November 2026
LIVING BY FAITH
Dear Friend in Christ:
In September’s Pastoral Letter, we looked together at “The Promised Land”—how the Lord calls us to step out in faith, out of what we know, out of our comfort zones, and into a new walk of trust with Him. We saw how the faith and obedience of Abraham and Sarah brought great blessing to them, to their family, and to all who followed their example and leadership.
God’s Covenant Promise to Abraham was that all of the nations of the earth would be blessed through him. The blessing of God that He gives to us is not only for our benefit, but we are blessed to be a blessing to others. Abraham and Sarah are referenced in Hebrews 11, which is called “The Faith Hall of Fame” by many believers.
There are many things I could say about faith in this letter, but I want to focus on three simple truths about faith for us today …
• Faith is a substance created by relationship
• Faith is a gift
• Faith is a verb
We live in an age when the faithless seek to destroy the faithful, and the faith of many is failing. Faith will be a matter of survival for us today and in days ahead. But by faith, we can not only survive but discover what it means to be more than conquerors through Him Who loved us.
WORDS FOR FAITH
In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word “Emunah” doesn’t just mean believing that there is a God or even that He will do what He said He would do. It has to do with working with God in obedience to His Word; it is taking action in cooperation with His plan.
In the New Testament, two similar Greek words are used …
* Pisteuo means “to believe”
John 3:16 – “whoever believes in Him should not perish”
John 11:26 – “everyone who believes in Me shall never die”
Acts 16:31 – “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved”
* Pistis means “belief” or “faith”
Romans 1:5 – “the obedience of faith”
Romans 5:1 – “having been justified by faith”
2 Corinthians 5:7 – “we walk by faith, not by sight”
Ephesians 2:8 – “For by grace you have been saved through faith”
These all give us a small picture of what faith is, but where does it come from, and how does faith work?
A SUBSTANCE CREATED BY RELATIONSHIP
What did the Apostle Paul write to the Church in Rome?
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes [PISTEUO], for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith’” (Romans 1:16-17).
Here, as in Hebrews 4:12, we see that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is not just a good set of rules or belief systems, but it is dynamic: living, active, powerful, and bringing salvation to us. The Good News about Jesus is not simply a creed, but it is God-breathed, alive, and anointed by the Holy Spirit. The Gospel lives because, Hallelujah, Jesus is alive.
Jesus Himself is the revelation of God’s righteousness; not only the Father’s righteousness, but how He gives His righteousness to us. The Gospel of Jesus shows us how we can be restored to right relationship with Him; how our sins can be overcome and washed away; how we can walk in a way that leads to life instead of to death.
As he’s writing to Rome, Paul quotes from Habakkuk 2:4 … “The just shall live by faith.” Faith is what we live by! It is the same as Matthew 4:4, when Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 8 saying, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”
God’s Word is the bread that sustains us. It is the lamp unto our feet and the light unto our path (Psalm 119:105). It brings us guidance, hope, comfort, and joy. When you hear the Word, life comes to you; faith comes by hearing (Romans 10:17). When you feel your faith is running low, listen to the Word and look to the Word! Feed on the Word! When you don’t know what to say or pray, declare the Word of the Lord! Allow the Holy Spirit within you to inform your brain of God’s goodness, faithfulness, and Covenant love!
We receive the gift of faith through the vessel of “The Faith” (see Jude 1:3). It is the accurate and trustworthy narrative of the Gospel delivered once and for all to us through Scripture and sound doctrine, revealed by the Holy Spirit, lived, taught, and passed along by faithful spiritual fathers and mothers. It is worthy of our affection and attention. It is worth fighting for!
Evil people continually seek to corrupt “The Faith.” Paul said in 1 Timothy 6:20 to guard what has been committed to our trust. “The Faith” tells us to honor God, to give thanks, to love with Covenant love, to rejoice in good, to abhor evil, to defend innocent life, show hospitality to the stranger, show compassion to the poor, bring healing to the sick, to love and tell the truth, regardless of the cost. Remember: our faith is more than a good creed written on paper or recited in ritual. It is the dynamite fire of God burning in our hearts that compels our hands and feet to act and our mouths to speak in accordance with His will and plan.
OUR faith is “The Faith” being lived out … it is hope in action. Look at Hebrews 11 again:
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for [PISTIS], the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible” (Hebrews 11:1-3). May I ask you to read all of Hebrews 10-12 in tandem with this letter? I promise your faith will be built up. May the Holy Spirit show us things we’ve never seen before!
If faith is the evidence of hope, then obedience is the evidence of faith. By faith, elders obtained and we received. Noah built an ark; faith is an ark of deliverance; faith carries you and others. Abraham obeyed and journeyed. Sarah received strength to conceive. Isaac blessed Jacob and Jacob blessed the sons of Joseph. Then, Joseph saved the world and prophesied concerning the Hebrews’ return to the Promised Land.
Moses was delivered and became a deliverer. Rahab, a prostitute, sheltered the spies of Israel and was saved when Jericho fell. She became part of the lineage of Jesus! According to Hebrews 11:33-34, there were so many others who “… through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.”
Like love, faith moves us … doesn’t leave us where we were.
A GIFT FROM GOD
Let us again read Paul’s words, directed by the Holy Spirit, to the Christians in Rome, recorded in Romans 12:3-5 …
“For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.”
Out of the relationship that we have with God, He gives to us a gift of faith. We cannot come to God apart from faith in Him, but we cannot have that faith unless He gives it to us by His grace. No one calls Jesus Lord unless the Spirit helps them to do it. Having received this faith, we are confident because it is His faithfulness that causes our faith to work and to grow.
The apostles asked the Lord to increase their faith. Faith grows through exercise and testing, like muscles. Like a muscle, faith is there to fulfill a God-given mission. Faith is a lifestyle, just like worship and love—not just a New Year health fixer-upper that lasts a few weeks.
God gives each of us a measure of faith and then calls on us to steward it wisely. Don’t do anything to weaken or corrode faith (watch your eyes, ears, habits). Seek out ways to strengthen faith (prayer, worship, word, discipleship, serving, giving). Check out Jude 1:20.
FAITH IS A VERB
The English word “faith” is somewhat weak because it is not used as a verb. We wouldn’t say, “I’ve been faithing today.” And yet, there is a sense in which a faith that is not tangibly expressed is incomplete. James, the brother of Jesus, puts it even more bluntly: “Faith without works is dead” (James 2:17).
Faith is an objective truth revealed through God’s Word and our active response to it. Both Paul and James affirm that Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness (see Galatians 3:5-6 and James 2:23). Abraham didn’t just believe in God—he believed God! He had relationship with God! Abraham believed that God was speaking to him, that God was telling the truth, and that God was worthy of obedience.
Each one of us has been given the gift of faith. What are we doing with it? Faith brings life. Are we aligning ourselves with those things that bring faith? Faith calls us to action. What is God saying to you about your life? I’m praying for you. So is Jesus.
May I also ask you to pray for me and for the ministry of CSM? If God gives you a word for us, I’d love to hear it. November and December are critical for us. Any support or encouragement is needed and appreciated.
In Jesus,
Stephen Simpson
President
