Saving Faith
We are saved by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ. What is faith? Simply put, faith is knowledge, agreement, and trust.
Faith involves the knowledge of certain facts about the Gospel in order to be saved. Paul writes, “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ” (Rom. 10:17). So it is necessary for a person to have a basic understanding of the Gospel. The Gospel is simply this: “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:3-4).
The knowledge of the Gospel must also be coupled with an agreement that it is true. One cannot become a Christian if they believe the teaching about Christ death, burial, and resurrection is pure myth, or a copycat of other pagan mythologies. It is more than just a feeling, but the resurrection of Jesus Christ is something that occurred in history and out of this event stems all of Christian doctrine. However, saving faith is more than just knowing something is true. James wrote, “You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder” (Jas. 2:19). Simply knowing something is factually true is only part of the equation.
A final element to saving faith is one’s trust in the truth. It is an ascent from simply knowing something is true and embracing that truth into the fiber of one’s being.
When saving faith occurs then good works follow as night turns into day. Many people make the mistake of thinking that they need work up to some level of spirituality in order for them to be accepted worthy by God. Some setup a moral code with strict guide lines rigid standards for attaining perfection. Others involve themselves into extreme forms of self-denial and asceticism. But God establishes the way for people to enter into a relationship with Him, and the basis for this eternal life is God’s grace. Paul wrote, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God not as a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph. 2:8-9)
Faith involves the knowledge of certain facts about the Gospel in order to be saved. Paul writes, “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ” (Rom. 10:17). So it is necessary for a person to have a basic understanding of the Gospel. The Gospel is simply this: “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:3-4).
The knowledge of the Gospel must also be coupled with an agreement that it is true. One cannot become a Christian if they believe the teaching about Christ death, burial, and resurrection is pure myth, or a copycat of other pagan mythologies. It is more than just a feeling, but the resurrection of Jesus Christ is something that occurred in history and out of this event stems all of Christian doctrine. However, saving faith is more than just knowing something is true. James wrote, “You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder” (Jas. 2:19). Simply knowing something is factually true is only part of the equation.
A final element to saving faith is one’s trust in the truth. It is an ascent from simply knowing something is true and embracing that truth into the fiber of one’s being.
When saving faith occurs then good works follow as night turns into day. Many people make the mistake of thinking that they need work up to some level of spirituality in order for them to be accepted worthy by God. Some setup a moral code with strict guide lines rigid standards for attaining perfection. Others involve themselves into extreme forms of self-denial and asceticism. But God establishes the way for people to enter into a relationship with Him, and the basis for this eternal life is God’s grace. Paul wrote, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God not as a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph. 2:8-9)
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