The faith that saves is a free gift from God. It’s also a living faith, a faith which inevitably produces good works. A dead faith, devoid of good works, saves no one, because it did not come from God. No human efforts can win God’s approval, but the indwelling Holy Spirit within all believers ensures that every true Christian will bear much fruit. This is the evidence of a living faith.
We are saved by grace through faith in Christ – Not by works
Both the Old and New Testament say that man is saved by faith–by believing God. For example, the LORD had told Abram that He was his great reward, but Abram questioned Him about what He could do for him since he had no heirs. The LORD told him that he would indeed have a son and said his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky. Of course, this promise would seem preposterous from a human standpoint. But, “Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness (Genesis 15:6).
God is too holy to lie, and He can do whatever He promises to do. To not believe what God says is sin, deserving of punishment, and it separates you from Him. God was honored when Abram believed that God would do what He promised. As a result Abraham was reckoned as righteous and has become known as the “father of the faithful.”
The role of God’s law is often misunderstood with respect to salvation. The Jews generally believed that if they kept the law, then they would be in good standing with God. But the law was only meant to be temporary measure that would reveal the true sinfulness of man. Man’s inability to fully keep the law should have pointed to the need for God’s mercy to forgive sin. Paul writes, “ For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law” (Romans 3:28).
The reformers consistently believed and affirmed the five solas, one of which is that we’re saved by faith alone. This sola stated that salvation is a free gift to all who accept it by faith (John 3:16). Salvation is not based on human effort or good deeds, as stated in Ephesians 2:9.
Our faith must be alive–a faith which is evidenced by works
Salvation through faith alone can also be misunderstood in respect to God’s law and its role in the life of a Christian. Although Paul used the example of Abram to prove his point that salvation is by faith alone, James uses the same illustration to say, “You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone (James 2:24). Though these two interpretations may appear contradictory at first glance, they actually complement one another.
Paul and James are actually “circling the wagons” against those who would oppose the true gospel. On the one hand, Paul wants us to understand that no works of man will have any salvific value to it. God’s not impressed by what we do to earn His favor, because we always fall short. On the other hand, James is saying you can’t dismiss works altogether, because they’re the very evidence, or results, that derive from that saving faith.
In other words, if the faith you claim saved you is devoid of good works, it must not be real faith. Faith involves a lifelong surrender and commitment to the Lord, which brings forth obedience to Him. Lives change because the central love of a Christian is Christ Himself, and He says, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them” (John 14:23).
Christians enjoy the abundant life Jesus promised when they are living to please the Lord. “ I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).
The faith that saves is a gift from God
Salvation is of the Lord. It is a monergistic work of God. We do not cooperate with God to initiate salvation. That is not to say, however, that we play no part. We must believe in Christ, but that faith is a faith that is given to us from above. It is not a faith that we can muster up for ourselves.
Jesus explained it to Nicodemus, a leading Pharisee, this way: “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again” (John 3:3). This shook up Nicodemus. He asked, “How can a man be born again when he is old? So, Jesus explained, “The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit” (John 3:8).
The Holy Spirit remakes our heart when we are born again. God sovereignly chooses who He will save, just like the metaphor He uses of the wind that blows where it pleases. We didn’t choose to be physically born, and likewise, we didn’t choose to be born again.
The three aspects of faith
Theologians usually speak of three aspects of faith. Faith always has an object, namely, Jesus Christ. To believe in Jesus, we must first know something about Him. This content comprises the notitia of faith.
Knowing a body of content, however, is not enough for saving faith. We must also affirm the truth of this content. Saving faith requires assensus, the conviction that the content is true.
Finally, even knowing the facts and believing them to be true are not enough in themselves to make us Christians. Demons affirm the truth of what God has said, but they do not trust Him (James 2:19). Fiducia — the entrusting of ourselves into the hands of Christ, the Living Truth — must also be present for our justification. Faith is only effectual if, knowing about and assenting to the claims of Jesus, one personally trusted in Him alone for salvation.
The Holy Spirit takes the gospel message we hear and works in us to produce this three-fold kind of faith. We may be able to know the facts and believe them apart from the Spirit’s work, but without the Spirit’s regeneration, we would never have have all three essential aspects of saving faith.
The convicting work of the Holy Spirit
The night before Jesus was crucified, He told His disciples that He was going back to Him who sent Him. He knew they were filled with grief, so He comforted them by telling them He would send them a Counselor, the Holy Spirit.
He said, “ But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because people do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned” (John 16:7-11).
Sinners must be made aware of the sinfulness of their unbelief, which has alienated them from God. They must also know that Christ’s righteousness pleased God. And they must know that they stand to be condemned for their sin just as the devil now stands condemned. When the Spirit illuminates these spiritual realities into the hearts of people, the faith that He gives will be activated, and they will pass from spiritual death to spiritual life.
What’s left for unbelievers
God sends the Holy Spirit to some people, but not all people. Not everyone will be saved. It’s possible to know you are a sinner destined to be condemned to Hell. At the same time, you may not have any love for the Lord Jesus Christ. Some church leaders might just shrug their shoulders and say to themselves, “Well, at least I tried. Oh, well!” But is this really the loving way?
The advice I would have for someone who knows they aren’t saved and are concerned about it is to do their best to seek the Lord while He may be found. Work hard to follow God’s commandments, even if you can’t do it from the heart. At worst, your suffering in hell will be less than it would otherwise be. At best, God may in time have mercy and compassion over such a pitiful soul like you. Only time will tell.
Come to the wellspring of life
If you aren’t sure that you will go to heaven when you die, and you’re not certain why God should let you into heaven, settle that matter today. Visit my post, How to Begin Your Life Over Again and you’ll know how to answer the ultimate question, where and how you’ll spend eternity.
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