A Great Need: Faith

A great need of everyone is to feel accepted and loved by God, and to have a sense of love for God and his beauty.

When people start saying that the only way to be accepted and loved by God is to follow a set of rules, this has terrible affects. Being accepted into God's family is not about what we do, but what Jesus Christ has done for us.

We are compelled to do good works out of deep gratitude for Christ's work in our lives, and Christ still works in our lives through the Holy Spirit. He gives us faith. He continues the good work in us.

Fear often causes trouble. For instance, a person hears the gospel but may become afraid that they didn't hear it right, that there's something that needs to be done, and just to be careful, pushes themself hard to do certain things. And it continues. Rules upon rules are added. But we are asked to rely in faith only in Christ.

The Bible says that God's word and way are the truth. We make things way more complicated than they really are when we are "just to be careful" following certain rules or steps, things which honestly don't need to be followed. Understanding the truth is letting go of those and having faith that it really is that simple. It requires one thing: faith.

Becoming Someone

Man is created in the image of God. His greatness is derived from the image of God within him.

The image of God is marred by sin. Sin may seem exciting in the moment, but it deadens man making him worse for the sin.

When a man accepts Jesus and begins to be transformed by sanctification through the work of the Holy Spirit he becomes who he was always meant to be. When we follow God in faith our lives are enriched.

The law of God seems dull and a dreary business to sinful man. The law of course is meant to protect human happiness not hinder it.

God has our best interest in mind. This is evidenced in that God sent his only begotten son into the world to save man.

God's love for man is so great that he loved us while we were his enemies. God is on our side. It is our sin nature which tries to convince us that God does not have our interests in mind.

Of course the interest of man is faith in God. Man can only find true joy when he finds the joy in God.

The call of the bible to worship God may seem dull to sinful man. But it is man's true calling and man will only truly be happy when he finds the joy of his calling.

What Is Christian Faith?

What is Christian faith?

It is a loving of God primarily.  There is no saving faith in God apart from a love for God.

Romans 8:28: "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose."

Notice the connection those who love God are the ones who are called according to his purpose.  Those aren’t two distinct categories.  If you are called by God (thus saved) you love God.

I would just like to urge everyone to ponder their faith.  We all need to test ourselves to see that our are love for God is true, not like the sad story in Matthew 7:20-23:

So then, you will know them by their fruits. "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. Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.'

How do we know this is not about us?  It is by our fruits, by our love for God that we can see our election.  If our fruit is scarce test it to see that it does not taste of self love for personal gratification in heaven, but that it longs for deeper satisfying union with the creator.  If we believe we all need to repent.  Even the best Christian’s do not savor God’s precious goodness enough.

As Psalm 63:3 puts it: "Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you."

Ponder that God's love is better than life.  Search deeply and diligently to see its truth.