Trust or Consequences (Part 2)
Trust or Consequences (Part 2)
By: Dr. Jeff Kaplan
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Posted by editor Tue Nov 30, 1999 00:00:00 PST
Viewed 550 times
0 responses 0 comments John 3:36 "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life."
How are we supposed to express our faith in Jesus? How are we to believe in the Son in a way that will really lead to eternal life?
In "Trust and Consequences (Part 1)," we saw that the sole requirement for salvation is faith. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is necessary for salvation. But there is an essential ingredient for faith that most people miss. It is obedience. Saving faith involves obeying God. It includes submitting to His leadership or lordship.
Notice again John 3:36: "He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him. "The phrase, "does not obey," involves the refusal to accept Jesus as true. Those who don't accept Jesus as true and won't trust in Him, by the very act of their refusal, they disobey the Son. The converse is also true. Those who trust in the Son by their very trust, obey the Son. Faith and conduct are linked closely together.
In an excellent book entitled, Today's Gospel, Walter Chantry says, "Practical acknowledgment of Jesus' lordship, yielding to His rule by following, is the very fiber of saving faith. Believing and obeying are such parallel ideas that the New Testament interchanges the words. Believing is obeying. Unless you bow to Christ's scepter, you will not receive the benefits of Christ's sacrifice."
Let me warn you to not be comforted in thinking that your son, daughter or some other relative is saved just because they prayed to receive Jesus. If that person has not borne any fruit, is not walking with the Lord, is not doing the will of God, or doesn't manifest an active faith, then that person may very well be spiritually lost.
Jesus says, "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter," (Matthew 7:21). Following the Lordship of Jesus Christ is not optional. It's an intrinsic ingredient for true saving faith.
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