Faith and Works<\/p>\n
There are many who call themselves Christians who would say a man is not
\nsaved by works. They then turn around and make a work out of believing
\nor look to their works as evidence of their salvation. If by grace, then
\nis it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace Rom. 11:6a.
\nGrace and works cannot be mixed for our salvation. So, what sayeth the
\nscriptures about good works? First, those who are trusting Christ don\u2019t
\nlook to their works as the cause or evidence of their salvation. (Matt.
\n25:37-39.) Grace is the only cause of our salvation and faith is the
\nonly evidence. (Eph. 2:8-9; Heb. 11:1). Second, good works are ordained
\nof God that we should walk in them Eph. 2:10. Third, it is God that
\nworks in them causing them to will and to do of His good pleasure Phil.
\n2:13. And fourth, believers are zealous for good works Titus 2:4. They
\nare careful to maintain good works, knowing that these things are good
\nand profitable unto men Titus 3:8. At the end of the day, they believe
\nthemselves to be but, unprofitable servants Luke 17:10.
\nMay it be said of us what the Lord said to the woman who broke open the
\nalabaster box of precious ointment. She hath wrought a good work on me,
\nfor she hath done what she could Mk. 14:3-8. ~Greg<\/p>\n
Let Us Labor to Rest<\/p>\n
\u201cLet us labour therefore to enter into that rest\u201d (Heb. 4:11).<\/p>\n
Seems to be a contradiction in terms, labor to rest; but in reality, it
\nis not. Let us eagerly strive and earnestly pursue to count all our
\nworks as \u201cdung and filthy rags\u201d and to \u201ccease from our own works,\u201d cease
\nfrom trusting ourselves, cease from going about to establish our own
\nrighteousness (Rom 10:3-4) and to rest, relax and trust the Lord Jesus
\nChrist, who accomplished all righteousness and all salvation for us
\n(Rom. 8:32; Col. 2:9-10; Phil. 3:7-9).<\/p>\n
This is impossible for any sinner to do apart from Almighty grace!
\nHowever, when the Lord is pleased to reveal Himself unto us, it is the
\ndelight of faith (Heb. 12:2), the joy of hope (II Thess. 2:16) and the
\nburning desire of love to come to Christ and rest in Him (I John 4:19).
\nHe said, \u201cCome unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I
\nwill give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am
\nmeek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my
\nyoke is easy, and my burden is light.\u201d Oh Lord, give us grace to rest in
\nthee!<\/p>\n
~Tom Harding<\/p>\n
A Pure Faith
\nTodd Nibert
\nWhen I was on chemo-therapy, I took the liberty to change some
\nmedications that I was on without notifying my doctor. The change in
\nmedicines had an adverse effect. I was plunged into depression and
\ndespair. All I could see was blackness and darkness. Everything seemed
\nhopeless. I was even questioning the existence of God. If He did exist I
\nhad no assurance that I knew Him.<\/p>\n
During that time I knew that the only way I could be saved was if Christ
\ndid everything in my salvation. I could not even come up with the faith.
\nPerhaps that is the purest my faith has ever been.<\/p>\n
\u2018With the heart man believeth\u2019
\nRead Jeremiah 17:5-14
\n‘If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus; and shalt believe
\nin thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be
\nsaved.\u2019 This is the one thing that is essential: you must believe in
\nthine heart\u2019. I urge you to \u2018examine yourselves, whether ye be in the
\nfaith\u2019. I would do nothing to rob any true believer of the joy of
\nconfident assurance. But I must warn all men to guard against religious
\npresumption. It is Satan\u2019s cheap counterfeit.
\nFalse faith can be very deceptive. False faith produces good works. It
\nexcites the emotions. It reforms the outward life. It performs deeds of
\nreligion. It causes sorrow for sin. It speaks well of Christ. It does
\nworks of charity. It trembles under the preaching of the gospel. False
\nfaith gains high offices in the church. It secures peace of mind. It
\nwalks in the company of great preachers. False faith even holds out to
\nthe Day of Judgment (Matt. 7;22-23). My friend, beware of false faith!
\nRemember Lot\u2019s wife, Judas, Simon, Demas and Diotrephes. Be not numbered
\namong them.
\nTrue faith is the heart knowledge of, trust in and submission to the
\nLord Jesus Christ. God has revealed Christ to us in the gospel, by which
\nwe know our desperate need and his saving power and fairness. Trusting
\nChrist alone as our all-sufficient Savior, we commit ourselves, body and
\nsoul, to him. And where there is true faith, there is the submission of
\nheart to Christ as our sovereign Lord and King. This faith comes not by
\nheredity, nor by the logic and persuasiveness of the preacher. It is the
\ngift of God. Christ is reveled in the heart by the Holy Spirit.
\nThis heart faith can be known by those who possess it. Have we believed?
\nIf so, we have firmly cordially and voluntarily received Christ in all
\nhis offices. To them that believe, Christ is precious. Heart faith
\npurifies the heart and weans it from the world. Heart faith works by
\nlove, lives in hope and rests in Christ. This is true faith. This is
\nheart faith. Forsaking all I take Him.
\nDon Fortner.<\/p>\n
RIGHTEOUSNESS RECEIVED<\/p>\n
God’s righteousness is received by trusting in His Son. It is not a
\nrighteousness which we earn but a righteousness which we receive as a
\ngift. The means of receiving it is faith, which is a gift of God.
\n(Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of
\nyourselves: it is the gift of God:”) God imputes that righteousness of
\nthe Lord Jesus Christ to every person who trusts in His Son. Therefore,
\nas far as God is concerned, that person who believes in His Son is
\nperfect in that He has imputed to him the righteousness of the Lord
\nJesus. This is what salvation really is. It is not just escaping hell’s
\nheat and going to heaven. It is being made perfect in the eyes and
\npresence of God through faith in His Son, Who lived a perfect life and
\ndied a substitutionary death. He alone bore the penalty of our sins;
\ntherefore, we will not bear it. Scott Richardson<\/p>\n
“The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Ephesians 6:17<\/p>\n
There is only one weapon whereby we can fight Satan to any purpose, and
\nthat is the word of God. But observe, that it must not be merely the
\nletter of the word. It must be the “sword of the Spirit,” and therefore
\na spiritual sword, which can only be taken in hand when the word of God
\nis applied with a divine power to your heart, and you have a living
\nfaith in it as made “life and spirit” to your soul. It is of no use my
\nbringing forward a text to resist a temptation of Satan, unless I can
\nmake that text my own; in other words, unless I can handle that sword as
\none who knows how to wield it. To take up a text and not know the
\nsweetness and power of it, would be like a child taking up a warrior’s
\nsword without having the warrior’s hand. He might play with the sword,
\nbut what is the sword of a giant in the hand of a child? The sword of
\nScander-Beg, a famous Albanian warrior against the Turks, used to be
\nshewn at Vienna. A man who once looked at and handled it said, “Is this
\nthe sword which won so many victories? I see nothing in it; it is but a
\ncommon sword.” The answer was, “You should have seen the hand that
\nwielded it.” So it is not merely taking a text, adopting scripture
\nlanguage, and quoting passages, which will beat back the fiery assaults
\nof Satan. This is having Scander-Beg’s sword without having
\nScander-Beg’s arm. But it is having the word of truth brought into our
\nheart by the power of God, faith raised up to believe that God himself
\nspeaks it to our heart, being thus enabled to wield it in the strength
\nof the Spirit and by the power of faith in living exercise, to resist
\nevery hellish thrust. In this battle we must not give way. To flee is to
\nbe conquered, for, as Bunyan well says, there is no armour for the back.
\nThus even if in this conflict you should slip and fall, lie not still as
\na conquered captive, but get up again and fight. “Resist Satan, and he
\nwill flee from you.” He is a conquered enemy; he cannot destroy you if
\nyou are the Lord’s. The word of truth, therefore, is full of most
\ngracious promises, and sweet encouragements “to endure hardness as good
\nsoldiers of Jesus Christ,” and never in heart or hand submit to be
\nconquered by sin or Satan. JC Philpot<\/p>\n
The Heart and The Mouth<\/p>\n
Romans 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and
\nwith the mouth confession is made unto salvation.<\/p>\n
The faith itself is not righteousness, but it is UNTO righteousness
\nbecause it connects us to Christ, Who is our righteousness. Salvation is
\nan eternal act of God\u2019s will in its origin and it is a powerful work of
\nGod on the heart of a sinner, in its application. With the heart man
\nbelieveth. Not with the heart of flesh, for the flesh profiteth nothing
\n(John 6:63). But that new heart that God promised He would give His
\npeople. The new man is the one who believes, not the old. The one
\ncreated in Christ Jesus unto good works.<\/p>\n
And then, what happens in the heart is expressed by the mouth. The
\nPsalmist exhorted in Psalm 107:2, Let the redeemed of the LORD say [so].
\nAnd we do and shall. The Lord instructed the man, out of whom He had
\ncast the legion of devils, \u201cGo home to thy friends, and tell them how
\ngreat things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on
\nthee.\u201d And we do and shall.<\/p>\n
Confession includes everything that is believed. It is owning our sin as
\nJob did when he said, \u201cbehold, I am vile!\u201d It is acknowledging our
\nhelplessness as Peter did, when he cried, \u201cLord, save me!\u201d It is
\ndeclaring His sufficiency as the leper did who begged, \u201cLord, if you
\nwill, you can make me clean.\u201d It is proclaiming the power of His blood,
\nlike the publican who prayed, \u201cGod, be propitious to me, the sinner.\u201d It
\nis bowing to His sovereignty as the thief who said, \u201cLord, remember me,
\nwhen you come into your kingdom.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chris Cunningham<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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