Saturday, June 5, 2010

Living Faith- Wise Unto Salvation

2Ti 3:15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.


Why do people believe there is salvation outside of the holy scriptures? Why do people insist they can understand all that is needed to be understood by listening to someone else preach the scripture one day a week? Salvation is found in Jesus alone this is true, but... the scriptures make us WISE unto salvation through FAITH with is in Christ Jesus. We believe once we've obtained knowledge that it, that's all there is. However very few of us can read something one time and retain knowledge of it forever, able to recall any part of what we've read at any time without ever having to reread that something again. I could read a whole book and out of that book maybe be able to recall bits and pieces of it, and very few part would be read exactly as they were written- if any. I could give you the jist of the story or maybe if it really fascinated me I could remember a bit more, but most certainly I would not remember the majority. When people are in school they are given memorization exercises and then tested on their memory. Spelling exercises, vocabulary exercises, and before a test is due people study for that test. The point I'm trying to make here is that we need to study the scriptures.


2Ti 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.


We need to know the holy scriptures, especially those of us who haven't learned them from childhood. We know the scriptures can make us WISE unto salvation through faith in Christ Jesus and in knowing that we need to learn the scriptures. The only way we're going to truly learn the scriptures is through study, not a weekly study but a daily searching. The daily searching of the scriptures doesn't have to be hours and hours and hours long, it can be ten minutes, five minutes but to open the Word of God and read just a bit from it and study that bit allowing that bit to inspire thought towards salvation, toward Jesus Christ, this is what is important.


If someone handed you a bottle of pills and said take one every day and you'll be wise to salvation though Christ Jesus, you'd pop that pill without fail wouldn't you? If someone told you where you could find a special juice that if you drank a small glass every day you'd be wise to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus, you'd gladly drink and make sure you had a lifetime supply. We want things to be easy, we want things to require no or very little effort on our part. We don't want to put forth too much effort unless we have a tangible result. Sure you'd work very hard tilling that ground, planting those seedlings, watering and weeding that garden patch because you know the end result will be a grand sight, satisfying to you because of how hard you worked to bring it forth. Yes, you'd scrub the house from top to bottom and bask in the results of the cleaning. You'd go to a thankless job day after day knowing it will result in money for your living expenses. The hard work is necessary for most people, very few among the majority have things just given to them without working hard. We don't want to work at all for salvation- the Bible even says this -


Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.


So why should we have to study at all? Studying is work, right?


Jas 2:17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.


Our faith results in the works of God as a natural recourse. To claim you have faith and yet remain unwilling to live as Jesus gave us an example to live, as Jesus told us we should live is faithless faith and YES there is such a thing. A hollow faith. An empty faith. Faith that is spouted but NOT lived. We need a LIVING faith, as our Lord lives.


Will works save us? NO. Will faith save us? Yes. Living faith, not dead faith.


By the grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior may we have a living faith and may we search the scriptures which are able to make us wise unto salvation through faith in Jesus.


Amen.

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