Living Faith
There is this myth that is such a huge part of mainstream professing Christianity, that all one needs do to be saved is to believe in Jesus Christ - that there is nothing more one need do.
First of all allow me to preface this article with a very important point. According to God's plan and schedule God is only calling a few to salvation at this time - the first fruits - the rest are blinded (go to the article God's Holy Days to find out where we are in God's schedule here on earth).
Therefore most of professing Christians (and in fact almost all of mankind from Adam and Eve to today) have never yet been called to salvation. Therefore the overwhelming majority of mankind - including those who claim to be Christian - are not yet saved, or lost, but are just deceived or blinded to the truth. Their time to be called to salvation has not yet come. For proof go to - Only A Few Now Being Called To Salvation - The Rest Are Blinded.
Unfortunately another important point needs to be added - far too many people simply refuse to give up their rebellious attitude toward God - they simply do not want God telling them how to live. They are not blinded, but just refuse to give up their rebellion against God.
So it isn't such a serious matter for these uncalled, blinded persons to believe in the myth that all one need do to be saved is believe in Jesus. Most of them are simply deceived. However, it is an extremely serious matter for those in the true church, and for those genuinely being called to salvation - who are having their minds opened to the truth now. For those who have the Holy Spirit living in them, and who are therefore truly joined to Christ, and truly part of the body of Christ - this is a very, very important matter. Failure to follow the truth here regarding the correct kind of faith - can result in genuine Christians losing out on salvation.
What is the truth here in this matter of faith ? Faith in God the Father and Jesus Christ is essential for salvation. You must believe and know that God and Christ live. You need to prove this to yourself. No one can walk that road for you.
Prayer is an essential ingredient to ones salvation. God will not just give us the things we need - we need to ask God in faith through prayer. Ask and it shall be given - knock and the door shall be opened. You need to pray and ask God to give you the faith needed for salvation. You have to go to God through prayer regularly, in order to maintain your relationship with God the Father and God the Son. God will not come begging us - we need to humble ourselves - be willing to confess our sins, and be willing to ask God to help us through prayer - it is impossible through our own strength. So therefore it is essential we pray regularly - and go to God with our troubles and cares - for God the Father cares for us, and Christ will never leave or forsake us.
Hebrews 11:6 " But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. "
If you really believe in God and Christ then you will know they exist and you will take seriously what God says to you in the Bible. If you don't believe what Christ says in the Bible then you are calling Christ a liar. Christ is no liar.
This living faith will then manifest itself in concrete actions.
This living faith will lead you to repent of your sins, and repent of your stubborn rebellion against God and His standards of what is right and wrong, as explained in His written word the Bible.
This living faith will lead you to put God and Christ first in your life - and to love God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind.
This living faith will lead you to do those things that God and Christ require of you, so you can qualify to enter the Kingdom of God.
This living faith will lead you to meet God's requirements for receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit, which is the small down payment of the eternal life promised.
Acts 2:36-38 " Therefore let all the House of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. "
Mark 16:16 " He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. "
This living faith will lead you to enter into the Christian struggle against sin and your sinful human nature. It will lead you to have a repentant attitude.
This living faith will motivate you and keep you going, because you trust in Christ to see you through.
This living faith will lead you to trust in God and Christ more and more, and will lead you to avoid going along with the sins all around you, just to please people.
This living faith will give you peace and a determination to follow God's ways, because you trust in God and His promises.
This living faith will help you to understand that God is faithful to keep His promises and His word is good.
This living faith will give you the strength from God to endure suffering and persecutions for following Jesus.
Faith is very, very important. We are saved through faith. However, that faith must go on and manifest itself in concrete actions of faith and obedience to God, and producing fruit for God. Simply mouthing some words that you believe in Christ and then just continuing on in ones sinful, rebellious ways will do nothing for anyone. We must have living faith.
Being a real Christian is a lifetime struggle. We are supposed to work out our own salvation.
Philippians 2:12 " Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. "
Becoming a begotten child of God - after we repent, believe, are baptized and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit - is just the beginning of the long hard road to salvation. The Holy Spirit is the down payment of the eternal life promised. But there is so very much more work to do. This is only the beginning.
New Christians are described in the Bible as " babes in Christ. "
1 Peter 2:2 "As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:"
1 Corinthians 3:1-2 " And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. "
Hebrews 5: 11-14 " Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing. For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. "
Babies need to grow up. There is so much to learn. It is the same with the baby Christian. They need to grow up spiritually. They need to work on their sins, and with God's help overcome. They need to put down the works of the evil carnal mind, and no longer be motivated by the evil nature - like by lust, selfishness, greed, vanity and envy. Instead they are to work hard to bear the good fruits of the Holy Spirit in their lives like love, joy, peace, patience, temperance, and longsuffering. With God's help through faith it can be done.
Galatians 5: 19-25 " Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. "
When we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit - this is the small down payment of the eternal life promised. It is like a little seed that has been planted. The seed must grow to live. It is like the fertilized egg in a woman's womb - the babe in Christ is still only a begotten child of God - they need to start growing spiritually (overcoming sins, bearing the fruits of the spirit, doing good works, working at their spiritual weaknesses, etc) and eventually will be born into the Kingdom of God. But the key is spiritual growth, and producing fruit for God.
Some may grow more than others. That is to their credit. Some may grow ever so slowly, but hey - they are still alive spiritually and growing. The key is to grow spiritually and produce fruit for God in our personal lives, and there is also the work God gives us in His harvest.
If you have a fruit tree in your yard and it stops producing fruit, and it even stops getting leaves - well that tree is in trouble. It may have to be cut down, since it is no longer useful for you. If it dies it is no longer of any use and needs to be cut down.
Luke 13: 6-9 " He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground? And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down. "
John 15:1-2 " I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. "
God the Father and God the Son expect a return from their investment in the Christian. They expect, and in fact demand there be fruits produced. If there are none, then eventually God will abandon that person, because they are not producing anything. God the Father, and Jesus Christ expect some spiritual profits from their investment in the Christian. Is the Christian growing spiritually ? Are they working (with God's help) to overcome their sins, and spiritual weaknesses ? Do they have a repentant attitude ? Are they helping others to enter into the Kingdom of God - by being fruitful in the Church ?
How Can Christians Be Fruitful For God ?
There are many ways. One way is by working to overcome our sins - with Christ's help naturally. And what is sin ? 1 John 3:4 " Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. " (sins like lying, stealing, coveting, greed, being angry with others for no reason, hating others, swearing, drunkenness, gluttony and various other laws in the scriptures that are still in effect).
We can't do it on our own. We need faith in Christ. We need to pray, and keep working at it. We need to pray in faith and ask God to show us our sins, because we often are unaware of certain sins. God will reveal our sins to us and eventually we will start overcoming them. Some sinful habits are really tough, and may be with us many, many long years, but we cannot give up, but must keep trying. God won't give up on us, as long as we won't give up on Him. It is all done through living faith.
We need to work to bear the good fruits of the Holy Spirit in our own personal lives - like faith, peace, joy, longsuffering, meekness, gentleness, self-control, temperance, love, and so on (Galatians 5:22-23). We need to cooperate with Christ and God the Father and allow them to work through us, and create righteous character within us. Through living faith it is possible.
We need to work to put down the works of the sinful, carnal mind. We must fight against that evil nature within us, and put down the works of the carnal mind through the power of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:19-21). We need to stop being motivated by hatred, jealousy, envy, greed, lust, selfishness, vanity, and the striving for status in the group, etc.
We cannot do it on our own, we need Christ's help through the Holy Spirit. We need Him to teach us, and help us overcome the evil nature. We need living faith in Christ. God the Father will help us by teaching and punishing us when we really need it (and real Christians are punished by God the Father - since none of them is perfect spiritually and God has a job to do - He is a very good Father, who punishes the children He loves, so we can learn the lessons we need).
We need to do good works. Simple obedience to many of the commands of God that are still in effect, is one way to do good works. Loving and serving other's is another way. There are a lot of ways and means of doing good works. We need to learn how to do good works. God will give us the time to learn, and practice at doing good works. It is a learning and growing process. It cannot be done in one day. We need faith in God to help us live the kind of life He wants us to.
We need to help build up the church. God gives every real Christian some sort of responsibility within the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12th Chapter). That is our job helping bring in God's harvest.
We need to maintain a healthy spiritual relationship with God and Christ. That means maintaining communications with God through prayer, Bible Study and thinking about God and Christ. Keeping the weekly Sabbath (the correct time for the real Sabbath is from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset) is also a very helpful tool to enable people to maintain a strong relationship with God. It is our responsibility to maintain the communications between us and God the Father, and going through Jesus Christ. Christ is our mediator. He is our help and High Priest in heaven. God the Father has accepted you, because of your faith in Christ, and your faith in the fact that Christ's shed blood has cleansed you of you sins. Yet we must pray. We must study our Bible. We must work on the relationship. God won't come begging us. He doesn't need us. We need Him. So we need to go to God for the things we need. It is all done through faith.
We need to keep the greatest commandment. This is vital. And we must remain faithful to God and Christ to the end, by continuing to put God and Christ first in our lives (Luke 10:25-28).
As I pointed out to you when we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit - this is the small down payment of the eternal life promised.
2 Corinthians 5:5 " Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. "
Ephesians 1:12-14 " That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory. "
Salvation is not guaranteed for us, if we don't take it seriously, and don't work at it. We can still fall back into sin, and become unfaithful to Christ, if we become spiritually apathetic.
However, if we remain faithful to God and Christ, and work at it, and do our best - then God will never give up on us. Christ will never leave or forsake us, as long as we don't leave and forsake Him. True Christians can still lose out on salvation, if they stop trying, and other persons and things take over first place in their lives, and if they do not overcome until the end.
Christ's message to the seven eras of the true Church through the ages explains it perfectly. This can be found in Revelation Chapter 2 and 3.
At the end of every message to the seven different eras of the true church Christ refers to the necessity of continuing to overcome right to the end. Continue the spiritual struggle. Don't give up spiritually. We may not overcome everything, but we are admonished to keep overcoming unto the end.
Christ's message to Ephesus era - Rev. 2: 7 ......to him that overcometh
Christ's message to Smyrna era - Rev. 2: 11 ........He that overcometh
Christ's message to Pergamos era Rev. 2:17 .......him that overcometh
Christ's message to Thyatira era Revelation 2:26 he that overcometh
Christ's message to Sardis era - Revelation 3:5 .....He that overcometh
Christ's message to Philadelphia era Rev. 3:12.....Him that overcometh
Christ's message to Laodicia era Rev. 3:21..To him that overcometh
There is so very much work to do.
Here are the words of one of my favorite songs. It is an old union song, but it reminds me so much of the Christian struggle, and our need to overcome to the end.
We Will Overcome
" We will overcome. We will overcome. We will overcome someday.Oh down in my heart. I do believe. We will overcome someday.
" We will organize. We will organize. We will organize someday.
Oh down in my heart - I do believe - We will organize someday.
" We will build a new world. We will build a new world. We will build a new world someday. Oh down in my heart - I do believe - We will build a new world someday.
"We will overcome. We will overcome. We will overcome someday.
Oh down in my heart - I do believe - We will overcome someday. "
Yes we will overcome someday. Christ will help us through faith. It is all done through faith. Yet we must do something's ourselves. We must overcome.
We have to work hard to be saved.
Matthew 7:13-14 " Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. "
Luke 13:23-24 " Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them, Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. "
The Bible teaches that few comparatively will make it into God's Kingdom. Why ? There are a number of reasons, and we will just mention the main reasons here.
- Most people are not willing to give up their rebellious attitude towards God and His ways. Like Adam and Eve they reject God's standards of what is right and wrong, and instead want to take it upon themselves to decide what they believe to be right and wrong. Most people simply are not willing to let God rule over their lives - they do not have a repentant attitude, and have not given up their rebellion against God and His ways and laws as explained in the Bible. They don't want God telling them how to live.
- Most people are just not interested in God and Christ - other things or persons are more important to them.
- And another point is that most people don't take their salvation seriously enough, and don't love God enough, and may have been mislead to believe that all they need do to be saved is believe in Christ.
Christ said we are to " strive to enter in at the strait (difficult) gate. " Striving means to work hard at something. It doesn't mean that all we need do to be saved is mouth a few words - that we believe in Jesus - and then go on our merry sinful rebellious ways expecting Jesus to do everything for us. It means being willing to repent of our sins, and being willing to give up our rebellious attitude towards God, and being willing to follow God's ways and standards as explained in the Bible, rather than following our rebellious ways. It means taking this matter of our salvation seriously, working at it, and producing fruits for God. It means having faith in God that He will enable you to live up to God's standards - without God the Father's and Christ's help it is impossible.
And of course we are not perfect. If we were perfect, and without sin - then we wouldn't need a Savior.
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I am not interested in arguing with others over this matter of faith. If you believe different then fine. I will let Christ be the judge in these matters. What I do not want is to argue with others. We will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. People must answer to Christ - not to me.
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