Posts tagged believe.

Given recent occurrences, I was challenged by the question “what do you believe in?” I used to think… easy… God… I believe in God… period. But then I rethought… everyone and anyone can believe in ‘God’… - I think James 2: 19 sums up that thought nicely…

“you believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that and shudder.”

Clearly, it’s not just belief in God that saves… everyone believes in God in one way or another… - so what truly sets me apart? 

some would say works, if you’re a good person you’re saved… if you’re a good person you’ll get into heaven… if you’re a good person (and you go to church) you’re a Christian. 

But when Jesus was crucified there were two men with him, two of the vilest criminals for those who were crucified were charged of the greatest crimes but Jesus told him (Luke 23: 43)

“and he said to him, ‘Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.’”

so it’s not because of works we are saved, it’s not because we are good people, it’s because we recognize ourselves as the dirtiest creatures, the lowest of lows, sinners, people undeserving of the mercy that He has shown us, people not worthy to be even created in God’s image.  

“27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. […] 31 And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was verygood.” (Genesis 1: 27, 31).

God called us good but even those who are “good” sin. Even those who are good are imperfect, unworthy, unholy, impure. Being good is not enough. Compared to Jesus Christ no one is good. Compared to God nothing we do will ever be enough.

So what is it? if I cannot be saved just by believing in God, if I cannot be saved just by being a good person, doing good things… what can save me?

Faith. Repentance. God’s grace, God’s mercy. Jesus Christ who became flesh and died for me. Admittance that I am unholy, I am impure, I am unworthy, I am imperfect, I cannot do it alone, I need someone, I need God, I need forgiveness, I am a sinner, I am no better than anyone else, just because I don’t drink, have sex, smoke, lie, cheat or steal doesn’t make me better than the next person who does. Recognizing that it is God and God alone who can save me. Realizing that I can’t work my way into heaven, realizing that NOTHING I do is enough. Nothing. Realizing that the only one who saves is God. I cannot save myself and will only become weary if I try. 

I am set apart by my belief and faith in God. That He is the only one who can save me. By faith in Him come my good works, by faith in Him comes my ability to abstain from such things, by faith in Him I work towards being more Christ-like, being refined through fire as gold, slowly being melted, molded and worked more towards perfection.

Being a Christian isn’t about being a good person, it isn’t about just believing,

“What good is it, my brothers, if something says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?”  (James 2: 14)

“Faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” (James 2: 17).

It’s about fully relying on God, trusting in Him to be your only Savior, knowing that without Him I am nothing, I am less than nothing. What sets me apart is not only my belief in God, it’s my belief in God and ACTING upon those beliefs. Being a Christian isn’t about the label, about going to church, about singing Christian songs, listening to Christian music, it’s about the walk, the life, the actions. You cannot have faith without works because if you truly believe, you will do anything to live in accordance to His will, His rules, what He wants you to do. You don’t do things because it’s the “right” thing to do, the “good” thing to do, the “proper” thing to do, you do things because it’s what He wants and what He wants is ALWAYS the right thing, always the good thing, always the proper thing. If you believe in Him truly, He will change your life accordingly and that is what it means to be a Christian, to sacrifice all you have for Him because He did it for us first.

Being a Christian is a lifestyle and that’s what sets me apart. I try to live up to God’s standards, to imitate the holy and blameless and sinless life of Jesus Christ because in the end, He’s the only one that really matters.

Ephesians 2: 8- 10 says…

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not of your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”