The document discusses themes of faith, belief, and courage in the context of a Bible study focusing on Ephesians 2:8-10, emphasizing that salvation is a gift from God rather than a result of personal effort. It includes biblical examples of faith, such as the healings of Jairus's daughter and the woman with a bleeding condition, while outlining the struggle many face in fully trusting God's words and overcoming fears. The study encourages participants to reflect on their faith journey, identifying areas where they need to step out of their comfort zones and release control in their lives.

1. ACE MEN’S BIBLE STUDY
Fall Semester 2015
Fear Not Finding Courage to Be Who
God Wants You to Be – Ed Love
October 23, 2015
When we don’t believe

2. ACE Men’s Bible Study
Ephesians 2: 8-10
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
8
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and
[a]
that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9
not as a
result of works, so that no one may boast. 10
For we are
His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works,
which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in
them.
Footnotes:
a. Ephesians 2:8 I.e. that salvation

3. Ephesians 2: 8-10 NLT
 God saved you by his grace when you believed.
And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from
God. Salvation is not a reward for the good
things we have done, so none of us can boast
about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has
created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do
the good things he planned for us long ago.

4. Ephesians 2: 7-10 The Message
 Now God has us where He wants us, with all the time in
this world and the next to shower grace and kindness
upon us in Christ Jesus. Saving is all His idea, and all
His work. All we do is trust Him enough to let Him do it.
It’s God’s gift from start to finish! We don’t play the major
role. If we did, we’d probably go around bragging that
we’d done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor
save ourselves. God does both the making and saving.
He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join Him in the
work He does; the good work He has gotten ready for us
to do; work we had better be doing.

5. Casting out demons
Mark 9:22-4
 A father concerned for his demon possessed son,
“If you can, please heal him.”
 “If I can? Anything is possible if a person believes.”
 The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but
help me to overcome my unbelief!”
 Disciples, “Why couldn’t we cast out the demon?”
 “This kind can be cast out only by prayer.” (implies
they didn’t pray? Tried to do it themselves?)

6. Some Famous Healings
 Luke 8:40-56
 Jairus…”Help! my daughter is dying”…Jesus went with him
 Woman with 12 years bleeding, touched the fringe of his
robe, & bleeding stopped. “Daughter, your faith has made
you well. Go in peace.”
 Messenger from Jairus’s house. “Your daughter is dead”
 “Don’t be afraid. Just have faith, and she will be healed.”
 Jesus went in Peter, John, James, and the girl’s father and
mother; said, “My child, get up!”
 … she stood up! … Jesus insisted that they not tell anyone
what had happened. (why would He do that?)

7. Leave your life…
Genesis 12:1 The lord had said to Abram,
“Leave your native country, your relatives,
and your father’s family, and go to the land
that I will show you.

8. Now go…
Exodus 3:10
“Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh.
You must lead my people Israel out of
Egypt.”

9. David & Goliath
1 Samuel 17:32
“Don’t worry about this uncircumcised
Philistine,” David told Saul. “I’ll go fight
him!”

10. Give up our Lives???
Matthew 10:39
 If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you
give up your life for me, you will find it.
 What does it mean to “give up our lives for
Him”?
 How do we “do” this?
 Is this a “work”?

11. Source of Faith
Romans 10:17
So faith comes from hearing, that is,
hearing the Good News of/about Christ.

12. Faith
 Faith is complete confidence or trust in a person
or thing; or a belief not based on proof. It may
also refer to a particular system of religious
belief. The term 'faith' has numerous
connotations and is used in different ways, often
depending on context.
 A common view is that faith includes doubt

13. Belief (secular)
 Belief is the state of mind in which a person thinks
something to be the case, with or without empirical
evidence to prove with factual certainty. In other words,
belief is when someone thinks something is reality,
true, when they have no absolute verified foundation for
their certainty of the truth or realness of something.
 A mental representation of an attitude positively
orientated towards the likelihood of something being
true. In Ancient Greek thought, two related concepts on
belief: pistis refers to trust and confidence. doxa refers
to opinion and acceptance. The English word doctrine
is derived from doxa.

14. Belief (religious)
Religious belief refers to attitudes towards
mythological, supernatural, or spiritual aspects of a
religion. Religious belief is distinct from religious
practice or religious behaviors with some believers
not practicing religion and some practitioners not
believing religion. Religious beliefs, being derived
from ideas that are exclusive to religion, often relate
to the existence, characteristics and worship of a
deity or deities, divine intervention in the universe
and human life, or the deontological explanations for
the values and practices centered on the teachings
of a spiritual leader or group. In contrast to other
belief systems, religious beliefs are usually codified.

15. Discussion points
 We struggle with belief/faith in God's words. Why?
 When we struggle, what happens?
 How is lack of our faith related to our fears? Is
fear a negative faith? Where does it come from?
 Faith vs Belief distinctions
 it is hard to step out of our “comfort zones”
 Releasing control is difficult for us. Why?
 Where In our lives do we need more belief/faith in
God's words?