Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him ... for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.
~ John 12:42-43 (NKJV)
These rulers believed in Jesus. But if Paul's words of Romans 10:9-10 are taken into account, then their failure to confess Jesus indicates they were also not yet saved.
Saving faith is not a private matter, between a human and God alone. To believe without works and confession is no more than the useless knowledge of truth that a demon possesses (James 2:17-19)—and James says that even demons have the sense to tremble.
If we have confessed with our mouths that Jesus is Lord, do our actions offer the same testimony and give glory to God? Do we have enough sense to tremble as we work out our salvation?
... that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow ... and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Therefore ... work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
~ Philippians 2:10-12 (NKJV)
Belief is of little value until it becomes more than academic and gives glory to God.
Please permit me to be so bold as to suggest that you to stop and think about whatever truth has God most recently revealed to you.
What have you done to act upon it, so that your faith is more than that of Pharisees?
Father God, thank You for the truth and light You give. Please increase our faith! Please give us enough fear to act upon faith. Please make our love for Your glory to abound.
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Copyright 2012, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
Amen, very well said my sister.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Denise. Praying that God strengthens you for the challenges you face.
Deletethat last linked verse really gave me something to think on. been thinking on the word "works" for the last couple of days. it gets a bit confusing at times because it's so easy to find oneself doing dead works in a religeous manner instead of doing something in a heart response (to Him) or by a spontaneous act by/of His Spirit without thinking about it.
ReplyDeleteYes, Bud, both "works" and "religion" can be duty rather than heart response. When we love God, and want to please Him from that heart of love, nothing He asks is a duty of dead faith.
DeleteRecently God has revealed what true love for our fellow men really is, and I've acted on it by giving instead of recieving, or with no expectation of recieving. It turns out that even though we don't expect to recieve, we do.
ReplyDeleteI think, Ed, that it's okay to expect fruit from the seeds we plant. But with God, there's no way of knowing when, where and how that fruit may appear in our lives. We trust Him for that, as we continue to faithfully sow.
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