Pursued by Faith or Not?

“What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith; but Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as though it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone, just as it is written,

“Behold, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense,

And he who believes in Him will not be disappointed.” (Romans 9:30-33 NASB1995)

The subjects of God’s grace, forgiveness, mercy, salvation, and works can all be confusing subjects if taught out of context, so it is good if we can read the Scriptures in their appropriate context, chapter by chapter, and verse by verse, so that we can get a better understanding of what is being taught. 

Basically, under the Old Covenant God had with his people Israel (Jews only at that time), the people were required to obey a whole set of liturgical, ceremonial, sacrificial, purification, circumcision, dietary, and Sabbath laws, in addition to God’s moral laws. But once Jesus Christ, God the Son, gave his life up for us on that cross, and Jesus made both Jew and Gentile one people, one nation by faith in Jesus Christ, we who believe in Jesus are not under all the Old Covenant liturgical and ceremonial laws and customs, etc.

But we are not lawless. We still have to obey God and his commandments under the New Covenant, which are primarily God’s moral laws which did not go away when the people of God transitioned from the Old C to the New C. We still have to put sin to death, by the Spirit, and walk in obedience to our Lord, and to his commands, in holy living. Sin must not have mastery over our lives, for Jesus gave his life up for us on that cross to deliver us out of our bondage to sin so we might now serve him with our lives in holy living. 

But when it comes to the subject of works, that can be a confusing subject if taught out of context. But basically, what it comes down to is that we are not saved by going through the motions of ceremonial and liturgical laws and practices, which require no faith at all. We are saved by God’s grace, through God-gifted and God-persuaded faith in Jesus Christ which requires that we deny self, die with Christ to sin, and that we are raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin but as servants of our Lord.

So, there are the works of the flesh which have no impact on our salvation or on our eternal life with God. But then we are saved by God’s grace, through faith which comes from God. And, as a result of that, we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them (see Ephesians 2:8-10). So, we do not do “good works” to gain approval from God and salvation from sin, but genuine salvation must result in us doing the works God has for us.

Basically, there are people who make professions of faith in Jesus Christ who are “good deed doers,” who go through all the appropriate religious rituals and ceremonies, but whose hearts and lives are not given over to God, for they are still the rulers of their own lives, making all their own choices. But as children of God, our lives are to be surrendered to God to do his will and to obey his commands and to live holy lives, pleasing to him, not by the flesh, but by the Spirit, in the power of God at work within our hearts.

Therefore, faith in Jesus Christ is not of ourselves, not of our own doing, not of human flesh, making our own decisions regarding how we are going to live our lives. Faith in Jesus Christ, which is of God, denies self, dies with Christ to sin, and is raised with Christ to now walk in obedience to our Lord’s commands, surrendered to the will of God, going wherever he sends us, saying whatever he gives us to say to the people, and doing whatever he has for each of us to do as his people and as his servants and messengers.

Therefore, there are many people today professing faith in Jesus Christ with their lips, convinced they have been saved from their sins and that they have eternal life with God, but it is all flesh at work, and not of the Spirit of God, because they have not surrendered their lives over to God, but they are still operating in the flesh. But faith which is of God results in us dying to sin and walking in obedience to our Lord’s commands, empowered and directed by God, according to his will and purpose, and not of the flesh.

So, please know that we cannot operate in the flesh, doing only what we want to do as “good works,” thinking that we are approved of God. If we want to be approved of God, saved from our sins, and on our way to heaven, we must die to sin and walk in obedience to our Lord’s commands, by the grace of God, in the power of God, in submission to the will and purpose of God for our lives. For if sin is what we practice, and not obedience to God, we will not inherit eternal life with God, regardless of what we profess.

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22] 

As the Deer 

By Martin J. Nystrom

Based off Psalm 42:1

As the deer panteth for the water

So my soul longeth after You

You alone are my heart's desire

And I long to worship You

You alone are my strength, my shield

To You alone may my spirit yield

You alone are my heart's desire

And I long to worship You

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZv3jzOTE70

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Pursued by Faith or Not?

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