Portal RV Resort, Moab, Utah
For by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God; not by works, so that no one can boast. ~ Ephesians 2:8-9
Nothing. Nothing. Nothing at all. That’s today’s news. And because of that, I want to share some information I put together for a friend of mine. We’ve been discussing the topic of faith and eternal security. As Christians, it’s vital that we hold fast to the peace that comes from knowing we have eternal security. There should be no ‘if I do or say such-and-such (or don’t do or say), then God will allow me to join Him in heaven one day’. In addition, our saving faith is a gift of God (see above), and as such, it cannot be taken from us. God is not an Indian-giver (pardon my political incorrectness). He doesn’t take back His gifts. Below is what I shared with her.
I understand what you’re saying, however, you’re talking about two completely different types of faith. You and I (and others of course) have what is called “believer’s faith”. The kind that says, “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Rom 10:9), and the kind that says, “For I gave them the words You gave Me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from You and they believed that You sent Me.” (John 17:8) The kind that says, “Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.” (John 1:12) (You can’t return a child once it becomes your child. They’re always your child, no matter what.)
The parable of the sower and the seed (Luke 8:4-15) is a good example of the types of faith people can exhibit. The seed is the Word of God.
The seed on the hard path represents those with hard hearts. They are faith-fakers, and are followers in name only. A good example would be the New Testament Pharisees, who were unteachable and the Word of God was impenetrable to their hearts. In other words, those who tell others they believe, pretend to have faith, and put on a good show about it, but their hearts remain hard.
The faith of those on the rock are purely emotional followers, not substantial. A good example would be those who get ‘caught up in the moment’, who are only interested in how worship makes them ‘feel’, and are happy to follow, as long as things are going well. When they don’t, they blame God, get angry, and most often walk away. They were never true believers.
That of the thorns, represents those people who remain concerned with worldly things. They have no focus on saving faith and get caught up in worry, riches and pleasure. They also lack true faith and so, are unable to persevere. They become sidetracked by the things of this world and their desire to pursue them.
There are those who believe there is a God, but even the demons believe that – and shudder. (James 2:19)
There are those who believe they have faith (those who attend church faithfully, or who teach Sunday School all their lives, or who practice good deeds) but have never allowed Jesus to become Lord and Savior of their lives. This step is crucial. There is a difference between believing that Jesus is the Son of God, and allowing Him entrance into our hearts, minds and lives. It’s often called ‘head knowledge’ verses ‘heart knowledge’. And the difference can be defined in relationship. You can know of a person, but until you establish a relationship with them, you don’t truly know them. (I believe that this type of people recognizes there’s a difference between themselves and those with true faith and secretly wonder why they don’t “feel” the same way. But to admit that, would be too humiliating for them.)
And then there are those who possess true and everlasting faith. They have an inner peace that surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:7), and that carries them through good times and bad. They have assurance of eternal life (Matthew 25:46). They have been sealed by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30). They are forever in God’s Hands and no one and no thing can snatch them out (John 10:29). And they have a life-long relationship with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, from the time of their salvation unto forever. The more time they spend with Him, the closer the relationship. You begin to recognize His voice. You begin to think more and more like Him. And you look forward to eternity – with no fear of dying, because eternity isn’t unknown. True believers know they will be with the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit for all eternity.
I Peter 1:8 tells us, “Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”
There are soooo many verses that address what God desires of us, and what true faith is. Here are a couple:
“This is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts, boast about this: that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises loving kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the LORD. (Jeremiah 9:23-24) Jeremiah 31:31-34 is good too, but you must read it as being not just for the nation of Israel, but also for us as Gentiles.
“Now this is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, Whom You have sent.” John 17:3
“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Hebrews 11:1
Sorry, I’ve gone into teaching mode. I miss teaching, so I’m grateful for the opportunity. I include this with a prayer that God will speak clearly to your heart and mind through these feeble words of mine. He promises “so is My word that goes out from My mouth: It will not return to Me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55:11, and that’s what including scripture does. His Words, not mine.
We have eight days left here, counting today, and only five days of activity that we’d really like to accomplish. So I weeded through pictures and prepared a couple of posts and Blaine researched some stuff and edited posts for publication. Oh. And he made a quick trip to the grocery store.
We had grilled burgers and the last of the homemade potato salad for dinner.
And there are no pictures from today. ☹