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Faith is Essential
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coram_deo 25-Aug-21, 19:11 |
 Faith is EssentialSo many verses and passages in the Holy Bible speak to the importance of faith and trusting God. A person, after all, obtains salvation through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9) and, without faith, it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6.) Hebrews chapter 11 is devoted to heroes of the faith - not heroes of good works. Now I’m not saying good works are not important, but good works that have eternal value spring from faith and are evidence of salvation, not a requirement of salvation. This thread will look at why faith in God is not only important but essential in obtaining salvation and in our day-to-day lives on earth. First, an overview article from gotquestions.org: “Why is justification by faith such an important doctrine? The teaching of justification by faith is what separates biblical Christianity from all other belief systems. In every religion, and in some branches of what is called ‘Christianity,’ man is working his way to God. Only in true, biblical Christianity is man saved as a result of grace through faith. Only when we get back to the Bible do we see that justification is by faith, apart from works. The word justified means ‘pronounced or treated as righteous.’ For a Christian, justification is the act of God not only forgiving the believer’s sins but imputing to him the righteousness of Christ. The Bible states in several places that justification only comes through faith (e.g., Romans 5:1; Galatians 3:24). Justification is not earned through our own works; rather, we are covered by the righteousness of Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8; Titus 3:5). The Christian, being declared righteous, is thus freed from the guilt of sin. Justification is a completed work of God, and it is instantaneous, as opposed to sanctification, which is an ongoing process of growth by which we become more Christlike (the act of ‘being saved,’ cf. 1 Corinthians 1:18; 1 Thessalonians 5:23). Sanctification occurs after justification. Understanding the doctrine of justification is important for a Christian. First, it is the very knowledge of justification and of grace that motivates good works and spiritual growth; thus, justification leads to sanctification. Also, the fact that justification is a finished work of God means that Christians have assurance of their salvation. In God’s eyes, believers have the righteousness necessary to gain eternal life. Once a person is justified, there is nothing else he needs in order to gain entrance into heaven. Since justification comes by faith in Christ, based on His work on our behalf, our own works are disqualified as a means of salvation (Romans 3:28). There exist vast religious systems with complex theologies that teach the false doctrine of justification by works. But they are teaching ‘a different gospel—which is really no gospel at all’ (Galatians 1:6–7). Without an understanding of justification by faith alone, we cannot truly perceive the glorious gift of grace—God’s ‘unmerited favor’ becomes ‘merited’ in our minds, and we begin to think we deserve salvation. The doctrine of justification by faith helps us maintain ‘pure devotion to Christ’ (2 Corinthians 11:3). Holding to justification by faith keeps us from falling for the lie that we can earn heaven. There is no ritual, no sacrament, no deed that can make us worthy of the righteousness of Christ. It is only by His grace, in response to our faith, that God has credited to us the holiness of His Son. Both Old and New Testaments say, ‘The just shall live by faith’ (Habakkuk 2:4; Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11; Hebrews 10:38).” www.gotquestions.org |
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coram_deo 26-Aug-21, 10:54 |
youtu.be |
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coram_deo 27-Aug-21, 19:33 |
The long explanation: “Why is being a good person not enough to get you into heaven? If you ask most people what you have to do to get into heaven (assuming they believe in heaven or an afterlife), the overwhelming response will be some form of ‘be a good person.’ Most, if not all, religions and worldly philosophies are ethically based. Whether it’s Islam, Judaism, or secular humanism, the teaching is common that getting to heaven is a matter of being a good person—following the Ten Commandments or the precepts of the Quran or the Golden Rule. But is this what Christianity teaches? Is Christianity just one of many world religions that teach that being a good person will get us into heaven? Let’s examine Matthew 19:16–26 for some answers; it is the story of the rich young ruler. The first thing we note in this story is that the rich young ruler is asking a good question: ‘What good deed must I do to have eternal life?’ In asking the question, he acknowledges the fact that, despite all his efforts to be a good person thus far, there is something lacking, and he wants to know what else must be done to obtain eternal life. However, he is asking the question from the wrong worldview—that of merit (‘What good deed must I do?’); he has failed to grasp the true meaning of the Law, as Jesus will point out to him, which was to serve as a tutor until the time of Christ (Galatians 3:24). The second thing to note is Jesus’ response to his question. Jesus asks a question in return: why is he inquiring into what is good? Jesus gets to the heart of the matter, namely, that no one is good and no one does good except God. The young man is operating under a false premise: that a good person is able to earn his way into heaven. To make His point, Jesus says that, if the young man wants eternal life, he should keep the commandments. In saying this, Jesus is not advocating a works-based righteousness. Rather, Jesus is challenging the young man’s suppositions by showing the man’s shallow understanding of the Law and human ability. The young man’s response is telling. When told to keep the commandments, he asks Jesus, ‘Which ones?’ Jesus continues to gently show the man the error of his ways by giving him the second table of the Law, i.e., the commandments that deal with our relationships to other people. You can almost sense the frustration in the young man’s response when he tells Jesus that he has kept all of these since his youth—he insists that he’s been a good person. The young man’s response is ironic. In saying he has kept all those commandments since his youth, he has broken the commandment regarding false witness. If he were truly being honest, he would have said that, as hard as he has tried to keep the commandments, he has failed. He has not been a totally good person. He has a shallow understanding of the Law and an inflated opinion of his own ability. Also, he has that feeling that he is not a good enough person, and he asks Jesus, ‘What do I still lack?’ Jesus then confronts the young man’s self-righteousness. He tells him that, if he wishes to be perfect—a truly good person—he must sell all that he has and come follow Him. Jesus has perfectly diagnosed the man’s ‘lack’—his attachment to his wealth. The man’s great wealth has become an idol in his life. He claimed to have kept all the commandments, but in reality he couldn’t even keep the first one, to have no other gods before the Lord! The young man turned his back on Jesus and walked away. His god was his wealth, which he chose over Jesus. Jesus then turns to His disciples to teach them a principle: ‘Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.’ This was shocking to the disciples, who held the common idea that riches were a sign of God’s blessing. But Jesus points out the obstacle that riches often are, in their tendency to fuel self-sufficiency. His disciples ask, ‘Who then can be saved?’ Jesus answers by reminding the disciples that salvation is of God: ‘With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’ Who can be saved? If left up to man alone, no one! Why is being a good person not enough to get you into heaven? Because no one is a ‘good’ person; there is only One who is good, and that is God Himself. No one can keep the Law perfectly. The Bible says that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). The Bible also says that the wages of our sin is death (Romans 6:23a). Fortunately, God did not wait until we somehow learned to be ‘good’; while we were in our sinful state, Christ died for the unrighteous (Romans 5:8). Salvation is not based on our goodness but on Jesus’ goodness. If we confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in our hearts that God raised him from the dead, we will be saved (Romans 10:9). This salvation in Christ is a precious gift, and, like all true gifts, it is unearned (Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:8–9). The message of the gospel is that we can never be good enough to get to heaven. We must recognize that we are sinners who fall short of God’s glory, and we must obey the command to repent of our sins and place our faith and trust in Jesus Christ. Christ alone was a ‘good person’—good enough to earn heaven—and He gives His righteousness to those who believe in His name (Romans 1:17). www.gotquestions.org I’d elaborate on the purpose of the Law. It was to show man his need for a Saviour. Here’s what the apostle Paul wrote in Galatians: “But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:23-26) |
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coram_deo 28-Aug-21, 10:01 |
From markalanwilliams.net and written by Beth Harris: I’ve never considered myself a good person and prior to becoming a Christian, that’s precisely why I thought I wouldn’t go to heaven. I guess I can be thankful that my sins were blatantly obvious to me and others; because no one had to convince me that I was a sinner. Growing up Catholic, I can’t remember a time when I didn’t know the “10 Commandments” and regularly break them. I was always getting into trouble as a teenager, both in school and at home. Trouble seemed to follow me, and I remember being grounded for 2 months at the beginning of my freshman year in High School. I was the black sheep and rebellious one, and my pattern of sin only escalated and worsened until my life was out of control. But, at the age of 27, God begin to woo me into a relationship with Him, and when by His grace, I understood the message of forgiveness through Jesus’ death on the cross, I received Him as my Lord and Savior. I’m not going to heaven based on my goodness, but based on the goodness of Jesus Christ and His sacrifice that paid for my sins. Most people think they will go to heaven because they believe that their good deeds will outweigh their bad ones; and God will grant them entrance. But the truth is that we can’t be good enough to merit admission into heaven because, we have all sinned and perfection is required. Isaiah 53:3 says, “Everyone has turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.” (NIV) “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” (Romans 3:23 NLT) No one deserves to go to heaven, and for those with sins that are less egregious than mine, the Bible says that even if we break one commandment, it’s as though we have broken all of them. If we’re honest, we can agree that we have all broken at least one commandment. James 2:10 says, “For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God’s laws.” (NLT) Some people may appear to be good or to have a good heart, but it’s because their sins are subtle and less visible. They may have secret and inward sins such as: pride, coveting and jealousy, lust, and sins of the heart and mind. Jesus took it one step further when He said in Matthew 5:27, “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (NKJV) Truthfully, we don’t deserve to go to heaven because of our sins, the payoff of which is death. Instead we deserve to be separated from God in a real place called hell; but God has a wonderful solution and plan for us to go to heaven and it includes the free gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ. Romans 6:23 says, “Sin pays off with death. But God’s gift is eternal life given by Jesus Christ our Lord.” (CEV) Thankfully and mercifully God has provided a way for sinners to be forgiven and go to heaven, because the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. It’s purely by His grace and there is nothing we can do to earn our way to heaven. We can only go to heaven, because God loved us so much that He gave his one and only Son Jesus Christ, who lived a perfect life to die on a cross for our sins. He died in our place and He took our punishment for us, so we could go to heaven. Then He rose from the dead and lives forever as our faithful High Priest. God wants to have a relationship with us and He wants us to go to heaven. That’s why He sent Jesus. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (NIV) God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8 NIV) Jesus offers every person who trusts Him as their Lord and Savior, forgiveness and eternal life. However, it isn’t enough to just know or agree with this information, because we must personally receive this gift of forgiveness and eternal life. We must ask Jesus to be our own personal Lord and Savior; and trust Him to save us. We do this by believing and receiving Him. Romans 10:9-10 says, “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” (NIV) If we say that Jesus is Lord, that means He is now in control of our lives, directing us and if we believe that God raised Him from the dead we will be saved. Romans 10:13 says, “For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (NIV) As a Christian, we will still sin, but hopefully less and we can regularly confess our sins and receive forgiveness. 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (NIV) Have you received the gift of forgiveness and eternal life? Please click here if you would like to accept Christ as your personal Lord and Savior now and read more about the next steps that you can take to grow spiritually in your new faith. www.markalanwilliams.net |