The True Faith

What is true Faith?

True and deep repentance demonstrates a willing heart to accept the salvation that is offered through the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ. True faith in Him is necessary to be saved:

Rom 10:8b-13 "THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART"--that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, 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; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, "WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED." For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for "WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED."

We must accept, through faith, that Jesus Christ is Lord and that God raised Him from the dead in victory over sin and death. When we absolutely and completely believe rest our entire weight on Jesus Christ, God applies His righteousness to our account. In place of the sin, we have accumulated and continue to accumulate in life, He places a perfect, clean account which is completely empty of sin. This is called justification and it is the legal declaration that we are saved. Jesus Christ being Lord implies two things “ an acknowledgment that He is God and an acceptance that He is the sovereign Master of our life. We must believe that Jesus was God because only God's perfect sacrifice is capable of saving us from our sin and we must accept Jesus as absolute Lord and Master of our lives because that is what He requires from us. Jesus stated before He was crucified:

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. (24) "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.

There was one thing and one thing only that a cross meant in the time of Jesus “ death. Jesus was simply stating that we must be willing to give up everything for Him “ including our lives. We are called to follow Him and obey His commands. So now, hopefully, you understand the power of the gospel message. Jesus Christ died to take away our sin so that we would be free to have a right relationship with God. He rose from the dead to demonstrate His power over sin and death to assure us that He has the power to follow through on the promises that He has made to us. His love for us is so great that He was willing to die for us to free us from the eternal damnation of hell and He offers this salvation to us as a free gift. All we must do is accept it.

How can I accept Christ's sacrifice?

This is absolutely the best part of the entire gospel story! The only thing you must do to receive salvation through Jesus Christ is ask. Go before God in prayer, confess your sin before Him, and ask for His forgiveness. Tell Him how much you desire to give your life to Him and serve Him all your days. Pour out your heart to Him asking for His power to do the work in you. Admit to Him that you are not worthy of salvation, but that you want to accept the free gift that He offers. Beg for His mercy and grace to fall upon you.

1 John 1:9 states "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 

God knows that you have failed and that you are not worthy, but He loves you with an unconditional and everlasting love. He is willing to forgive your sin and wash you clean through the blood of Jesus Christ.

Rom 5:6-11 For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

Is that it? Isn't there something else?

Accepting Christ comes with a great cost and a great responsibility. The cost is that you are no longer free to sin and continue life as usual. We become a slave to righteousness having been freed from the bondage of sin.

1Co 6:9-11 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.

As a result, we are a new creation in Christ Jesus, freed from the penalty of sin with a responsibility to live seeking personal holiness.

1Pe 1:13-16 Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, "YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY."

A slave of Christ is responsible to learn about Him & grow in the knowledge of who He is. This is only possible through a life of study, service, and fellowship with other true believers in Christ. It is a lifelong process, but one that is worth it every step of the way. We also have a great responsibility to tell others about Jesus Christ and what He has done for us. When we become a believer in Christ, we are His representatives in this world and so are responsible for demonstrating the love of God to others through sharing the gospel message “ like we have done with you.

May the Peace of Christ be upon you.