Far too many people feel God is remote, impersonal, and unknowable. Because of that, many Born-Again Christians suffer from an inability to feel forgiven, and live with nagging doubts and fear about their relationship with God. Failure to love and trust God often comes from picturing Him as unlovable and untrustworthy.
In the 50+ years, since I gave my life to Jesus and became Born-Again, I have come to understand experientially that a person's theology is shaped by the way they picture God. A dysfunctional picture of God results in a dysfunctional way of relating to Him and studying His Word, the Bible.
Jesus revealed this truth; "Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead?" asked Jesus. "Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in Heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him" (Luke 11:11-13 NIV).
Those that had a father who was never around when they needed him, or has experienced trauma, abuse, or extreme discipline, will have a challenging time preaching about - and pursuing - an intimately loving and trusting relationship with the Heavenly Father. They will see God as a vengeful judge - spewing out wrath and retribution when saved sinners do by nature, what they do best - sin!" The message of super-abounding grace and God's unmerited favor is very difficult for them to accept.
No one can come to Jesus unless it is granted by the mercy of the Father who chose them as the firstfruits to be saved and sanctified by the Holy Spirit to obtain the glory of Jesus (John 6:65; 1 Peter 1:3, James 1:18; Titus 3:5; 1 Thessalonians 2:13-14). The Holy Spirit sovereignly draws dead people and makes them alive because no one can come to Jesus without Him, and He will raise them up on the last day (Ephesians 2:5; Colossians 2:13; John 6:44; Acts 16:14).
Saved by the Faith of Jesus
Jesus is the one who saves a person, and they cannot save themselves. Salvation is by grace alone and not by any work a person could ever do (See Matthew 25:31-46; James 2:24; also John 3:36; Galatians 2:16;3:1-29; Romans 3:22,28,4:1-25,5:1; Philippians 3:9; Ephesians 2:8-9)
From this point on, I will use the word ‘Christian,’ for “Believer” and “Born-Again Christian,” which is defined as someone who has sincerely repented of their sin and asked Jesus to become their Lord and Savior, becoming Born-Again (John 3:3,7; 1 Peter 1:3; 2 Corinthians 5:17). They are saved by the faith of Jesus plus nothing (Acts 2:38, 16:11; Romans 3:24,6:23, 10:10; Titus 2:11-12, 3:5; 2 Timothy 1:9; Galatians 2:21; Mark 16:16).
Salvation is conditional because it is based upon a person repenting of their sin and receiving Jesus as Lord and Savior and it is based upon the faith of Jesus and not our belief in Jesus because His faith is the only valid basis for, and the conclusion of, our believing. Jesus is the Author and Finisher of the one faith (Ephesians 4:5). There is no other faith besides His by which a person can be Born-Again. Jesus is the only source of the finished and perfected saving faith that is in every Christian.
“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless, I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20 KJV)
In Greek, the verse reads, “zo en sarki (I live in flesh), en pistei zo (in faith I live), te tou Huiou tou Theou (that from the Son of God).” Paul was saying that his physical life on earth is lived in the faith of Jesus. The word “Son” is a genitive noun, which means He owns all “the faith.” The word “in” (Gk: “en”) denotes rest. The Born-Again Christian lives their life on earth before God in the finished and perfect faith of Jesus! Salvation is all about God’s grace and not a person’s works!
Some words in the Bible have no English equivalent because the Greek and Hebrew languages are significantly different and the perspective of western culture so it is vitally important for every Christian to learn word meanings and the grammar used so they can understand what the writers were saying in the historical context so that there is no misunderstanding caused by a modern way of thinking or word definition. This is why biblical Hermeneutics is so important for proper study/exegesis of Scripture. Relying on English commentaries or interpretations of English translations of the Bible may not accurately reflect what was written in the original languages and instead reflect the translator’s personal beliefs or understanding of God.
As an example, on the Cross, Jesus said, referring to those who were crucifying Him, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34 NIV). The word ‘forgive’ is in the aorist tense, which is a completed action that took place at a point in time. It does not need, nor can it be done again, or even undone. When Jesus died on the Cross, all sins were forgiven, past, present, and future. A person appropriates God’s forgiveness by repenting of their sin and receiving Jesus as Lord and Savior. When they do that, they become holy and blameless in His sight, and they are “predestinated” “for adoption to sonship” (Ephesians 1:5 NIV – see also 7-14).
One of the essential elements of Greek grammar is the genitive possessive case of nouns, which can denote ownership. The word “of” is often used in English translations to help the verse read easier, yet some translators use a different preposition instead, such as the word “in” which can be interpreted as something that needs to be done.
“Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith (Gk: ‘ek pisteos’). Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.” (Galatians 3:23-25 NIV)
The words “faith” used is a genitive case meaning that the faith belongs to, and not by, someone because it points to the origin and source, who is Jesus and His faith, which is perfect, finished, and complete in the Christian! Jesus is the possessor of the faith and He is their source of justification and are set free from the Law of death.
There is only one Faith - God’s Faith manifested in the birth, life, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus. It is only in Him does the Christian “live, and move, and have our being!” (Acts 17:28 NIV). Everything they have was received from Jesus because they were baptized and fully immersed into Him when they put on Jesus (See 1 Corinthians 4:7). Jesus is their identity and they died, were buried and raised with Him (See Romans 6:3-10; Galatians 3:27-28).
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:8-10 NIV)
Grace and faith are gifts from Jesus to those who repent and receive Him as Lord and Savior (See Romans 10:9).
“Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid. For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.” (Galatians 2:16-21 KJV)
The words "faith of Jesus Christ" and "faith of the son of God" are 'pistis Christou' and 'posters Ieesou Christou' in Greek. Various translations note there is a grammatical issue of whether the Greek is in the subjective genitive – Jesus' own faith – or the objective genitive – faith in Jesus. Unfortunately, many translations often include incorrect interpretations because they disagree with the literal meaning, such as the subjective genitive of "pistis Christou." If the words were actually "faith IN Jesus Christ", then why were the words "unto all and upon all them that believe" added, which makes them unneeded because they are redundant.
"For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith." (Romans 1:17 KJV)
The righteousness of God is revealed "from faith to faith" (Gk: 'ek pisteos eis pistin') (Romans 1:18). The meritorious cause of salvation is the faith of Jesus and not anyone else. The righteousness of God is "from faith to faith" because the faith of Jesus must endorse human faith/trust – or no one will be saved. Jesus did everything – He kept the Law, was baptized, and died for all of humanity. Until a person believes in Jesus as the promised Messiah and all He did for them to be saved by the faith of Jesus, repents of their sin, and receives Him as Lord and Savior, there is no value to any works they do.
"For BY GRACE you have been saved THROUGH faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, NOT a result of WORKS, so that no one may boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9 – emphasis mine)
"For the GRACE of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age" (Titus 2:11-12 – emphasis mine)
The Bible does not say a person is saved through grace plus anything, which clearly means it is only the grace of Jesus alone, and any work has nothing to do with it.
Two Greek words translated as work(s) are 'ergon,’ which means a physical task, employment, a deed, or action, and 'sunergeó,' which means to cooperate actively.
"You see that faith was active along with his works (Gk: 'sunergeó'), and faith was completed by his works (Gk: 'ergon')" (James 2:22)
“Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin. But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3:20-24 NIV)
No one is justified before God by their own works (the law). When a person becomes Born-Again, they are justified by His grace through the redemption that is in Jesus and now belong to Him. The phrase translated as “faith in Jesus Christ” is “pistis Iesou Christou” in Greek, which means the faith of Jesus. The words faith and Jesus Christ are nouns that are genitive possessive, which designates ownership. It is Jesus who owns the “faith.” It belongs to Him alone. Is it by His faith a person is made righteous before God. The faith of Jesus is a free gift, and a finished work. The Apostle Paul declared that he was found in Christ and not having his own righteousness.
“But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in a Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.” (Philippians 3:7-11 NIV)
The Power of the Christian Life
The Christian life is a miracle of God that is formed from within. The power of the Christian life is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, but the Born-Again Christian is not to be passive. They are to be controlled and led by the Holy Spirit and walk after Him so they can mind those things He desires. Otherwise, they are just spiritual infants who refuse to wean themselves off of spiritual Pablum because they can't handle the solid food of God's grace through faith that saved them (Ephesians. 5:1; Romans 8:4-5, 14; Galatians 6:25).
It is the hideous sin of pride, which God hates, that causes a person to imagine that they have some part in their salvation and then must maintain it as if they are the author and giver of the free gift of salvation from the one who willingly chose to leave the glory of Heaven and die a horrifying death on the Cross (Proverbs 6:16; Philippians 2:5-8). Salvation comes by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ and not on the basis of works otherwise grace would no longer be grace (Romans 11:6).
The Born-Again Christian knows that they have already crossed over from death and have been appointed to eternal life because Jesus lives inside of them through the rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit (John 5:24; Acts 13:48; 1 John 5:11-12; Titus 3:5-7). Jesus said He would "lose none" of those the Father gave Him (John 6:39) and will keep them securely until the day He returns (1 Corinthians 1:8).
Guarded Heirs and Children of God
The Holy Spirit confirms to the Born-Again Christian they are no longer a slave to sin, but are a child of God through faith in Jesus (John 1:12; Romans 8:16; Galatians 3:26; 4:6; 1 John 3:1-2). They can't become righteous by their own works because "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23, 3:10). It is according to the mercy of Jesus, who establishes them through the washing of regeneration of the Holy Spirit and guards them against the evil one who has no control over them (1 Thessalonians 3:12-13; 2 Thessalonians 3:3; 1 John 5:19).
Nothing can make them fall away (Psalm 119:165). They are justified by His grace and have become heirs "to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven" for them and are guarded by "God's power"…"through faith" with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in them "for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time" (1 Peter 1:4-5; 2 Timothy 1:14; Titus 3:3-8 ESV).
As children of God they have been "given new birth into a living hope and an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade because they are justified by His grace and heirs and co-heirs with Jesus (1 Peter 1:3-4; Romans 8:17; Ephesians 3:6; Galatians 3:29; Titus 3:6-7).
The God who is love promised to sustain the Born-Again Christian as guiltless and to keep them from stumbling, presenting them blameless before the presence of His glory with great joy, and He will never leave, forsake, cast out, or drive away because He gave them the Holy Spirit as a guarantee of salvation (1 Corinthians 1:8; Jude 1:24-25; John 6:37, 8:12; Hebrews 13:5; 2 Corinthians: 5:5).
Discipline
The Father deals with each Born-Again Christian just as a loving earthly parent does with their children to encourage, comfort, teach, train; warning them of the many snares of the old nature, and discipling them like a judge who decides a ruling in a trial (1 Corinthians 11:32; 1 Thessalonians 2:11-12; Hebrews 12:5-6; Romans 7:24). That is why they must learn to walk daily in repentant humility to maintain a close relationship with God and discipline themselves (1 Corinthians 9:27).
When the Lord judges a Born-Again Christian, they are being disciplined so that they will not be condemned with the world (1 Corinthians 11:32; Colossians 2:13-14). The Bible is very clear that the only sin that can never be forgiven in this life, or the next, is rejecting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior (John 11:26). No person comes to Jesus unless the Father draws them by the Holy Spirit (John 6:44,65, 10:25-27,16:13-14; 1 John 5:6; 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14; Titus 3:5). Those that reject His drawing up to the moment of their death have committed the unpardonable sin (Mark 3:29).
The Born-Again Christian does not deliberately keep on sinning (Hebrews 10:26). Every Born-Again Christian must be careful that they don't fall after being tempted to sin (1 Corinthians 10:12). However, if they do, God is faithful, and He will not let them be tempted beyond what they can bear and will provide a way out (1 Corinthians 10:13). Jesus is their advocate (1 John 2:1)
Falling Away
The Bible is very clear that those who understand the message of Jesus, and have tasted of the heavenly gift of God's Word and walk away, or leave the faith, and "deliberately keep on sinning," rejecting "the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left," it is impossible to restore them again to repentance since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their harm and holding him up to contempt” because they were a "bad tree" that only produces "bad fruit" and were never Born-Again, and Jesus never knew them, because they would have continued with Him (Hebrews 6:4-6,27,10:26; Matthew 7:16, 13:1-9, 18-23; Romans 8:13;1 John 2:19, 3:7-10).
The 'falling away' will continue until the very end of days when there will be those who make the reprehensible and blasphemous act of willful defiance against God by taking the mark of the beast, which is essentially worshipping satan. Those who take the mark will have made the choice to serve satan rather than obey God and receive Christ as Savior. When people make that decision during the tribulation, God will grant their request to be eternally separated from Him.
Persevering Endurance
Moses was able to persevere in trusting-faith because he saw the coming Messiah (Hebrews 11:27). Because God is Love, the Born-Again Christian dwells in love and love in them, they rejoice "with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres" (1 Corinthians 13:6-7 ESV). They will persevere in trusting-faith under all circumstances even in the face of extreme opposition because they were reconciled to God" (Colossians 1:21-23 ESV; also 1 Tim 4:16; James 1:3-4, 12, 5:11; 2 Peter 1:6; Revelation 2:2-3,19).
Their perseverance will be blessed by the promises of God (Hebrews 10:36, 12:1; James 1:12). Those who have not received Jesus as their Lord and Savior will "shrink back to destruction" (Hebrews 10:39 ESV; also, Matthew 13:19-21). Those who do not hold fast and endure for the promise of the resurrection have believed in vain (1 Corinthians 15:12-19).
Every Born-Again Christian is to "preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching...." "..., always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry" (2 Timothy 4:2-5 ESV).
The Born-Again Christian is an heir of the righteousness that comes by the faith of Jesus (Hebrews 11:7). They cannot do anything apart from Him, so He helps them naturally and automatically produce good fruit that accompanies salvation (John 15:1-1).
It is by the bearing of the Spirit, which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, that a person proves they are Born-Again (Galatians 5:22; 1 John 3:10). Even if they are in a dry period, they remain a 'good tree.' Those who look back after putting their hands on the plow were never good trees to begin with (Luke 6:43-45, 9:59-62). Anyone who loves this life more than Jesus, and is not willing to walk in repentant humility before God, will never produce good fruit because they were never planted in Jesus (Matthew 37:38).
A person who considers themselves Born-Again needs to examine their fruit to test and see if they are according to the Bible (2 Corinthians 13:5). The Bible is obvious on this, "Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother" (1 John 3:10).
Abiding
The Holy Spirit is given to those who obey God. He is not given to those who pretend to obey Him, but to those who naturally obey (Acts 5:32). They are able to abide in Him because they have the Holy Spirit living within them and, as a result, love His Word, the Bible (John 8:31,35-36). They are born of God and He protects them because they are "good soil" and a 'good tree' that abides in Jesus with "an honest and good heart" and, as a result, practice only righteousness with patience that leads to sanctification and eternal life, because Jesus has set them free from being a slave to sin (Luke 8:15; Romans f6:22; 1 John 2:29, 3:9, 5:1,18; 2 John 9-10). The Born-Again Christian proves they are abiding in God by loving others, which is how the world knows they belong to Him (John 13:35, 4:13-15; 1 John 3:17-18).
The Bible says that when the Born-Again Christian sins (and they will conditionally because they are just saved sinners), they "have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous," and He will not cast them out (Matthew 12:31; 1 John 2:1). They are heirs of the righteousness that comes by the faith of Jesus (Hebrews 11:7).
No one born of God makes a practice of sinning because God abides in them. They are His dwelling place, the new Holy of Holies (1 Corinthians 6:19-20; 1 John 3:9-10; 5:4-5; Revelation 3:5). Born-Again Christians are "sons of God" who hold onto the teaching of Jesus because they are saved (John 8:31). God has given the Holy Spirit to "those who obey Him," and they are led by Holy Spirit (Acts 5:32). Those who chose to live under the Law and not under grace will be condemned by it (Romans 8:12-13).
Overcomers
The Bible says that the person who holds to the teaching of Jesus, and keeps His commandments by obeying them, has His seed in them because they have been born of God and the Holy Spirit, who "began" the "good work in," and lives in them, and "will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ" (John 8:31, 14:15-16,21; 1 John 2:4, 2:19-20; 3:9-10, 24, 5:4-5; Hebrews 6:9; Philippians 1:6 ESV)
Those who are genuinely Born-Again naturally turn away from unrighteousness because they have become justified and righteous in Christ, and they will never die (John 11:26). They will always do "better things" (Hebrews 6:9). Just as God has always done, He will not allow them to be tempted beyond their ability to withstand the test (1 Corinthians 10:13).
Salvation is a gift from God, and is not based upon works, or abiding by obedience to the Law, or anything a person could ever do, but upon what Jesus did on the Cross (Acts 2:38-39). Jesus said that genuine overcomers are those who are Born-Again and have been born of God through the new Birth of the New Covenant, and they will never be blotted out of the Book of Life because their names are written in it "from the creation of the world" (Revelation 3:5 ESV). They will stand firm to the end, even in the face of persecution, because they are living by trusting-faith in Jesus, who is in them, and greater than he who is in the world (Matthew 10:22; 24:12-13; Mark 13:13; Luke 10:19; 1 John 4:4, 5:3-5).
They overcome the enemy "by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death" (Rev 12:11 ESV; also Matthew 19:28, 25:31; Hebrews 8:1, 12:2; Revelation 3:21).
The Born-Again Christian has been delivered from the domain of darkness and transferred to the kingdom of Jesus (Colossians 1:13). They no longer remain in the flesh, and the Holy Spirit dwells in them (Romans 8:9). Jesus seals them as a guarantee, and “death and life, angels and rulers, things present and things to come, powers, height and depth, and anything else in all creation, are not able to separate them from the love of God in Christ Jesus” because “all things work together for good” (Ephesians 1:13; Romans 8:28-31, 8:38-39).
The Born-Again Christian is called according to God's purpose, foreknown, justified, glorified, chosen, and sealed for the day of redemption as a child of God, who is an heir with Christ for glorification in Heaven, having already received an inheritance, and is predestined at the moment of salvation to be conformed to the image of Jesus who works all things according to the counsel of His will, and is always for them (John 6:37; Romans 11:6; 1 Corinthians 1:8; 2 Corinthians 1:22, 5:5; Ephesians 1:11-13, 2:8, 4:30; Hebrews 13:5; Jude 1:24-25).
For anyone to say that an individual could lose their faith/salvation and be separated from the love of God, or remove themselves from the firm grasp of the One who bought and paid for them, becoming His possession as well as His dwelling place, the Holy of Holies, and who gave them the Holy Spirit as a guarantee of salvation, promising to sustain and keep them from stumbling so that they will be presented before Him with great joy because He will never let them die, be thirsty again, leave, forsake, cast out, or drive them away, or let anything grab hold of them to separate them from His love is, at the very least, illogical and intellectually incongruent. When God makes a promise, He never reneges on, or breaks, His word (John 4:14, 6:37, 8:12, 10:27-29, 11:25-26; Romans 8:38-39; 1 John 2:1; 1 Corinthians 1:8; Philippians1:6; Jude 1:24).
