DOCTRINE VS SAVING FAITH<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I have heard people say, \u201cDon\u2019t\npreach doctrine to me.\u201d I say, \u201cPreach sound doctrine to me!\u201d There is no\nsalvation without the preaching and hearing of true doctrine. No one can\nbelieve on Christ until they have heard and believed the truth about\nChrist. However, salvation and eternal life are much more than a mere\nhead knowledge of true doctrine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Doctrine knows that all men died in Adam. \nSaving faith believes that I died in Adam. Doctrine knows that all men\nare sinful. Saving faith believes that I am the sinner, the chief of\nsinners. Doctrine knows that God elected a people unto salvation. \nSaving faith believes that my only hope of salvation is that God chose me\nbecause left to myself I would never choose God. Doctrine knows that\nChrist died for sinners. Saving faith believes that the only way the sin\nof a sinner like me could be forgiven is if Christ died for me. Doctrine knows\nthat Christ died for sin. Saving faith believes that Christ\u2019s death put\naway all of my sin. Doctrine knows that life is in Christ. Saving\nfaith believes that Christ is my life. Doctrine knows that righteousness is in\nChrist. Saving faith believes that Christ is my righteousness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
O may God be pleased to give me a heart that\nbelieves what sound doctrine has taught my head!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pastor Frank Tate <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If God saved you in light of his consideration of something in\nyou, however small, it could not be grace. No amount of immorality can prevent\nGod in his grace and no amount of morality can commend oneself to God. If one\nsin or 1,000 of them can hinder a soul in the reception of grace, it ceases to\nbe grace. If the smallest amount of morality can commend one to God, it ceases\nto be grace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We shall not become truly eloquent until we have lost the desire\nto be so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Faith is not an isolated act of life. It is not something you\ndid. True saving faith is an inward disposition of the heart created by the\ngrace of God. It is continual confidence and trust in God through the Lord\nJesus Christ. True faith in Christ is a governing principle of life in the\nhearts of all true believers. “The just shall live by faith.\u201d Saving faith\nis manifest in a very practical way in the lives of God’s children. Faith\ndictates how you acquire your possessions, how you look upon your possessions,\nand how you use your possessions (Luke 12: 15-21). Faith looks squarely and\nhonestly at material possessions and knows them to be vanity, and rejoices to\nknow that Christ is all. Christ is all that is needed, wanted, and sought by\ntrue faith. Faith lives not for the perishing things of time and sense, but for\nChrist and his eternal glory (2 Cor. 4:18). Faith seeks to use the blessings of\nGod in this world, not to pamper and indulge the flesh, but for the glory of\nGod in Christ. If faith is afflicted with poverty, it is content. If faith is\nblessed with wealth, it is generous. True faith makes a man honest, content,\npeaceful, and generous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Scott\nRichardson<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An apostolic face and a Judas heart<\/strong> Many think that a minister <\/strong>is exempt from such
\n
\nJ.C.Philpot<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\ncoldness, deadness, and barrenness, as private
\nChristians feel. And the hypocritical looks and
\nwords of many of Satan’s ministers favor this
\ndelusion. Holiness is so much on their tongues<\/strong>,
\nand on their faces<\/strong>, that their deluded hearers
\nnecessarily conclude that it is in their hearts<\/strong>.
\n
\nBut, alas! nothing is easier or more common,
\nthan an apostolic face and\na Judas heart<\/strong>.
\n
\nMost pictures that I have seen of the “Last Supper”
\nrepresent Judas <\/strong>with a ferocious countenance.\nHad
\npainters drawn a holy, meek-looking face, I believe
\nthey would have given a truer resemblance.
\n
\nMany pass for angels in the pulpit<\/strong>, who if the truth
\nwere known, would be seen to be devils and beasts
\nin heart, lip, and life at home.
\n
\n“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye make\nclean the outside <\/strong>of the cup and of the platter,\nbut within they are full of extortion and excess! Even so ye outwardly\nappear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and\niniquity.” Matthew 23:25, 28<\/p>\n\n\n\n