Kingdom Faith #3: Faith Justifies — Faith in Jesus, Not Faith for Things

Faith justifies because it lays hold of Jesus, not because faith itself is a work that earns anything. In this third message of the Kingdom Faith series, Dr. William P. Hohman teaches that we do not have faith for things; we have faith in Someone, Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. Through the plagues of Egypt and Israel’s wilderness journey, he shows God teaching His people that He is their everything, and then he opens Romans 5 to explain justification. It follows Kingdom Faith #2: The Grace of Faith That Receives Every Other Grace.

Below you will find the full video, a structured summary of the sermon, the Scripture behind each point (linked to the New King James Version on Bible Gateway), a timestamped outline, and practical steps you can take this week.

Sermon at a Glance

This message was posted on July 24, 2025, as the third teaching in a series on kingdom faith. The first message covered the attributes of faith and the second the grace of faith, the gift that opens the way to every other grace. This one moves to justification: why faith justifies, what faith does, and what it does not do. It runs about 68 minutes and ends with a prayer of salvation.

Pastor Hohman says much has been misunderstood about faith, and that this has limited what the body of Christ sees and knows of God. His correction is to keep faith pointed at a person.

Faith in Someone, Not Faith for Something

The law of faith in the kingdom, Pastor Hohman says, is found in Hebrews 12:2: we look unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. He was born again in the charismatic renewal and raised in the word of faith movement, and he has heard believers say they have faith for a new car or faith for healing. “I don’t have faith for something. I have faith in somebody,” he says. “Big difference.”

Faith is a gift, the grace that lets us enjoy every other grace, and Jesus is so committed to it that He guarantees its completion in us. Faith does come by hearing the word of God (Romans 10:17), but when believers make sub-areas the focal point of faith, he warns, their faith is weakened rather than strengthened.

He has seen thousands healed and three people raised from the dead, and never once thought he had faith for that miracle. He simply knew Jesus: the One who makes the lame walk, the blind see, the deaf hear and the dead rise, who does all things well. Our faith rests in who He is.

The whole kingdom, he adds, is about gifts. Before God made Adam, He planted a vast garden and then gave it all to him, asking only that he tend and keep it. In the same way God has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). Our job is to guard and keep what He gave, not to muster it up.

Ten Plagues Over the Gods of Egypt

After four hundred years in Egypt, Israel did not know the Lord. They knew only the gods of Egypt. That is why Moses asked what name to give, and God told him to say that I AM had sent him (Exodus 3:13–14). Through Moses, God sent ten plagues (Exodus 7–12) to overpower every god Egypt trusted. Pastor Hohman walks through them:

None of the plagues touched Israel. Over and over, the Egyptians had to say: we know we look to that as a god, but we need your God to do this for us. God was proving He is stronger than anything they had ever looked to. Then Israel left with the wealth of Egypt, and when Pharaoh pursued them to the Red Sea, God parted the waters and the army drowned behind them.

Pastor Hohman tells this not as history alone but as a lesson in focus. God was teaching both nations that He is greater than any god there is, and that He alone deserves our trust.

Jehovah Rapha and Jehovah Nissi in the Wilderness

Three days into the wilderness Israel reached Marah, meaning bitter. They cried out, and God showed Moses a piece of wood, which Pastor Hohman calls a type and shadow of the cross. Thrown into the water, it made it sweet, and God revealed Himself as Jehovah Rapha, the Lord who heals (Exodus 15:22–26). He was healing four hundred years of bitterness and sorrow, because He had to get Egypt out of Israel, not just Israel out of Egypt.

Pastor Hohman is gentle with them. They had known nothing but their own strength; faith was brand new. Yet they complained each time. In the wilderness of Sin there was no food, and God sent manna, meaning “what is it?”, which tasted like honey and gave all they needed (Exodus 16:13–31).

At Rephidim there was no water at all. God brought water from the rock (Exodus 17:1–7), and Pastor Hohman stresses that it was not a trickle. It watered a couple million people and their livestock, which is why Scripture speaks of rivers in the desert.

Then Amalek attacked. As long as Moses held up his hands, Israel prevailed; when his arms grew tired, Aaron and Hur sat him on a stone and held up his hands until Joshua won (Exodus 17:8–15). Moses built an altar to Jehovah Nissi, usually translated as the Lord is my banner. Pastor Hohman teaches that the Hebrew word also means a sail.

A sail in a desert, he reasons, implies a mast, a ship, water, a rudder and helm, wind, and a captain who knows the winds and will get you there. God was telling Israel, “I’m it.” Not a new car, a new spouse, a new job or a bigger bank account. He is the author and finisher of our faith.

So do not put your trust in princes, in whom there is no help (Psalm 146:3), or even in yourself. God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory (Philippians 4:19). He compares His promise of mercy to the covenant with Noah: He will not be angry with us or rebuke us (Isaiah 54:9–10). We look at the things which are not seen, which are eternal (2 Corinthians 4:18), and then the temporal changes for the better.

How Faith Justifies: Romans 5

Pastor Hohman encourages believers to start each day asking the Father to tell them again how much He loves them. Driving home from Bible college about 47 years ago, he asked the Lord about his future. The Lord told him to look at the setting sun, which had erased the line between land and sky. That, the Lord said, was what He had for him: no horizon. God is our refuge and strength (Psalm 46:1), and He will lead the blind by ways they have not known (Isaiah 42:16).

Then comes the heart of how faith justifies: “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1–2). To justify, he explains, means to render just or innocent, to have all our sins pardoned, to be righteous. Justification gives us the title deed to salvation and peace with God.

The other graces sanctify us and set us apart. Justification is different: the faith that justifies opens the door to all of them. Our works do not justify us, because we are saved by grace through faith, and it is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8–9). Reading from another translation, he stresses that we stand acquitted as the result of faith.

He pictures a king’s son who has been out playing, with a bloody nose, scraped knee and torn pants. Unlike Esther, who prepared for days before entering the king’s presence, the son can walk straight in. He is not looking his best, but he is the prince. That is justification: our standing with God does not depend on how we look today.

Justification is also an acquittal. He pictures a murder trial in which the jury says guilty and the judge is about to pass sentence, when a man stands and says, “I’m the one that did it.” The accused is acquitted. Jesus, who knew no sin, became sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21), and by His stripes we are healed (Isaiah 53:4–5).

When people strive to get something from God, he says, they end up feeling more condemned. Some then claim miracles have ceased. Heresy, he notes, means to draw back from, and teaching that draws people back from Jesus is the real heresy.

Access to the King Through the Blood

The Jews were kept from God’s presence by a veil, and the Gentiles by a wall. When Jesus died, the curtain of the temple was torn in two (Luke 23:45). And in Ephesians 2:14–18, Christ Himself is our peace, who broke down the dividing wall and made the two one new man, so that through Him both have access by one Spirit to the Father. That is why in Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek (Galatians 3:28).

Access is the fruit of justification. The word access, he says, means entrance to the king through the favor of another. The favor is Jesus. Someone once explained justified as just if I have never sinned, which is why we never drive by the rear-view mirror. We look forward, unto Jesus.

Hebrews 10:19–25 gives five “let us” statements. Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith; need healing or finances, draw near that way. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope, because He who promised is faithful, even when the opposition’s attorney tries to sow doubt. Let us consider one another to stir up love and good works. And let us not forsake assembling together.

The building does not matter. His church once had a powerful meeting in a bar lounge. When believers gather, he says, it is a basilica, a hall of kings, where we are reminded that we rule and reign, that Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords (Revelation 19:16), and that He will perfect what concerns us (Psalm 138:8).

God has showered His kindness on us with all wisdom and understanding (Ephesians 1:7–8), and raised us up and seated us with Christ so that in the ages to come He might show the riches of His grace toward us (Ephesians 2:4–7). We are His examples. He recounts the 1988 earthquake in Armenia, where a father named Palisan carried 28 children out of a school before an aftershock killed him; his widow is still called Palisan’s wife. We, too, are known by what Jesus did for us.

The Diamond, Not the Setting

So how does faith justify? Faith justifies, but not by itself, Pastor Hohman insists, or faith would become works, and faith would become Christ. Faith lays hold of the object of Christ’s goodness. That goodness may show up as healing, prosperity, a new job, a strong family or long life, but faith simply takes hold of what is in Him. Every one of us is given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift (Ephesians 4:7).

Faith justifies by activating grace, the way a strong arm moves a barbell. If you are really justified, you will receive His goodness. And love responds: if you love Me, keep My commandments (John 14:15). To those who believe, the stone the builders rejected is precious (1 Peter 2:7–8).

In a diamond ring, the value is in the diamond, not the gold setting. Many believers fix their eyes on the gold. He tells of a widow whose husband left her $50,000; she spent $10,000 on the funeral and $40,000 on a memorial stone, about three carats. The value of your Christianity, he says, is Jesus. Paul counted everything as loss compared with knowing Christ (Philippians 3:8–9).

Pastor Hohman testifies that he has been healed of cancer twice, once within a month and once after five years, while saying he is not against doctors. Through pain he kept declaring Jesus as Lord and sharing Him, until tests showed no sign of anything.

Living by Kingdom Faith This Week

We are to ask, Pastor Hohman says, so that our joy may be full (John 16:24). But after you ask, stop begging. He now asks only when the Lord tells him, “William, I need you to ask me for this.” Then he thanks Him and turns his mind to God’s love and goodness.

• Change “faith for” into “faith in.” When you pray about a need, start by naming who Jesus is.
• Ask the Father to tell you He loves you. Begin the day receiving His love, and the limits come off.
• Stand on your justification. On a bad day, remember you are the King’s child, acquitted and accepted.
• Ask once, then thank Him. Replace repeated begging with thanksgiving and worship.
• Keep meeting together. Gather with believers to encourage one another, and invite someone.
• Value the diamond. Speak openly about Jesus with family and coworkers instead of hiding your faith.

He closes by reminding listeners that God is not angry with them and will never reject them, and leads a prayer to receive Jesus and be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Timestamped Outline

• 0:00 Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith
• 1:01 Faith in somebody, not faith for something
• 3:15 Miracles without “faith for”
• 4:20 I AM and the Nile turned to blood
• 6:22 Gnats, flies and boils
• 9:46 Hail, locusts, darkness and the firstborn
• 12:02 The Red Sea and the waters of Marah
• 13:58 Manna and water from the rock
• 16:05 Amalek and Jehovah Nissi, the sail
• 19:26 The whole kingdom is about gifts
• 21:56 God will not rebuke you
• 24:29 A future with no horizon
• 29:25 Justified by faith: Romans 5:1–2
• 33:10 Justification and sanctification
• 36:03 The king’s son and the acquittal
• 41:01 The veil torn and the wall destroyed
• 45:58 Hebrews 10: let us draw near
• 49:51 The church as a hall of kings
• 53:16 Examples of His grace: Ephesians 2
• 55:26 Palisan’s wife
• 56:38 How faith justifies
• 1:00:48 The diamond and the memorial stone
• 1:03:14 Healed of cancer twice
• 1:07:03 Prayer of salvation

Kingdom Faith Series

This message is part of the Kingdom Faith teaching series at NTC Ministries. Continue from the previous message or go on to the next:

• Previous: Kingdom Faith #2: The Grace of Faith That Receives Every Other Grace
• You are here: Kingdom Faith #3: Faith Justifies — Faith in Jesus, Not Faith for Things
• Next: Kingdom Faith #4: God Rewards Faith — Citizens of His Household

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it wrong to ask God for specific things?

No. Pastor Hohman says we do have to ask, and God wants us to, so that our joy may be full and the Father is glorified in the Son. His caution is against begging and against making the thing the focus of faith. Ask once, then thank Him that it is done, worship Him, and turn your mind to His love and goodness rather than the need.

Why did God let Israel complain so often in the wilderness?

Pastor Hohman explains that after four hundred years of slavery, Israel had faith in nothing but their own strength. Trusting God was brand new to them. Each crisis, from bitter water to no food to no water, was God showing Himself strong and teaching them to look to Him. He did not scold them; He kept providing, because He was working to get Egypt out of Israel.

Why does the church gathering matter if the building does not?

He says the building itself is just a building; his church once met in a bar lounge. What matters is that believers come together. He calls the gathering a basilica, a hall of kings, where people are healed from the battles of the week and reminded that God is their defense, their healer and their sail. Hebrews 10 also tells us to encourage one another as the day approaches.

Scripture References

All passages open in the New King James Version on Bible Gateway:

• Romans 5:1–2 — justified by faith, peace with God
• Hebrews 12:2 — the author and finisher of our faith
• Exodus 15:22–26 — the Lord who heals at Marah
• Exodus 17:8–15 — victory over Amalek
• 2 Corinthians 5:21 — He became sin for us
• Ephesians 2:14–18 — the dividing wall broken down
• Hebrews 10:19–25 — let us draw near
• Philippians 3:8–9 — the excellence of knowing Christ

How this summary was made: written with AI assistance from the sermon’s own transcript and checked against the Scriptures listed above.

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