What is Living Faith?
So also faith, if it does not have works, is dead being by itself.
But someone will say, You have faith, and I have works. Show me
your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith out
of my works. You believe that God is One. You do well; even the
demons believe and shudder. But are you willing to know, O vain
man, that faith apart from works is dead? Was not our father
Abraham justified by works offering up his son Isaac on the altar?
James 2:17-21 (KJ3).
There was no law that said to Abraham. You shall offer your son
Isaac on the altar. And what Abraham did was no law-deed. Here is
not question about deeds of the law, but about deeds of faith.
Abraham did according to his faith and it was accounted to him for
righteousness. Gal. 3:6.
You see that faith worked with his works; and out of the works the
faith was made complete. And the Scripture was fulfilled, saying,
"And Abraham believed God, and it was counted for righteousness
to him;" and he was called Friend of God. Gen. 15:6;Isa. 41:8 You
see then that a man is justified out of works and not out of faith only.
But in the same way Rahab the harlot was also justified out of works,
receiving the messengers and sending them out by another way. For
as the body is dead apart from the spirit, so also faith is dead apart
from works. James 2:22-26. (KJ3).
The first deed of faith we can do, is that confess to Jesus that we are
sinners and receive him as our personal Saviour. 1 John 1:9. 1 Tim.
2:5-6. This is the first step on the way of faith and obedience, but a
person who not even will take the first step on the way of faith, shall
neither say that he believes in God.
Some preach the truth of salvation without law-deeds, but forget that
we do not reach the heaven without faith-deeds. We who believe in
Jesus are not under the Law, but under grace. Rom. 6:14. Yet, it is
written in Rom. 2:13, "For not the hearers of the Law are just with
God, but the doers of the Law shall be justified." And in Gal. 5:6,
"For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any
strength, but faith working through love."
When we serve Jesus in the new way of the Spirit, (Rom. 7:6), then
we fulfil the Law, though we are not under the Law, but under the
grace. We do what the Law demands, yet, the deeds we then do are
not "law-deeds" but "faith-deeds", such deeds that we do by faith.
Without such deeds the faith is dead. James 2:14, 26.
None be saved by law-deeds, Gal. 2:16, and none be saved without
faith-deeds. Matt. 7:21-23.
Many people who are not born anew, say that they believe in God.
They mean that they believe that God exists and that he has created
heaven and earth, but this they can believe and yet not believe in God.
People can believe a great deal ABOUT God and yet not believe IN
him. Believing in God is to believe in God's own testimony about
his Son. The testimony is this, that God gave to us eternal life, and
this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has the life. He who doesn't
have God's Son doesn't have the life. 1 John 5:10-13. This has the
apostle John written to us for we shall know that we have eternal
life, we who have a living faith in the name of God's Son.
Jesus says in Matt. 7:21, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,'
will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; but he who does the will
of my Father who is in heaven." How have you done the Father's
will? The first you can do to show your faith in an act, is that you
receive Jesus as your personal Saviour and profess that he is your
Lord. If you have not done that, your faith in God is only a dead faith.
And a dead faith is to no use. Then you live in an imagined and false
safety and think you have a good condition before God. If you die in
this condition you will perish forever, - self-deceived! It does not
help if you have friends or relatives that are Christians. They cannot
help you if you do not receive Jesus.
It is only in power of Jesus' propitiatory sacrifice on the cross that
God forgives sins. Only through to receive Jesus we can share the
peace of God. As long as you do not receive Jesus as your Saviour,
you are left in your sins. You have not done God's will and you have
not made any benefit for God's kingdom. When you read the Bible,
you understand almost nothing. For none can come to God or
understand God's word other than through Jesus. The natural man
doesn't receive the things of God's Spirit, for they are foolishness to
him, and he can't know them. 1 Cor. 2:14.
Do pray to Jesus and say to him, "Now I will receive you as my Lord
and Saviour, and pray that you purify me from all sin in power of
your precious blood." Do praise him for he has heard your prayer and
for he gave his life for you on the cross.
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the
sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9. "For God
so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that everyone
believing into Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
John 3:16.
"There is salvation in no other One, for neither is there another name
under Heaven having been given among men by which it is necessary
for us to be saved." Acts 4:12.
Allan Svensson
If you have any questions after reading of this article
Please, visit my Web Site
Article 15. God's Law and God's Gospel
http://www.algonet.se/~allan-sv/PAGE15.HTM
God is the Love,
but God's love does not hinder us to study God's word
http://www.algonet.se/~allan-sv/LOVE.HTM
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