FAITH: True or False PART 1
Faith is the KEY doctrine in the Christian life.
James 2:14-26
What ever we do apart from faith is sin! Rom 14:23
Any declaration of faith that does not result in a changed life and good works is a false declaration. James 2:17
There are 2 types of false faith. They are dead faith and demonic faith.
Dead faith
Substituting words for deeds is dead faith.
Matt 7:21, Matt 25:40 , 1 John 3:17-18, Gal 6:10, Titus 1:16, 2 Pet 2;21-22
Where ever there is truth you will find a counterfeit.
Christ brings life from death, light from darkness good from evil.
So it is fair to say that dead faith is not saving faith. Dead faith is counterfeit and lulls the person into a false confidence of eternal life. 1 John 5:4 & 1John 5:10-12
Where there is life, there must be growth and fruit.
Ask yourself this: Have you come to trust Christ and remained the same?
What are some examples of dead faith?
Demonic faith
It comes as a shock to most people that demons have faith!
They bore witness to His Sonship Mark 3:11-12, They believe in eternal punishment Luke 8:31, They recognize Christ as judge Mark 5:1-13, They must submit to the power of His Word James 2:19.
So, believing and trembling cannot save you. Being touched by great emotion (either scared or excited) cannot save you.
False prophets and teachers are everywhere. We must pray for discernment both for ourselves and that unbelievers do not fall prey to the lies of demons and evil council.
SATAN IS THE GREAT DECEIVER. One of his devices is imitation. If he can convince a person that counterfeit faith is true faith, he has that person in his power and that person is lost along with his fallen master. Matt 25:31-46
What then is true saving faith?
True saving faith involves something more that words, fear, emotion, an enlightened mind, even stirring of the heart. It involves something that can be recognized: a changed life! Eph 2:10
Does the example of your life bring people closer to God or further away?You receive the Life-then you should reveal the Life.
FAITH: True or False PART 2
Faith is the KEY doctrine in the Christian life.
James 2:14-26
True faith is Dynamic faith!
Dynamic faith is faith that is real, faith that has power, faith that results in a changed life!James 1:18 & 21, Rom 10:17
Faith is only as good as it's object.
A man in the jungle bows before an idol of stone and trusts it to help him, but he receives NO help. The ancient Hawaiians throw a virgin in the volcano as an offering of faith for favor to some volcano god, but they received NO favor. New agers look into a crystal and ask their sprit guides to guide them, with NO reply. Buddhists bow before the statue of Buddha and pray to the stone god, they get NO answers to their prayers. Muslims bow to the east 5 times a day to pray to Allah but their prayers fall on deaf ears because Allah hears NO prayers without His Son involved in their lives.
John 6:53, 3:36, 13:6, 15:1-8 ...Just read the whole Gospel of John.
What do you believe? We are not saved by faith for the sake of faith but we are saved by faith in Christ as revealed in His Word.
With dynamic faith, the whole person is involved with the truth of saving faith. The mind understands the truth; the heart desires the truth; the will acts on the truth.
Jesus said "My sheep hear My voice" John 10:-27-30
True saving faith leads to action!
Action leads to obedience on the part of your will and obedience leads to works. These actions should continue and grow throughout your life as you mature in your walk with Christ.
Romans 4 tells of Abraham was justified by his faith. He was Justified by faith before God and justified by his works before man. (his righteousness demonstrated) Titus 1:16, Titus 2:11, Titus 3:8 , 2 Cor 13:5-8
"For we can do nothing against the truth but for the truth"
We cannot change the truth of the Word no matter what we believe; if it's true or false because...
See the intolerance issue commentary Truth is Truth
TEST the SPIRITS Part 1
1 John 4:1
Matt 24:4-5 | 1 Cor 14:32-33 |
1Cor 2:12 , 1Cor 12:3 | 1 John 2:22, |
2 Tim 4:3-5 Therefore, there are people that seek out teachers to tell them what they want to here and what makes them feel good.
And there are those false teachers who exchange sound doctrine for their own cause not the cause of Christ. All these religions are in ERROR.
Some things the Bible has to say about what's found in new age: Lev 19:31 Familiar spirits, Deut 18: 9-12 Don't be found practicing witchcraft, 1Cor 10:20 Sacrifices to demons May not be so new huh? Exodus 20:2 No other God's before Me
The devil is a deceiving manipulator of truth. He makes things look like they are spiritually and doctrinally correct because he counterfeits things just a t-i-n-y bit.
The trap is set, you bite, and then he ever so subliminally reels you into error.
The Spirit of Truth & Error 1 John 4:6
TRUTH | ERROR | |
Word of God stands alone | Christian Science | Spiritualism |
There is only.(period)
ONE God,
ONE Christ
and
ONE Holy Spirit
and The Spirit is Truth!!
1 John 5:6-7