Biblical Faith

Good morning and welcome in everybody. Today we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture from Romans chapter five, beginning at verse one, he says, 

Romans 5:1-2  Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:  By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

When we speak about justification, it means to be forgiven for your sins, to treat somebody as righteous, or to absolve.  To absolve means to declare somebody free from blame, guilt, or responsibility.  One other dictionary says, to grant a pardon, or to grant remission of sins.  When we place our faith and trust in Jesus Christ as our Savior, we can be forgiven for past sins and be justified through our faith in Him and His mercy. All the sin, that has weighed heavily upon the heart, and conscience, can be completely cleansed and washed away.  We can be at peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ through what He did for us at the cross. The Lord Jesus gives an example of being justified in the book of Luke.

Luke 18:10-14  Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.  The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.  I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.  And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.  I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

So you see, in this passage, justification has to do with mercy that is shown to us by God.  In the case of the publican, he found mercy with God through a contrite and humble heart.  

The Old Testament law was created, so that all of the world would become guilty before God.  This is why the Bible teaches that all have sinned, and have come short of the glory of God.  

Romans 3:20  Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

In the New Testament, we find forgiveness and grace.

Acts 13:38-39  Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins:  And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.

Through Jesus Christ, we can receive a divine pardon.  We need God’s forgiveness and mercy, because any attempt to try to obtain eternal life without Christ Jesus as your Savior, is fruitless.  No matter how much you may attempt to try to get there on your own, apart from faith in Christ, you will come up short.

When we begin the Christian walk, we are supposed to do the will of God, being converted to the truth. We are supposed to become sanctified. God offers us a free gift of grace, which we cannot earn.  What we need to do, is come to the throne of grace and receive it as a gift, accepting the fact that we have sinned.  We must confess our faults, so that we can turn away from things that are displeasing to God.  We are forgiven through the sacrifice of Christ Jesus, when He shed His blood on the cross.  

Romans 5:9  Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.

1 Corinthians 6:11  And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

So through Him, we have the gift of forgiveness, but one must always remember why God gives us grace. It needs to result in a change. It needs to result in obedience.  Christianity is more than just a simple profession of faith in Jesus, It is living a life of faith towards Jesus. There are many people today who have a misunderstanding of what faith really is. If you really possess biblical faith, and I’m talking about faith that leads to salvation and eternal life, it will possess outward signs of an inner change.  You are going to desire to obey God with a loving heart.  If you lack this genuine faith, it is impossible to please God. Faith will cause you to become a doer of God’s Word, and not just a hearer only.  Faith will result in obedient works towards God. It will result in doing something for Him, just as it did in the life of the Apostle Paul.

Have any of you planted a garden?  Have you ever believed in your heart that it was going to get very cold overnight and would likely freeze?  If you really believe that, what action did you take towards the care of your garden?  Did you cover it with blankets or sheets?  That action is a result of your faith.  You could call it a work of faith.  Your actions were a result of your belief.  You knew in your heart that something was going to happen, and you did something about it.

This is the faith that Noah had when he built the ark. Faith such as this is a life altering, direction changing, saving faith that you must possess in order to inherit eternal life someday.  This is the faith Moses had, resulting in him turning away from the treasures of Egypt, to God.

James 2:18-24  Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.  Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.  But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?  Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?  Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?  And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.

Faith will result in acts of obedience to God.  It will result in a transformation from a wretched sinner into a faithful man of God.  Abraham was justified in the sight of God, declared righteous, through His faithful obedience to the will of God.  Real faith will result in real actions towards pleasing God.  

Works are the outward proof of an inward change. They show that God’s sanctifying grace is working inside of your heart.  They are the evidence that proves that you have obtained the gift of precious faith……

…….Biblical Faith

Let’s think about these things for right now. We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you all, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody.

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