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The Kind of Faith that SavesBy Eric Huffman
What is faith?
The Bible has a lot to say about faith, and preachers preach a lot about faith, but for this to do us any good we have to know what faith is. There have been many attempts to define the word “faith”, and I don't claim to be able to explain all that the word can mean, so I will limit my present effort to explaining “saving faith”. Saving faith is that kind of faith that obtains eternal salvation for a lost soul. We receive salvation by exercising faith, and so it behooves us to find out how to do this. We have probably all heard that faith is more than “intellectual assent”, and I hope, in this chapter, to take some of the mystery out of it.
Saving faith is more than merely believing. “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.” - James 2:19. The devils' faith is not going to save them, because it is not the right kind of faith. It is possible to believe that Jesus is the son of God, that He died and rose again, and still not be saved. The devil knows these things, and yet he is not saved. The entire professed Christian world believes these things, but many will not end up in heaven.
True faith is active. Mere belief is not. It is one thing to believe that helicopters can fly, but it takes faith to get in one and ride! You can easily believe that a skilled surgeon can remove an inflamed appendix without problems, but if you need to undergo the surgery yourself, you need faith. Likewise, it is not enough to believe that Jesus is the savior. We need faith to actually obtain salvation for ourselves. Jesus must be our “personal” savior.
Your faith has saved you.
In Luke 18:42 we read “And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee.”. This is interesting. Jesus often said this when He healed someone. But in most instances “saved” is translated “made whole”, or something like that. The Greek word for “saved” (SO-dzo) is used to describe salvation from sin – and physical healing too. Have you ever wondered why Jesus made a point of telling those He healed that it was their faith that healed them? I believe He was trying to help us understand how faith works. The healing miracles of Jesus are object lessons that teach us about “saving faith”. In these miracles we can see how faith operates, what it looks like.
The account of the healing of the man by the pool of Bethesda is particularly instructive. The man had been sick for 38 years when Jesus found him. He was not able to walk, no question about it. He did not have the power to heal himself, otherwise he would have done so long before. Jesus asked him “do you want to get well?”. The lame man said that he had no one to help him. Every time the water was stirred, he had tried to get to the pool, but had never been able to get there. Basically, he was saying “I've tried, but I can't”.
Then Jesus said something that we might think was strange. He said “Rise, take up thy bed and walk”! Really? What was He thinking – telling this man to do something so obviously impossible? The man could have said “look, can't you see that I can't walk? I just got through telling you....”. Fortunately for us, and for himself too, the man simply acted as he had been told. He didn't question how it was going to work, he just got up! He could have just continued to lie there, trying to believe that Jesus would heal him. He could have waited until he felt something before he made a move. But that wouldn't have been faith. Faith always produces “action”. Faith without works is dead, being alone (James 2:17). As soon as the man willed to follow the command of Jesus, the power to perform it was present – and not before. We don't need to understand exactly how this could happen, it is enough to know that it does. Had the man made no effort to obey, he would not have been healed.
When God asks us to do the impossible, we need to just do it. When we realize that we can't do it, but He can do it, it will happen. The promises that God has made to us we can claim by faith. We must not only believe that He can do for us what He promised, but that He will do it. We have to believe this to such an extent that we act as though it was so - just like the man by the pool.
Here is a practical example: Jesus promised us the Holy Spirit, and part of the fruit of the spirit is patience. Suppose I realize my need of patience, and wish to receive it by faith. First, I ask God for it. Then I believe that He will give it to me because He has promised to do it. Finally, I use it! Yes, I actually try to exercise the patience I have asked for. The very effort to be patient is the final piece of my faith. Faith is made perfect – or complete - by works (James 2:22). And if I run out of patience, I ask for more.
Another example: “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.” -- James 1:5-8
God has also promised to give us wisdom. Surely every Christian, at some point, has ask for wisdom and received it. Imagine that you have a difficult decision to make. You realize your lack of wisdom, and so you pray and ask God to give you the wisdom that you need. You know that He will answer this prayer, and you fully expect to receive help to make the right choice. You don't feel any special sensation. Eventually, you make that difficult decision, trusting that God is guiding your thinking. Later, as you look back on the situation, you can see that God really did help you make the best choice. You took hold of the promise by faith, and exercised the gift of wisdom. If you had asked for wisdom, but failed to use it (to “act” as though you possessed it), you wouldn't have received any.
This applies to any promise God has made. Jesus said (Mark 9:23) “If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.”. Conversely, if you don't believe, nothing is going to happen. “And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.”-- Matt. 13:58. If we are waiting to see if God can do what He promised, before we have confidence in His power, we won't see much of anything. We will merely have the “form of Godliness”, but deny the power of it.
So it is with the salvation that Jesus promises to us – forgiveness for our sins, righteousness in this life, and immortality in Heaven and the new Earth. Jesus taught us in the Lord's prayer to ask our Father in Heaven to forgive us our sins, and He will do this for us. We must have faith that He does this, and act like forgiven people! If Satan tries to bring your past sins up to you again, you can just put them out of mind because you know by faith that they are gone. Feeling is not faith! Exercise your faith, and let your feelings catch up if they can.
In many places the Bible writers give us the promise of receiving the righteousness, or character, of Jesus. We can claim this for ourselves by asking for it, and by exercising the righteousness God gives us. “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him” - Col. 2:6. The key to receiving those things that are promised is to exercise faith. Take God at His word, because all the Power in the universe stands behind those promises. And remember, “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” - Luke 12:32.
Make a study of the promises of God. Look at them with the eye of faith, and resolve to take them seriously. It is important to remember that these promises are given to those who are willing to obey the commandments of God. “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Fathers commandments, and abide in his love.” John 15:7-10.
God has given everyone a measure of faith (Romans 12:3), and faith grows as you use it. ”According to your faith be it unto you.” - Matt. 9:29.
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