Faith. Who needs it?

Is faith something we can ignore concerning salvation?

Ephesians 2:8-9 KJV

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Notice that we are saved by grace through faith.  This salvation we have is not something we can earn but rather it is a free gift from God.  But what happens if you remove the variable called faith out of the equation.  You cannot have the saved part.  

So to say you can be saved once and then even if you don't believe later then you are still saved is a argument wrought with double minded confusion.  You can't be saved without faith.  It also seems that you cannot necessarily misplace your salvation.  This old argument smells of the same stench that arguments I've had with Calvinists concerning the literal fulfillment of prophecy.  Endless disputings over what is what.  Wow, what a freaking waste of time and a distraction from what Jesus did promise for those that believe.

Let us meditate on faith and the importance God places on it.  Enjoy..

Hebrews 11:6 KJV

But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Ahhh yes.. So then faith is required if we want to please God.  Do you believe that God is who He says He is?  Do you believe that He will reward you if you diligently seek him?  

Faith without works is dead.  How often do you seek the Lord with an expectation of a reward from Him?  I will admit that I don't do it enough even though I believe this truth.

Why would you seek God if you didn't believe in Him? Why would you humble yourself in the sight of the Lord if you didn't have faith that it is what God wants. 

Here are a few encouraging verses concerning the doing of faith:

Matthew 6:5 KJV

And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

Psalm 91:1 KJV

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

James 4:10 KJV

Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

1 Peter 5:6 KJV

Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:

Ultimately I am writing all of these things to expose the folly of ignoring the necessity of faith.  Red flags and logical fallacies creep up when teachers and preachers must defend their own spin on man's doctrine.

1 Peter 1:3-5 KJV

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,

5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Notice in verse 5 it says that we are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.  What if you believe in once saved always saved and someone confronts you with this verse?  Do you just say, "No see God keeps us by His power" and then you leave off "through faith unto salvation"?  If you do that then why?  Why do you leave that off?  

Perhaps because it become evidence against your desired belief.  I have now seen this proof texting and partial verse usage in teachings lately and it just happens to be that the church where this is happening has little faith.  If you tell them they have little faith they will get angry, but the truth is they have little faith because they remove faith from the teachings to support man's doctrine of and I will quote:

"We believe, based on the Bible, that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God's power and are thus secure in Christ forever."  That is also called Once Saved Always Saved.

Notice that the words "through faith unto salvation" are nowhere in this belief statement and be certain that is purposeful.  When I first heard a teaching on this verse 1 Peter 1:5 in this church I thought, "wow they forgot the most important part...the through faith unto salvation part."  This is a hill they die on.  They die on a hill of excusing a lack of faith.  God doesn't excuse not having faith.

Let us move on past proof texting to prove opinions about how God thinks and leaving out the words "through faith unto salvation" which is manipulation and leads to confusion.  Instead we can embrace the truth and grow in our knowledge in Jesus, getting to know what our spiritual gits are and using these spiritual gifts we have to edify the body of Christ and see more souls come to the Lord.  It is always time to DO something with what God has given us.

What Are We To Do

Ephesians 4:11-15 KJV

And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:

Be As The Bereans

Acts 17:11 KJV

These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

Final thoughts:

I do not believe for a moment that I'm going to misplace my salvation.  Also, I cannot conceive nor am I required to that a man that has been completely convinced and captured by the gospel of Jesus Christ and tasted of the grace of God would not continue to grow in that to some degree.  The goodness of God leads man to repentance (a changing of mind).  It did to me and totally rocked my world.  I can never forget what I know about the truth in Jesus.  My issue is that people create doctrines and demand others to agree and if they do not then they have to come up with techniques to manipulate and that is not how Jesus rolled.