There is a verse in the scriptures which states the following...
"HOPE DEFERRED MAKES THE HEART SICK"
How many of us are aware that the christian life works through faith. Faith is your God ordained connection to heaven. Faith is the channel through which saving grace comes. Miracles come through faith. Answers to prayer and healing come through faith. In fact the bible even testifies that Jesus himself could not do many miracles in one particular place 'because of their unbelief.' Faith is an essential component of the christian life but consider this......
.....It is eminently possible that what we hoped for can become the source of our discontent and discouragement. The very thing we believe for becomes the very thing which leaves us low. Why? The answer is in the verse at the top. Hope deferred makes the heart sick. When our prayers are not soon answered we find our faith flagging, our hopes fading and our strength to hold onto the promises of God slipping. There is something, however, that acts as an effective cure for this malady and it comes in an understanding of how faith really works.
Here is the key..."Faith without works is dead"
Understand something here. When God speaks His word into your life it is a living thing. It is something which heaven already considers a done deal but for that word to live within you requires faith. If your faith {or hope is deferred} it leads to a sickness of the heart called unbelief. Make no doubt about it unbelief is a moral sickness. It is a disease that attacks so many of us but is curable. We must understand how healthy faith works. If faith without works is dead then faith WITH works is alive and kicking. Real faith is seen in your actions not your words. If God speaks to you and you believe it then it is your responsibility to take it by faith. The evidence of this is that you do or live according to what God has told you. Often the word of God doesn't come to pass in your life until this kind of faith is present. Just look at the list of the heroes of faith in the book of Hebrews in the bible. Time and again their faith is seen in what they did.
If you have faith but don't do anything with it is may wither and die but if you exercise it and apply it your faith will have a reason to live, a purpose and an assignment. It is when our hope/faith is deferred/or put on the shelf that it becomes unwell and our hearts become sick. {This is a rather different take in this verse that the one I originally accepted but I believe this has a lot of truth to it. There is something I have noticed among believers. Those who regularly apply their faith are strong in faith and those that don't often are not. Have you ever heard the following comment. "Oh I wish I had YOUR faith"? Let me make one thing clear...YOU DO! God has given to every believer the PERFECT measure of faith. You have enough faith to fulfill all of what God has called you to do in this life. God's responsibility is to supply you with the capacity to believe. Our responsibility is to apply it.
I heard a man once say, "Well if God wanted us to have revival He would just send it" Sounds logical. I mean if God wanted my hair to be combed He would comb it for me! The idea that we passively do noting waiting for the sovereign will of God {whatever it is} is hugely dubious at best and leads to the fossilisation of the church at worst. Make no mistake about it. The church is built by God's power, not ours but it is built THROUGH our faith and that faith is seen IN WHAT WE DO. In other words God works as we work.
Many in the protestant churches are suffering from what I call 'Martin Luther itis' They have it drummed into them that everything is by grace through faith and not by works that if anyone starts to stress effort, doing anything or work they react negatively. You might want to read Ephesians chapter two verses 8 and 9 and then verse ten. {Many stop at verse 9} There you will find that God has ordained works for you to do. That's the mark of real faith. God works through faith. God's power/grace works through faith. It's not a passive faith but an active faith that God is looking for. Abraham offered up Isaac and THEN God revealed the ram for the sacrifice. It's a simple principle. What you use will flourish. What you neglect will shrivel and die.
If you believe God will bless you with a job don't just sit there waiting for it to happen. Step out in faith and see what God will do. Many of us wait for God who is waiting for us. Remember, faith is the evidence of things not seen. You dont see the answer to prayer yet but faith has EVIDENCE. In other words I can see your faith before I see the answer to prayer.
So if you are struggling to hold onto faith in any area of your life, if you are struggling to believe God for what He promised you in the past, ask your self some simple questions.
Does my faith feel like its fading, put on hold or deferred?
Is my heart starting to become weighed down with discouragement?
Do I act as if the promise of God is a done deal?
It's amazing how often our level of faith is connected with our level of action. Put your money where you mouth is, is a common phrase. Put your works where your faith is would be a good one to remember as well. If you do that you will likely find your hope, not deferred but revived and invigorated and far from making your heart sick with discouragement, your heart will become a centre of health and well being because faith lives and grows within you and that is the definition of a healthy heart.
So make a decision not to defer your faith, to leave it on the shelf but to apply it, live it out and invest in what God has told you is true. Far from making your heart sick you will find your faith growing in leaps and bounds. Your hope will revive and you will see what God can do.
shalom...steve
Sunday, 25 September 2011
Tuesday, 13 September 2011
A True Valuation.
I heard an amusing story a while back.
A man bought himself a house which had a garage attached which contained the remains of an old car. He was neither interested in the garage or car, only the house. There the car stayed gathering dust for several years until the visit of an old aquaintence. The visitor was given the traditional tour of the property including the garage however when he saw the old car he stopped dead in his tracks. "I've been meaning to get rid of this pile of scrap for years" said the owner. "Well I'll be happy to take it off your hands" replied the elderly visitor. The owners mind started to go up a gear. " It can't be worth more than £20 in scrap value and it'll cost me more than that to move it." he thought to himself. "Tell you what" he said, "Just for you I'll let it go for £200" "O.K, it's a deal" came the reply and with that the deal was done, the owner freed up his garage space and made a bit of money into the bargain.
Fast forward 4 years and the same man is sitting at breakfast reading his morning paper when his eyes glance upon a certain article. He stops, his coffee cup drops from his hand onto the floor and after a few seconds of shock he shouts out "I don't bloody believe it!" Right in front of him was a picture of the same car,virtually unrecognisable and under the headline 'CLASSIC CAR INSURED FOR £100,000'. How could this happen!
Here's the story from the perspective of the old aquaintance. He said "I knew there was something special about the car when I first saw it but it was in such a state I couldn't be sure. The chassis, engine and framework were there but not much else. I wiped the grease and the dust from the name plate to see the name of a classic car garage from the days before mass production. From the days when cars were hand made in a small garage by two or three man teams. I realised that every car this garage made was unique and the makers name made it virtually priceless. There was only one of these cars ever made." He continued, "In the last few years I've spent everything I had on restoring this car to it's original glory." Describing it as a labour of love he said, "I've sometimes worked long into the night wondering if I would ever get it finished but if you asked me now I'd have to say it was worth it."
Y'know I almost felt sorry for the original owner who sold the car so cheaply but at the same time I had to laugh.
How is it possible that two men looking at the same thing saw something entirely different. One man saw a wreck, marred, damaged and dirty. The other saw a priceless, unique classic car waiting for someone who would make to neccessary investment to rescue, restore and save it. When I heard this story my mind went to how we value each other. Permit me to ask you a question.
HOW DO YOU VALUE OTHER PEOPLE?
We have many ways of applying a value to people. We do it economically. In the city of Galati in Romania many were employed in the local steelworks until much of it was shut down putting many out of work. They were of no economic value to the new owner. We are valued by race. I've encountered Romanians who put little value on the gypsy people on their own doorstep seeing them as little better than vermin. One friend of mine, however, told me that when people in England speak to her they are fine until she mentions she is from Romania then you see the change in their faces. Such is racial valuation. We may down on others but be sure there are always people with the same mentality looking down on you. Not only is racial prejudice wrong, it makes no logical sense. We are also valued intellectually. One person may look down on another because they don't have the same education as them. People are discriminated against on the basis of culture, gender and age. Even in churches a person can be looked down upon because of past sins. God may have forgiven them but they are not allowed to come out from the shadow of shame. Now permit me to ask you another question.
HOW DOES GOD VALUE US?
The best way I can answer that one is to go to an amazing statement in one of the gospels which says 'For God loved the world so much that He gave His only begotten Son so that whosoever believes in Him should never perish but have everlasting life.' Think about that for a moment. Gods watched as his son whom he loved suffered and was crucified and why? So the penalty of our sin could be paid for and we could be saved from the penalty, power and presence of sin. That's what it cost God to purrchase us, to rescue us from a future of hell, an eternal seperation from God. What on earth possessed Jesus to pay such a heavy price for us. Why would he give everything he had, even the blood in his own veins to redeem us? I mean look at all the trouble we cause. We lie, fight and steal and most of us don't give our creater a second thought, this would is scarred by the sins of man. There hasn't been a day in the last thousand years where there hasn't been a war somewhere. Where someone is kiling someone else over land, power or money. Why would he pay such a heavy price?
I believbe he saw the same thing that man saw when he viewed that car. He looked past the outward tarnished appearence, damage and disrepair. Wiped away the grime and grease and SAW THE MAKERS NAME and said, "yes, this is worth it". Do you know the real value of a human life? It's not in our usefulness to an employer, the number of friends we have or our level of wealth or social standing. The real value is found right back in the book of Genesis when the scriture says "and God created man in his own image" Etched on the heart of every human being is the name of his maker. Every one of us is a unique production, looking past the grime and the greese of our sinfulness and unrighteousness is the name of the maker. This is why God would pay such an incredible price to redeem us, to purchase us and then do everything he can to salvage us, repair and restore us to our former glory. To make us what he always intended us to be. People who reflect his creative and moral beauty. People made in the image if God.
The bible uses a certain word for this. SALVATION. It means to SALVAGE ,to REDEEM, to RESCUE, to REBUILD and RECREATE, to RENOVATE and RESTORE TO IT'S FORMER GLORY. To make us THE PEOPLE WE WERE ALWAYS DESIGNED TO BE.
If this salvation was only the forgiveness of sins it would be wonderful but it is much, much more than that. It is also to be freed from the power of sin and ultimatly to be freed from the presence of sin and all the effects of the fall which damaged God's beautiful and perfect creation. Our own salvation is expressed in our restorative touch to others. When we see the poverty, deprivation and suffering of others and we reach out to meet their needs we are acting in a redeeming restorative and saving way. We do this when we look past the dirt and the grime of humanity to see the makers name on their hearts. The same name etched upon the hearts of every member of the human race regardless of their race, religion, who they are, were or where they are going. The same name God saw when he considered you worth salvaging and the scripture says that salvaging process begins the moment you put your faith in Jesus.
What a contrast such thinking it to they way we often see each other. Jesus came to bring a revolution but not with guns or bombs. He came to bring a revolution in our hearts and our thinking. Imagine if everyone saw others the way Jesus sees us. Such a revolution would change the face of this planet forever.
A man bought himself a house which had a garage attached which contained the remains of an old car. He was neither interested in the garage or car, only the house. There the car stayed gathering dust for several years until the visit of an old aquaintence. The visitor was given the traditional tour of the property including the garage however when he saw the old car he stopped dead in his tracks. "I've been meaning to get rid of this pile of scrap for years" said the owner. "Well I'll be happy to take it off your hands" replied the elderly visitor. The owners mind started to go up a gear. " It can't be worth more than £20 in scrap value and it'll cost me more than that to move it." he thought to himself. "Tell you what" he said, "Just for you I'll let it go for £200" "O.K, it's a deal" came the reply and with that the deal was done, the owner freed up his garage space and made a bit of money into the bargain.
Fast forward 4 years and the same man is sitting at breakfast reading his morning paper when his eyes glance upon a certain article. He stops, his coffee cup drops from his hand onto the floor and after a few seconds of shock he shouts out "I don't bloody believe it!" Right in front of him was a picture of the same car,virtually unrecognisable and under the headline 'CLASSIC CAR INSURED FOR £100,000'. How could this happen!
Here's the story from the perspective of the old aquaintance. He said "I knew there was something special about the car when I first saw it but it was in such a state I couldn't be sure. The chassis, engine and framework were there but not much else. I wiped the grease and the dust from the name plate to see the name of a classic car garage from the days before mass production. From the days when cars were hand made in a small garage by two or three man teams. I realised that every car this garage made was unique and the makers name made it virtually priceless. There was only one of these cars ever made." He continued, "In the last few years I've spent everything I had on restoring this car to it's original glory." Describing it as a labour of love he said, "I've sometimes worked long into the night wondering if I would ever get it finished but if you asked me now I'd have to say it was worth it."
Y'know I almost felt sorry for the original owner who sold the car so cheaply but at the same time I had to laugh.
How is it possible that two men looking at the same thing saw something entirely different. One man saw a wreck, marred, damaged and dirty. The other saw a priceless, unique classic car waiting for someone who would make to neccessary investment to rescue, restore and save it. When I heard this story my mind went to how we value each other. Permit me to ask you a question.
HOW DO YOU VALUE OTHER PEOPLE?
We have many ways of applying a value to people. We do it economically. In the city of Galati in Romania many were employed in the local steelworks until much of it was shut down putting many out of work. They were of no economic value to the new owner. We are valued by race. I've encountered Romanians who put little value on the gypsy people on their own doorstep seeing them as little better than vermin. One friend of mine, however, told me that when people in England speak to her they are fine until she mentions she is from Romania then you see the change in their faces. Such is racial valuation. We may down on others but be sure there are always people with the same mentality looking down on you. Not only is racial prejudice wrong, it makes no logical sense. We are also valued intellectually. One person may look down on another because they don't have the same education as them. People are discriminated against on the basis of culture, gender and age. Even in churches a person can be looked down upon because of past sins. God may have forgiven them but they are not allowed to come out from the shadow of shame. Now permit me to ask you another question.
HOW DOES GOD VALUE US?
The best way I can answer that one is to go to an amazing statement in one of the gospels which says 'For God loved the world so much that He gave His only begotten Son so that whosoever believes in Him should never perish but have everlasting life.' Think about that for a moment. Gods watched as his son whom he loved suffered and was crucified and why? So the penalty of our sin could be paid for and we could be saved from the penalty, power and presence of sin. That's what it cost God to purrchase us, to rescue us from a future of hell, an eternal seperation from God. What on earth possessed Jesus to pay such a heavy price for us. Why would he give everything he had, even the blood in his own veins to redeem us? I mean look at all the trouble we cause. We lie, fight and steal and most of us don't give our creater a second thought, this would is scarred by the sins of man. There hasn't been a day in the last thousand years where there hasn't been a war somewhere. Where someone is kiling someone else over land, power or money. Why would he pay such a heavy price?
I believbe he saw the same thing that man saw when he viewed that car. He looked past the outward tarnished appearence, damage and disrepair. Wiped away the grime and grease and SAW THE MAKERS NAME and said, "yes, this is worth it". Do you know the real value of a human life? It's not in our usefulness to an employer, the number of friends we have or our level of wealth or social standing. The real value is found right back in the book of Genesis when the scriture says "and God created man in his own image" Etched on the heart of every human being is the name of his maker. Every one of us is a unique production, looking past the grime and the greese of our sinfulness and unrighteousness is the name of the maker. This is why God would pay such an incredible price to redeem us, to purchase us and then do everything he can to salvage us, repair and restore us to our former glory. To make us what he always intended us to be. People who reflect his creative and moral beauty. People made in the image if God.
The bible uses a certain word for this. SALVATION. It means to SALVAGE ,to REDEEM, to RESCUE, to REBUILD and RECREATE, to RENOVATE and RESTORE TO IT'S FORMER GLORY. To make us THE PEOPLE WE WERE ALWAYS DESIGNED TO BE.
If this salvation was only the forgiveness of sins it would be wonderful but it is much, much more than that. It is also to be freed from the power of sin and ultimatly to be freed from the presence of sin and all the effects of the fall which damaged God's beautiful and perfect creation. Our own salvation is expressed in our restorative touch to others. When we see the poverty, deprivation and suffering of others and we reach out to meet their needs we are acting in a redeeming restorative and saving way. We do this when we look past the dirt and the grime of humanity to see the makers name on their hearts. The same name etched upon the hearts of every member of the human race regardless of their race, religion, who they are, were or where they are going. The same name God saw when he considered you worth salvaging and the scripture says that salvaging process begins the moment you put your faith in Jesus.
What a contrast such thinking it to they way we often see each other. Jesus came to bring a revolution but not with guns or bombs. He came to bring a revolution in our hearts and our thinking. Imagine if everyone saw others the way Jesus sees us. Such a revolution would change the face of this planet forever.
Friday, 9 September 2011
The gospel according to Del Boy. {Or why your faith doesn't work}
LEGALISM : {i} A particular philosophy originating in China.
{ii} A term used to define any rule another christian or church comes up with which you don't agree with.
This is what bothers me about the term 'legalism' when mentioned in Christian circles. Hey, we are all legalistic then aren't we? The only people who are not legalistic in any way would be those who are without any rules. Hmmm. That would be interesting. Let's see where we can go with that one.
1 - Thou shalt not kill. - Thats a rule and if you keep that rule and insist that others do also then you are legalistic!
2 - Thou shalt not commit adultery. - If your wife objects to your playing away from home you can simply dismiss her complaints as 'legalism' or better still you can accuse her of being 'judgemental'.
3 - Thou shalt not steal - I have to wonder if you would see this as so legalistic if it were your goods I were pilfering.
Of course I'm taking this whole thing to a ridiculous extreme but if I can get you to think a bit more before banding these terms around then all I've achieved my objective.
So what do people mean by legalism? Some answers I have heard are below.
#You must keep the 10 commandments but anything more than that is legalism.
#We are not under the law, end of story. Grace means you are free to do whatever you like and anyone who says otherwise is legalistic.
#The old testament is irrelevant. The only law that counts is love and if you love then you have fulfilled the law according to Jesus.
I have a confession to make. I don't suffer fools easily. This explains why I find myself having to show restraint when I hear what christians believe. I'm serious when I say this. I find more common sense spoken by non christians than by christians when they try to defend a doctrine which is hopelessly impractical so let me tell some home truths which I think are so easily defendable you would have to be naive to challenge me on. {But feel free to try anyway}
1 - The law of God is good. God doesn't make laws up for the fun of it or to be awkward to cramp our style or stop our fun.
2 - God is always right. It is the height of idiocy to think we know more than God.
3 - Simply stating 'we are not under the law' when we still shouldn't kill, steal or commit adultery is non sensical and misleading. {especially as it is so easy to find these practices condemned in the NEW testament}
4 - If you can do what the hell you like and still be a christian and go to heaven then a lot of 'good' sinners will have every right to start asking some serious questions of God.
Now I've already stated that thinking we know more than or better than God is foolish. Needless to say I don't think the view of 'live how you want and slip into heaven' holds any weight anyway but I've met christians who actually teach this. Taken to it's logical conclusion you could come to faith and then live how you want for the last 40 years of your life in utter rebellion against God and his commandments, join the nazis, rape a schoolgirl and generally do every evil thing under the sun and still get to heaven. {Granted you may lose your reward but if you get heaven I figure thats not so big a deal} Now I'm no 5 point Calvinist but there is a reason why they taught that if a person died in their sin and rebellion against God they were never saved in the first place.
So let me deal with a possible accusation here. You might say, 'So Steve, surely you are in danger of teaching salvation by works, that somehow you have to be good enough to enter heaven?'{an accusation I reject enterely by the way} Now I'm going to give you two statements which at first may seem like a contradiction.
1 - No man can earn salvation nor can he earn the right to keep it.
2 - The unrighteous will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
The answer to this quandary is the understand the nature of faith. In the west we define faith like this. 'You believe something is true'. In bible times it was more like this 'You trust someone and act accordingly.' We know the bible teaches that salvation comes by the grace of God...correct? Er..half right actually. {Seriously I wouldn't trust some christians to organise a booze up in a brewery!} If we really believe that grace saves and thats the end of the story then why doesn't God save everyone? The answer?...
You are saved BY grace THROUGH faith. {Ephesians ch 2 v 8}
Now read on to verse 10 where you will find the mention of 'works'. Not only that but works in a positive sense. This is intimately connnected to being saved by grace through faith. Here is the key to the whole thing.
Grace : You are saved by the power of God freely given
faith : This grace comes through your faith in Jesus Christ
works : This grace that flows through your faith empowers you to live the life God wanted you to live.
In other words it is not good works which save you nor keep you saved but works are EVIDENCE that you really have faith. If you are not walking in obedience to God's commandments then you need to ask serious questions about your faith.
So GRACE flows through FAITH and produces WORKS. Now think for a moment.
If we remove grace from the equasion would you still be saved? {given that we know you can only be saved by grace}. The answer is no!
If we remove faith from the equasion would you still be saved? {Given that the only way grace can get to you to save you is through faith}. Again the answer is no.
Now if we remove works from the equasion and the grace you supposedly received through your supposed faith didn't produce good works are you still saved? The answer is surely no. That is if you are going to base this on any credible evidence.
I'm sure this will stir up a hornets nest. Perhaps it needs to. I'm convinced many christians don't really understand what they believe.
Now briefly let me state what I'm NOT saying : I'm not saying you are saved by grace but must MAINTAIN your salvation by doing enough good works.
I am not saying you start with Christ then go back to the law of Moses.
What I AM saying is that you are saved and stay saved ONLY by the freely given favour of God {Grace} which ONLY comes through faith and that your actions and how you live will reveal or betray whether you really had that faith anyway.
For us to claim we have been saved raises a simple question. SAVED FROM WHAT?
The answer, of course, is saved from sin. So tell me, what sins has Jesus saved you from. Interesting question. After all if we are to start being specific about this it would be hard to maintain any credibility whatsoever if we claimed salvation from any particular sin that we still committed. Thats like me telling you I've been saved from herion addiction while shooting up in front of you.
Don't get me wrong. I know that the christian life is a process but the word process is related to the word procession which by it's nature goes FORWARD. All of us are led by something. All of us put our trust in something or someone. If what you put your trust in is not making you more like Jesus and bringing you further into obediance to God's commandments then may I suggest you take a good hard look at what you call faith. {This may sound harsh but I recommend you read what James said in his letter in the new testament. He didn't pull punches either} I believe what we've done in the west is to gut the gospel so drastically in order to make it easier to receieve that we've lost track of what conversion really is. When we call those who are serious about a sanctified life 'legalists' yet can't even define the word properly maybe that shows just how watered down and liberal our theology has become.
Salvation is to be saved from the penalty, power and presence of sin. Some just emphasise the first and last but the middle one exposes or reveals the reality or otherwise of the faith we claim to have. Ignoring the evidence leaves us holding to an 'easy believism' where you just say a prayer and everything is O.K. That may work for the marketing department of the seeker friendly church or the microwave mentality, quick results orientated ministries we often see coming from the U.S.A but God is into the real thing, undilted, unwatered down. Numbers of prayers prayed, hands raised and convert cards filled in will count for nothing. The number of people populating heaven will count for everything. This is why I refuse to go through a series of affirming scriptures trying to assure a person they are saved. If you haven't truly put your faith in Christ then I'm not surprised you have no assurance. Real assurance comes from the Holy Spirit in accordance with scripture. It comes with real faith and that faith will produce real fruit. That's not legalism. That;s preaching and teaching a proper gospel message of a faith that actually works rather than sell a cheap faith that doesn't work turning todays evangelists into 21st century religious Derek Trotters'.
regards...steve
{ii} A term used to define any rule another christian or church comes up with which you don't agree with.
This is what bothers me about the term 'legalism' when mentioned in Christian circles. Hey, we are all legalistic then aren't we? The only people who are not legalistic in any way would be those who are without any rules. Hmmm. That would be interesting. Let's see where we can go with that one.
1 - Thou shalt not kill. - Thats a rule and if you keep that rule and insist that others do also then you are legalistic!
2 - Thou shalt not commit adultery. - If your wife objects to your playing away from home you can simply dismiss her complaints as 'legalism' or better still you can accuse her of being 'judgemental'.
3 - Thou shalt not steal - I have to wonder if you would see this as so legalistic if it were your goods I were pilfering.
Of course I'm taking this whole thing to a ridiculous extreme but if I can get you to think a bit more before banding these terms around then all I've achieved my objective.
So what do people mean by legalism? Some answers I have heard are below.
#You must keep the 10 commandments but anything more than that is legalism.
#We are not under the law, end of story. Grace means you are free to do whatever you like and anyone who says otherwise is legalistic.
#The old testament is irrelevant. The only law that counts is love and if you love then you have fulfilled the law according to Jesus.
I have a confession to make. I don't suffer fools easily. This explains why I find myself having to show restraint when I hear what christians believe. I'm serious when I say this. I find more common sense spoken by non christians than by christians when they try to defend a doctrine which is hopelessly impractical so let me tell some home truths which I think are so easily defendable you would have to be naive to challenge me on. {But feel free to try anyway}
1 - The law of God is good. God doesn't make laws up for the fun of it or to be awkward to cramp our style or stop our fun.
2 - God is always right. It is the height of idiocy to think we know more than God.
3 - Simply stating 'we are not under the law' when we still shouldn't kill, steal or commit adultery is non sensical and misleading. {especially as it is so easy to find these practices condemned in the NEW testament}
4 - If you can do what the hell you like and still be a christian and go to heaven then a lot of 'good' sinners will have every right to start asking some serious questions of God.
Now I've already stated that thinking we know more than or better than God is foolish. Needless to say I don't think the view of 'live how you want and slip into heaven' holds any weight anyway but I've met christians who actually teach this. Taken to it's logical conclusion you could come to faith and then live how you want for the last 40 years of your life in utter rebellion against God and his commandments, join the nazis, rape a schoolgirl and generally do every evil thing under the sun and still get to heaven. {Granted you may lose your reward but if you get heaven I figure thats not so big a deal} Now I'm no 5 point Calvinist but there is a reason why they taught that if a person died in their sin and rebellion against God they were never saved in the first place.
So let me deal with a possible accusation here. You might say, 'So Steve, surely you are in danger of teaching salvation by works, that somehow you have to be good enough to enter heaven?'{an accusation I reject enterely by the way} Now I'm going to give you two statements which at first may seem like a contradiction.
1 - No man can earn salvation nor can he earn the right to keep it.
2 - The unrighteous will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
The answer to this quandary is the understand the nature of faith. In the west we define faith like this. 'You believe something is true'. In bible times it was more like this 'You trust someone and act accordingly.' We know the bible teaches that salvation comes by the grace of God...correct? Er..half right actually. {Seriously I wouldn't trust some christians to organise a booze up in a brewery!} If we really believe that grace saves and thats the end of the story then why doesn't God save everyone? The answer?...
You are saved BY grace THROUGH faith. {Ephesians ch 2 v 8}
Now read on to verse 10 where you will find the mention of 'works'. Not only that but works in a positive sense. This is intimately connnected to being saved by grace through faith. Here is the key to the whole thing.
Grace : You are saved by the power of God freely given
faith : This grace comes through your faith in Jesus Christ
works : This grace that flows through your faith empowers you to live the life God wanted you to live.
In other words it is not good works which save you nor keep you saved but works are EVIDENCE that you really have faith. If you are not walking in obedience to God's commandments then you need to ask serious questions about your faith.
So GRACE flows through FAITH and produces WORKS. Now think for a moment.
If we remove grace from the equasion would you still be saved? {given that we know you can only be saved by grace}. The answer is no!
If we remove faith from the equasion would you still be saved? {Given that the only way grace can get to you to save you is through faith}. Again the answer is no.
Now if we remove works from the equasion and the grace you supposedly received through your supposed faith didn't produce good works are you still saved? The answer is surely no. That is if you are going to base this on any credible evidence.
I'm sure this will stir up a hornets nest. Perhaps it needs to. I'm convinced many christians don't really understand what they believe.
Now briefly let me state what I'm NOT saying : I'm not saying you are saved by grace but must MAINTAIN your salvation by doing enough good works.
I am not saying you start with Christ then go back to the law of Moses.
What I AM saying is that you are saved and stay saved ONLY by the freely given favour of God {Grace} which ONLY comes through faith and that your actions and how you live will reveal or betray whether you really had that faith anyway.
For us to claim we have been saved raises a simple question. SAVED FROM WHAT?
The answer, of course, is saved from sin. So tell me, what sins has Jesus saved you from. Interesting question. After all if we are to start being specific about this it would be hard to maintain any credibility whatsoever if we claimed salvation from any particular sin that we still committed. Thats like me telling you I've been saved from herion addiction while shooting up in front of you.
Don't get me wrong. I know that the christian life is a process but the word process is related to the word procession which by it's nature goes FORWARD. All of us are led by something. All of us put our trust in something or someone. If what you put your trust in is not making you more like Jesus and bringing you further into obediance to God's commandments then may I suggest you take a good hard look at what you call faith. {This may sound harsh but I recommend you read what James said in his letter in the new testament. He didn't pull punches either} I believe what we've done in the west is to gut the gospel so drastically in order to make it easier to receieve that we've lost track of what conversion really is. When we call those who are serious about a sanctified life 'legalists' yet can't even define the word properly maybe that shows just how watered down and liberal our theology has become.
Salvation is to be saved from the penalty, power and presence of sin. Some just emphasise the first and last but the middle one exposes or reveals the reality or otherwise of the faith we claim to have. Ignoring the evidence leaves us holding to an 'easy believism' where you just say a prayer and everything is O.K. That may work for the marketing department of the seeker friendly church or the microwave mentality, quick results orientated ministries we often see coming from the U.S.A but God is into the real thing, undilted, unwatered down. Numbers of prayers prayed, hands raised and convert cards filled in will count for nothing. The number of people populating heaven will count for everything. This is why I refuse to go through a series of affirming scriptures trying to assure a person they are saved. If you haven't truly put your faith in Christ then I'm not surprised you have no assurance. Real assurance comes from the Holy Spirit in accordance with scripture. It comes with real faith and that faith will produce real fruit. That's not legalism. That;s preaching and teaching a proper gospel message of a faith that actually works rather than sell a cheap faith that doesn't work turning todays evangelists into 21st century religious Derek Trotters'.
regards...steve
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