The Faith That Saves

Everyone exercises faith everyday whether they realize it or not. Every time we put food in our mouths, we are sure it will not harm us but nourish our bodies. Anytime we take a drink, we assume it is not poisoned. Every time we start our car we set off a series of explosions under the hood and we do not have a concern about the car blowing up. People trust the surgeon to use the knife on them to make the correct incisions with no surety the procedure will be successful. We know when we get paid from our employer that the money will be in the bank when we need to withdraw it although the paper check has no value. This is what the writer calls everyday faith. We do all these things and much more without thinking about them.

Why?

Because, our cars do not blow up when we start our engines. Some of our food is bad because it's processed with GMO's and many other additives but we eat it anyway. What we drink usually does not harm us. We have a relationship with these things, so we are used to them. But what about the faith that saves the soul?

Faith must have an object - whether it's a person, place or thing. The eleventh chapter of Hebrews is described as The Hall of Faith or the Hall of the Faithful. The first verse of the chapter says, "Faith is the substance of the things hoped for. The evidence of things not seen." Atheists view faith as quackery. Why? Because they believe the faith of Christians is void of empirical evidence. In other words, the believer's faith is blind - fools gold, nebulous, superstitious.  Nothing could be further from the truth. 

The evidence(s) that fuels the believer's faith

If the accounts in the Bible were lies, then the non-believer would have a leg to stand on, and we would have no evidence to back up our faith,  but they do not. It is vitally important to note that the majority of the writers of scripture were eyewitnesses to what they wrote about or were associates to eyewitnesses. Just because the skeptic cannot make sense of the Biblical accounts in their mind does not mean they did not occur. If one is an honest reporter, they can provide precise details of an event they witnessed that can be verified. If no one else was there to counter their version of the facts, how can one say they are wrong? 

Luke the physician was not an eyewitness of the life of Jesus but was associated with those who knew our Lord personally. He received their testimony, carefully researched the facts no doubt and provided an orderly account to a man named Theophilus:

Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us. Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word. It seem good to me also having had a perfect understanding of all things from the very first to write unto you in order most excellent Theophilus, that you might know the certainty of those things, wherein you have been instructed (Luke 1:1-4).

We do not know anything about Theophilus, but Luke must have had tremendous love and respect for him, as he provides a written evangelistic account of Jesus Christ for this man. The gospel of Luke is the most complete of all four gospel accounts. The book of Acts also written by Luke was dedicated to Theophilus. In it Luke says to Theophilus, "In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach until the day when He was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. He presented Himself alive to them after His suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God" (Acts 1:1-3).

Peter said regarding the testimony of Christ said, For we did not follow cleverly devised myths (or fables) when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to Him by the Majestic Glory, "This is My Beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased', we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with Him on the holy mountain (2 Peter 1:16-17).

God's written word is the evidence that energizes our faith, and is also what makes it real. Our faith is based on the truth. Our faith is living and active because it has been given to us by God. Without the Lord, we could never have true saving faith. If God does not exist, how could we have faith in Him and His promises?

What does Hebrews 11:1 mean?

The verse reads, "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." The writer of Hebrews (which some scholars believe was Paul), said our faith has two important ingredients: substance and evidence. Due to those who had personal relationships with God Almighty, their faith was strengthened because of the promises given to them by God. The Lord was mighty in their midst so they had absolute confidence in what God promised them, He would fulfill. Now, not all saw the full manifestation of what was promised in their lifetime, but they saw it afar off (vs 13).

Likewise, everything God has promised us most likely will not happen in our lifetime, but will be fulfilled in the life to come. So what do we do? We rejoice in the promises of God as if they have been fulfilled. By faith we see the promises afar off although they have not manifested. Faith gives us vision to see the invisible. Our faith has substance or assurance. Bible teacher John MacArthur in his commentary on Hebrews 11 said, 

"Faith is the present essence of a future reality."

This same faith is what saves the soul. When one places their faith in the finished atoning work of Jesus Christ, we are declared righteous by God. This faith is a gift from God to believe in God the Son. 

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Saving faith does not make sense to the unregenerate. Why? Because they are blind spiritually and can never see it. Jesus said to those who have not seen Him yet believe are blessed (John 20:29). To the world it does not make sense to believe in a God we have never seen or who's voice we have never heard. We do not make the rules of engagement when it comes to how we are to relate to God; He makes them. The writer of  Hebrews said, "Without faith it is impossible to please God. For those that come to Him MUST believe that He exists, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him" (Hebrews 11:6). 

The faith of the redeemed

By way of wrap up, the believer's faith is the assurance now in the promises of God for the eternal. Our faith is not whimsical, airy or a leap into some endless black hole. Our faith is not blind; rather it sees. It sees so far that like the faithful of old who are dead, it endures now as a testimony to them. Believer's possess that same faith - the faith of Abraham that justified him (Gen 15:6; Rom 4:16). Our faith is based on truth, on what is real - the enduring Word of God which lasts forever so it will and cannot fail. The faith we possess has by grace led us to eternal life. 

Those who refuse to place faith in the Lord will never enter into the Kingdom of God. Anyone that places their trust in someone or something else is hopelessly blind. Even demons have a better faith than the non-believer; they believe God exists (James 2:19).

This is the thought process of the un-saved toward the Christian Faith: 

You can't convince a believer of anything; for their belief is not based on evidence, it's based on a deep-seated need to believe

Carl Sagan

Do I Remain a Sinner Once My Sins are Forgiven?

This is not a trick question. There are some Christians who believe they are no longer sinners when they came to Christ. Let's analyze and find out from God's Word what happens to our sins when we repent and believe the gospel.

Ephesians 1:7 tells us that In Christ we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace. The word forgiveness in the Greek is Aphesis. It means remission, to release sins from the sinner. One must understand that when Jesus took away our sins through His death, He was our substitute. He acted as our intercessor and mediator; He suffered, was punished by the Father for our trespasses and paid our sin debt when He died. This was a judicial act by Christ. 

If one can imagine a court scene: 

The Judge is the Father, Satan is mankind's accuser, and Jesus is our defense attorney, our advocate. Now the devil of course wants us to kill us so that we're sent to hell unforgiven so he begins to belch out all of our sins to the Judge: Idolater, murderer, liar, glutton, drunkard, thief, adulterer, blasphemer, covetousness, etc. The Judge says to the defense attorney, "What do you have to say about these accusations?" The defense replies to the Judge, "My Lord the things the accuser has charged my clients with were true, but my Lord You sent Me here not only to defend my clients, You commanded Me to give My life for them because You and I love them. I did what You commanded Me 2,000 years ago and those that have repented and put their trust in Me I cleansed with my blood and saved them so the enemy has no right to them. They belong to You and Me My Honorable Lord. I AM their redeemer. I AM their Savior!

Because of Christ we have received a divine pardon. The Judge has banged His gavel and given us a not guilty verdict. We are free in Christ. Praise God! But just because our sins are no longer counted against us, it does not mean we are not still sinners - we are. How do I know this?

The apostle John in I John 1:8-10 says this to believers, "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us."

So, if we have been forgiven of all our sins when we initially repented and believed in the atoning work of Jesus for salvation, then why does John say as believers that we have to confess our sins to be cleansed from unrighteousness? I can understand why John's words could be confusing. Were our sins washed away or not?

You see Jesus delivered us from the penalty and power of sin, but currently not its presence. Our bodies have not received its glorification yet so we still struggle in our flesh and war against sin. Because the temptation to sin is with us, we fall prey to sin and we must confess it to the Lord for ongoing cleansing. This confession of sin is not forgiveness so that we can be saved again, but rather a familial or relationship forgiveness - like a father would give to his son that disobeys him (Hebrews 12:5-11). 

I John 2:1-2 says, "My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may may not sin. If anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world." 

Notice what the Elder Apostle John said, my little children. He is clearly making reference to Christians; meaning we do sin. Now, sinning cannot be the pattern of the believer's life because we have been delivered from it. It no longer has dominion over us. You see, we sin, but we must not practice it. That was our former pattern of life. 

Why we should continually confess our sins

Paul said in Romans 15:4, "For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope."

God relayed clearly to the children of Israel that in order for Him to dwell in their presence, the land could not be defiled by their sin. How in the world could approximately a couple of million people remain clean? By slaughtering animals, shedding their blood as a sin substitute for them. God required usually sheep, lamb, goats and bulls without blemish to be a sacrifice. The blood shed from these animals was an atonement for the sins of the people. The reason they had to continually offer sacrifices was because the animal's blood could only cover sins, it could not wash away the sins of the people. Hebrews 10:4 tells us the blood of bulls and goats could NEVER take away sins. The blood of animals pre-figured the once and for all sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Remember the words of John the Baptist, "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29).

I provided that small history lesson to show that although we are clean by the blood of the Lamb inwardly, our outward man which Paul describes as a body of death is not clean and is subject to sin (Romans 7:24). Ongoing confession of sin is good for our soul and body. It is not something we should do ritualistically or mechanically. Rather, we should do it humbly and joyfully realizing that we never deserve the right to even dwell in the presence of the Lord, let alone approach His holy majestic throne. 

So yes, we are still sinners, no question about it. The difference for the believer vs. the non believer is that our lives can no longer be dominated by it. The power of the Holy Spirit compels us to resist sin. The Bible tells us that we cannot practice sin because of the indwelling Holy Spirit (1 John 3:4-9). Notice I did not say temptation for we are always tempted due to the corruption that is in our flesh and the sinfulness of others. 

There will come a glorious day when we will sin no more. That will be when we are glorified in our bodies. That blessed day is when Jesus returns for His Bride the Church. The dead in Christ will rise first. Then all those who are alive will be changed and will meet the Lord in the air (1 Cor 15:51-58; 1 Thess 4:13-18).