Faith in God and Jesus Christ
The Bible clearly teaches that a person must have faith or trust in God
and Jesus Christ in order to be saved from sin.
And without faith it is impossible to please
God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that
he rewards those who earnestly seek him." (Hebrews 11:6)
I told you that you would die in your sins;
if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed
die in your sins." (John 8:24)
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." (John 3:16)
Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know
that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Through
him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be
justified from by the law of Moses." (Acts 13:38, 39)
Other Bible scriptures teaching the necessity of
faith include Mark 16:15, 16; John 6:29; 11:25-27; 12:36; 20:31; Acts
10:43; 15:9; Romans 1:16; 3:25; Ephesians 2:8.
Because Jesus Christ is God's gift that makes salvation
possible, this lesson will emphasize the importance of faith in him. We
must first learn what it really means to have faith in Christ in order
to obtain the salvation we desire.
1. We must accept the fact that Jesus is God's
Son and our only Savior. We have not seen Jesus in person, but we believe
that he really exists. We believe that he is God's Son and our only Savior.
Why do we believe? Because of the eye witness testimony
or evidence given in the Bible. Hebrews 11:1 defines faith as being "certain
of what we do not see." We have never seen the famous people who
lived and died many years ago, but we believe they lived because the evidence
is so clear. We have never seen Jesus in person, but we have the evidence
concerning him in the Bible (1Corinthians 15:1-4). This evidence found
in the Holy Scriptures produces our faith in Jesus.
Consequently, faith comes from hearing the
message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ." (Romans
10:17)
Peter declared that those who believed did so because
they heard the gospel. "Brothers, you know that some time ago God
made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the
message of the Gospel and believe." (Acts 15:7)
Other scriptures producing belief in Jesus as our
Savior include John 17:20; 20:30, 31;
Acts 17:11, 12.
2. We must do more than accept the fact that Jesus
is God's Son and our only Savior. Believing that Jesus is the Son of God
and the Savior of man is necessary, but it is not all that is required.
John tells about some people who did believe but were not acceptable to
God.
Yet at the same time many even among the
leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess
their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; for they
loved praise from men more than praise from God." (John 12:42, 43)
Jesus will not confess us before God unless we
have enough faith to confess him before others, (Matthew 10:32, 33).
If faith requires nothing more than accepting Jesus
as God's Son and mankind's Savior, the demons would be saved, because
"the demons also believe, and shudder" (James 2:19).
While just believing is not enough, it is essential
for our salvation. No one would desire the salvation provided by Jesus
until he was convinced of the gospel facts concerning Christ. When Hebrews
11:1 says "faith is being sure of what we hope for," it means
that our hope is supported by our faith. If a person does not believe
in Jesus Christ, then he has no reason to hope for salvation in him. The
believer has a reason for his hope, and he obtains the salvation hoped
for when he accepts God's terms of pardon for his sins.
3. We must have trust in Christ. The true believer
accepts the fact that Jesus is God's Son and mankind's Savior, and he
obeys God's commandments. We are able to do this because we learns to
trust completely in Christ. A person must learn to trust Christ for the
salvation that cannot be obtain from any other source. We have not yet
seen God; we have not gone to see the glory of Heaven; we do not know
what it is like to die. Jesus has done all of these things, and we trust
him when he says, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life: no
one comes to the Father, except through me" (John 14:6).
4. We must obey the commands of our Lord. Obedience
clearly follows mental acceptance of Jesus as God's Son and mankind's
Savior, and trusting him for salvation. There is no real answer to Jesus'
question, "Why do you call me, `Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I
say?" (Luke 6:46) One who will not obey Jesus has no reason to call
Him "Lord."
Near the end of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew
chapters 5-7), Jesus stressed the necessity of doing the things commanded.
"Not everyone who says to me `Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom
of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven."
(Matthew 7:21)
Peter and James also wrote about the importance
of obedience. "Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the
truth . . . " (1 Peter1:22) "You see that a person is justified
by what he does and not by faith alone."(James 2:24)
In Romans chapter six, verses seventeen and eighteen,
Paul said that when the people in Rome "became obedient from the
heart" they were "made free from sin." Obedience from the
heart was that which changed them from servants of sin to servants of
righteousness.
The Scriptures, which teach that salvation is received
by obedience, are not in conflict with those that teach that salvation
is received by faith. Saving faith always produces obedience, for the
faith which saves is the faith which obeys. In Hebrews 11:4-38 we have
an impressive list of faithful people, and in each case the faithful person
is described as doing something his faith led him to do.
The second chapter of James gives special point
to the importance of faith being expressed in obedience. After noting
that the demons believe so strongly that they shudder in knowing their
condition, James concludes, "faith without deed is dead" (James
2:26).
We should clearly point out that there is no conflict
between James' teaching of salvation shown by works or deeds and Paul's
teaching that salvation is by grace and faith. Paul taught: "For
it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from
yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast."
(Ephesians 2:8,9)
By such teachings he simply said that salvation
is not earned by works of credit which people may do. At the same time
he recognized that saving faith calls for an obedient answer by the faithful
person. His own life as a Christian was Paul's most eloquent teaching
that the real person of faith is the person who obeys God. One who has
so little faith that he refuses to obey God is the one who rejects God's
saving grace by his refusal to obey.
Peter replied, `Repent and be baptized, every
one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.
And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.'" (Acts 2:38)
All the prophets testify about him that everyone
who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name."
(Acts 10:43)
Again we ask, "Is there a conflict between
the teaching that remission of sins results from repentance and baptism
and the teaching that remission of sins is the result of faith or belief?"
It is easy to see that there is no conflict if one realizes that faith
is a general term including everything involved in believing and obeying
God.
The people who heard Peter's sermon and accepted
it were baptized (immersed) that same day, according to Acts 2:41. Verse
44 describes the same people as those who believed. Obviously the word
"believed" in verse 44 includes the act of baptism (immersion)
mentioned in verse 41 as well as their change of heart mentioned in verse
37. In similar fashion, Crispus is described as one who believed (Acts
18:8) and one who was baptized (immersed) (1 Corinthians 1:14).
In Acts 16:31 the jailer in Philippi was told,
"Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved - you and your household."
Continuing the reading of the story makes clear what he understood belief
to include. Verse 32 says that Paul and Silas preached the word of the
Lord. Verse 33 says that he and his household were baptized (immersed)
the same hour of the night. There is no question that they understood
the command to believe to include baptism (immersion) as well as repentance
and other evidences of a willingness to obey. In every other example of
one converting to Christianity described in the book of Acts, faith was
always expressed by obedience to the Lord's will. There is no exception.
We have learned in this lesson that faith in Christ
is essential to salvation. The faith that saves is the faith of complete
trust, and the faith which causes us to obey every commandment given by
God for our salvation. May God bless you in believing, trusting, and obeying
him.
All Scripture quotes from the New International
Version (NIV).
Posted on
Friday, September 18, 2009
by Scott Yearton