Faith 2

11/20/12 Faith alone in Christ alone is what saves us. But some think that they can believe in Jesus Christ and then do as they please. They think that even though they don’t live right but because they ‘believe’ they will go to heaven when they die. In fact there are many who claim to have faith or belief in Christ but show no evidence of it – they do as they please. But this is not the kind of faith that saves. They have the kind of faith that merely accepts the facts about Jesus. This is how demons believe according to James 2:19. The demons believe there is one God and they tremble but they do not follow the Lord and therefore they are not saved. When someone genuinely believes even though they are saved by faith alone, the faith that saves them is not alone. Saving faith is accompanied by the Holy Spirit. Just as the heat from the sun warms us, that heat has all the backing from its source the sun. So it is with the faith that save us; it has all the backing of the Son. When one is saved they are still ungodly but they do not remain that way. Romans 4:5 (HCSB) says, “But to the one who does not work, but believes on Him who declares the ungodly to be righteous, his faith is credited for righteousness.” Notice that the ungodly is saved when they believe and are declared to be righteous. When you believe in Jesus you will want to obey Him because He is God and the Savior of your soul and the Lord of your life. You will not desire to remain ungodly. True faith opens your eyes to see reality and things that are otherwise not seen. (Heb.11:1, 2Cor.4:18). When you believe from the heart the Lord Jesus becomes real and your desire is to be as close to Him as you can be and to be as much like Him as a sinner can be. You begin to love what He loves and hate what He hates. Do you have this kind of faith? Galatians 5:6 (HCSB) says, … “what matters is faith working through love.” Father, thank you for sending Your Son to die in my place. I believe that Jesus is who He says that he is. I want to demonstrate what I believe. Amen.