Saving Faith: What is it?
The word ”believe” in the Bible when it comes to believing in the Gospel actually means to trust, to rely. This is not just a mental assent to facts. This involves the mind and the will. This is commitment of one’s salvation to what Christ has done in Calvary. Faith is taking God at His Word. God says: “Christ Jesus died for our sins and resurrected again for our salvation”. Saving Faith is just being completely satisfied with that, being completely satisfied with what Christ has done for us on the cross for our salvation.
The Elements of true saving faith:
a) Knowledge of the facts about Christ's saving work on the cross. How can you trust in Christ if you havenÂ’t heard of what He has done for you?
b) Assent to the truth presented. This is acknowledgement of the facts about ChristÂ’s saving work on the cross. How can you trust in Christ if you donÂ’t agree and concede to the fact that Christ died on the cross for our sins and resurrected again?
c) Reliance and trust to the facts known and assented. This is resting and depending completely in what Christ has done for you.
You have knowledge about the fact that there is a place in America called New York City. You assented and acknowledged the veracity of its existence but it is understandable that you dont trust and rely in New York City. I mean what would you trust New York City for right? The place doesn't even know you. It is lifeless, mindless, listless and indifferent.
But it is altogether different with the Savior. You knew about the Savior probably for gazillion of years now. Probably you are one who acknowledges and concedes to the fact of His death and resurrection on the Cross of Calvary. Question is: "Have you relied on Him and His work on the cross for salvation? Have you trusted in Him alone for the forgiveness of all your sins?"
One time in the town of Rock City, torrents of fire poured out from heaven. People here and there were burned to ashes. In the midst of that city there stands a huge Rock standing strong and mighty like Gibraltar. You knew that the Rock would keep you safe.....you believe that it could withstand the onslaught and the downpour of fire from heaven. But here you are with your umbrella on, just standing there doing nothing.
Within seconds you were turned into a heap of ashes. You knew about the Rock. You acknowledged and assented to the truth that the Rock could keep you safe. But you did not trust in it. If you did..you would have had thrown away your umbrella and hid safe under the mighty Rock.
Have you trusted in Chirst and His work alone in the cross for your salvation?
How do we know if we have true saving faith?
Faith is only true or false depending on the object your faith is anchored on. Some speak of faith as if faith is the Savior. Faith is just the spiritual hand that accepts the free salvation of Christ which He wrought in Calvary. Faith is not the Savior. Even if you have the strongest faith in the world, but if it is not anchored on the Savior, it saves you not. Even if you have the most stable and the most firm faith in the world but if the Savior did not die on the cross for our sins, no salvation avails us.
How do we know if we have true saving faith? If my faith is in the right object who is Christ the Savior, then my faith is true. If my faith is anchored on my good works, my own character, my own religiosity then that kind of faith is false, no matter how strong it is.
Asked yourself: When I prayed the sinnerÂ’s prayer did I trust in the prayer I made to Christ for salvation or did I trust the Savior through that prayer?
Why is it only through faith are sinners saved? Why not faith plus good works? Why not faith and good character?
The answer to this question depends upon the nature of the saving work of Christ on the cross. The reason why salvation is by faith alone is because of the perfect saving work of Christ on the cross. Christ's work on the cross was eternally complete and perfect. And that work was for you and me. Since, it is eternally complete and perfect, the only logical thing helpless sinners can do is to rely on it, have faith on it. You see, we donÂ’t add to anything to that which is already complete and perfect, we remain satisfied with it in simple faith. As one man said concerning the work of Christ: "We don't improve on perfection."
Question: If God the Father was perfectly and eternally satisfied with the work of God the Son on the cross for our salvation, why canÂ’t we be satisfied with it by simply relying on it? The work was done, the work was complete, the work was perfect and eternal, the work satisfied God completely, perfectly and eternally so that the only thing that remains for a helpless sinner to do is to have faith in it, depend upon it for salvation, appropriate it by faith.
If it sounds so simple, then you got it!!!!! ItÂ’s simple because it was not you who died on the cross for your sins. It was done on the ground of pure grace and mercy by God to sinners like you and me who cannot do absolutely anything to save ourselves. Praise God who is soo good, merciful and gracious!!!!!!
What is the difference between saving faith and positive thinking?
Faith always has an object [which is GodÂ’s reliable Word] to latch on]. While positive thinking has nothing stable and solid to stand on than cobweb presumptions, suppositions and personal ideas. Faith is standing on the Rock [the Word of God] while positive thinking is walking on cobwebs of our own making.
True, there is positive thinking in faith so long as the Word of God allows you to. But not all positive thinking is the result of faith.
Supposing you enroll in a positive thinking class, you haven’t heard about the Savior because you don’t read the Bible in the first place. You don’t know the truth that “Christ died for our sins and resurrected again for our salvation.”
However, you believe that there is a place called Hell and a place called Heaven in the after life. You want to go to heaven and so you inquired your guru about it. And your guru tells you: “Ah, you want to go to Heaven?!!?, okay, its quite simple actually. What you need to do is to always think that after you die you will go to heaven. Do not entertain doubts that you will be in Hell when you die. Do it everyday of your life and your on your way to Heaven.”
Question: If you take the advice of that guru, do you think you will go to heaven when you die?
If your answer is “NO”. Then the next question would be: “But you really, really believed that you will go to heaven? After 40 years of thinking that you will go to heaven when you die, you have made yourself believe that you will go there, why won’t you go to heaven?”
The answer: Because you did not trust or have faith in the saving work of the Savior. You placed your faith in positive thinking not in the Savior and what He did on the cross for you.
No one gets saved by saying to himself every single day of his life: “I am saved…….I am saved……….I am saved…….. I am saved……I am saved.” You get saved by placing your faith [or trust] in what Christ already did for you. About the work of salvation, the Savior said: “It is finished”<-----that is your basis, that is the Rock on which your faith is to stand on.
When I say: “I am saved…….I am not saying that out of the cobweb of my own presumptuous ideas, I am saying that because the Word of God says: “who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.” Ro 4:25
The Word of God says that because of the death and resurrection of Christ for my sins I am justified or saved, placing my faith on that Word, then I can positively think: “I am saved.”
Positive Thinking killed Johnny
3 A.M, Wednesday. A fire broke out in the neighborhood. JohnnyÂ’s neighborhood block was ablaze in a great conflagration, a great fire was ravaging the houses and in a minutes time his house would soon be in ablaze as the others. JohnnyÂ’s brother bellowed to him to get out of the house and scamper out of harmÂ’s way. Johnny refused to heed his brotherÂ’s warnings because he believed that God would spare their house from the raging fire. And so, even though fearful for his life, Johnny stayed in the house. In no time, the fire burned up the house and destroyed it completely. That was the last time JohnnyÂ’s brother saw him alive.
Why? What went wrong? Did Johnny not ‘believe’ and had ‘faith’ that God would spare him. Actually, what went wrong was that Johnny presumed that God would spare him from the conflagration. It was not faith it was positive thinking. He had no word [promise] from God that God would spare him from the fire. In fact, what Johnny did was sinful. He was tempting God [he had no Word from God that God would spare him]. He should have moved out of harms way and have faith that whatever happens everything is under God’s sovereign control and that God would take care of their needs etc. since God promised in the Bible that in everything: “I will never leave you nor forsake you”.
But God never promised us [Church Age people] in the Bible that our houses would never be burned, or that we will never be injured or that our health would always be intact etc. To expect such things without the solid basis of God’s Word is presumption. However, I can look all things that happen to me this way: “Whatever God allows to happen in my life, I know that this will be for my good, that this will conform me to the image of Christ because God said so [Romans 8:28-29].”
What is the opposite of faith? If you have doubts does that mean that you donÂ’t have faith? Is doubt the opposite of faith?
The opposite of faith is not doubt. The opposite of faith is unbelief. You can have doubts and still have faithÂ…Â…read below you can see faith and doubt is found in one person at the same time:
Mt 14:31 And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"
You can even have unbelief and still have faith!!!!!!!
Mr 9:24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!"
[See also Mat. 17:20, the apostles of the Lord Jesus had some moments of unbelief] This is possible because a saved man has two natures: a) sinful and b) divine.
