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| I don't know if anyone still visits but just in case I wanted to let people know that I am only updating one site now. The site that use to only have photos now has a small blog and a diary from our recent trip into Chad. You can stop by if you like:
Steve's New Site: www.majestyinmeekness.org
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| In the past months I have grown to love 2 Corinthians 4:4-6. I believe it describes, with picturesque form, our condition before salvation, the nature of faith, and our condition after salvation. It’s taken me some time to get to this point but if you’re still tracking with me… here it goes.
2 Corinthians 4:4a
“The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers”
Simple enough - the unbeliever fails to see. Obviously not everyone that is physically blind is damned so were talking about something else. So what are they failing to see?
“keep them from seeing the light of the gospel” 2 Cor. 4:4b
Now you’re bored with me, but wait. Here’s the question: What is the Gospel? Not just what happened (life, death, resurrection = covering of righteous, God’s wrath poured out on Jesus instead of us, and hope of eternal joy). These are historical truths, knowledge, which is known and believed by unbelievers and believers alike. They are believed by both angels and demons. What is the Gospel that distinguishes a Christian from a non-Christian?
“keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ… [God] has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” 2 Cor. 4:4,6b
This is faith. When we look at Christ do we see beauty or a burden? Is he our treasure or tradition? Do we behold the wonders of the cross in awe or despise his decree as the only path to God? Is Jesus glorious with illumined minds or is God a kill-joy by darkened wills?
To treasure God is to trust him, a reckless abandon that lets go of everything else and clings to Jesus as worthy (Matthew 13:44, 45).
The beauty of Christ and our pursuit of him free us from the insatiable hungers for lesser joy. God is not a chain, limiting our freedom; he gives us wings that allow us the fly in grace.
Faith is not merely consent of one’s mental capacity but also the changing of our emotions and will. To believe in Jesus is to know, treasure, and trust Him.
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| Thank you for you responses and comments. I didn't mean to have a pity party but I genuinely didn't know if anybody was interested in the topic.
I want to start by saying what 'FAITH' is not and then I'll update again on what I believe is biblical faith, which leads to salvation.
Knowledge of God is insufficient and does not lead to salvation. Jenna mentioned James 2:19 that says even the demons believe ('think to be true' in the Greek) and they shake in fear but they are not saved. They not only know but believe and lack salvation. But, before you say, "They are spiritual beings and not human" I want to mention King Agrippa in Acts 26.
Paul gives the Gospel through the witness of the Old Testament and then says, "I know that you believe" but the King quickly responds, "In a short time would you persuade me to be a Christian." He obviously believed the information to be true but lacked nor wanted eternal life in Jesus.
I want to state clearly that I believe in salvation by faith alone apart from any work or merit within us. However, as I continue to struggle with how to accurately speak the gospel in other languages I am intimately aware that different words carry different meanings and language changes over time. What 'belief' may have once meant in English can now mislead some people to understand they are 'saved' when in reality they are not. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary has two very different definitions. The one says, "conviction of the truth of some statement or the reality of some being." The other, well... that's for next time. For now, I'm saying that just because a person agrees that what the Gospel says is true and "believes" it in that sense does not mean to are justified before God.
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| It feels slightly pointless responding to my own question when I don't know if anyone else is actually interested in the question at hand but I'm going to take some time to answer it anyway.
For now, here's the brief version - without an explanation:
I believe that it is possible to know about Jesus and believe who Jesus claimed to be and believe that Jesus died on the cross for our sins rising from the dead 3 days later and yet still not possess eternal life through saving faith.
2 Questions:
Even if you just happen to be reading this I hope this makes you ask at least two questions:
(1) How can I say this in light of passages like Romans 10:9 "if you confess with your mouth...and believe in your heart... you will be saved."
(2) Am I saved or am I just saying the words and believing what I'm told to avoid hell or please my parents? | | |
| Is it possible to know the truth about Jesus, believe that he did what the Bible says and yet not be saved? If we believe that Jesus lived the perfect life in our place, died on the cross to take the punishment our sins deserved, and rose from the dead giving us the hope of our future resurrection but don't love him and these truths - are we really saved?
Is Christ our treasure or our burden? We follow him because he's better than hell but feel burdened by his call to righteousness. Is God satisfied with being known but not loved? Are our emotions a necessary part of our saving faith?
I'll give my thoughts next time.
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