Genuine Faith

“But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.”

⏤Romans 4:5

“For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” 

⏤James 2:26

To resolve these seemingly contradicting verses, we should look at it in its entire context. James is not against the Pauline doctrine of justification which is by faith alone; but he is just trying to illustrate what genuine faith is all about. James used the life of Abraham to illustrate genuine faith in James chapter two. If we try to look back the life account of Abraham in Genesis, we can find in Genesis 15:6 that tells us, “and he [Abraham] believed in the LORD; and he [the LORD] counted it to him for righteousness.” The kind of faith that Abraham had is genuine and it was counted by God for him as righteousness. Years later (probably 20 or more), we find Abraham in Genesis 22 offering his son Isaac who is the heir of all that he possessed. It was through Issac whom the LORD promised Abraham that he will become a father of many nations. Because Abraham believed that the LORD is able to fulfill what He promised so he did not withhold his son Isaac from offering him to God. James simply illustrating what genuine faith can do⏤action follows. 

Whenever someone ask me to explain about faith and works, I always quote the saying of John Wesley that likely says, "In the sight of God faith alone can justify (saved); but the faith that justify is not alone, it always stand side by side with good works." This means that in the sight of God, the only requirement for justification (according to Paul [Romans 4:5]) is FAITH ALONE! On the other hand, in the sight of men⏤they don't care (in the first place) about your faith. They too have their own faith (religion). For you to be justified in the sight of men you must perform GOOD WORKS! 

Consider the cross! It has two beams: the vertical and the horizontal. I always used this illustration to describe a true Christian life. The vertical beam illustrates for our justification in the sight of God⏤which is by FAITH ALONE. The horizontal beam illustrates for our justification in the sight of men⏤which is by GOOD WORKS. The cross too illustrates our RELATIONSHIP with God and men. A cross cannot be a cross without two beams, so with our Christian life⏤it must have two beams!

Beware: Don't make (or even include) "good works" as the basis of your salvation⏤it must be the evidence of your faith and the by product of salvation. Christians are not to work to be saved or to keep their salvation⏤but to magnify and glorify the God of salvation, even in the sight of men. This is GENUINE FAITH is all about!

Jesus Christ, The Rock

And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 

Matthew 16:18-19

And I say unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church.
This is the first time Jesus speaks of His Church, and here, as not yet founded. Three terms are to be noted: 

1. Peter, in the Greek, petros, meaning a single stone; 
2. Rock, in the Greek, petra, which means the solid, immovable bed-rock, a great mass like a cliff, and 
3. Church, Greek, ecclesia, those "called out," the fellowship of believers, the organized society of Christ, the kingdom of heaven on earth. 

There is probably no passage in the word of God that has called forth more discussion. The Roman Catholic Church insists that Peter is the rock upon which Christ founded His Church. The Catholic position is based upon the fact that Peter means a stone (see John 1:42), and the Savior's language might be rendered, "Thou art a stone, and upon this rock I will build my church." The Catholic view is lack of biblical reasoning, for

(1) The Savior does not say, "Thou art a stone, and upon thee I will build," etc., or "Thou art a rock, and upon this rock I will build." He changes the word in the Greek from Petros (Peter, a stone) to Petra, a rock, or ledge of rock--a solid bed-rock.

(2) Every Bible-believing Christian (saved by grace) is a stone (see 1Peter 2:5). The Lord declares that Peter is one of these living stones, made such by his confession of faith, and ready to be built into the Church, the spiritual temple, formed of living stones, and built upon the "Rock". So is every confessor of Christ. In order to settle what the Savior does mean by the "Rock", we must consider Matthew 16:18-19 together, and keep in mind the entire figure. This figure portrays:

1. a Builder, Christ;
2. a temple to be built, composed of lively stones, the Church;
3. a foundation for that temple, the "Rock";
4. the gates of an unfriendly city or power which shall seek its destruction, hell, or more correctly, Hades, the unseen abode of the dead;
5. a door-keeper of the church, or spiritual temple, with his keys, Peter. Peter's place in the figure is not that of the foundation, but that of the key-holder, or turnkey.

The only difficulty is in settling what the Lord means by the "Rock". Since this Rock is the foundation of the Church, the central principle, the fundamental idea, we are aided to a correct decision by the teachings of the Word (the Bible) elsewhere. We learn from 1Corinthians 3:11 "That other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ." This excludes Peter or any human platform. Christ is often called a stone: "the stone that the builders rejected" [Matthew 21:42; Mark 12:10; Luke 20:17], "the chief corner stone" [Ephesians 2:20], "the stone that is the head of the corner" [Matthew 21:42; Mark 12:10; Luke 20:17; Acts 4:11; 1Peter 2:7], "the spiritual rock which is Christ" [1Corinthians 10:4]. Faith in Christ held in the heart, and confessed with the lips is the very foundation of the spiritual life and of the Church. This constituted the fundamental difference in apostolic days between Christians and unbelievers, the Church and the world. It does still. It is the essence of the teaching of the New Testament that the platform or foundation of the Christian society, the Church, is this belief that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God (see Matthew 16:16; John 6:69). It is then Peter's grand confession, faith in the Spiritual Rock, the faith that lays hold of Christ, belief that He is the Anointed of God, the Divine Savior, that the Lord pronounces the Rock upon which He will found His Church. That this view is correct is shown by a correct understanding of the declaration,

The gates of hell (Hades) shall not prevail against it.
From the gates of the city always marched forth its armies. The powers of hell are represented by its gates. Hell here is from the Greek word "Hades", the unseen abode of the dead that holds the departed within its gates. Just after these words the Lord talks of His death, or entering "Hades". Six months later the Sanhedrim sent Him to death for making the same confession Peter had just made. See Matthew 26:64-67. They expected to demonstrate that the confession of His divinity which He had made was false by sending Him to Hades, which they supposed would hold Him and prevail against the confession of the "ROCK". He was sent there from the cross, but the gates of Hades did not prevail, for they could not hold Him, and the living Savior, rising triumphant from the tomb, was the unanswerable argument that His own and Peter's confession was a “Rock” that could never be moved. His resurrection demonstrated that He is the "Rock". Hades did not prevail.

I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of the heaven.
That is, of the Church. The office of the keys is to open the doors, or close them. On Pentecost, Peter first opened the doors and declared the conditions of which men could have their sins forgiven, be bound or loosed, and thus enter into the Church. Seven years later at Caesarea (Acts 10) he declared the same conditions to the Gentiles. While Peter took the lead, the keys were also given to all the apostles. Matthew 18:18; "Verily I say unto you (plural-all apostles), Whatsoever ye (plural-all apostles) shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye (plural-all apostles) shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." See also John 20:19-28. All that is here said to Peter is also said to all the apostles.

By B. W. Johnson, The People’s New Testament Commentary, 1891 (Emphasis added)

I Am The Way, The Truth, The Life

"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." 

-John 14:6

"I am the way." Christ spans the distance between God and the sinner. Man would fain manufacture a ladder of his own, and... climb up to God. But that is impossible. That is the way which seems right unto man, but the end thereof are the ways of death (Proverbs 14:12). It is Satan who would keep the exercised sinner on his self-imposed journey to God.
What faith needs to lay hold of is the glorious truth that Christ has come all the way down to sinners. The sinner could not come to God, but God in the person of His Son has come out to sinners. He is the Way, the Way to Heaven, the Way to eternal blessedness.

"I am the truth." Christ is the full and final revelation of God. Adam believed the Devil's lie, and ever since then man has been groping amid ignorance and error. "The way of the wicked is as darkness; they know not at what they stumble" (Proverbs 4:19). "Having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart" (Ephesians 4:18).

A thousand systems has the mind devised... "There is none that understandeth" (Romans 3:11)... Truth is not to be found in a system of philosophy, but in a Person, Christ is "the truth;" He reveals God and exposes man. In Him are hid "All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Colossians 2:3). What tremendous folly to ignore Him! ...with all your learning have you bowed before Him who is the Truth?"

"I am the life." Christ is the Emancipator from death. The whole Bible bears solemn witness to the fact that the natural man is spiritually lifeless. He walks according to the course of this world; he has no love for the things of God. The fear of God is not upon him, nor has he any concern for His glory. Self is the center and circumference of his existence.

He is alive to the things of the world, but he is dead to heavenly things. The one who is out of Christ exists, but he has not spiritual life... The one who believes in Christ has passed out of death unto life (John 5:24). "He that believes on the Son has everlasting life" (John 3:36). Then turn to Him who is the Life.

"I am the way." Without Christ men are Cains, wanderers. "They are all gone out of the way" (Romans 3:12). Christ is not merely a Guide who came to show men the path in which they ought to walk: He is Himself the Way to the Father. "I am the truth." Without Christ men are under the power of the Devil, the father of lies. Christ is not merely a Teacher who came to reveal to men a doctrine regarding God: He is Himself the Truth about God.

"He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father." "I am the life." Without Christ men are dead in trespasses and sins. Christ is not merely a Physician. . . "I am come," said He, "that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly" (John 10:10).

"No man comes unto the Father but by Me" (John 14:6). Christ is the only way to God. It is utterly impossible to win God's favor by any efforts of our own.

- By A. W. Pink (1 April 1886 – 15 July 1952) 

Salvation By Grace

Righteousness Is Essential
One thing is evident-righteousness is essential. But what must be the nature and quality of that righteousness, and how and whence is it to be obtained? Shall it be home-made, or shall it be of God and from above? Shall I go about to establish my own, or shall I subject myself to God's? Shall salvation be of works, or by faith? Is Christ to be a Substitute for the sinner, or will the sinner be a substitute for the Saviour? Shall the altar smell of sacrifice, God-appointed and God-provided, or will we prefer to deck it with flowers that wither and with fruits that shrivel, howsoever fair they seem at first? Is personal goodness, or is God's grace, as revealed in Jesus Christ, to bring us to the world where all is well? The one is a ladder that we ourselves set up, and painfully ascend; the other is an elevator which God provides, into which, indeed, we pass by penitential faith, but with which the lifting power is God's alone. Salvation by works is the choice of the Pharisee, salvation by Grace is the hope of the Publican.

One or other nor can these two principles be combined. They are totally distinct; nay, more, they are at variance the one with the other. A blend of the two is impossible. "If it is by grace, it is no more of works; otherwise grace is no more grace" (Romans 11:6). One cannot merit mercy. This field must not be sown with mingled seed. The ox of mercy and the ass of merit must not be yoked together; indeed, they cannot be; they are too unequal. No linsey-woolsey garment can we weave of works and grace. As Hart quaintly puts it:

"Everything we do we sin in, 

Chosen Jews 

 Must not use 

Woollen mixt with linen."

So the choice must be made between these two ways to heaven. The great question still is, "How can man be just with God ?" and it appears that he must either himself be essentially and perfectly holy, or he must, by some means, acquire a justness which will bear the scrutiny of Omniscience, and pass muster in the High Court of Heaven.

How You Can Have The Assurance Of Salvation

And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. ~1John 5:11-13

There is a gift that I would like to present to every Christian. It cannot be packed in excelsior, wrapped in brightly colored paper, tied with polychrome ribbon, or sealed with good wishes. It cannot be purchased with silver or gold. It is more valuable than all the treasures of this world. All the gold in all the nations of the world could not suffice as a down payment. It is not a material gift of this secular world but a real gift of the spiritual realm. It is intangible, but it is of inestimable and intrinsic value. Many who are rich would pay a handsome sum to possess it. Multitudes strive for it but find it just out of reach. As we face a future filled  with fear and foreboding, it might appear as a will-o’-the-wisp. It is desperately and devoutly desired but seldom attained.

The world lists this gift as peace of mind, as a feeling of security that all is well for the future. Psychology defines it as a well-integrated personality freed from frustration. Scripture is more specific. The Bible sets forth this gift as a knowledge, a certainty, and an assurance concerning one’s personal relationship to God. Simply stated, it is the assurance regarding one’s salvation.

Can we know experientially that we are saved and that we are the children of God? For years, my soul was tossed on the troubled sea of uncertainty and insecurity. Finally, there dawned upon my darkened mind the light of Philippians 1:6 –

Being confident of this very thing, that he who hath begun a good work in you will perform [perfect] it until the day of Jesus Christ.

Faith

I. THE IMPORTANCE OF THE DOCTRINE.

Faith is fundamental in Christian creed and conduct. It was the one thing which above all others Christ recognized as the paramount virtue. The Syrophoenician woman (Matt. 15) had perseverance; the centurion (Matt. 8), humility; the blind man (Mark 10), earnestness. But what Christ saw and rewarded in each of these cases was faith. Faith is the foundation of Peter's spiritual temple (2Pet. 1:5-7); and first in Paul's trinity of graces (1Cor. 13:13). In faith all the other graces find their source.

II. THE DEFINITION OF FAITH.
Faith is used in the Scriptures in a general and in a particular sense.

1. ITS GENERAL MEANING:
a) Knowledge.
Psa. 9:10 --"And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee." Rom. 10:17 --"So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Faith is not believing a thing without evidence; on the contrary faith rests upon the best of evidence, namely, the Word of God. An act of faith denotes a manifestation of the intelligence: "How shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard?" Faith is no blind act of the soul; it is not a leap in the dark. Such a thing as believing with the heart without the head is out of the question. A man may believe with his head without believing with his heart; but he cannot believe with his heart without believing with his head too. The heart, in the Scriptures, means the whole man--intellect, sensibilities, and will. "As a man thinketh in his heart." "Why reason ye these things in your hearts?"

b) Assent.
Mark 12:32 --"And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth." So was it with the faith which Christ demanded in His miracles: "Believe ye that I am able to do this?" "Yea, Lord." There must not only be the knowledge that Jesus is able to save, and that He is the Saviour of the world; there must be also an assent of the heart to all these claims. Those who, receiving Christ to be all that He claimed to be, believed in Him, became thereby sons of God (John 1:12).

c) Appropriation.
John 1:12; John 2:24. There must be an appropriation of the things which we know and assent to concerning the Christ and His work. Intelligent perception is not faith. A man may know Christ as divine, and yet aside from that reject him as Saviour. Knowledge affirms the reality of these things but neither accepts nor rejects them. Nor is assent faith. There is an assent of the mind which does not convey a surrender of the heart and affections.

Faith is the consent of the will to the assent of the understanding. Faith always has in it the idea of action--movement towards its object. It is the soul leaping forth to embrace and appropriate the Christ in whom it believes. It first says: "My Lord and my God," and then falls down and worships.

A distinction between believing about Christ and on Christ is made in John 8:30-31, R. V.--"Many believed on him.... Jesus therefore said to those Jews that had believed him."

Believers And Professors

Ever since God has had a people separated to Himself they have been sorely troubled by the presence among them of those who professed to be, but were not, of them. And this will continue until "the Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall Sober out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do inquity... Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father" (Matt. 13:14-43).

Scripture plainly tells us of this mingling of tares and wheat-of mere professors among true believers. Yet misguided students have frequently applied to the children of God the warnings and exhortations meant only for the self-deceived or hypocritical.

The fact of such admixture is abundantly recognized in the Scriptures. (See Gen. 4:3-5; Exo. 12:38; Num. 11:4-6; Neh. 7:63-65; Neh. 13:1-3; Matt. 13:24-30; Matt. 13:37-43; 2Cor. 11:13-15; Gal. 2:4; 2Pet. 2:1-2.

It is impossible, in a brief Bible reading, to refer to all the passages which discriminate true believers from the mass of mere formalists, hypocrites, or deceived legalists, who are working for their own salvation instead of working out a salvation already received as a free gift. (See Phil. 2:12-13 with Eph. 2:8-9.) The following comparison of verses will sufficiently indicate the lines of demarcation.

Biblical Faith

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.~Hebrews 11:1

Biblical faith is defined as that trust in the God of the Bible and in Jesus Christ whom He has sent. Its essence consists in receiving what God has revealed, receiving Jesus as Savior and Lord, and obeying Him with loving and grateful heart (John 1:12). Thus real faith produces good works as its proof (James 2:17-18, 26).

The particular uses of faith give rise to its secondary definitions: (1) For salvation, faith is personal trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, as delivered for our offences and raised again for our justification (John 3:16; Rom. 10:9-10). It's so important to bear in our hearts and minds that in the sight of God we are justified by faith alone apart from any meritorious works (Rom. 4:5, 23-25; Eph. 2:8-9; Tit. 3:5; Isa. 64:6). (2) As used in prayer, faith is the confidence that we have in God, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us (1 John 5:14-15). (3) As used in reference to unseen things of which the Bible speaks, faith "gives substance" to them, so that we can act upon the conviction of their reality (Heb. 11:1-3). (4) As a working principle in life, the uses of faith are illustrated in the lives of the people spoken in Hebrews 11. While it is a biblical fact that man is justified by faith alone in the sight of God (Rom. 4:5), a saved man must work out his own salvation for him to be justified in the sight of men (Phil. 2:12). We are not commanded by God to work for our own salvation because God has already worked for it; but, we are commanded to work out (show forth) our own salvation so that others may see God's righteousness in us (Matt. 5:16).

Let me finish this article by quoting Titus 3:5-8, and see more closely all of its words, "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which He shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by His grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are GOOD and PROFITABLE unto MEN."

For more insight on faith and works, kindly visit this link: http://biblebelievingchristians.blogspot.com/2011/04/faith-and-works_05.html

Why Should I Believe In God?

Busay Falls, Albay, Philippines

No one is holy like the LORD, for there is none besides Thee, nor is there any rock like our God (I Samuel 2:2).

Hannah praised God for being a Rock---firm, strong, and unchanging. In our fast-paced world, friends come and go, and circumstances change. Those who devote their lives to people, causes, or possessions are trusting in things that will pass away. But God will never pass away, even when everything else seems to be falling apart. Like Hannah, place your trust in Him. You will never be confounded in Him for the Lord is faithful.