DO YOU HAVE SAVING FAITH? - Part 2

he Bible tells us that without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). This not only clues us into the centrality of faith but, also, the fact that the Lord can receive pleasure from those who have faith in Him. That, by itself, is an incredible truth: I can please the Lord of the universe. What we considered yesterday about saving faith was the first dimension which I called a cognitive turning. Today we will consider the second dimension of saving faith: complete trust.

When one comes to know Christ and has her mind changed by the content of the gospel, in the power of the Spirit, something transformative takes place within the realm of the affections. Not only does one believe in Christ because of the gospel but they love Christ because of the gospel. It is this love, generated by the trustworthiness of God in Christ, that creates a heart of trust in the Lord who is seen as worthy of all praise, honor, dominion, power, glory etc., (Revelation 4:11; Revelation 5:12-13). It is with this transformed heart that the eyes of faith are fixed on their Creator (Hebrews 12:2) and from this sight love (duty and delight) gives way to trusting His ways and His character as holy and true.

Genuine faith is emotional because it comes from a person who, convinced that Jesus is trustworthy, willingly yields the whole of their life to and for Christ’s honor and glory. Faith is trusting Jesus which means that love for Jesus will always be demonstrated in a life of trust in Him. This trust is seen not in the mere statement of trust nor is it solely passionate emotions for Jesus. Those are important but not primary. The primary act of trust is seen in my the active, willing and continual turning away from the idols of this world to an increasing love and adoration of Christ above them all. To trust Christ is not merely to believe the Bible, but to show His lordship over your life by crushing every competing - but lesser - gods.

We see this beautifully illustrated in 1st Thessalonians chapter 1. There, Paul lauds the faith, hope and love of the Thessalonians (1:3). Paul knows the affect that the gospel has had on them because they, as he wrote, "became imitators of us and the Lord" and examples "to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia...everywhere, so that we need not say anything (1st Thessalonians 1:6-8). Paul commends this church because the gospel was visibly demonstrated in their lives such that everyone around them knew they loved the Lord. But what was it about their faith that demonstrated their complete trust in the Lord? Paul wrote,

9 For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how

you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God,... (1st Thessalonians 1:9).

Their love was demonstrated in their trust of God through their active, willing and continual turning away from idols to the Lord. That is what trust looks like. Not words. Not merely emotions, but a life of idol crushing out of adoration for Jesus. Love of Jesus increases trust and increased trust brings about an increased tenacity to be rid of anything that seeks my devotion and worship. Genuine faith will have nothing but Jesus because it trusts, with its life – indeed its eternity - no one but Jesus.

Therefore, being bound and or mastered by something other than Jesus is the exact opposite of the complete trust that is genuine faith. Living in the doubt of God's ability and power to work in our lives and circumstances is the opposite of complete trust in the Lord. It is necessary for us to see this because, too often, we sanction our doubt on the basis of our humanity. We confess that we are only human and, therefore, unable to trust the Lord fully. The truth is that such statements debilitate our growth. Complete trust is what the Lord is worthy of. Fighting to grow in my trust, however so feeble may be at times, is the ingredient of what grows to complete trust.

Indeed the Lord knows we are flesh, but it is His expectation that if we have met Him through Christ and been transformed by the Spirit, it is His right to expect increasing trust demonstrated in our fidelity or faithfulness to Him. We do not get a pass because we are human. Christ reigns inside of us and, as we crush those idols around and within us, we will see His rule increasing in our life. Saving faith, therefore, is faith that trusts in the Lord and positions itself under the Word, in fellowship and prayer in order to grow deeper in that trust.

People who are saved are empowered to want Jesus and such want demands that we sever ties with the idols that compete for that affection. We all know that a person is right if they said to their spouse: "You say you love me, but you don't show it." Even though we know that they are not totally innocent we would not only console them but, if possible, we would share with the spouse the need to begin demonstrating the affection they profess for their mate.

The Lord is perfect, and He does all things right, well at all times. He has saved us from the depths of our sin and from an eternity of torment. He has loved us with His own Son, and He filled us with His Spirit of life. In the words of a song I used to sing as a boy in the choir: “He has done great things for me. Great things, great things!" This being the case, He is right to seek from us the consistency of our profession of faith and our practice of trust in Him.

Do you have saving faith? Prove it by turning from idols thereby showing your faith by your works (James 2:18).