I've been doing some thinking lately. And here's my thought: if something is true it can't be false. How simple. And some may say that they can't know when something is true. Well if that were the case you would probably not survive one day. Just getting up out of bed would prove to be difficult. You might go out through a window instead of a door. Shaving could be deadly. I think you get the point.
Speaking of truth certain facts are essential and vital. Jesus said "I am the way the truth and the life." John 14:6). One definition of faith says it is a trust in something you have good reason to believe is true. Does this definition resonate with you?
So let me ask you a question with this in mind.
And I got the following from Greg Koukl at Stand To Reason.
...Here’s the question: Does faith save you? To help you think carefully about the answer, let me suggest an illustration. Pretend for a moment that you are a diabetic on the verge of diabetic coma. Pretend also that I present you with a hypodermic syringe and a small vial that I said was insulin. Would
you trust me to give you an injection to save your life? I think you already see the thrust of my illustration. First,you know (or at least have heard) that the Bible teaches salvation
by faith. Second, the illustration shows a clear contrast between mere belief and active trust (the point I’ve just been making). You already believe that insulin can give you relief. But you remain in danger until you take a step of faith and actively entrust yourself to my care. So I suspect you would
assent to my offer. If you did, however, you would be dead for your effort because all the sincerity of your childlike trust could not change the fact that the vial in my illustration does not really contain insulin. It is only saline. You had genuine faith to be sure – fiducia, belief in action, trust. But you are dead, nonetheless. Now let me ask the question again: Does faith save you?
Clearly, the correct answer is no. Faith cannot save anyone. To be sure, accurate knowledge in itself cannot save. But genuine faith in itself cannot save either. Muslim suicide bombers overflow with authentic faith. Trust can be misplaced, and often is.
Christian salvation is when accurate knowledge is combinedwith active trust. The thing you put your trust in must be capable of doing what you’re trusting it to do. If Jesus is
not insulin, but only saline, the Christian is lost in her sins no matter how strong or how genuine her faith is. Faith cannot save you. Only the One you’re trusting in –
Jesus – can save. But Jesus can only save if He can really, actually,
truly do what you are trusting Him to do. In other words, Jesus cannot save unless your beliefs about Him are accurate, unless they are true. Therefore, if there is no
truth, there is no saving faith. And if there is no saving faith, there is no Christianity.
Further, when Jesus calls for faith, He expects belief and trust. But to have belief is to actually hold that certain things about Jesus are true. And if someone is possessed of the conviction
that nothing really is true, then the kind of faith Jesus requires will be impossible for him. Thus it will be impossible for him to be a Christian. I want you to see – in fact, it is absolutely vital for you to see – that there is a prior foundation that makes genuine biblical faith possible, and that foundation is objective truth. If there is no truth, then Christian faith is a mere placebo. It
soothes, but it cannot heal...
There is alot more to the article and it would be very worth your while to read it. I do know that this is alot to wrap our heads around but I encourage you to take the time and think about it as you continue your search.
One more thing, I know that we feel guilty about our sins. What we have done in the past and aare doing in the present. At this point I make a suggestion. "Maybe we feel guilty because we are guilty. Is that a possibility? If it is, then denial is not going to solve the problem. Only forgiveness can do that. This is where Jesus comes in."
God came to earth to rescue us.
You see, God has provided a way for mercy. God sent His Son to die on the Cross for you. Jesus took your punishment, and then defeated death by rising from the dead. If anyone receives the pardon God offers through Jesus, they will not be punished as they deserve but will instead receive the kindest mercy of all, complete forgiveness. That's Love!
He now offers us eternal life. We don't earn this. It is a gift from God offered to us, which we receive when we ask Him to enter our lives. "The gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus." Romans (6:23) If we repent of our sin and turn back to God, we can have the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ. It's pretty simple. "God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who has not the Son of God has not life." (1 John 5:12) He wants to enter our lives.
Do you know how to receive that forgiveness?
The Bible says God gives grace to the humble but resists the proud.
First you must repent (turn from sin) today confess your sins to God and acknowledge that He is the Holy God of the universe and that you need His forgiveness.
Second we must place our faith and trust in Jesus Christ as the one and only payment for our sins. He was the debt payment to God on our behalf. Just as you wouldnt jump out of a plane merely believing in parachutes but not putting one on, you must not jump into eternity without the one thing that can save you from the plunge into Hell. Jesus Christ!
When you have humbled yourself this way before God you will be born again and God will give you a new heart with new desires.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment