Saving faith

The book of James is great because it puts into perspective a really important topic (perhaps one of the most important and urgent topic of all time), that is, "what does saving faith look like?"

Church goers often hear we are saved by grace through faith, but many don't know what faith is or they do not posses saving faith.

James' writing on this topic can be summarized below:
1. Reading the scripture is like looking in a mirror
2. There is a faith that is like what the demons have, this faith does not save
3. Saving faith produces works

Reading the scripture is like looking in a mirror
The Bible as God's word wrestles with our mind and heart when we read it. There are parts that enlighten our minds on certain topics, there are parts that are hard to understand and make us scratch our heads. There are parts that make us rejoice, there are parts we wish were not there and are tempted to deny.

The Bible is described as many things, James describes it as a mirror, where a man, when hearing the word of God is like looking at himself in the mirror. Proverbs says a man's heart is like deep water, who can know it? Without God's word we are ignorant of sin and our need for Christ and salvation, because the human heart is so complex and hard to understand. But God's word reveals to us what sin is, and pinpoints the problem accurately, because God sees the human heart clearly.

In this way, the word is like a mirror. People can be deceived into thinking they have faith simply by knowing and factually agreeing what the bible says, but never remembering what the bible shows about our need for a savior.

Faith of demons
James goes on to engage some who profess faith, saying you say you have faith, good for you. Even the demons believe and tremble. But they will never be saved.

Demons believe who God is, demons know God's character and power very well, that's why they tremble. But they never submit to Christ, they never look to the Son on the cross to pay for their sins. Their faith is not saving.

People can be deceived this way, where they think just believing in God is good enough(in the sense that we agree with what he has revealed about his character). But this is no good, because this is like a sick man who agrees with everything about the properties of the medicine, he says "yup, it comes in powder form, yup, I need to mix it with about 250 mL of water, and yup, It'll taste bitter and it'll make me well, but do I want to take it? Nah." In the same way, people can know God's character inside out, and even become scared when thinking about God's justice, or having warm thoughts when thinking about God's love and mercy, but never repenting and believing in the gospel.

Faith with works
Jesus tells us a parable of soils. 3/4 of the soils have the seed planted but don't produce fruit, the last one is good soil and produces fruit. James puts this into plain language and says that faith without works is like a body without soul, it's dead. Dead faith cannot save.

James uses the example of Abraham, where God tested him by telling him to kill Isaac. Abraham believed in God and it was accredited to him as righteousness. the faith of Abraham was proven by his action, he was willing to kill Isaac because he believed God will be true to his promise of making a nation out of his son, and that God can even raise his son from the dead in order to do it.

In the same way God tests us, so that we may have assurance that our faith is the real deal. But many fail God's test of faith, just like 3/4 of the soils, either forgetting the word, being drawn away by riches and goodness of the world, or backing out when suffering and persecution comes.

Which side are you on in these three categories? Do you remember what the bible has shown you about yourself? Do you recognize God's character and trust in Christ who died on the cross for you sin and rose again? Do you persevere and continue to trust God when trials come?

O may God have mercy on us, and grant us repentance so that our hearts would be good soil ready to receive the word!

Faithful men handling God's word faithfully

I've watched some G3 conference videos, it's refreshing to see faithful men who preach the bible faithfully, passionately, and without concern for human opinions. You can check it out here:

https://new.livestream.com/g3conference