Skip to main content

Faith in What?

“Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people.” Jude 3

Faith is essential for our salvation. But faith in what? Jude reminds us that faith is a noun and not just a verb. He is referring to a body of truth, not just the exercise of belief. Just because someone claims to believe in a god, or is faithful in the practice of their religion whatever that religion may be, does not mean that they are saved. It is faith in the true God that saves.

I have watched too many people enter into abusive or deceitful relationships. When warned by their friends that this is not healthy for them, that the track record of their boyfriend or girlfriend clearly shows it will lead to a painful end, the inevitable response is, “Not with me. They love me. It will be different with me.” They are deceived by a misguided belief. Rather than look at the “body of truth” about this person, they believe a lie. And they pay a painful price.

God’s track record and story is well documented. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. We have a foundation of faith, the testimony and revelation once entrusted to us. And it is that truth, that faith, we must contend for against all deceptions and falsehoods.

Prayer Focus: Lord, it seems so easy for us to be deceived. We focus on the amount of our faith rather than the object of our faith. Help me today to be sure of what I believe, not just that I believe. Thank You for being the Way, the Truth and the Life for us today.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Answers

“An angel of the Lord said to Philip, ‘Go south to the road, the desert road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.’ So he started out...” Acts 8:26 Philip is an example of how God calls us to step out in obedience even if it doesn’t make sense at the time. The angel of the Lord gave clear directions for Philip to go from Jerusalem to Gaza. He was asked to travel in the heat of the day through the desert, not the normal paved route to Gaza. Philip did not question God or try to figure out why God was asking him to go. He didn’t pause to wonder how he was going to deal with the physically draining aspects of the journey or who was going to fund his trip. He simply started on his way. As he went along, the Holy Spirit directed him to an Ethiopian eunuch. Philip struck up casual conversations which led to sharing the good news about Jesus. Many people have told me they desire to go on a mission trip but are not sure if they should go. They want to have all the answers ahead of time....
Post a Comment
Read more

The Way We Pray

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28 What brings answered prayer in a Christian’s life? Do you ever feel that you pray and God is silent or that you grow weary in your prayer life because it seems that God isn’t answering your heart’s desires? Could it be that many times it is because of the way we are praying? This passage of Scripture goes on to say, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Taking God’s yoke on ourselves is a picture of an animal having a harness around its neck and can’t move to the right or left but only where the farmer is leading. It may seem restrictive to see God in that same way, but He wants us to follow Him looking straight ahead and keeping our eyes focused on Him and His purposes. It keeps us from getting sidetracked in our Christian walk. Then, our praying becomes asking Him for things He is desiring for us and those aro...
Post a Comment
Read more

Turning Away

“At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other.” Matthew 24:10 In June, we talked about persecution and the reality that we all may face at some point. Jesus describes in Matthew 24 how difficult it is going to be. Amid that discussion, He says at one point, when the going gets very tough, many will turn away from the faith. Not “their” faith, but the faith. He is talking about a shared belief system. In a singular definite article, He affirms that there is only one saving faith, and that is faith in Him. And there will be those who are initially drawn to that faith when things are good or beneficial to them, but will turn away and betray and hate each other when standing up for that faith brings hardship, suffering and perhaps even death. He goes on to say, “but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.” And this Gospel, the Gospel of “the” faith must be preached to all nations. We can’t deviate from “the” faith. We can’t lessen the i...
Post a Comment
Read more