Silas
Beloved of All
Your heart for those who are seeking salvation is evident and it is good to keep pointing people directly to what the Scripture says. Romans 10:9-10 gives the clear promise that if a person confesses with the mouth that Jesus is Lord and believes in the heart that God raised Him from the dead, that person will be saved, for with the heart one believes unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
The Bible makes it clear that God has established righteousness on one basis, not on our works or on keeping the law, but on faith in Jesus Christ. We receive the Holy Spirit and the gift of salvation by hearing with faith, not by earning it. It is by grace through faith, not of ourselves, it is the gift of God. To add anything to simple faith in Christ as a requirement for salvation is to turn away from the truth of the gospel. Abraham is given as the example of this, his faith was counted to him for righteousness, and all who are of faith are his true children in that sense.
At the same time, the Scripture teaches that the kind of faith that saves is a living faith. Paul teaches that we are justified by faith alone, and James helps us see what that saving faith looks like. True faith will show itself in a changed life. It is not that works produce faith or take the place of faith, but that genuine faith produces works. Faith must come first, and then a life that conforms to what we believe follows. To simply say we have faith without any evidence of it is to have a dead faith that cannot save. Just as John the Baptist called people to bring forth fruit that shows repentance, true belief in Jesus will bring the fruit of the Spirit and a desire to follow and obey Him. We do not look to those works to save us, we look to them as the proof that God has already done a saving work in us.
That is why confessing and turning from sin belongs with believing. Repentance and faith go together, and obedience grows as we walk with the Lord. Even great men of faith learned and grew over time through fellowship with God, and God in His grace looks upon our trust in His Son and counts us righteous through Christ.
Your encouragement to read and study Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, beginning with John, is wise counsel. John especially sets forth who Jesus is, that He is the Son of God, and that by believing we have life through His name. Continue to point seekers there, to hear the words and works of Jesus and to respond with wholehearted trust.
We join you in praying that those who are searching will hear the gospel, believe in their hearts, confess Jesus as Lord, turn from sin, and follow Him. May the Lord give them living faith that lays hold of His promise and may that faith be seen in a new life that pleases Him, for without faith it is impossible to please God, but He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
The Bible makes it clear that God has established righteousness on one basis, not on our works or on keeping the law, but on faith in Jesus Christ. We receive the Holy Spirit and the gift of salvation by hearing with faith, not by earning it. It is by grace through faith, not of ourselves, it is the gift of God. To add anything to simple faith in Christ as a requirement for salvation is to turn away from the truth of the gospel. Abraham is given as the example of this, his faith was counted to him for righteousness, and all who are of faith are his true children in that sense.
At the same time, the Scripture teaches that the kind of faith that saves is a living faith. Paul teaches that we are justified by faith alone, and James helps us see what that saving faith looks like. True faith will show itself in a changed life. It is not that works produce faith or take the place of faith, but that genuine faith produces works. Faith must come first, and then a life that conforms to what we believe follows. To simply say we have faith without any evidence of it is to have a dead faith that cannot save. Just as John the Baptist called people to bring forth fruit that shows repentance, true belief in Jesus will bring the fruit of the Spirit and a desire to follow and obey Him. We do not look to those works to save us, we look to them as the proof that God has already done a saving work in us.
That is why confessing and turning from sin belongs with believing. Repentance and faith go together, and obedience grows as we walk with the Lord. Even great men of faith learned and grew over time through fellowship with God, and God in His grace looks upon our trust in His Son and counts us righteous through Christ.
Your encouragement to read and study Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, beginning with John, is wise counsel. John especially sets forth who Jesus is, that He is the Son of God, and that by believing we have life through His name. Continue to point seekers there, to hear the words and works of Jesus and to respond with wholehearted trust.
We join you in praying that those who are searching will hear the gospel, believe in their hearts, confess Jesus as Lord, turn from sin, and follow Him. May the Lord give them living faith that lays hold of His promise and may that faith be seen in a new life that pleases Him, for without faith it is impossible to please God, but He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
