Saving Faith

 Saving Faith

 What is it really?

 

 

 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;

² Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

³ Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

⁴ But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,

⁵ Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

⁶ And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

⁷ That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

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.

¹⁰ For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.— Eph. 2:1-10

These verse in Ephesians Chapter 2 give us great insight into what happens with Grace and Faith and Works, in relation to our salvation.

Understand that the word “Quickened” means to bring to life.

The word is used because we are considered dead, before we get saved. We are utterly depraved. We are walking with Satan. We do not know God or have anything to do with Him or care. We are dead, which means separated from Him.

The verse above shows that ALL humans are in the same boat. Except for babies and young children before they reach the age of accountability. They do not understand Law, or Sin or anything else. They face death; like all humans, but not Hell. They have not committed the first sin, knowing it is a sin which condemns them and us.

We suffer Death, enslavement to Satan, a Corrupted Nature and the potential for Hell/Lake of Fire because of Adam’s sin. BUT… We actually go there because we commit the first sin, knowing it is a sin.

We all commit that first sin. We all have walked in sin, and face Hell. We all face eternal death. Which is separation from God in the garbage dump of Hell/Lake of Fire. The Bible wants us to understand this.

“But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,“

God came to save us from this. That is Grace.

He calls us. That is Grace.

He helps us to see our need for Him. That is Grace.

He holds back the forces of darkness for moments in our lives so we can see clearly to run to Him. That is Grace.

He gives each of us the faith to be saved. That is Grace.

Because we are saved by Grace THROUGH Faith.

This is important because there are false beliefs on the matter.

We are not saved by Faith. We are saved by Grace THROUGH Faith.

God who created us gave us this faith at birth. (Rom. 12:3)

He gave a measure of faith to every human.

Enough to be saved.

Jesus says that faith the size of a mustard seed can move mountains. (Matt. 17:20)

There is a false belief that says that God gives us faith to be saved, just before we get saved. If this is true, then God is deciding who goes to hell and who doesn’t. This flies in the face of the idea that He died for all of us and seeks to save all of us.

He gives us faith, when He knits us together in our mother’s womb. (Jer. 1:5)

That faith is what gives us hope that the sun will rise. It lets us have faith that a chair will support us when we sit down. It is faith that helps us trust that we have a job every morning we get up to go out.

That is natural faith.

That faith, as little as it might be is enough for us to believe God, and hear His call, and turn to Him. It is enough to confess Jesus as our Lord and be saved.

We can put that faith in whatever we want. Religion. Work. Money. Politics. Family. or the Eagle that lives on the yonder mountain.

But, none of those things will save us. Only Jesus Christ saves.

When we put our faith in Jesus He saves us and gives us His Holy Spirit.

From that point, the Lord starts growing us and building a relationship with us.

That is when our faith grows.

Like exercise builds the body. Seeing the movements of God, and seeing Him respond to the Truth of His Word, builds our faith.

Trusting God and seeing Him move builds our faith.

Like exercise, we build muscle by going to muscle failure. Where we cannot lift the weight but need help.

Faith is the same. God will often wait till we are spent, and cannot go any more. Then, He shows up in power, and our faith grows.

So, what is “Saving Faith?”

Saving faith; is the faith you put in the Lord to believe and trust in Him, at His call.

We can look at the Parable of the Sower in Matthew Chapter 13 to get some idea.

The sower goes forth to sow, the Word of the Kingdom.

This is the Gospel or the Word of God. It is the promises of God or a Word he gives us to wake us up to Him.

Some people get this Word, and do not understand it or believe it. The devil immediately comes and wipes it away. Demons whisper into the mind. “That’s not true.” “What about this…” “Those people are hypocrites, remember what they did to you…”

This does not mean God quits trying. He never quits. Love doesn’t quit. But, that doesn’t mean you have time to hear again.

Some people hear the Word, and agree. They like what is said, and they try to live it. But, it is by their own flesh. They did not really give themselves to the Lord and put their faith in Him alone.

So, when trouble comes or people make fun of them or punish them for trying to live right, they quit. Remember, this is a heart issue. This is a truth issue with God. It is not about appearances.

There are people living their whole life at church, in this state of half-belief. They have the “appearance of Godliness but deny the power thereof,”. They believe, but have never really accepted.

Next in the parable are people who hear the Word. They hear the call. They believe, but again never really accept it. They never confess Jesus as Lord. They try to save themselves, but “the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.”

A person who knows the Lord, cannot lose their salvation. Once you have it, you are saved forever. The Lord will protect you, hold you and grow you. The person above never really had faith in the Lord. They believed, at some point but that belief did not push them beyond this life. They never really accepted or confessed Jesus is the Lord.

This matters in these last days. Because as things get worse, and persecution comes knocking, these are the people who will fall away. They have claimed Christ. They attend church. But, have never really known Him. So, when the Anti-Christ rises up, they will turn from God and join the Apostate Church.

Last, is the person who hears the Word, believes it, and moves forward to accept Jesus as their Lord and receives the Holy Spirit. This person “heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”

The “Understanding” is not total understanding of all things Gospel. It is an understanding of their need. It is a light shining into the darkness of their fallen state, and they leap for the Lord.

It is not a “I’m going to become a Christian” kind of faith. It is a “My life is ruined and I need God,” kind of faith.

It is a faith that God sees. It is the faith of a child to believe things, no matter what the world tells you. (Matt. 18:3-4)

Saving faith, is faith that is real. It is faith that God accepts.

This faith hears the Word, and really believes and accepts. This faith grows in the good ground prepared by God by His grace.

God prepares us to hear, by whatever means will best serve the purpose.

But, it is our faith, and where put that faith, that leads to salvation.

That salvation brings us the Holy Spirit, and He grows us and changes us. He leads us into serving God and Serving others. He grows the fruit in us. He Walks in the Spirit with us. These are the works we do.

Works from God, and through God. Works God shows us to let us know we are saved and walking with Him. (Rom. 8:16)

It doesn’t matter what anyone says.

It only matters what God says.

Listen for Him, and let your faith flow to Him.

And you will grow in the good ground of His grace, mercy and love.

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The Mother Of All Living

 The Mother Of All Living

The First Mother 

 

“And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.“— Gen 3:20

She was created after Adam; to be his helpmate. To be his companion.

We do not know how long Adam was alone before God caused him to fall into a deep sleep, and removed a rib from his side to fashion the woman.

But, when he saw her he said, “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.”

This is picture is much like the creation of the Church, the bride of Christ.

He died and a spear was thrust into His side, and out came Blood and Water. And all those who follow Him are made a part of His Church by Blood and Water. (John 19:34)

When I speak of “Church” there is the earthly fleshly church, and the eternal church of all saints saved from the beginning until the end. They are not always the same.

She is a picture of all those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. The Mother of all the living.

We see her and her husband in the Garden when the Serpent came.

The Serpent was not a snake. It was a Dragon. A Dinosaur. It was being used by Satan to deceive the first couple.

Notice in Revelation it says,

“And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world” —Rev 12:9

The Dragon spoke to Eve, saying

“Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?“

Satan is a deceiver, and the best lies are often told between two truths?

And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:

³ But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

She answered him, and gave the warning that God had given Adam when he was placed in the Garden before Eve was created. (Gen. 2:16-17)

If you look at the two warnings, the one God gave Adam and the one Eve recited to Satan, you will see that she added to the Word of God. “Neither shall ye touch it”

And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

Satan tells Eve that God’s Word is not true. “Ye shall not surely die”

Then, he goes on and gives an ulterior motive for why God is denying her the fruit of the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

Basically, Satan causes her to doubt God’s Word, and His Goodness.

This is what he does in every instance of temptation. He causes us to doubt the truth of God’s Word, and/or His goodness.

Satan also offers a promise to humanity.

“Ye shall be as gods”

It is the driving force of unsaved human effort. The drive to rise up and become gods ourselves. To create a global kingdom, and live forever, without God. To evolve into something more, without God.

To build a tower to the heavens, and make a name for ourselves and be as gods. To dominate and defeat all obstacles, even death, as we rise. (Gen. 11:1-9)

But, it’s all a lie.

And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

Now, if we continue with our analogy of Eve being the Church, the Bride of Christ.

What do we see?

We see the Church created by God through the Blood of Jesus Christ, and the Water of baptism. (1 John 1:7, Romans 6:4, 1 Peter 3;21, 1 John 5:1-15)

We see that we are already in Paradise, Heaven, the Garden. If we are Saved. (Rom. 8:1, John 5:24, Luke 23:43)

We see that we may freely eat of all the trees in the garden except ONE.

We are washed, saved forever, and have liberty and freedom in Christ Jesus (Gal. 5:1, Gal. 2:4, Gal. 5:13, 1 Cor. 6:12, 1 Cor. 10:23)

But, we see the woman, or Church adding to the Word of God.

“Neither shall ye touch it”; and opening the doors for more deception from Satan. (Gal 2:4, Gal. 3:1-29,)

We went from God’s Grace and freedom to freely eat of all the fruits, except one; to where we cannot TOUCH it either.

Then the Church listens to Satan even more and eats of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, because they doubted God’s Word and Doubted His Goodness, and listened to Satan instead of God. (Gal 2:4, Gal. 3:1-29)

And what happens next?

And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

They made aprons.

Meaning that they tried to fix their nakedness problem by their own ability. By their own works.

That is the deception the Church falls into.

Instead of operating in the grace of God, and the freedom we have in Christ, they add to the Word of God. They doubt His Goodness. They teach the knowledge of good and evil, or morality without Christ, having a form of godliness but denying the power there of. ()

And it leads to a works based doctrine, where people try to save themselves instead of trusting Christ. (Gal 2:4, Gal. 3:1-29)

And that leads to death. Eternal separation from God. Because they have never known Him, nor confessed Him as Lord. (Rom. 10:9-10)

Do you see it?

Then, comes God and saves them. He covers their nakedness by His own power, not by their effort. Not by the religion they created out of fear of nakedness.

God is our only source for salvation.

Turning to Him, and confessing Jesus Christ as Lord, through faith. (Rom. 10:9-10)

He calls us to Him, and He uses the curse as a tool to do that.

Notice, He tells the Serpent.

“ And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:

¹⁵ And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.“

This curse led to the death of the dinosaurs in the Flood, except for a few on the Ark. Leaving only reptiles, which crawl mostly on their belly.

Notice God tells the Serpent Satan, that he will eat dust. Notice that Man is called dust. (Gen 3:19)

God handed man over to Satan. Satan took dominion of the Earth and rules over man. When Adam ate, we became corrupt and slaves to Satan. That is our fallen state. Jesus sets us free from this, when we turn to Him.

Remember the woman is the church. We are at war with Satan. There is a division between the saved and unsaved people of the world. It is also speaking of Jesus Christ who will die on the cross and defeat Satan. Jesus comes from the Bloodline, which is directly from Adam and Eve. Her children lead to Abraham, Moses and David. Then, to the Lord Himself.

She is the mother of all living. She is the mother of all saved. Whether through the Bloodline, or the Blood of Jesus Christ, through the preaching of the Church.

Next God lays a curse on the Woman,

Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

This is talking about the pregnancy of the woman being hard. But, it’s more than that. The woman was created to be the help meet. So, her curse goes with that. The woman’s emotions for her children and husband are increased. She suffers in her love for them. It is talking about a mother’s love. She desires to help her husband but He does not have to listen. Her love for her husband and children are agony.

Why did God do this?

Because we is trying to save people. The purpose of the curse, is to get women to turn to God for help. To get her to pray for her children and husband. To get her to turn to God in her pain, so God will get her husband and children to listen and be safe, and saved.

God is the only hope. Turning to Him is the reason for the curse.

If we continue with the analogy that the woman is the Church. We can see the difficulty and agony in spreading the Gospel. Desiring for Christ to come, while being ruled by Him in His absence. Trusting he is with us always, even till the end of the Earth.

Next we see,

And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;

¹⁸ Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;

¹⁹ In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

Paul says the man was not deceived. He knew He was committing Sin. (1 Tim. 2:14)

Notice first, that God tells Adam exactly what his sin was. “Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree,”

Why?

Because Adam listened to his wife instead of listening to God. Not because he was a bad family leader. Not because he didn’t stop Eve from eating the fruit.

God plainly states, Because he listened to his wife instead of God.

This brings us back to her curse, where God gives the man authority to not listen to her, any more and she suffers from it.

Now we come back to God’s desire for salvation.

Notice God does not curse Adam. He curses the ground. He cursed the Serpent and the Woman. But not Adam. He curses the ground instead.

This leads to Adam or men having to work his butt off to provide for himself and others. This hard work, is like the suffering of the woman. It is designed to get the man to turn to God for help. Which leads to salvation.

That is God’s reason for the Curse. To save humans, not punish them.

Death has entered the world, and death leads to competition for survival. Thorns and thistles always existed, but now they strive with other plants to survive. Animals also, which formerly ate plants, now struggle and compete to survive.

Humans and all animals formerly ate fruits, veggies and nuts.

But, because of death and competition.

Humans are now told to eat grains, and make bread. It is the Agricultural Revolution. It will help humans survive.

And again, we see the reference to Dust. Satan or the serpent dragon is told to eat dust, and the man is called dust.

God handed humanity over to Satan, because when Adam listened to his wife, he was also listening to Satan and chose to follow Him.

Remember, God loves us and seeks to save us. Everything He does is designed to get us to turn to Him for salvation and help.

If we are willing.

God told the woman that the man would not listen. Likewise, we are free to stop following false doctrine from the Church when it goes against God’s Word.

And that day will come.

As Satan works and use all things to build his Anti-Christ kingdom. The Church or Woman, in this world will be drawn to join him in his efforts.

The believers in this world in these last days will be tempted, like Adam, to partake of the false teachings. To follow the works based doctrine. To eat of whatever lie, Satan will bring upon the whole world, and perish with them, if they do not really know the Lord.

The saints will refuse the temptation and face persecution and death by Satan and his Anti-Christ. (Rev. 13:7, Dan. 7:21)

And the Lord will return; walking in the cool of the day to save us and bring His everlasting Kingdom, crushing the head of the Serpent.

As a rock cut out without hands, to strike the kingdom of the enemy and watch it blow away in the might of His power. (Dan. 2)

It is all by design from day one.

It is all by the power of the Lord.

We are saved by Jesus alone.

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Elder Brother, Younger Brother

 Elder Brother, Younger Brother

A Word on Acceptance

 

In the parable of the prodigal son, we see many truths about our spiritual lives. But, there is one aspect that I would like to point out here. (Luke 15:11-32) First we have the prodigal son who goes into the world and lives for himself. He lives a riotous life, that mirrors what a rock star might live. You get the picture. He took the blessings of the father and went into the world and partied with it.
      

We also see in the parable that there is an elder brother, who stays at home with the father. He obeys everything the father tells him to obey. He lives a humble, austere life at home. He never ventures out into the world very far. He grows bitter, resentful, and judgmental. He feels he is owed a blessing for obedience.
      

We can see these two characters played out today in our churches. You have the person who grew up living in the world and went full tilt in it. Then trouble comes into his life and God uses that time of trouble to draw him to be saved. Then, the person starts trying to live right and do what they are being led by God to do. But, they are still very rough around the edges, and know it. They then come to church where they encounter the elder brother.
      

This is the person who grew up in church. The elder brother never strayed too far from the laws of God. Oh sure they “sinned”.  They missed church that Sunday, and kissed a boy behind the woodshed. They went to that party and got drunk and had to call their parents from jail that one time. “Never again!” they promised God, and they kept it. But, they did other things secretly, or unknowingly, or unadmittedly.
      

The Elder Brother thinks, whether they know it or not, “This guy comes to the church, because he’s in trouble. He took the life, and the gifts, and the image of God and then wallowed in the mud with the pigs. He’s not well churched. He doesn’t talk right. He’s rough, and he doesn’t fit in. He will never totally fit in. He still smokes, he cusses, he has a woman he meets, he drinks, and he just tries to hide it all. He won’t last long.”
      

The younger brother feels it. He can feel that some people in the church will never accept him because of who he was. He can tell by how they look at him and exclude him, that he is not one of them. Oh sure they invite him. But, it feels like charity or pity. He hears the sermons and listens to the teachings and knows he doesn’t measure up. He knows that he never will. But, they all seem to. They seem to be perfect, even though he knows they aren’t. Next Sunday he’ll just sleep in.
      

This scenario plays out in churches all across this land. Someone wants to change their lives, but the perfect people become a stumbling block to them. The person who has been involved in church their whole life cannot understand that the person who has been in the world, has many layers of things that God must remove over time. It doesn’t happen overnight.  A person gets saved the minute they confess Jesus as their Lord, but it takes a life time to get totally healed of the damage that has been done to them.

Don’t let the elder brother drive you away from God or from church. Church is a place to learn, and to grow. It is a place to serve and reach out to others. It has great value in your spiritual walk. Seek people in your church who have a similar background, or who are more understanding. They are there. Pray and ask God to show you. Likewise, Elder brothers need to realize this occurs and figure out ways to make it easier for folks to integrate into the Body.   

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Photo by the author.