The Faith Factor
Part 7 : Faith Unto Salvation
This message was put on my heart, as I was driving my way through East Alabama.
Thus far, we have already gone over so many aspects of faith and it’s dynamics. But what have we said about faith’s beginning? I am going to use a lot of scripture in this message, to make the needed points . . .so be ready . . . .
What have we said about that faith that starts within us, that directs us down the roads and paths of life? The faith that allows JESUS to guide us . . . how do we get to that point?
Well . . . let’s start with the scripture written in Ephesians 2: 8 & 9:
"8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast."
To start out, let me tell you the ONLY way, you can acquire the faith that has JESUS guiding you, is YOU MUST HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM!
There are many of you that have already learned about the steps to salvation, so for you, I can say maybe this is a refresher course for you. For those of you that wonder about your relationship with JESUS . . . please take heed to what I am going to say next . . .
THE VERY FIRST THING you must do in order to get a relationship with JESUS CHRIST, is that you must acknowledge and know you are a sinner.
Romans 3:23:
"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;"
There has been only ONE man that walked this earth and knew no sin . . . his name was JESUS CHRIST . . . there has never been, and there never will be, another man to live this kind of life . . .
"For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him."
2nd Corinthians 5:21
Sin is a part of our lives because we are all human. Any man that says he has no sin, is a liar and a deceiver . . . not only to those around him, but also to himself!
"If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us."
1st John 1:8
THE SECOND THING you must note is the fact that you need deliverance from your sin, and know that JESUS is the only one that can deliver you from it . . .
"For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God;
10 And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come."
1st Thessalonians 1: 9 & 10
THE THIRD THING you need do is confess with your mouth and acknowledge that JESUS is LORD, as you call upon HIS grace to save you . . .
9 "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
12 ΒΆ For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."
Romans 10: 9 - 13
If you indeed have had questions about your salvation, and just now made a true commitment to JESUS, before you go any further with this message, please let me know . . . .
Okay . . . now that we have the facts of true salvation understood . . . let’s move into a deeper realm where our text is concerned.
Take a close look at the very first words of our main text . . .
"For by grace are ye saved through faith;"
If there is one thing so many of us get hung up on, and we just really don’t take the time to understand it fully . . . it would be GOD’S grace towards us.
I would be inclined to believe this is because grace is a term we all know is biblical . . . we know it’s good . . . but how good? This is where so many us have a lack of knowledge . . . so I am going to hopefully change that for you.
GOD’S grace . . . what do you think about when you hear that?
Most all of us agree that grace is GOD’S favor towards us from GOD, as HE looks after us and provides for our needs . . .
But you need also understand this . . .
GOD’S GRACE IS THE POWER OF GOD, TO DELIVER US IN OUR TIMES OF TROUBLE!
GOD’S GRACE IS YOURS FOR EVERY SITUATION YOU FACE IN LIFE TODAY; TOMORROW, AND FROM NOW ON!
Through GOD’S grace, we also receive HIS mercy. And in simple terms, GOD’S mercy is keeping us from getting what we truly deserve because of our sin nature.
"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
Romans 6:23
I heard a Pastor once preach a message, and he asked a rather simple question . . .
"Who was it that put Jesus Christ in the cross?"
To no big surprise, more than 75% of the congregation answered:
"We did it because of our sin!"
The remaining 25% of the people answered with:
"It was the Jewish leaders!"
Well my friends . . . guess what?
BOTH ANSWERS ARE TOTALLY WRONG!
You have to know what JESUS said in John 10: 14 - 18:
14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.
15 As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.
16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.
17 Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.
18 No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father."
So again I ask . . . who put JESUS on the cross?
GOD DID IT!
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
GOD knew HE had no other choice, because HE had to hold to those holy and just standards HE set up for man!
You see . . . our sin separates us from GOD, as it created a very large and expanded gulfing gap . . . GOD on one side, us on the other . . .
JESUS, the spotless lamb of GOD, became a bridge, as HE freely laid down HIS life so we could live eternally with GOD!
THAT IS THE ULTIMATE IN TRUE LOVE!
I remember a man I was testifying to once a while back. He told me that he saw these "supposed actions" from GOD to be overly drastic and way uncharacteristic of a true GOD of love.
This guy just could not accept the fact, that the GOD I spoke to him about, loved us so much, that HE was willing to give the ultimate sacrifice!
My thoughts at that time were those that prayed silently to GOD . . .
"LORD . . . you gave him eyes, yet he cannot see . . . you gave him ears, yet he cannot hear . . ."
BECAUSE OUR GOD IS A GOD OF TRUE AND ULTIMATE LOVE TOWARDS US, HE WAS WILLING TO DO WHAT NEEDED TO BE DONE!
As Christians, we believe this through our faith! That measure of faith, that GOD gives us all . . .
" . . . . as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith."
Romans 12 : 3
This is the faith we have in our hearts to help us KNOW that the word of GOD is truth! This same faith is what so many people turn their backs on . . .
"For by grace are ye saved through faith;"
The remaining part of our text reads:
". . . and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast."
Many of times have I preached this . . . many of times I probably will do it again in the future, because this is so important to know . . . .
YOU DO NOT GET TO HEAVEN BY YOUR WORKS!
What really grieves my heart is when I witness to someone, and when I ask if they are a Christian, they answer:
"Well . . . I try to be . . ."
TRY TO BE?????
WHAT KIND OF ANSWER IS THAT?
TRY TO BE?
THERE IS NO TRYING TO BE A CHRISTIAN!
EITHER YOU ARE OR YOU ARE NOT!
YOU CANNOT BE BOTH, AND TRY TO BE ONE!
THOSE PEOPLE THAT SAY THEY TRY TO BE ONE SEEM TO HAVE NO REAL CONCEPT ABOUT WHAT JESUS’ DEATH ON THE CROSS TRULY MEANS!
JESUS DID NOT "TRY" TO DIE FOR OUR SINS . . .
HE DIED FOR OUR SINS!
"Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins."
1st John 4:10
If you want to look at it in another way . . . let’s see what JESUS says in Matthew 6:24:
"No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon."
In that same respect, if you want to look at this in a humanistic perspective; a husband and wife don’t "try" to be married . . . THEY ARE MARRIED!
If you have children . . . do you "try" to be a parent? NO . . . YOU CAN’T TRY, BECAUSE YOU ARE THE PARENT!
Now I will say this when it comes to parenting . . . any man and woman can come together, produce a child, and become parents . . . that’s the easy part . . . the challenge comes in to be a "mom" and "dad"! And that challenge still leaves many children in desperate situations today . . .
At any rate . . . all these people that say they "try" to be a Christian . . . it seems to me that these people are too much involved in the worldly things rather than giving GOD priority in their life!
These people get involved in various sinful nature ordeals, be it pleasures of the flex, or something else. Either way, GOD may be there in their life, but not where HE needs to be.
Now I have noted a common thing about these people . . . they say they try to be a Christian, but they seem to always fall into some sort of sin . . . but let me tell you . . . .there are people also out there that say they are Christians, and then they are seen out "bar hopping", drinking, and maybe even gambling . . . is that a true example of a Christian?
My point is this . . . whether you are Christian or not . . . sin finds you. But you make the choice to proceed or turn your back on it.
Now yet another answer I get, comes to me as similar to the last one, as some have said:
"Well. I treat people right! I am a good person, and I always give money to the Church every time I go! I even give to the poor!"
That’s all well and good . . . but where in the Bible does it say actions make you a Christian?
Here comes a wake up call . . .
YOU CAN GO TO CHURCH EVERY DAY OF YOUR LIFE, BUT IF YOU DON’T HAVE JESUS IN YOUR LIFE. . . .YOU ARE GOING TO HELL!
YOU CAN GIVE EVERYTHING YOU HAVE TO THE CHURCH, TO MISSIONS, TO EVERYTHING AND ANYTHING DEALING WITH GOD AND HIS KINGDOM, BUT IF YOU DON’T HAVE JESUS IN YOUR LIFE . . . YOU ARE GOING TO HELL!
THE ROAD TO HELL HAS ALWAYS BEEN PAVED WITH GOOD INTENTIONS! THAT’S THE WAY SATAN DESIGNED IT!
Again I ask . . . where in the Bible does it say actions make you a Christian?
IT DOESN’T SAY THAT BECAUSE ACTIONS DON’T MAKE YOU A CHRISTIAN!
ONLY A TRUE RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS CHRIST MAKES YOU A CHRISTIAN!
Now I do agree that these are actions Christians take . . . but they still don’t make you one, nor can they save your eternal soul from hell!
JESUS puts it point blank to us in John 14:6, when HE said:
" . . . I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."
THERE ARE NO SCRIPTURES TO SUPPORT ANY CLAIMS THAT SAY YOU CAN WORK YOUR WAY TO HEAVEN!
IF THERE WERE, THAT WOULD MEAN JESUS IS LYING TO US HERE IN THE BOOK OF JOHN!
MY JESUS HAS NEVER, AND WILL NEVER LIE!
As Christians, we do good works so as we can please the FATHER!
WE TITHE BECAUSE GOD SAYS TO!
WE GIVE BECAUSE GOD SAYS TO!
WE WITNESS BECAUSE GOD SAYS TO!
WE REACH OUT TO THE HURTING, BECAUSE GOD SAYS TO!
AND WHEN WE DO THOSE THINGS GO SAYS TO . . .WE PLEASE HIM!
YOUR OWN PERSONAL OBEDIENCE TO GOD SHOWS HIM HOW MUCH YOU LOVE HIM!
All people, whether lost or not need to understand that salvation is NOT something you earn, nor is it something you work for . . .
IT IS A GIFT FROM GOD TO MAN!
ALL MAN NEED DO IS ASK GO FOR IT!
I will close with this thought . . . if indeed works or deeds could get us into heaven, then just about every person alive today would qualify.
And in so doing . . . we would be taking the credit for our actions and saying, "Look what I did!"
That is where the scripture says:
". . . and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast."
We did nothing to earn salvation . . .
GOD DID EVERYTHING TO GIVE IT TO US!
I love you guys!
Reverend Sam
