Category: Faith

Kris Braddock sure knows how to cause trouble.  An internet visitor to our web site took issue with Kris’ article entitled “Saved by Faith… But What of Works?”  And then he had the audacity to write me to complain!  Anyway, among other standard Calvinistic arguments he made, he said the following:

“Succinctly stated, the passages in Ephesians and James can ONLY be reconciled as follows: ‘Faith is the ROOT of our salvation. Works are the FRUIT of our salvation.’  Faith is the CAUSE of salvation and WORKS are the EFFECT, or RESULT of salvation.”

Below is my quick reply to him. Continue reading “We Get Letters – (On James 2)” →

Jan. 19 (Bloomberg) — Two U.S. Supreme Court justices rejected a California atheist’s bid to block clergy-led prayer at tomorrow’s inauguration ceremony for President George W. Bush.

Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist and Justice John Paul Stevens, in separate orders, today denied an emergency-injunction request filed in Washington by Michael Newdow.

Two Christian ministers — Episcopal Rev. Luis Leon of Washington and Methodist Rev. Kirbyjon Caldwell of Houston — are slated to say prayers at the inauguration.

Newdow said in court papers that the past 17 public inaugurations, dating back to 1937, have all included “blatantly Christian prayer.” He said he has tickets to the event, yet “cannot in good conscience attend an exercise where his government forces him to endure religious dogma he finds highly disagreeable.”

Newdow last year unsuccessfully urged the Supreme Court to bar public school teachers from leading recitations of the Pledge of Allegiance with the phrase “under God.”

Greg Stohr
Bloomberg.com

Analysis:

The preceding column contains information regarding a typical attack from secularists upon the Christian faith. It has long been held by a segment of our society that “freedom of religion” should be understood as “freedom from religion.”

Continue reading “Inauguration Prayers” →

The second epistle of Peter, chapter 1, verses 5-7 reads as follows:

“But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.”

You will note that the Christian graces mentioned in the text are to be added to a foundation of faith.

Continue reading “Add To Your Faith” →

The emphatic declaration of inspiration, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” This passage, found in the book of Romans (10:17), shows with clarity only God could supply that our faith is objective. Faith is based not on our emotions or superstitions, but rather on the revealed will of the omniscient God of Heaven. It is our reception of the testimony concerning the good news of our Lord’s sacrifice and victory that gives us the hope that springs eternal.

It is impossible to separate the hearing of the gospel from saving faith. Paul affirmed earlier in the epistle, (1:16), “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.” The powerful word of God, working upon the open and tender hearts of men, cultivates an active faith that accomplishes the redemption of the believer.

Thus Paul reveals for us a fundamental truth concerning God’s plan of salvation for man. “…it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe” (I Corinthians 1:21). The apostle has much more to say about faith in the Roman epistle. Following are three lessons derived from his writings. For a more detailed discussion of these aspects of faith, the reader is encouraged to read Faith and The Faith, by Roy E. Cogdill.

The Debt of Faith

A great obligation weighed heavily upon Paul in view of the eternal blessing he received through faith. Because the life he now lived he lived “in faith” (cf. Galatians 2:20), it was his desire to be always fruitful in his service to the Lord. He stated in Romans 1:13, “Now I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that I often planned to come to you (but was hindered until now), that I might have some fruit among you also, just as among the other Gentiles.” Significant is the agency by which he sought to bring about this fruitfulness in his service to God. It would be through the gospel of his Lord!

Paul preached the gospel! He had obtained a precious inheritance because of his faith in God, and he felt a responsibility to make the means to faith available to the Romans. Indeed to all men. “I am a debtor both to the Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise. So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also” (1:14-15).

The lesson to us is plain. We too have received a Hope through the preaching of the gospel. It engendered faith within our soul, and it is the only agency by which the world might be saved. Do you feel the obligation Paul felt? Are you willing, as much as is in you, to preach that gospel? Imagine the joy in the heart of one who believes the Word you shared! Truly, we are debtors.

The Law of Faith

The third chapter of the epistle deals with the universality of sin, and the way of escape from sin’s consequences. Paul writes, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (3:23). As such, the Jew was in no way superior to the Gentile. “What then? Are we better than they? Not at all” (3:9). The Jew was inclined to boast in works of merit, done under the auspices of God’s covenantal law. Paul takes this boast away from the Jew when he writes, “Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.”

A recognition that Jesus died for our sins removes the possibility of boasting in our relative merit before God. The innocent man of God was sacrificed for me! I cannot address God as righteous based upon my deeds done under the law, rather only upon my faith in my Lord. The “law of faith” here mentioned references the requirements given me by God to acquire my redemption. That is, a faith in Christ as Lord, leading me to obedience to His will. Do I have reason to boast? “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). To God be the glory!

The Obedience of Faith

While I cannot claim a merited salvation, I understand that a proper concept of faith necessitates obedience to God. Paul makes this clear in the Roman epistle. He writes in his benediction, “Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began but now made manifest, and by the prophetic Scriptures made known to all nations, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, for obedience to the faith” (Romans 16:25-26). Brother Cogdill put it well. He states, “God’s plan is that men shall be made righteous through the faith of Jesus Christ, by their faith in the faith of Jesus Christ. But our faith in the faith must produce obedience to the gospel.” (Faith and The Faith, pg. 77). The Bible clearly teaches that faith alone, apart from obedience, cannot save us (cf. James 2:24). If you say you have faith, show it by your obedience to your Lord.

The Roman epistle is a sublime example of the prescience of God. Do you want to know the part faith plays in God’s scheme of redemption for man? Read Romans and bask in the glory of God’s wisdom!

In 1 Corinthians 13, as the apostle Paul concluded his great treatise on love, he wrote “And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13). Setting aside the final statement of the superiority of love, we note that each of the three “abide”, and wish to focus the attention of this article to the first of the three, faith.

Continue reading “Faith” →

Paul, in 2 Corinthians 7:1, set forth a two-step process which is integral to a Christian’s “Walk By Faith.” The process could be best described as 1) A subtraction; and 2) An addition. Notice the passage, “Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” This two step process, “cleanse (-ing) ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, (and) perfecting holiness in the fear of God”, will be explained momentarily. But first, it must be determined what the “promises” are which are alluded to in the verse.

To determine the nature of the promises, you must go back to chapter 6, and notice verses 14-18. (Please read them now). Paul exhorted the Corinthians to not be “…unequally yoked together with unbelievers.” The reason for his exhortation is clear. It is not appropriate for a Christian to have an accord with someone who is so obviously his opposite. The two are antithetical. This is born out by the parallels drawn in verses 14-16. A Christian being yoked to a non-Christian would be like righteousness fellowshipping lawlessness, light communing with darkness, Christ striking an accord with Belial, or the temple of God having an agreement with idols!

This is obviously inappropriate, and Paul emphasized the obvious by pointing out the promises we have, predicated upon our separation and purity. He quoted, in verse 16, “I will be their God, and they shall be My People” (cf. Lev. 26:12; Ezek. 37:27). In verse 17 and 18, it is recorded. “…I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters.” BUT, the promises are predicated upon their acknowledgement and obedience to the command, “Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean” (cf. Isa. 52:11; Ezek. 20:34,41).

Paul’s statement in 7:1 merely builds upon this premise. He stated first that believers are not to be unequally yoked together with, or have a part with (6:15) unbelievers. Next, he gave the reason why a yoking would be inappropriate. It is so because reception by God (the promises) is predicated upon separateness. You can’t expect for God to “dwell” in you, to be your God, to “receive” you, and to be a “Father” unto you if you refuse come out from among the world, and be separate. Beginning chapter seven, Paul in essence stated the parameters of this separateness. Read it again, “Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” How do we “come out from among them, and be separate?” By “cleansing ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, and by perfecting holiness in the fear of God!” (The aforementioned “two-step” process).

A wise man (an elder in the Lord’s church) once told me, “Before you go and yank the rug out from under someone, make sure there is something there to catch them.” Jesus stated the same in Matthew 12 when describing the cast out demon. The demon walks about looking for a home, and finding none, returns to his former abode. He finds it empty (the man not having replaced the evil with good), and inhabits it again with seven other demons more insidious than himself. The importance of this principle was not lost on Paul. He stated here that 1) evil must be banished, and 2) good must replace it.
Sin defiles. It defiles the flesh and the spirit. We are not to actively engage in sin. Immorality, idolatry, and unlawful behavior are to be expunged from our lives. We are not to be guilty of such sins as envy, hatred, jealousy, and lust. This evil is indeed filth of the flesh and spirit. Separateness demands purity. If we want the benefit of God as our Father, then we must “…cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit…”

When we remove the filthiness from our lives, we must replace it with that which is perfectly holy. In reverence and godly fear, we must seek to conform ourselves to Christ’s example. The easiest way to explain it may be in referring to Galatians 5. Paul there gave a list of the lusts of the flesh. These are the things we are to “cleanse” ourselves from. Then Paul gave the list of the “fruit of the Spirit”, which is, “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (vs. 22-23). A man who incorporates into his character the “fruit of the Spirit” is one who is perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

One fact should be remembered by any individual who wishes to please God. Namely, God demands separateness. This separateness is necessary if we claim to be “walking by faith”, and it is defined as a purifying of flesh and spirit, and a perfecting of holiness in the fear of God. Are you “Walking by Faith”?