What Is Saving Faith? ...

"... [A]nd a large number of priest became obedient to the faith" (Acts 6:7, NIV).

"Through him we have received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from or his Name's sake" (Romans 1:5, NKV).
"... [S]o that all the Gentiles might come to the obedience that comes from faith" (Rom. 16:26,NIV).

You gotta have faith! How big is your God, not how big is your faith? It depends on the strength of our God, not our faith. Without faith, you cannot please God! (Cf. Heb. 11:6). A real, genuine faith is one that grows and is not static or going nowhere. True faith consists of right knowledge (you cannot subscribe to heresy), assent or agreement, and trust or reliance on it. We don't have blind faith, for we have sound reasons to believe and don't believe in spite of the evidence. We don't believe something we know isn't true--there is ample and compelling circumstantial evidence for the open-minded and willing person--no one can say there is lack of evidence.


We don't have faith in faith, but in the object of Christ (the object saves not the faith). Faith is a verb and entails action: "By faith Abraham obeyed ..." and so forth. It is a matter of the will--it is volitional. We choose to believe of our own ("If anyone's will is to do God's will, he will know..." (cf. John 7:17, ESV), but God quickens faith in us and makes us alive--dead people cannot believe!

We must take the leap of faith from the seed planted. Faith is not a work (if it were we would have merit before God, but we are not saved by works). If it were a work, we would foul it up somehow! The faith you have is the faith you show: Paul says, "I'll show you my works by my faith," while James says, "I'll show you my faith by my works." We are saved by faith alone, according to the Reformation doctrine, but not by a faith that is alone. Works are no substitute for faith, but only evidence of it, as we are saved unto works, not by works.

The theological axiom applies: "Only he who is obedient believes, only he who believes is obedient." Obedience is the only true test of faith and they are correlated in Hebrews 3:18 and John 3:36. The obedience of faith separates the bogus profession of faith and the reality of faith as seen in Acts 6:7 ("... [M]any of the priests became obedient to the faith") and Romans 1:5. You must trust and obey! (Mark 10:9 says, "What God has joined together let not man put asunder.")

Faith is given, not achieved--it is the gift of God and we do not conjure it up. It is the work of God as His gift, but we must use it and take the leap. "... [H]e greatly helped those who through grace had believed" (Acts 18:27, ESV). But there is a difference between head belief and heart belief: the demons also believe and tremble! The first step to faith is a positive attitude expressed in listening, then understanding with the mind, then believing with the heart, and finally trusting and relying on will or volition. The result: "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope" (Romans 15:13, ESV).

What is the progression of faith? Openness to the truth (unbelievers reject the truth), acceptance of the gospel message, willingness to obey God's will in relinquishment, surrender to the Lordship of Christ, and self-denial and willingness to follow Jesus. We must give up, surrender, and commit to what we know is true. The elements of faith in progression are: Knowing, reckoning, yielding, obeying, trusting, delighting, committing, waiting, and anticipating.

Its logical conclusion is a relationship with Jesus with a love for Him--"Though you have not seen him, you love him (cf. 1 Pet. 1:8, ESV). Faith begets fruit and works, no fruit, no faith! "If you love me, you will keep my commandments" (John 14:15, ESV). Note that no one has perfect faith: God requires only sincere, unfeigned faith according to 1 Tim. 1:5 says: "The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith" (ESV). Final Caveat: Beware of easy-believism whereby one thinks he is saved by merely believing without submitting to His lordship.


Everyone has faith; in what is the question. We are a religious creature made to worship and will worship someone or something if not God, which is idolatry. Dostoevsky said that "man cannot live without worshiping something." We are made for God and can only find our fulfillment in living for Him. But why is man opposed to God when He offers Himself to them? Man is a slave to sin and doesn't want to change his way of life, doing his own thing his way. He doesn't want to submit to authority and grant the ownership of his life to the One who made it. A person of no organized religion may have their faith in the scientific method, that science can solve all our problems--but he is nevertheless a person of faith. And so everyone is a person of faith! We have sound reasons to believe and need not commit intellectual suicide.

Real faith in God is when we go a step beyond so-called story-book faith or head belief and it registers in the heart and we desire to live it out in trust and commitment. We must be obedient to the gospel and to the faith. Saving faith is always accompanied by genuine repentance--they go hand in hand! And we must never divorce faith and faithfulness, for we live by faith and it must grow, not being dead. Dead faith produces no works and that kind of faith cannot save. Good soil produces fruit and saving faith produces the fruit of good works. As the Reformers said, "We are saved by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone." If we have no works, our faith is suspect. James says that faith without works is dead! James 2:18 also says, "I'll show you my faith by my works!" But we are not saved by works, but not without them either. We don't have faith in ourselves or our ability in trying to save ourselves, because it's the object that matters. We must realize that genuine faith expresses itself!

God opens our eyes to have faith, for we are blinded by Satan. He quickens or kindles faith within us by grace and it's not a meritorious work as Rome would have you believe--for then we would be saved by merit or works. We will have nothing to boast of in God's presence. Faith is the work of God but our act. We must put our faith in the right object to be saved, for we don't have faith in faith, but faith in Christ--faith doesn't save, Christ does! But this faith must be penitent as we turn from sin to God and believe in Christ. That's why it may be termed penitent faith or believing repentance that saves. We have believed through grace, a supernatural act of God regenerating us. God grants both repentance and faith as a privilege of being the elect (cf. Acts 5:31; 11:18). He opens the door to faith and repentance (cf. Acts 14:27).

There is a profession of faith and reality of faith, whereas bogus faith is misplaced and insincere. God doesn't ask for perfect faith, only sincere, unfeigned faith (cf. 1 Tim. 1:5; 2 Tim. 1:5). Without faith, we cannot please God (cf. Heb. 11:6). There are people of great faith but it's misplaced (cf. Romans 10:2; Proverbs 19:2)--sincerity matters but it's not everything (you can be sincerely wrong). There are believers in name only or nominal Christians who go through the motions and have memorized the Dance of the Pious. Saving faith is obedient as Bonhoeffer says, "Only he who believes is obedient; only he who is obedient believes." (cf. Romans 16:26; Romans 1:5, Acts 6:7). They shall know we are Christians by our love--the ultimate obedience. That is the litmus test! Faith and obedience are correlated in Heb. 3:17-18, HCSB, as follows: "And who did He swear to that they would not enter His rest, if not those who disobeyed? So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief." We desire to obey, even if we fall short of perfection (cf. Matt 5:48).

The faith you have is the faith you show! The rallying cry of the Reformation was that we are saved by faith alone and Rome pronounced anyone anathema that adhered to this doctrine at the Council of Trent (the Counter-Reformation). We are not saved by good works, and faith is not a work, but we are saved unto good works, that we may accomplish the will of God. Works are no substitute for faith, but only evidence of it. In fact, God foreordains good works for us to do for His purposes. We must be saved by grace, for this is the only way to have assurance. And "salvation is of the LORD," as Jonah found out (cf. Jonah 2:9) which means it's God's accomplishment, not man's achievement. We receive faith, we don't achieve it, i.e., we don't conjure it up by ourselves, but it's totally a gift of grace (cf. Acts 18:27; John 6:29; 2 Pet. 1:1). But we must put our faith to work and turn our creed into deeds, for faith is knowledge in action. Keeping the faith only works if it's in Christ!

Rome reduces faith to assent or acquiescence or acknowledgment with the church dogma. Just realizing Christ is God and rose from the dead, if one doesn't put the faith into action, will not save. Believing Christ rose from the dead is history; believing He died for you and rose for you and personalizing this is salvation. By faith Abraham obeyed! True saving faith is a surrendered, substituted, inhabited, relinquished, and even yielded life to the will of God, whereas Christ lives in us through the Holy Spirit's residence--in other words, He owns us because He bought us and redeemed us! We must take a spiritual checkup or spiritual inventory to find out whether we have the Spirit or not and if Christ is living in us--if anyone has not the Spirit of Christ he is none of His and he is reprobate (cf. Romans 8:9). In sum, if we love Jesus we will obey Him (cf. John 14:15) and there is a curse on anyone who doesn't love the Lord (cf. Rom. 16:22)--true faith trusts in Christ as Savior and submits to Him as Lord, as Jesus said, "If you love Me, you will obey My commands." Soli Deo Gloria!

Are We Saved By Faith Alone? ...

"So we see that a person is justified  by works and not by faith alone."  James 2:24

First, faith is knowledge in action and must take root and grow to be a living, saving faith.  We are not saved by living a good life or achieving human success, in fact, works of the flesh or done apart from the Spirit count as filthy rags in God's sight (Isaiah 64:6), au contraire, we are saved on account of our faith.  Righteousness then is imputed from Christ as we are reckoned as just forensically in God's court but not made just or righteous till we reach glory in heaven and are wholly sanctified and separated from sin forever. 

And we are not saved by works, any Protestant would agree with that and that we are saved by faith.  It is also true that  we are "saved" by faith and works!  What is meant by "saved" is in question though.  We are justified in men's eyes by our fruits. The battle cry of the Reformation was that we are "saved by faith alone!" 

But Catholics say that the Bible never says that but that we are not saved by faith alone in James.  "We are not saved by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone" is the formula of the Reformers. That kind of faith, that stands without works, is dead faith and cannot save.  True faith manifests itself in works and proves itself.  Do you have anything to show for your faith?  Put it into practice! 

We are known by our fruits or works, not our faith; anyone can claim to have faith but we show it by our works as evidence.  James 2:18 says, "I will show you my faith by my works." Or "I will show you my faith by putting it into action."  God has therefore redeemed for Himself a people "zealous of good works," for which we are "foreordained" to do (cf. Eph. 2:10).  God has prepared certain works for us to do as obedience to His will. 

It appears to men that the faith we have is the faith we show! Remember, our eternal reward is not for our faith but in accordance with our works or deeds (Rom. 2:6; Matt. 16:27; Psalm 62:12; 2 Cor. 5:10). 

We are not therefore saved by works, but not without them either!  If we have no works to validate our faith, it is suspect and dubious or in question.  We must turn our creeds into deeds! Or our faith is spurious!   We must be examples of good works which "adorn" our doctrine. 

To be authentic, we must have a faith that is growing and living in good works.  "Bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God." (Col. 1:10). Our faith is not a "to-do list" either, we do not do them because we must or have to but because we want to (our nature has been transformed into new creatures).  True faith expresses itself! 

There are only four possibilities of salvation to consider: works equals justification (religion); faith plus works equals justification (legalism); faith without works as a byproduct equals justification  (antinomianism or libertinism leading to easy-believism ,cheap grace, or "no-lordship" salvation); and finally the correct one of the Reformers is that faith equals justification producing works as a byproduct or fruit. Thus the relationship between faith and works can be distinguished but not separated or divorced.  They go together hand in hand!  

Thus, in conclusion, works do play a role in our salvation, they prove it and make it complete and are not its substitute, and he who thinks he can live as he pleases simply because he has faith is in error and may not be saved at all. Soli Deo Gloria! 

Our Common Salvation...

Jude wanted to write a treatise (cf. Jude 1:3) on "our common salvation," but was diverted to discuss heresy that had crept into the church.

This subject is known doctrinally as soteriology, from the Greek soter, or to save.

The common man does not comprehend what salvation means, and probably relates to a boxer being "saved by the bell." A renowned theologian (R. C. Sproul) was asked if he was saved: "Saved from what?" The man was taken aback and had no answer; he didn't know what our salvation was from! Actually, we are saved by God and from God (delivered from the wrath to come according to 1 Thess. 1:10). We are as bad off as can be, but not too bad to be saved!

Christianity is a religion of salvation and this is pivotal. "Salvation is of the Lord," says Jonah 2:9, and this means that God does all the work and gets all the credit and glory. The other two possibilities are to be saved by a combination of our efforts and God's, or to be saved by our efforts alone. Only in the scenario that has God doing everything, can we have the assurance of salvation? If we had to do anything, we'd blow it.

The Bible proclaims the saviorhood of God; this is His purpose in dying ("...and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."). The Scriptures speak of Christ as being the only way to be saved and that there is no other Savior (cf. Acts 4:12; John 14:6; Hos. 13:4; Isa.43:11).

All three offices of Christ take part in our salvation: as Prophet, we are saved from ignorance of sin; as Priest from the guilt of sin; as King from the dominion of sin (per D. James Kennedy).

There are many aspects to look at our salvation. At the point of salvation, we are saved from the penalty of sin or justified, then we are sanctified or saved from the power of sin, and in the state of glory, we will be saved from the presence of sin. Another way of looking at this is that of our position (in Christ), our condition (fellowship and sanctification), and our expectation (glorification). From the standpoint of the tenses, we are saved, we are being saved, and we shall be saved. Our outlook is given perspective so that we have a worldview: "Our past is forgiven, our present is given meaning, and our future is secured." This all began in eternity past, is realized in time, looked forward to, and is consummated in heaven.

Our salvation is a done deal, a fait accompli, a finished work--a divine accomplishment, not a human achievement. Religion is a do-it-yourself proposition and says, "Do," but God says, "Done!" The entire Trinity took part: the Father planned and authored it, the Son secured and accomplished it, and the Holy Spirit applied it.

Only in Christianity can we have the assurance of salvation and this is not meant to be permission to live in the flesh, but the power to live in the Spirit. Assurance enhances growth and is assuredly a boon to our spiritual well-being--otherwise, we are stunted and paralyzed in our walk. Note that assurance and security can be distinguished, but not separated. They go hand in hand and without one, you cannot have the other. Assurance is not to satisfy idle curiosity, but is meant to strengthen our faith, and is a sign of faith, not presumption.

Salvation is not by knowledge--that would be intellectualism--and not by emotion--that would be emotionalism--and not by works--that would be moralism. It is not by faith plus works, not by faith plus being good, nor by faith plus law-keeping. It is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Principle: Don't divorce faith and faithfulness! What kind of faith is saving faith is the issue: only obedient and repentant faith will do.

There are only four possibilities for salvation to note: by works alone; by faith plus works; by faith alone bringing about good works, and by faith alone equaling salvation minus good works. The first is religion, the second is legalism, the third is correct Reformed teaching, and the last is only antinomianism or easy-believism. [This labeling from R. C. Sproul] The formula during the Reformation was that we are saved by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone.

Our faith is simple--so simple a child can do it-- but not simplistic; it is childlike, but not childish. It's not a matter of trying, but trusting--trust and obey! It is the work of God (John 6:28-29 answers this question: "What shall we do, to do the works of God? It is the work of God that you believe..."); because we are incurably addicted to doing something for our salvation, according to Chuck Swindoll. The reformer called this Soli Deo Gloria, or to God alone be the glory! 

The order of our salvation, known as the ordo salutis, is the following: regeneration, faith/repentance, justification, sanctification, and glorification. Note that since believing repentance or penitent faith is a gift, it follows regeneration (cf. 2 Thess. 2:13 and 1 John 5:1). The so-called golden chain of redemption is in Romans 8:29-30: Foreknowledge, predestination, calling, justification, glorification. Note that election or calling does not depend on anything we do and takes place after predestination; we do not become the elect upon believing but are elected unto salvation and election

Cf. Heb. 3:18-19; 5:9 ("...He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him."); John 3:36."They became obedient to the faith" (cf. Acts 6:7) Therefore, antinomianism, libertinism, and hedonism are not biblical. Dietrich Bonhoeffer said it well, "Only he who is obedient believes, and only he believes who is obedient." The only true test of faith is obedience which leads to good works.

It Costs To Be Saved

They say that salvation is free, but it costs everything you've got.  Salvation is free but not cheap; so-called cheap grace justifies the sin, not the sinner.  It costs to be saved, but more not to be.  We must be willing and open to the idea of saying goodbye to our past and it's ties, friendships, idols, and commitments and turn over everything to Christ.  We make a clean break with our old life and old nature and venture ahead in a leap of faith with Christ in charge of our life and at the helm.  It's a clean cleavage from our past and an ever new beginning.  Christ doesn't put a new suit on the man, but a new man in the suit.  Behold, all things become new!  Christianity is not turning over a new leaf, making a New Year's resolution, or making an AA pledge, it's becoming a new person from the inside out.

Our lives are salt and light to the world and we are here to bear testimony of what Christ did for us.  But most people love their lives too much to leave them and cling to idols, which are anything that takes the place of God.  But we didn't want to be born the first time either!  We came into the world crying and throwing a fit or tantrum thinking it was worse, but not realizing it was for our good.  People don't like commitment either no matter the choice.  Marriage takes a leap of faith too!  Christ is infinitely more trustworthy than any spouse.

The real reason many people reject Christ is that they love their sin too much and don't want to leave a life of sin or even living in sin. They don't have an intellectual problem with believing, masked in smokescreens, but have a moral problem--they don't want to change their way of life and stop living in sin.  People cannot imagine a life without their sin and don't realize that the only abundant and fulfilling life is in Christ doing His will (cf. John 10:10).    That's the safest place to be!

That's why we give a testimony of how much Jesus has done for us, not how we turned around our lives and got our act together!  No one can argue your personal story of salvation:  "Let the redeemed of the Lord say so!"  (cf. Psalm 107:2).  The fact is that we come to Christ, as we are, warts, blemishes, and flaws in all and He makes us into His image; i.e., we will not stay that way, though the change doesn't happen all at once, it's a process; that's why we're called a work in progress!

God owns us and we belong to Him as His own and we are never asked to give up anything in the sacrifice, that Christ didn't suffer or give up, without reward and abundant recompense--our crosses pale in comparison. Reality 101 is that we enroll in the school of suffering to complete Christ's sufferings in the body and bring Him glory from our adversities. It is an honor to suffer for the sake of the Name.   The principle is, "No cross, no crown!"   In glory, all the suffering we bore will be worth it and rewarded.   Soli Deo Gloria!

What Is Saving Faith?...

 "... [A]nd a large number of priest became obedient to the faith" (Acts 6:7, NIV).

"Through him we have received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from or his Name's sake" (Romans 1:5, NKV). 
"... [S]o that all the Gentiles might come to the obedience that comes from faith" (Rom. 16:26,NIV).

Everyone has faith; in what is the question.  We are a religious creature made to worship and will worship someone or something if not God, which is idolatry.  Dostoevsky said that "man cannot live without worshiping something."  We are made for God and can only find our fulfillment in living for Him.  But why is man opposed to God when He offers Himself to them?  Man is a slave to sin and doesn't want to change his way of life, doing his own thing his way.  He doesn't want to submit to authority and grant the ownership of his life to the One who made it.  A person of no organized religion may have their faith in the scientific method, that science can solve all our problems--but he is nevertheless a person of faith.  And so everyone is a person of faith!  We have sound reasons to believe and need not commit intellectual suicide.

Real faith in God is when we go a step beyond so-called story-book faith or head belief and it registers in the heart and we desire to live it out in trust and commitment.  We must be obedient to the gospel and to the faith.   Saving faith is always accompanied by genuine repentance--they go hand in hand!  And we must never divorce faith and faithfulness, for we live by faith and it must grow, not being dead.  Dead faith produces no works and that kind of faith cannot save.  Good soil produces fruit and saving faith produces the fruit of good works.  As the Reformers said, "We are saved by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone."  If we have no works, our faith is suspect.  James says that faith without works is dead!  James 2:18 also says, "I'll show you my faith by my works!"  But we are not saved by works, but not without them either.  We don't have faith in ourselves or our ability in trying to save ourselves, because it's the object that matters.  We must realize that genuine faith expresses itself!

God opens our eyes to have faith, for we are blinded by Satan.  He quickens or kindles faith within us by grace and it's not a meritorious work as Rome would have you believe--for then we would be saved by merit or works.  We will have nothing to boast of in God's presence.  Faith is the work of God but our act.  We must put our faith in the right object to be saved, for we don't have faith in faith, but faith in Christ--faith doesn't save, Christ does!   But this faith must be penitent as we turn from sin to God and believe in Christ.  That's why it may be termed penitent faith or believing repentance that saves.  We have believed through grace, a supernatural act of God regenerating us.  God grants both repentance and faith as a privilege of being the elect (cf. Acts 5:31; 11:18).  He opens the door to faith and repentance (cf. Acts 14:27).

There is a profession of faith and reality of faith, whereas bogus faith is misplaced and insincere.  God doesn't ask for perfect faith, only sincere, unfeigned faith (cf. 1 Tim. 1:5; 2 Tim. 1:5).  Without faith, we cannot please God (cf. Heb. 11:6).  There are people of great faith but it's misplaced (cf. Romans 10:2; Proverbs 19:2)--sincerity matters but it's not everything (you can be sincerely wrong).  There are believers in name only or nominal Christians who go through the motions and have memorized the Dance of the Pious.  Saving faith is obedient as Bonhoeffer says, "Only he who believes is obedient; only he who is obedient believes."  (cf. Romans 16:26; Romans 1:5, Acts 6:7).  They shall know we are Christians by our love--the ultimate obedience.  That is the litmus test!  Faith and obedience are correlated in Heb. 3:17-18, HCSB, as follows:  "And who did He swear to that they would not enter His rest, if not those who disobeyed?  So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief."  We desire to obey, even if we fall short of perfection (cf. Matt 5:48).

The faith you have is the faith you show!  The rallying cry of the Reformation was that we are saved by faith alone and Rome pronounced anyone anathema that adhered to this doctrine at the Council of Trent (the Counter-Reformation).  We are not saved by good works, and faith is not a work, but we are saved unto good works, that we may accomplish the will of God.  Works are no substitute for faith, but only evidence of it. In fact, God foreordains good works for us to do for His purposes.  We must be saved by grace, for this is the only way to have assurance.  And "salvation is of the LORD," as Jonah found out (cf. Jonah 2:9) which means it's God's accomplishment, not man's achievement.  We receive faith, we don't achieve it, i.e., we don't conjure it up by ourselves, but it's totally a gift of grace (cf. Acts 18:27; John 6:29; 2 Pet. 1:1).  But we must put our faith to work and turn our creed into deeds, for faith is knowledge in action.  Keeping the faith only works if it's in Christ!

Rome reduces faith to assent or acquiescence or acknowledgment with the church dogma.  Just realizing Christ is God and rose from the dead, if one doesn't put the faith into action, will not save.  Believing Christ rose from the dead is history; believing He died for you and rose for you and personalizing this is salvation.  By faith Abraham obeyed!  True saving faith is a surrendered, substituted, inhabited, relinquished, and even yielded life to the will of God, whereas Christ lives in us through the Holy Spirit's residence--in other words, He owns us because He bought us and redeemed us!  We must take a spiritual checkup or spiritual inventory to find out whether we have the Spirit or not and if Christ is living in us--if anyone has not the Spirit of Christ he is none of His and he is reprobate (cf. Romans 8:9).  In sum, if we love Jesus we will obey Him (cf. John 14:15) and there is a curse on anyone who doesn't love the Lord (cf. Rom. 16:22)--true faith trusts in Christ as Savior and submits to Him as Lord, as Jesus said, "If you love Me, you will obey My commands."        Soli Deo Gloria!

Are You Sure You're Saved?

We are commanded to make our election and calling sure (cf. 2 Pet. 1:10) and this is done by searching our own hearts, examining our fruit, claiming Scripture promises to lean on, and sensing the ministry of the Spirit "bearing witness to our spirit" (cf. Rom. 8:16). Christianity is about walking in the Spirit, and increasing in faith--genuine faith is penitent and not inert or static (it grows!). We walk by faith (cf. 2 Cor. 5:7), and progress from faith to faith (cf. Rom. 1:17). Being sure of one's position in Christ is only the door, not the journey or destination.

Knowing we are saved is not an automatic fruit, and it's not presumption nor arrogance to know for sure (as is promised that we can know in 1 John 5:13). Believing and assurance don't mean we know all the answers and have no doubts--we just believed in spite of them. It's not the preacher's job description to certify our salvation, but he can offer reassurance. Even though some call assurance a "sin of presumption," it's obedience and a boon to our walk to know for sure without a doubt. 

Some people have this assurance because they claim Bible verses, and are not ignorant of the Word, but take it at face value: one such Scriptural "birth certificate" might be the verse in John 1:12, which says that anyone who receives Christ has the right to become a child of God. This assurance goes hand in hand with security--they can be distinguished, but not separated--the flip side of assurance is security that you cannot forfeit your salvation, even if you fall into sin, for we have an "Advocate with the Father" when we do sin (cf. 1 John 2:1). He always intercedes on our behalf (cf. Heb. 7:25).

Knowing we are saved is only the beginning and first step of our walk with Jesus, the "Author and Finisher of our faith" (cf. Heb. 12:2). A Christian is no spiritual giant just because he is 100 percent sure of his salvation, if his life isn't consistent with the Spirit, and he isn't producing good fruit. You can have many unanswered questions and still grow in Christ! Only in glory will all our questions be answered (cf. John 16:23). Faith isn't believing in spite of the evidence; it's obeying despite the consequences. "By faith Abraham obeyed," (cf. Heb. 11:8) despite the fact that he doubted God's promise, he went ahead and obeyed anyway! 

Notice that in the hall of faith chapter 11 of Hebrews it portrays all the saints as obeying in faith! Faith is abstract and you see it in action, you don't describe it. You don't need all the answers to believe, but can go right ahead and choose to believe anyway! God can increase our faith, but that means more responsibility!

We are not to take advantage of grace, to insult the Spirit of grace and misuse it. Knowing we are saved should be all the more motivation to live for Christ--for the more, we are given, the more God expects from us in return. God is only pleased with faithfulness and faith, and we must not divorce or separate the two, though they can be distinguished. Faith is only measured in obedience ("Only he who believes is obedient; only he who is obedient believes," --Dietrich Bonhoeffer), and not experiences, mystical or real life, nor by emotions or feelings, which may be sentiment and signs we have never grown up in the faith so as not to depend on feelings. Faith, not feelings, please God (cf. Heb. 11:6). Our ecstasies, visions, dreams, and mystic or surreal experiences are not the measure faith; God is looking for obedience, not success or achievements. Blessed are those who have not seen! (Cf. John 20:29).

The best way to be sure is to have the witness of a fruitful life that supports your faith--showing that it's genuine, saving faith--not bogus. God isn't going to ask us at our final audit at the Bema, or Judgment Seat of Christ, how sure we were of our salvation, or how big our faith was, but what we did with it and whether we grew to know, love, and obey Jesus. It's not how big your faith is, but how big your God is, and it's not the amount of faith, but the object that matters. We must learn to trust and obey Christ in the mundane activities of life and to grow in our fellowship and relationship with Him.

If we are honest, all of us have been at the point of the man who cried, "I believe, help thou mine unbelief!"(cf. Mark 9:24).   Don't confuse works and grace, or fact and feeling (the divine order is fact-faith-feeling). Doubt is not the opposite of faith, but one of its elements and is healthy. Faith is not to be perfect or it wouldn't be faith, but knowledge, and what God wants is sincere, unfeigned, faith without any hypocrisy. (cf. 1 Tim. 1:5; 2 Tim. 1:5).   We are not to be pretenders who have a veneer to hide behind. We all have feet of clay and must progress in our walk as we get to know the Lord, the ultimate goal.

I propose two illustrations to exhibit faith: a boy flying a kite on a cloudy day was asked how he knew the kite was still up there, when unseen, he said he felt a tug every now and then to reassure him; another one is why you believe in the sun being up there when you don't see it: "Because I see everything else!" God opens the eyes or our hearts to see spiritually so we can say with the blind man: "... But I know this: I was blind, but now I see" (John 9:25, NLT). Who can refute such personal reality?

Not knowing for sure makes you a handicapped Christian in your walk, who cannot grow and mature in the faith as a seasoned believer! A word to the wise is sufficient: False assurance, overconfidence, spurious faith, and reckless living are more of a problem than the weaker brother who stumbles and has doubts--lacking full assurance. In sum, you must morph beyond mere assurance and fulfill your destiny and calling. Soli Deo Gloria!

Once Saved, Always Saved

"All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out"  (John 6:37, ESV, italics added).  

I am aware that the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints, as it is known in Reformed theology (eternal security) is not universally agreed upon by Christians, and that many sincere, well-meaning believers beg to differ (Roman Catholics, Arminians or semi-Pelagians, Pentecostals, Wesleyans, Pentecostals, Salvation Army) but the majority of evangelicals, including mainline denominations such as Baptists and Presbyterians, adhere to this as dogma.  This is my position and I know that I must be careful when presenting what is called one of the doctrines of grace ( the doctrines that divide by some).

By definition, this doctrine assures the continuity in the state of grace for the redeemed believer and the permanency of his salvation, not based upon works but grace from beginning to end, as we are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation (cf. 1 Pet. 1:5).   God finishes what He starts and He has begun a good work in us in order to complete it in Christ (cf. Phil. 1:6).  

This aphorism is well known and quoted by skeptics who think it sums up evangelical teaching about salvation.  It is not meant as a security blanket so that one has the license to sin without impunity, and this is the fear, that people will lose their fear of God and become remiss in their walk.  Catholics firmly believe and teach the fear of God and are quite successful at this, because they deny security and even assurance unless one is given a special divine revelation to that effect.  They would call a believer who is sure of his salvation as guilty of the sin presumption!  The Bible doesn't call it that but calls it a command to be sure in 2 Pet. 1:10 ("make your calling and election sure").

The interesting factor about losing your salvation is that no one can say what sin or work one does to lose it.  We are supposed to be in the Father's hands, not our own!  It is clear from Scripture that believers have the resident Holy Spirit permanently and, therefore cannot be guilty of blasphemy of the Holy Spirit or the so-called unforgivable sin (cf. Matt. 12:32).  The Bible makes it clear that if you could lose your salvation, you could not regain it again, yet Catholics have instituted the sacrament of penance for those who have made shipwreck of their faith.  The Bible does not have any examples of anyone who lost his salvation either (Judas was a devil from the beginning, and King Saul isn't named as lost after losing favor).

What is paramount to realize is that assurance and security go hand in hand, and they can be distinguished, but not separated.  If you don't have security, you cannot be sure either, because you are saying that your salvation depends upon your works or performance, and not the preservation of God.  The truth is that we persevere as God preserves.  One would never be sure because he cannot predict the future and know that he might lose it by some sin.

This doctrine, once saved, always saved, is basic to understanding grace and that our salvation is not by our works nor our performance, lest we are able to boast (cf. Eph. 2:9) and totally is an act of God (i.e., monergistic).  As Reformed theologians say, the doctrine of salvation can be summed up:  Salvation is of the Lord.  It is not of man and God, nor of man alone, but totally of God, and to realize this is to be oriented to grace and not works or to be legalistic in mindset.

There are several Bible verses that point to eternal security, and that phrase is not a biblical one, but the terminology "eternal redemption" is mentioned in Hebrews 9:12 and "eternal salvation" in Heb. 5:9.  Salvation, by definition, is eternal because it's the gift of eternal, not temporary or provisional life.  Eternal life begins at salvation and not in heaven, as some mistakenly believe.  We are not saved on a provisional basis but can be sure.  God wants us to be sure of our salvation according to 1 John 5:13 and makes this point that we can know.  How could you know, if your salvation is temporary and probationary?  Again, in losing salvation, what sin are they so sure will cast them into hell, when Christ died for all their sins?  We can lose "full reward" (cf. 2 John 8), and be saved by the skin of our teeth (or "as if by fire" in 1 Cor. 3:15), but nowhere are believers cast into hell in Scripture as precedent.

Some object that they have the right to leave God because of free will.  The Bible has something to say about apostates:  "They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us.  But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us"  (1 John 2:19, ESV).  Actually, your destiny is in God's hands, not your own, He's the master of your fate and Captain of your soul, and He loves you with a love that won't let go.  You didn't come to Christ on the basis of your free will without divine wooing and you cannot persevere unless God preserves you.   All your sins, past, present, and future are forgiven upon salvation, so why worry about some unforgivable sin? We cannot lose a faith God gave us as a gift, because it's not something we conjured up in the first place--We are "preserved in Jesus Christ" according to Jude v. 1 (NKJV).

In the final analysis, do you want to be works-oriented and legalistic and fearful, or grace-oriented and sure?  Soli Deo Gloria!   

How Depraved Are We?

Plain Talk On Eternal Security

Salvation is a turning from sin to God--the summons to faith is only half the process, but some believers refer to their salvation experience as a repentance per se, the call to forsake sin. Paul says, "Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret..." (2 Cor. 7:10). God isn't fooled by mere outward show, He says, "Rend your hearts and not your garments" (Joel 2:13). William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army, deplored the rise of a gospel that had salvation without repentance.

Billy Graham says that genuine repentance and saving or true faith go hand in hand and are complementary to each other; faith is like the flip side of the penitent coin. Repentance is a recurring motif in the Bible. Jesus opened His ministry proclaiming, "Repent! For the kingdom of God is at hand." One must bring forth the fruits of repentance for it to be real (cf. Matt. 3:8: "Bear fruit in keeping with repentance"). Faith and repentance are linked or coupled by Luke in Acts 20:21, "Testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ." Paul said, "...Repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance."

Repentance is not a one-time act but according to Martin Luther a progressive lifelong event. We never stop repenting. This was the first of Luther's Ninety-Five Theses.

Repentance is "coming clean" and it is "throwing in the towel." It is more than "eating your humble pie," and it is not a human work, but the work of God in the heart. Watchman Nee says, "Our end is God's beginning." We all have to come to the end of ourselves or reach our limit outside of our comfort zone. 2 Tim. 2:24 says that God "grants" repentance. "Then to the Gentiles God has also granted repentance that leads to life" (Acts 11:18). It is a gift.

It is doing an about-face, doing a 180-degree turn, or making a U-turn. You renounce and repudiate sin--all your sins. Note that is imperative--it is a mandate. It is not simply "regret," or feeling sorry or emotionalism. Attrition is like feeling sorry over the consequences like getting caught. Contrition is true repentance. "A broken and contrite heart, you will not despise..." (Ps. 51:17).

Soli Deo Gloria!

What About Repentance?

First, let me define the term. It comes from the Greek metanoia which means to "think after," "after-thought," or to "change one's mind." Actually, it means to do a 180-degree turn or to do an about-face in military parlance. It is repudiating and renouncing sin; not doing it partway. It is not mere emotionalism but involves the mind or intellect, the will, and the emotions. It is the gift of God (cf. Acts 5:31; 11:18) and is a fruit of saving faith, not a condition for salvation; Reformed theologians do not believe we can do anything to prepare ourselves for salvation, because we are depraved people who cannot do anything meritorious. A dead man can do nothing! This U-turn or turnabout is a radical change of heart, mind, and will.

It is not a one-time event but is progressive and one is never through repenting as far as God sees it--it is progressive. It is not mere remorse, self-condemnation, regret, or feeling sorry, for Judas had these--it must be accompanied by saving faith. It is more than eating humble pie--it is coming clean with God. Surrender to the Lordship of Christ is implied and there can be no real repentance without it--there must be submission to the Lord's will and absolute surrender.

John the Baptist heralded Christ's coming with the message, "Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand." This is also the first message Christ proclaimed. Repentance is a recurring motif in the Scriptures. "Unless you repent, you shall likewise perish," Christ warned. Ezek. 18:30 says, "Repent and turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin." "And the times of ignorance God winked at, but now commands all men everywhere to repent" (Acts 17:30). "Repent, and be baptized every one of you...for the remission of sins" (Acts 2:38). Many see repentance as the prerequisite of salvation and the starting point. We must see our sin, our need, and then Christ can fill that need.

Faith and repentance are linked in Acts 20:21, which mentions "repentance toward God and faith in Jesus Christ." It is clear that repentance is a mandate. It is in the imperative case and everyone has to do it. Some say that the righteous have no need of repentance, but they are righteous because they have already repented or demonstrated saving faith. Spurious repentance or pseudo-repentance is like a child that just wants to be good enough not to be whipped (being sorry about the consequence not that he offended someone).

The Catholic Bible (Vulgate) translates "repentance" as "doing penance." They view it as a meritorious work and externalize it, and not as the gracious work of God in a person's heart. We do works fit for repentance, but repentance is an attitude that God grants us. "If perchance God may grant them repentance..." (2 Tim. 2:25). Acts 5:31 and 11:18 talk of God "granting repentance." There is no genuine repentance without saving faith, and likewise, no saving faith without genuine repentance according to Billy Graham; for they are complementary and go hand in hand. Repentance is the flip side of the coin of faith.

One must either have believing repentance or penitent faith, so to speak, as John Piper and Wayne Grudem phrase it. True repentance manifests itself in works that are appropriate (bringing forth fruit worthy of repentance), and I don't mean doing so many "Hail Mary's" or "Our Father's." Restitution or reconciliation is often called for, but to be sure we must see our sin as God sees it and that it is an offense against His holiness. (Confession (homologeo) means to "say the same thing as.)

Many preachers today do not preach repentance because it is such a killjoy word, and they want to tickle the ears of the church members. People listen to what their itching ears want to hear, and this is unpopular. Without repentance, there is no salvation, but God grants repentance in His grace. False repentance is attrition or simply regret.

Contrition is when we are truly sorry and don't intend to do it again. Judas was sorry and Esau was sorry, but they found no repentance. Whereas Peter was truly sorry for having denied the Lord and did find repentance and a change of heart, and thus forgiveness and restoration. Peter sincerely believed in the Lord--that is the difference. He believed the Lord could forgive him and never despaired.

In sum, saving faith is the flip side of true repentance--they go hand in hand; often it's not how big your faith but how thorough your repentance. (They are forever juxtaposed in Scripture in Acts 20:21) Soli Deo Gloria!

What Is Salvation?...

Salvation is literally being rescued from a calamitous, dangerous, threatening condition; namely in our case, hell and the wrath of God.  If you ask the man on the street if he's saved, he might inquire:  Saved from what?  The term is loosely used and misused to even mean being "saved by the bell" in boxing matches.  This concept is important because that's the meat and potatoes of Christianity:  salvation from self, sin, Satan's power, and hell.  Our faith is one of salvation and the saviorhood of Jesus must be made manifest front and center as the focus of our faith.  The actual, literal interpretation of the name Jesus means "Jehovah is salvation."  He was named Jesus because He was ordained to save His people from their sins. 

Now we must not neglect such great salvation and realize its implications!   He saved us; He did.  He keeps us; He does.  He's coming for us; He will.  And so it's more than mere forgiveness!  We are set free from the power of Satan and sin over our lives; we don't have permission to live in the flesh, but the power to live in the Spirit.  Our past is indeed forgiven (in fact, all our sins, past, present, and future); our present is given meaning, and the future is secured and given hope. Only in Christianity are we given dignity and meaning in life that has objective as well as subjective foundations.

We must never contextualize, water down, or dumb down the gospel message but realize that the bad news of universal sin and total depravity must also be preached--not just the good news about Jesus rising from the dead.  Jesus came to seek and to save those who are lost and the sinner, not the righteous.  There is a danger of preaching easy-believism or cheap grace that justifies the sin, not the sinner too. Lordship issues must not be glossed over!   We don't add to grace either:  grace is not only necessary, as Catholics will acknowledge, but sufficient!  We are saved wholly by grace and not by our merit--we don't deserve it, cannot earn it, nor can we pay it back, nor can we add to it!

The essence of the gospel is that "salvation is of the LORD," according to Jonah 2:9.  This means that we don't have to cooperate or contribute our human do-goodery or good conduct as a presalvation work or merit.  Nothing we can do can make us fit for salvation!  The only way we can be assured of our salvation is that it wholly depends on God, not on us.  If we had to do anything, we'd fail!  Therefore, it's not Jesus plus (plus going to church, plus doing good deeds, plus charity, plus preaching, or even plus prophesying or doing any miracle).  Jesus alone saves, not faith--it's the object that saves (Jesus alone is the Savior)!

Much confusion arises in understanding this because of the tenses and times of salvation:  we are saved, are being saved, and shall be saved!  As for the timing:  It all began in eternity past, is realized in time, and looks forward to heaven.  The formula of the Reformers was that we are saved by faith alone, but not a faith that is alone (God's grace is the source, Christ the means, and faith the channel). If we have no works to validate our faith, it's suspect.  Therefore, we are not saved by good conduct nor by good works either, but unto them.  As they say, we're not saved by good works, but not without them either! 

In sum, we get saved by recognizing our sin, realizing Christ's death and resurrection on our behalf, and repenting of our sin and finally, receiving Christ as our Lord and Savior.  As a result, we get the power to live in the Spirit and conquer sin, a new purpose in life, pardon of all our sins (known and unknown), and even the peace of God which surpasses understanding.    Soli Deo Gloria!  

The Obedience Of Faith...

"We have received grace and apostleship through Him to bring about the obedience of faith among all the nations on behalf of HIs name including yourselves who also belong to Jesus Christ by calling" (Rom. 1:5-6, HCSB). 
"...[T]o advance the obedience of faith among all nations" (Rom. 16:26, HCSB).
Salvation via repentance stressed: 
 "...[T]hat he might bring Israel to repentance and forgive their sins" (Acts 5:31, NIV).  
"...'So then, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life'" (Acts 11:18, NIV).
"Produce fruit in keeping with repentance..." (Luke 3:8, NIV).  "... But unless you repent you too will perish" (Luke 13:5, NIV).  
"I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance" (Luke 5:32, HCSB).
".... Repent and believe in the good news!" (Mark 1:15, HCSB).
"... 'So God has granted repentance resulting in life even to the Gentiles'" (Acts 11:18, HCSB).
"God exalted this Man to His right hand as ruler and Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins."  (Acts 5:31, HCSB).
"The best measure of a spiritual life is not its ecstasies but its obedience." --Oswald Chambers
NOTE:  ALL ITALICS MINE. 

The old controversy of Lordship-salvation, prevalent since days of the rise of Evangelicalism, is still unclear and unsettled in the dogma of some so-called evangelical churches.  Dietrich Bonhoeffer articulated it as far back as the Nazi era:  "Only he who believes is obedient; only he who is obedient believes."  Hebrews 11:8 says, "By faith Abraham  ... obeyed."  The two go hand in hand and might be considered two sides of the same coin--you can only distinguish them--they are inseparable!  Jesus said that if we love Him we will obey Him--obviously, believing in Him is to be obedient:  It is vain to serve God without faith, (cf. Heb. 11:6) for this is merely dead faith that cannot save (cf. James 2:26). 

Note that a tree is known by its fruit!  God looks for fruit, not foliage!  Good soil produces fruit!   Only faith pleases God and this must be real faith that produces works and we can do nothing apart from Christ--I repeat for emphasis:  Apart from Him, we can do nothing, not believe, not repent, not bear fruit!  (Cf. Heb. 11:6; John 15:5).

We must not only come to faith in Him but be obedient to the faith and that starts with being obedient to the gospel!  That entails a penitent faith! Repentance is a gift of God along with the faith that God grants the believer (cf. Acts 18:27, 2 Pet. 1:1; Phil. 1:29 with: 2 Tim. 2:25; Acts 5:31, 11:18; 2 Tim. 2:24-25).  Those are also two mindsets that go hand in hand.  We either are saved by penitent faith or believing repentance if you will.  The two works of grace are juxtaposed in Acts 20:21, HCSB, ("I testified to both Jews and Greeks about repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus" ) and used interchangeably in Scripture.  Salvation is often seen as from the point of view of repentance:  "...that they should repent and turn to God, and do works worthy of repentance" (Acts 26:20, HCSB).

In essence, Israel already believed in God and needed repentance concerning Christ; while the Gentiles needed to exercise faith!  But God commands all people everywhere to repent (cf. Acts 17:30).   "[A]nd repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name..." (Luke 24:47, HCSB).  And so obedient faith produces the fruit or works of repentance and good deeds as a witness!  In repentance, we are turning from our sin, and in our act of faith, we turn from self to God.

Faith and obedience are linked and juxtaposed in Scripture:  Hebrews 3:18-19 says they didn't enter His rest due to unbelief, and also due to disobedience in parallel.  Indeed, Christ is a Lord to be obeyed from servants.  He owns us as our Master and we are the slaves--we belong to Him; we don't merely serve Him.  We must not divorce faith and obedience! They can be distinguished but not separated!  God made this Jesus, who was crucified, both Lord and Christ according to Acts 2:36 and we must accept Him for who He is!

We must bow and bend the knee!  We must submit to His Lordship over us and unashamedly own Him as Lord.  The Father has granted Him all authority and He is Lord of all (cf. Matt. 28:18; Acts 10:36; Rom. 10:12).  We cannot dichotomize His offices and only accept a Savior without denying ourselves, taking up our cross, and following Him in discipleship (cf. Mark 8:34).  We either accept Him for who He is or we have rejected Him--this is the mistake of easy-believism that seems to be in vogue, that wants to domesticate the gospel in order to make it palatable to the sinner and requiring no sacrifice or commitment whatsoever.

The thing that qualifies Him to be Savior is that He's Lord, but we don't make Him Lord, He IS LORD!  We must acknowledge His authority over our lives and we must get in line with God's will and present ourselves to His sovereignty and plan over our lives as we become "living sacrifices" (cf. Rom. 12:1). In short, to accept His Lordship over our lives is to commit to following Him in discipleship and to obey Him! As Hosea puts it:  "Let us follow on to know the Lord" (Hos. 6:3)!        Soli Deo Gloria!

Why the Consternation About Election?

Americans like to think like William Ernest Henley in Invictus that we are the "captain of our souls and the master of our fates."  To think that God is ultimately in control of our destiny is like making God a despot. The Bible teaches that God chooses some to salvation, and not because of anything in them, (merit) or of anything they have done, but "according to His good pleasure." I have heard it said that God gives everyone an equal chance; that He is equal opportunity, as it were. (Did God give Pharaoh the same opportunity as Moses, or Esau as He did to Jacob?) Then some are better qualified to be saved than others; however, the chief qualification to be saved is to realize you don't deserve to be.

If God did give everyone an equal chance and woos everyone the same, then why do some respond positively? Are they better than others? Do they have more inherent virtue? Faith is not a work and therefore non-meritorious. The Bible teaches that faith is a gift and not something we conjure up ("Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God," according to Rom. 10:17).
We are elected unto faith, not because of faith.

This is the so-called prescient view that God just sees ahead who will believe and chooses them. However, the election is unconditional, and not because we deserve it--we are in no superior or more virtuous than others who don't happen to believe because it is grace all the way. If mercy is deserved, it is no longer mercy, but justice. Jesus said that we are unable to come to Him and only when the Father "draws" us ("No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him...") can we respond to the gospel message (cf. John 6:44; 65).

Sometimes the gospel falls on deaf ears because God hasn't worked in their hearts to prepare them. We do naught to prepare ourselves unto salvation. There is an inward call of God and a general call that we do by preaching. Then who believe? "The elect attained unto it, and the rest were hardened," says Rom. 11:7. Acts 13:48 declares, "As many as were appointed unto eternal life believed." According to Rom. 8:30, everyone whom God calls gets saved. Left alone, none of us would've chosen Christ. We love Him because He first loved us. "No one seeks for God," says Romans 3:11.   Soli Deo Gloria!