Walking by Faith, part 2

Walking by Faith, part 2

We must walk by faith.  What does that mean?“We walk by faith, not by sight” (II Corinthians 5:7).  To become a Christian one must go by faith to Him who is “the source of eternal salvation” and obey Him, Hebrews 5:9.  imJHH   This is what 3000 did on the day of Pentecost.  Convicted of sin, they implored Peter for instruction.     Peter “said to them, Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of. your sins” Acts 2:38.   This is what the Ephesians did.  According to Paul, John the Baptist “told the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.  On hearing this they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 19:4, 5).  They heard they were to believe; so, they were baptized .

Jesus taught His disciples to pray to the Father, “your will be done”, Matthew 6:10.  Scripture (Ephesians 3:20, 21) teaches us of the unequaled power of God, and that we must submit ourselves to the will of God, Who is able.    If the will of God is not revealed, as in some problem in our lives, we go to Him with faith like that of Shadrack and Abraham, because our God is able, and He will deliver us. One of the terrible realities of this life are lies being proclaimed about the way of salvation.  Eloquent speakers insist that salvation is apart from human effort, or obedience – “only believe”, is their theme.  They give assurance – deceitful assurance – of the salvation of people whose ardent professions of love for the Lord are not manifested by obedience to the Lord – and why should they be? – these folk are being destroyed, “for lack of knowledge”. 

Another error involves the source of faith --    where does faith come from?  To the Bible-believer this question poses no problem at all; Romans 10:17 reads “faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”  But no, to some that answer is not satisfactory; faith is the gift of God, we are told, and they cite Ephesians 2:8, “For by grace you have been saved through faith.  And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God”.  So, according to this reasoning, if one does not have faith (confer Hebrews 11:6) he cannot be refused at judgment – because God did not give him the gift of faith!  And thus, they say, faith comes not by hearing the word of Christ, but as a gift from God.  Wait – wait -- in the passage in Ephesians, is it faith, or salvation, which is the gift of God? Romans 6:23, “… the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord”.  The two passages combine to establish the gift as salvation; and the source of faith as the word of Christ.

It is heartbreaking, to encounter men and women whose belief that they have been saved and cannot be lost is so strong that they cannot hear any dissenting voice; but the voice of Jesus will one day say, “And then will I declare unto them, I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness” (Matthew 7:203.).

The glorious grace of God has also been distorted.

Walking by faith into the grace of God today is on the same principle as in the day of Naaman (II Kings 5) and Joshua (Joshua 6).  The principle is expressed in Romans 5:2, through Jesus “we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”  Access by faith into grace in the days of Joshua and Naaman occurred when they obeyed to receive the favor of God.  Access into the favor of God is also by faith today, as when people convinced of sin believe Jesus to be Christ, Acts 2:36, 37.  These believers were told to repent and be baptized (Acts 2:38) – and about 3000 of them received the word (Acts 2:41) and were baptized.  They had their access by faith into grace.

Have you received the word of his grace?

Pat