There’s believing… and there’s Believing!

 

I remember being told do not lick ice on poles, I said I believed…but then I learned to Believe the hard way! 



John 8:31–36 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine...

When Jesus walked the earth, there were those that believed, yet grasped onto their life and plans. Many spend hours, wasted I believe, debating if Salvation took place or not. For me, that is far above my pay grade.

There were those that grasped Jesus so tightly they could not hold on to anything else. They let go of their control and plans, intently seeking God to lead them into the life He desired for them. 

Both groups exist today. Salvation takes place when an individual admits that their sin has separated them from God, no work can overcome that separation, they believe Jesus came, lived, died and rose again to pay for their sin and offer them eternal life. They ask God to forgive them and trust in what Jesus’s work accomplished. At that moment they become a child of God.

Can they do that, yet seem to live as an unbeliever. Many say no and come up with “Loss of salvation” as an answer. So, because we did not keep our commitment, God will not keep His! I find that so unscriptural. God is not a man that He should lie! God states that even if we forsake Him, He will never forsake us. 

Scripture clearly shows there are believers that live carnally – according to the power of their flesh – if this were not true, the judgement seat of Christ would not exist.  

1 Corinthians 3:11–15 For no man can lay a foundation other than…Jesus Christ. Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man’s work will become evident…If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. 

I have been at the deathbed of folks who claimed to be believers, but their lives did not clearly show it. They die as hard as unbelievers, scared and no peace because they themselves are unsure. Tragic, yes…but I will continue to bow to God and let Him decide if they are truly His.

The So What: Why not end that fear? It is wise to make sure when it concerns eternal issues. Have peace and allow this verse to speak for your life: Jas 2:18 But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”