THE FAITH THAT SAVES

There is no issue more important than where we will spend eternity. And we can only trust the Bible for the answer. Let’s see what it says.

Heb 11:1

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

Heb 11:6

And without faith it is impossible to please Him

Jos 24:15 [Joshua speaking to the nation of Israel]

“If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: …

but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

We have a choice. That choice started in the garden of Eden:

Gen 2:16-17

The LORD [Yᵊhōvâ]God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely;

but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”

God is not talking about physical death here. He is talking about spiritual death, separation from God, which will be eternal unless it is followed by spiritual birth, as Paul described in Romans 7:9-11 and Jesus explained to Nicodemus in John 3.

Please note that the LORD God didn’t want robots. He wanted sentient beings, both angels and humans, who chose to love and obey Him. To do that, God had to make a way they could choose to reject and disobey Him. That’s why He put the tree in the Garden. We all have to choose.

John 3:16-18 [English Standard Version]

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes (Gr: pisteuō )

in him should not perish but have eternal life.

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn (Gr: krino) the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

The Greek word “pisteuo’” is in the active present tense, indicating not a one-time action, but a continuing action. “Trusts and keeps on trusting” might be a better translation.

The Greek word “krino” is translated ‘judge” in most English Bibles, but carries the idea of judgment resulting in condemnation. This ESV translation is identical to the KJV, and conveys the full meaning more clearly than other translations.

Eph 2:8-10

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;

not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

Romans 12:3 tells us that everyone is given a measure of faith by God, and the parable of the talents tells us those measures of faith are not equal, but everyone is given enough faith to be saved, IF he applies the faith given to him.

Romans 10:9

that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

And at that moment, you are saved, just like the thief on the cross. But now you have what Jesus called “the narrow” way ahead of you. You have just come in the small gate:

Matthew 7:13-14 [Jesus speaking]

“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.

“For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”

The Greek word translated “narrow” after the word

“way” is thlibō which is different from the Greek word

Stenos translated “narrow” in front of “gate” in verse 13.

Stenos means straight or constricted. But this word thlibō

indicates trouble, tribulation or affliction. You may better

understand its meaning when I tell you it is used to

describe crushing grapes to make wine. Here is describes

the true believer’s life after coming through the narrow

gate, which represents conversion. The “life” Jesus is

talking about here is, of course, SPIRITUAL life.

Luke 9:23-24

And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.

“For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.”

Notice that Jesus is talking about both physical life in this body and eternal spiritual life with God.

Galatians 5:4

You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.

Romans 3:20

because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight…

Never get the idea that we can earn our salvation by works. When we rely on our own works, we cease relying on God’s free gift through His Son, a dangerous position indeed. [Romans 9:30-32]

Today we are going to examine what the Bible says about the faith that leads to spiritual life, eternity with God, looks like:

[1] Saving faith is enduring faith.

Remember, the Greek word translated “believes” in John 3:16 is “pisteuo” which indicates a continuing action: “whoever keeps on trusting in Him” is the meaning in the original Greek.

We need to endure in our faith. We must keep on trusting in God’s plan for salvation through Jesus and nothing else. Here are some verses:

Matthew 10:22 [Jesus speaking]

“You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.”

Hebrews 10:23

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful;

1 Corinthians 15:1-2

Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand,

by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you…

Hebrews 10:35-39

Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.

For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.

FOR YET IN A VERY LITTLE WHILE,

HE WHO IS COMING WILL COME, AND WILL NOT DELAY.

BUT MY RIGHTEOUS ONE SHALL LIVE BY FAITH;

AND IF HE SHRINKS BACK, MY SOUL HAS NO PLEASURE IN HIM.

But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul.

[2] Saving faith is also demonstrated by obedience to God’s commands.

In fact, God determines our love toward Him by our obedience. Here are some verses:

John 14:15 (Jesus speaking)

“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”

John 14:23

Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.”

1 John 2:3-4

By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments.

The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him….

1 John 5:2

By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments.

For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments…

1 John 2:17b

the one who does the will of God lives forever.

James 2:14

What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him?

1 John 3:10a

By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God…

The result of ignoring God’s commandments and living to please ourselves is not promising:

Hebrews 10:26-27a

For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,

but a terrifying expectation of judgment…

[3] Abiding in Christ

Obedience to God’s commands is too difficult for us to accomplish on our own steam, in what the Bible calls “the flesh”. And even if we could do it, it would still not please God.

Our works in the flesh are worthless to Him. Only works done while “abiding in Christ” are considered beneficial “fruit.”

Let’s look at what Jesus told his faithful eleven disciples:

John 15:1-2 (Jesus speaking to the 11 disciples)

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.

Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.

John 15:4-6

“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.

“I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.

“If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned.

So we can do nothing that pleases God unless we are abiding in Him. In fact, it appears that those who are not abiding in Him are putting their eternal destiny in peril.

But how do we “abide in Christ?”

The apostle Paul explains it this way:

Romans 8:1-4

Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.

For what the Law could not do, weak as it was

through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh

so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

Notice how Paul equates being “in Christ” with “walking according to the Spirit.”

This is THE crucial key to a Christian’s walk down the “narrow way” that leads to life. Paul makes that clear a few verses later:

Romans 8:12-14

So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh—

for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

Again, Paul is talking about spiritual (not physical) life and death. Eternity in the New Jerusalem with God or in the lake of fire separated from God.

The irony is, God does not want our good works done on our own steam, that is, in the flesh.

They mean nothing to Him, and will always fall short of His standard. What He wants is for us to allow Him to accomplish His work through us. He can only do this when we submit our will to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

I will conclude by asking each of you:

Are you being led by the Spirit of God? If not, you should

EXAMINE YOUR FAITH [2 Corinthians 13:5]:

1. Are you putting your trust for eternal life in God’s plan for salvation accomplished by Jesus’ earthly life and death and nothing else?

2. Are you continually through prayer seeking to be led by the Spirit?

Only when your will is in submission to God’s Holy Spirit can you please God. Only then can He use you to “bear fruit” for His kingdom. Only through that “perfect submission” to His will can you have that “blessed assurance” of eternity with Him.