done by great men and women of God had one common denominator- they did what they did by faith.
By faith Abel received righteousness..
By faith Enoch did not see death…
By faith Noah prepared an ark…
By faith Sarah received strength to conceive seed…
By faith Abraham..
By faith Isaac..
By faith Jacob…
By faith Joseph…
By faith Moses…
By faith the walls of Jericho fell…
By faith Rahab…
By faith Gideon…
By faith Barak…
By faith Samson…
By faith Jephthah…
By faith David…
By faith Samuel…
By faith the prophets…
By faith women…
It’s obvious that when God does something on earth, He does so by partnering with His people who are operating in faith.
I don’t think His method has changed. Therefore, we must learn how to use faith to partner with what God wants to do, and then teach the next generation to do so as well.
The principles of faith can be taught. Jesus taught his disciples how to use faith and we can also be taught how to operate in faith and then pass on that knowledge to others.
How Did Jesus Teach Faith?
Hebrews 11:6 says that faith is what pleases God. Jesus operated in perfect faith as He walked this earth. He is our example.
Everything Jesus did was by faith, including His resurrection from the dead. He believed He would be resurrected and spoke about it many times. He was speaking His faith!
Jesus modeled the life of faith perfectly, and He taught His disciples how to do the same.
Jesus taught His disciples to use the faith of God (Mark 11:22) and speak to the mountain, or whatever obstacle is preventing the will of God from coming to pass in your life. The spirit of faith always speaks.
And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed and therefore I spoke,” we also believe and therefore speak, 2 Corinthians 4:13
This is the way God designed faith to work. We believe in our hearts, and then speak with our mouths.
For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Romans 10:10
Jesus modeled this. He spoke to the fig tree. He spoke to the storm. He spoke to demons. He spoke to bodies. Jesus believed in His heart, and then spoke to the mountain.
When Peter walked on the water, he did so by faith. But He got His eyes off of what Jesus said, and on to the surrounding circumstances. When we take our eyes off what God has said, we will begin to sink as well.
And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
Peter obviously did not have ‘little faith’ if he was walking on the water! “Little faith” would be better translated “a short burst of faith”. Jesus was saying “why was your faith so short lived?”
Faith needs the force of patience working with it. Patience is the spiritual substance that keeps you constant and fixed on what God has said even when it looks like it’s not working. Faith and patience together will inherit the promises of God.
Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. Revelation 14:12
But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience. Luke 8:15
Jesus taught His disciples that although they would face tribulation in the world, they were to be of good cheer because He had overcome the world. (John 16:33). This requires us to keep our focus on the unseen realities.
Faith keeps its focus on the unseen. The spiritual world is just as real as the natural world. In fact, everything in the natural was created out of the spiritual.
while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:18
How Do You Learn Faith?
The Bible encourages us to imitate those who through faith and patience received the promises of God.
that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. Hebrews 6:12
In order to learn faith, surround yourself with people of faith. Get in environments of faith. Get around people who know what Jesus has accomplished on our behalf. These people will inspire you to believe God as well.
People of faith are my heroes. They will activate something within you that says “this is how I am created to live too”. A life of partnering with God through faith is a life of fun and adventure! The impossible becomes natural to those who believe God.
Faith is real. It is substance and evidence. It is substance and evidence of things that can’t be seen, but they do exist.
Some people have mistakenly thought faith is believing that something is real when it really isn’t, and if we believe it hard and long enough, it will become real. That’s not accurate. Faith is believing what already does exist in the spiritual.
Faith is based on knowledge. To learn faith, begin by finding out what is real in the spiritual realm, and setting yourself in agreement with it. Everything that Jesus accomplished on the cross is a reality, but if you don’t know what has been accomplished, you won’t have faith in that area.
If you don’t have knowledge that Jesus has paid for your healing, you won’t have faith in the area of healing. If you don’t have knowledge that Jesus has given you authority over demons, you won’t have faith in that area.
This is why studying, meditating, and receiving revelation from the Word of God is so important. The Word has to come alive on the inside of you. Meditate on the Word until it is more real than the physical circumstances.
As your heart becomes convinced of the truth by the Word of God, faith will start to arise. You will know you are operating in faith when you are at rest about the situation. Faith is associated with the peace of God.
How Do You Teach Faith?
People who walk by faith should be honored (1 Timothy 5:17). You can teach people to honor and imitate those men and women who are faith heroes. People who obeyed God and dared to believe Him regardless of circumstances are worth studying and imitating.
Faith is seeing what isn’t visible in the physical realm (2 Corinthians 4:18). It’s not seeing things that don’t exist. They do exist. They just exist in the spiritual realm. Teach others to look into the Word of God and see what exists in the spiritual realm.
You can teach faith by modeling it. As you walk by what you believe rather than what your emotions or circumstances are saying, others will take notice.
For we walk by faith, not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5:7
Faith is not something we use every now and then. We live every aspect of our lives by faith. Our very existence as a new creation in Christ is lived by faith.
that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; Ephesians 3:17
You can teach faith by sharing the realities of the New Covenant. Everything we receive from God is by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8). Using your faith is the way you receive everything that God has provided by His grace. When you teach others what Jesus has done for them, faith will arise.
You can teach faith by teaching others the power of their words. This is a key component to operating by faith. We are speaking spirits just like God and we change the circumstances by our words. Everything in the universe responds to words. As we speak the Word of God over our circumstances, the circumstances will change.
Teach people that they already have faith! It is not something you earn or muster up by willpower. Jesus has given us His faith to use. We have all been given the measure of faith (Romans 12:3).
As we learn to use faith and teach others to use their faith, we can partner with God to see mountains moved and nations changed!