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What
is True Faith?
...a
faith that saves?
From
a lay person who declares
"I have rarely heard mention of these subjects from
the pulpit, but should have."
A
Biblical perspective.
If
we are honest, most of us have our own ideas
about what we are required to believe and do in
order to make it to heaven when our time comes to
exit this life. Some of our ideas may be true,
some not. It is own responsibility to search out
the truth, for without true doctrine, not only
can we be misled now, but we can also lose in our
quest for salvation. Here now are some
misconceptions that many of us may hold to, and
how Scripture refutes these notions. (All
scripture from the New King James
Version unless otherwise stated.)
Now
faith is the substance of things hoped for, the
evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews
11:1)
Common
misconceptions about faith and salvation
1. Sincerity.
Statement: "It
doesn’t really make any difference what religion one
believes in. All that matters is that one is
sincere."
Argument: Those who hold
to this view think that God will look at the heart and
see one’s sincerity and He will then forgive and
forgive and save them." (At one time I myself
believed this to be true.)
Refutation: Unfortunately,
this argument does not hold water and is easy to refute.
Anyone can be sincere in no matter what they do, but at
the same time, they can be sincerely wrong. Look at all
the cults today and you will see a genuine zeal in what
they believe. The Jim Jones and the David Kareshes and
their followers were indeed very sincere. Yet can what
they did, be right with God? On the other side of the
coin, Those who devote their lives helping the poor,
feeding the homeless, displaying love to those who have
never known it, do so with deep sincerity. Indeed
sincerity has no boundaries; it can produce both
righteous or unrighteous acts.The Bible says that sincere
faith is important, but only with a pure heart and good
conscience.
Oddly enough, many societies throughout
history allowed evil acts to be executed – legally.
In Canaan of old they were sincere when they legally
sacrificed their children to the god Baal in the name of
their religion. They were not going against any laws in
their culture. When the Crusades attacked innocent people
in the name of Christianity, they were sincere as they
destroyed entire cities. So were the Inquisitors, in the
13th Century when they put to death thousands
for their beliefs. The question is, in any of these
cases, were these acts acceptable to God- even though
they were done in the name of religion? I think not!
Scripture References:
"Now
the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart,
from a good conscience, and from sincere faith..." (1 Tim. 1:5) --- "Let
us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of
faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil
conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. (Hebrews
10:22) --- Conclusion: Anyone can be sincere,
but at the same time they can be sincerely wrong in what
they believe. Even though sincerity is important in
one’s faith, it alone can do nothing to bring us
forgiveness in the sight of God. We must go further than
this.
2. The Bible
Statement: The
Bible is flawed because it was written by men. How can it
be trusted?
Argument: Many think that
the bible was authored like any other book and can't
possibly be all truthful.
Refutation: Actually most
people who make this claim can't back it up. This is
often an excuse made by those who are either too lazy to
read the bible or too proud to admit they don't know much
about it. As a matter of fact, there are four general
areas that could prove the validity and the truthfulness
of the Bible.
(1) Manuscripts: There are hundreds of
Old Testament (OT) and thousands of New Testament
manuscripts that have been shown have 99.99% agreement
with each other. The dead sea scrolls alone have proved
the age of scripture to be as ancient as expected.
(2) Archeology: No evidence found by any
respected archeologist has ever proven the Bible wrong.
Indeed most findings have proved either a true biblical
account or have removed doubt on many questionable areas.
(3) Prophecies: There are over 300
prophesies in the O.T. concerning Christ alone, and
hundreds more of future events. No other book even comes
close. Even Nostradamus, by his own admission was only 5%
accurate.
(4) Statistical: How could about 35
authors in various languages write in a span of 1500
years and still have no contradictions?
See the upcoming page The Validity of Scripture for a
greater discussion.
Scripture References:
"Knowing
this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any
private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the
will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved
by the Holy Spirit. (2Peter
1:21). ---"When you
received the word of God which you heard from us, you
welcomed it not as the word of men, but as
it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively
works in you who believe." (1 Thes. 3:13)
Conclusion: The Scriptures are God's
word without error (Our Bibles are a translation of
Scripture).
3. God is good
and forgiving; There is no Hell.
Statement: God
is good. He wouldn't punish anyone who was not really
that bad; How can hell exist with forgiveness from a
loving God?
Argument: Many believe
they are not that bad. And since God is forgiving he will
not punish us.
Refutation: Though it's
true that God is a God of love, He is also a God of
justice. It matters not how good we think we are but by
what standard God uses to judge; the perfect standard of
Christ. And since God judges by a strict standard, we
must attain to that perfect standard. If not there is a
final judgement. Jesus talked a great deal about Hell and
judgement: If God did not spare His own sinless Son from
death will He spare you who are sinful?
Scripture References:
"He
said to them, "Go into all the world and
preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes
and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not
believe will be condemned." (Mark
16:16)
---"He who believes in Him is
not condemned, but he who does not believe is condemned
already, because he has not believed in the name of the
only begotten Son of God" (John 3:18) --- About God, Jesus said: "But
I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after
He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to
you, fear Him!" (Luke 12:5)
Conclusion: There will come a time
of judgment for the righteous and the unrighteous.
4. Do Good
Works.
Statement: "I’ve
given much to charity and have done many good things!
Argument: Those
who hold to this view think that if God were to weight
the good works against the bad works in some spiritual
scale, they would have performed enough good works in
their lives so that the good would outweigh the bad, and
God would have to forgive them of the bad things done!
Refutation: Unfortunately,
God has no spiritual scale. God's judgement will be
according to His standards. And God's standards are
measured by the righteousness of One: Jesus Christ.
Actually, our good works are secondary to our
relationship with God. (It's interesting that
nearly every religion - except true biblibal Christianity
- teaches that salvation is based on one's good works)
Scripture References:
Jesus made this statement: "Many will say to me on
that day, `Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name,
and in your name drive out demons and perform many
miracles? Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never
knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’" (Matt 7:22-23). ---Isaiah the prophet said "But we are all like an unclean thing,
And all our righteousnesses are like filthy
rags." (Isaiah 64:6)
Conclusion: Our good and charitable
works cannot save us.
5. Finding God
through intelligence or human means.
Statement: God
has gifted me with intelligence, and with this I can find
God and please Him.
Argument: Some
believe that through their intelligence (or mans
philosophy or traditions) they will find God or through
enough study they will please God.
Refutation: Intelligence
is only a measure of ones mental abilities. When it comes
to knowledge of God and his ways, intelligence takes a
back seat to Godly wisdom and the teaching of the Spirit
of God. Only an indwelling Holy Spirit can give one godly
wisdom.
Scripture References:
It is written: "Beware lest anyone cheat you through
philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition
of men, according to the basic principles of the world,
and not according to Christ."(Colossians 2:8)
---"But the natural man does not
receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are
foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because
they are spiritually discerned." (1 Corinthians 2:14)
Look at how the NLT translates
1Corinthians 1:18-21: "I know very well how foolish the
message of the cross sounds to those who are on the road
to destruction. But we who are being saved recognize this
message as the very power of God. As the Scriptures say,
"I will destroy human wisdom and discard their most
brilliant ideas." So where does this leave the
philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s
brilliant debaters? God has made them all look foolish
and has shown their wisdom to be useless nonsense. Since
God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never
find him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish
preaching to save all who believe."
Conclusion: Intelligence and hard
work are good things, but they are not how God reveals
His eternal truths. God reveals His wisdom through His
Spirit to those who call on Him.
6. Baptism,
Sacraments and Traditions of the Church
Statement: I’ve
been baptized as an infant and have been faithful in
keeping all the Sacraments ever since. Doesn't our faith
say that this is what we need to do to attain
salvation?"
Argument: Many believe
that church attendance, keeping the Sacraments, and the
religious work they do is what God requires of them. They
cite their baptism as proof of their salvation. They
usually fast when called to during holidays. They give
money to their Church and to charities. They even give of
their time to help those in need without pay. In other
words, they do all the right things.
Refutation: Though
being faithful to the church's teachings and giving to
those in need are good things, they have nothing at
all to do with our ultimate salvation. They should be
the result of our relationship with God, not to replace a
relationship with Him. In the days when Christ was on
earth, there was a group of religious leaders called
Pharisees. They fasted several times a week, did many
good works, gave more than was required by God's law. Yet
Christ Himself rebuked them harshly. Because they did it
for the wrong reasons.
Scripture References:
Jesus said: "You hypocrites! Isaiah was
right when he prophesied about you:`These people honor me
with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They
worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught
by men.' " (Matthew 15:7-9)--- To take part in these
rituals is fine, but they cannot and will not save us
from impending judgement.---Jesus said "All too well you reject
the commandment of God, that you may keep your
tradition."(Mark
7:9)
Conclusion: Our religious works
cannot save us. If they could then
Christ died in vain.
7. A Good
Person; Live a good life.
Statement: "I’m
a good person! I follow most of the commandments. I may
not be perfect, but I do the best I can to lead a good
life."
Argument: Those who hold
to this view think that they are not so great of a
sinner. They believe that their sins cannot match the
great evil men of history or even those evil men in our
society.
Refutation: To answer
this, we need to take one item at a time.
- First, "I am a good
person." Though most of us think we
are good, we know deep inside that we have done
many bad things. Many times in Scripture it is
repeated that "There is none who does good." (Psalm
14:1-3; Psalm 53:1-3; Ecclesiastics 7:20; Romans
3:12). Jesus Himself said "No one is good but
One, that is God..." (Matthew 19:17).
And even though we may
think we are good, we have to decide who we are
comparing ourselves to. If we can live up to the
standards of Christ, who had no sin, then we can
say we are good!
- Second, "I follow
most of the Commandments." The
trouble with this assertion is that though we may
follow most of the commandments, it's not good
enough. If we think we are not great
sinners, even one sin is enough to condemn
us. The apostle James said this: "For whoever shall keep
the whole law and yet stumble in one point, he is
guilty of all." (James 2:10)---
And we cannot base our goodness on traditions
themselves: --- "I
do not set aside the grace of God; for if
righteousness comes through the law, then
Christ died in vain." (Galatians 2:21)
- Thirdly, "I may not be
perfect, but I do the best I can."
Here we are left with the question, How good is
good enough? The bible says that "For all have
sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). Though in our eyes we
may think we have a good heart , through the eyes
of God, our heart is described as this: "The
heart is deceitful and desperately wicked beyond
all things.Who can know it?" (Jeremiah17:9)
Conclusion: No one is good but God.
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Now
that we have seen some common misconceptions concerning
faith, we need to find the Biblical perspective
concerning true faith and Salvation. Indeed if it's true
as the Bible claims that none of these things can save
us, how can anyone escape God's condemnation?
For answers, go to the Salvation
Site.
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