OPENING STATEMENT
“You are My witnesses,”
declares the LORD, “And My servant whom I have chosen,
so that you may know and
believe Me and understand that I am He.
Before Me there was no God
formed, and there will be none after Me. I,
even I, am the LORD, and there is no savior besides Me. It is I who have declared and saved and proclaimed, and
there was no strange god among you; so you are My witnesses,” declares the
LORD, and I am God. Even from eternity I
am He, and there is none who can deliver out of My hand; I act and who can
reverse it?” (Isaiah 43:10-13 NASB)
We now live in a politically
correct world that that pays little homage to the faith that God requires in
His Son. Satan has corrupted the terms “I believe” and “faith” to the point
that their true meanings are ignored. Little regard is given to just what it
really means by placing our trust (faith) in Jesus Christ to be saved from our
sins and being born again spiritually.
Many will utter the words, “I
believe,” but what do they believe and to whom or what do they believe in?
Even more politically correct
today is the word “faith,” but faith in whom or what? Is it a faith of casual
verbiage built upon sand or a faith rested upon the rock that is Jesus Christ?
Matthew 7:24-27?
When we put our faith in
Jesus Christ to save our soul by His grace alone, what is happening within us?
Some want to concentrate
solely on “belief” and exclude everything that is involved for fear of
introducing works. While others insist there must be works involved to get it
and even to keep it.
When we put our faith in
Jesus to save us several things are happening in our minds, whether consciously
or subconsciously.
Please read carefully the
introductory passage (above) again from Isaiah 43:10-13. Yes, the Lord Jesus is
speaking to Israel in this case, but the message is for us all. In these four
verses we can see that we are to witness, that we are servants to Him, that we
are to know, believe and understand, that there is only one God, that Jesus is
the only way to the Father, and we are secure in Him.
On the following pages I will
briefly speak of a few points that I believe are a natural “part of the
package” when we put our faith in Jesus to save us. One who actually places their trust in Jesus
for their own personal salvation has accepted these truths as part of their
statement of belief in Him. They may not be consciously realized at first, but
they are there nonetheless.
Anyone can say, “I believe,”
but offer no commitment upon what they say they believe, thereby going their
way unchanged, with no relationship with the Savior Jesus Christ. Belief
requires action.
But the one who has truly
believed will be moved to commit to their object of belief; i.e. Jesus Christ,
and an eternal relationship with Him will have been born. As this truly saved
person grows in that relationship, these truths will become much more obvious.
Yet, even so, they were there in the beginning.
JESUS AS LORD
Is it really necessary to
submit to Jesus as Lord of our life, and to believe that what He offers
(eternal life) is really a permanent gift?
Some criticize “Lordship
salvation.” Why? The Bible says, “If you declare with your mouth “Jesus as
Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be
saved.” (Romans 10:9) Believing in Jesus per Acts 16:31 includes accepting Him
as our Lord as well as our Savior. The Scripture is very clear that we accept
Him as our Lord.
How can we claim faith in
Jesus Christ as our Savior, but back away from any acknowledgment of Him as our
Lord?
DEATH, BURIAL &
RESURRECTION
Then there are others who go
to 1 Corinthians 15:3ff. I’ve gone there often. It is the Gospel of Jesus
Christ, but we cannot separate it from the rest of God’s Word. Do we believe
Jesus “died for our sins according to the scriptures?” Do we believe He was
“buried?” Do we believe He “rose again the third day according to the
scriptures?” Do we believe He was seen by all the witnesses that are mentioned
in these verses? If so, that’s great! So what was going on in our heart when we
believed all that? Trust! Child-like trust! Again, when we truly believe in
Jesus, all of this is coming together by our trust we place in Him. It is part
of the “I believe” process.
If we say that we believe in
the death, burial and resurrection are we not including all that identifies
Jesus Christ in His relationship to us and ours to Him?
ADOPTION & HEIRS
In Romans 8:15, 8:23;
Galatians 4:5; Ephesians 1:5 (and many other Scriptures) we find that we have
been adopted by God as adult sons.
In Romans 4:14; 8:17;
Galatians 3:29; Titus 3:7; Hebrews 1:14; 6:17 (and many other Scriptures) we
find that in Jesus we are heirs with Him. When I put my faith in Jesus, I was
assured that I became a permanent heir with Jesus, simply because He said so. Since
my heir-ship is permanent, my salvation is also.
I may not have understood all
the ramifications of adoption and heir-ship at the time of my salvation, but I
knew I was being accepted into the family of God.
NEVER
Jesus says in John 4:14; 6:35
(and other passages) that when we come to Him and are saved we will never
thirst or hunger again because He is the bread and water of life. What does the
word “never” mean? He says we will “never” thirst or hunger again. It means
just what it says, “never.” And again, I believed that my salvation was secure
because Jesus said I would “never” thirst again. Not only that, He said it
would produce “everlasting life.”
The woman at the well
believed Jesus, as did the people from her town that accepted Him as Savior.
They understood that He was speaking spiritually of thirst and hunger. As new
Christians, we will never thirst or hunger again spiritually because Jesus said
“never” again.
I don’t know about you, but
to me “never” means I never have to worry about being what I used to be, a lost
sinner, because by the grace of God through His Son Jesus Christ, I am a saved
sinner bound for Heaven when I leave this world.
Obviously, this is leading to
the subject of eternal security (OSAS). I’ll get to it later in this article.
UNWAVERING FAITH
The Bible says concerning
faith, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things
not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1)
Substance = confidence, the
steadfastness of mind, firmness, courage, resolution
Hoped = in a religious sense,
to wait for salvation with joy and full confidence
Evidence = a proof, that by
which a thing is proved or tested
I don’t see anywhere in that
verse a belief that does not assure me that I am saved once and for all,
forever securely in God’s hands. I believed it when He saved me, and I still
do.
The same writer says, “Let us
hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering (for he is faithful that
promised),” (Hebrews 10:23) When I came to Christ as an unbeliever seeking to
be saved, I came unwavering and I have remained so as a long-time Christian
because He promised and I believe Him.
Does that mean I have never
had doubts? Does it mean I have lived a perfect life since I was saved? No, No,
No! Here comes the important fact: God has never doubted Himself and He is
absolute holiness. Everything I am is dependent upon God’s power and His
holiness, not mine. That makes me secure in every area of my imperfect life.
GRACE
The Word of God, the Bible,
is very clear that we are saved by grace and grace alone. We are saved by the
works of Jesus Christ and not our own. We will never see Heaven, let alone be a
part of the family of God, if we rely one iota upon our own efforts. If we
claim 1% credit and give Jesus 99% we miss the boat. It’s 100% His works or
none at all. In part two we will continue with eternal security (OSAS).
Grant Phillips
Email: grantphillips@windstream.net
Pre-Rapture Commentary: http://grant-phillips.blogspot.com
