A Belief That Saves

In the message "The Father's Will" we saw that not all who do great
things for God will enter Heaven, but "only he who does the will of
My Father" (Matthew 7:21). We further saw that the Father's will is
"that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have
eternal life" (John 6:40). We are given the gift of eternal life
because of our belief in Jesus, not because of ANYTHING we do; "all
our righteous acts are like filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6).

Salvation can never be earned, it is a gift to those who
believe. However, we must understand what it means to believe and
what changes will occur when we believe. "You believe that there is
one God. Good! Even the demons believe that - and shudder" (James
2:19). A saving belief is much more than just acknowledging God's
existence or even the existence of His Son - even the demons believe this!

Belief in Jesus in never simply an intellectual
understanding. Belief implies a humble surrender. We will never
"look to the Son" unless we first recognize our eternally lost
condition due to sin; and we will never truly "believe in Him" until
we accept our complete inability to save ourselves. A drowning man
will never reach up for help until he first understands and accepts
his need to be rescued.

To be rescued, we must believe so completely that we abandon all
other "rescuers" and cling to the only One who can truly save; "any
of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be My disciple"
(Luke 14:33). Giving up everything cannot save us, but true belief
gives up all other sources of hope. It also reveals the trivial
nature of our worldly attachments and creates an understanding that
everything belongs to Him. We see our life as lived for Him and do
ALL for His glory.

James 2:14,17
"What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has
no deeds? Can such faith save him? ... In the same way, faith by
itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead."

Belief must produce a change in our life or we know it is not a true
belief - it is nothing more than dead intellectual understanding! At
the moment we truly believe, we are "marked in Him with a seal, the
promised Holy Spirit" (Ephesians 1:13), and we become "a new
creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" (2 Corinthians
5:17). Belief creates change through the work of the Holy Spirit!!

If we lack the evidence of a changed life, we must not focus on
creating the change. This type of change becomes self-righteous
"filthy rags." Rather, we must return to the cross and place ALL our
trust in Jesus, believing He has paid the penalty for our sin and has
granted us passage through the narrow gate to eternal life. As we
completely turn over control to our Heavenly Father, fruit and good
deeds will abound. Our life will be forever changed, but only when
we begin with a belief that saves.

Have a Christ Centered Day!

Steve Troxel
God's Daily Word Ministries

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Scripture references: The Holy Bible: New International Version.
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Lorena, TX 76655
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