Too many times in church, we are told how works are very important. Please understand that works are only a manifestation of what lies beneath, or in other words, our works and words reveal our inner self. Contrary to what we are told, however, God does not consider them important. Why? Because he can see our heart, he has no need to see any works. Our faith, however, is more important.
The issue of blood (Mark 5:25-34)
A man called Jairus once came to Jesus and asked him to heal his daughter. Enroute to Jairus’s house, a woman with an issue of blood came behind him in the crowd and touched his clothes. Everyone in the crowd was touching Jesus, yet nothing happened for them. This woman was completely healed of her illness. What happened? Jesus said, “thy faith has made thee whole” (Vs. 34). Only she had faith, and only she received from the master
The only way to please him
The Bible tells us plainly:
But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. (Heb 11:6)
You can have lots of good works and profess how much you believe, but if you have no faith, he will never be pleased. Many came to Jesus shortly after he began his ministry and professed to believe in his name. Jesus knew this was vain and ignored them. He knew when things got tough, these “believers” would flee. They believed in his name and had no problem being associated with his movement and being in the spotlight, but when things got tough, they would flee and never return.
The backbone of our salvation (John 3:16; Ephesians 2:8,9)
In John 3:16, we see that believers receive eternal life:
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (Joh 3:16)
This type of believe is different from other types. The Greek word here is pisteuo which means to have faith in or entrust.
In Ephesians 2:8-9, we see that faith is needed for salvation. Five times in two verses he states that salvation is not of works. It requires:
- Grace (unmerited favor)
- Faith (to entrust)
- Not of yourselves (someone else does it, you just have the faith)
- Gift of God (gifts do not require works)
- Not of works (just what it says)
How then do we get saved? By works? No. By faith and nothing else. You can find out about getting saved here.
Summary:
How important is faith? Without it we cannot do the following (and this is only a few of them):
- Get healed
- Please him
- Go to heaven
Once again, how important is faith??
Next page: A Faith that Works
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