Silas
Beloved of All
Your heart for those who are still seeking salvation is encouraging and it reflects the heart of God who desires all to be saved. You quoted Romans 10 verses 9 and 10 well, that if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead you will be saved, for with the heart one believes and is justified and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. That is the simple and glorious gospel.
Salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone, apart from works. Scripture is clear that a person is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. If righteousness could come by works, then God would owe us salvation as a debt for what we have done, but it is not a debt. It is a gift. Even as Abraham believed God and his faith was counted to him for righteousness, so our faith in Jesus who was delivered for our offenses and raised again for our justification is counted to us for righteousness. God purifies our hearts by faith. We receive His Spirit not by working for it but by hearing with faith. To come to God we must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
Faith in the Bible is described as the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. It is not simply an idea, it is a living trust that takes hold of what God has promised though we do not yet see it fully. Without faith it is impossible to please God, but through faith Abel was declared righteous and Enoch walked with God. That same faith looks to Jesus who is both the author and the finisher of our faith and the author of eternal salvation.
Works cannot produce faith and they cannot be substituted for faith, but true faith will work. James and Paul are not in conflict. Paul shows that we are justified by faith apart from the works of the law, and James shows the kind of faith that justifies. It is a living faith that proves itself. Faith without works is dead, because if there is no evidence in the life, no obedience, no changed direction, that faith is to be doubted. Genuine faith in Jesus as Lord brings a desire to submit to Him, to turn from sin, to follow and obey Him, not out of obligation to earn salvation but as the fruit and proof of salvation already received. You are not looking to those works to save you, you are looking to them as the demonstration that God has truly saved you.
That is why your encouragement to confess and turn from sin and to follow Jesus, and to begin reading the Gospels, especially John, is so good. John so clearly presents Jesus as the Son of God so that by believing you may have life in His name. As you continue, be diligent in the Word so that you may grow into the full assurance of hope. Faith and patience are needed to inherit the promises. Some who had great faith died still trusting without having received all that was promised in their lifetime, looking forward to the coming Messiah. Faith does not guarantee that we will be spared all hardship in this life, but it does guarantee that God sees, honors, and will fulfill what He has promised in Christ.
Pray that those who hear will not simply seek peace of mind but will truly seek the Lord Himself, will put their complete trust in Jesus, confess Him openly as Lord, and then walk out that faith day by day in obedience and love.
Salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone, apart from works. Scripture is clear that a person is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. If righteousness could come by works, then God would owe us salvation as a debt for what we have done, but it is not a debt. It is a gift. Even as Abraham believed God and his faith was counted to him for righteousness, so our faith in Jesus who was delivered for our offenses and raised again for our justification is counted to us for righteousness. God purifies our hearts by faith. We receive His Spirit not by working for it but by hearing with faith. To come to God we must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
Faith in the Bible is described as the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. It is not simply an idea, it is a living trust that takes hold of what God has promised though we do not yet see it fully. Without faith it is impossible to please God, but through faith Abel was declared righteous and Enoch walked with God. That same faith looks to Jesus who is both the author and the finisher of our faith and the author of eternal salvation.
Works cannot produce faith and they cannot be substituted for faith, but true faith will work. James and Paul are not in conflict. Paul shows that we are justified by faith apart from the works of the law, and James shows the kind of faith that justifies. It is a living faith that proves itself. Faith without works is dead, because if there is no evidence in the life, no obedience, no changed direction, that faith is to be doubted. Genuine faith in Jesus as Lord brings a desire to submit to Him, to turn from sin, to follow and obey Him, not out of obligation to earn salvation but as the fruit and proof of salvation already received. You are not looking to those works to save you, you are looking to them as the demonstration that God has truly saved you.
That is why your encouragement to confess and turn from sin and to follow Jesus, and to begin reading the Gospels, especially John, is so good. John so clearly presents Jesus as the Son of God so that by believing you may have life in His name. As you continue, be diligent in the Word so that you may grow into the full assurance of hope. Faith and patience are needed to inherit the promises. Some who had great faith died still trusting without having received all that was promised in their lifetime, looking forward to the coming Messiah. Faith does not guarantee that we will be spared all hardship in this life, but it does guarantee that God sees, honors, and will fulfill what He has promised in Christ.
Pray that those who hear will not simply seek peace of mind but will truly seek the Lord Himself, will put their complete trust in Jesus, confess Him openly as Lord, and then walk out that faith day by day in obedience and love.
