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            Believing and trusting in faith on the atonement work of Christ through all trials is essential for salvation.  Jesus referred to faith in Him that endures when He said, “All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved” Matthew 10:22.  Jesus came to earth to pay our sin debt, cleanse our heart, and provide anything we need for a life of faith.

          The gift of healing is given through faith in Him.  Mark 5:34 "Daughter, your faith has healed you.  Go in peace and be freed from your suffering."  Daily needs will be provided if we will trust Him in faith.  Philippians 4:6 ”Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  19 And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.”

          We are promised protection if we are willing to trust God.  Psalm 91:4 ”His faithful promises are your armor and protection.”  God gives salvation by grace through faith in the atonement work of His Son.  Matthew 19:29 “Everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.”  Our part is to maintain a trusting and believing faith on Jesus to the end of our life.

          This enduring faith in the sacrifice of atonement is to be an active faith so we can be righteous before God.  James 2:21-22 ”Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?  You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.”

          Admitting mistakes and repenting of sins is all part of growing in faith.  God wants us to be prepared for eternal life, so He is waiting to forgive anyone who is willing to confess their sins and trust Him in faith.  God loves His creation and sent His Son to pay their sin debt, so anyone who “trusts in Him [to the finish] may not perish but may have the Life of Ages” John 3:16.

          When God convicts us of any attitude or decision that is outside of His will, we must turn to Him in faith and to trust Him for the inspiration to correct those mistakes.  King Saul did not repent of his sin, so the prophet told him 1 Samuel 15:23 “Rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.”  He could have repented as King David did, who wrote, “Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.  For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me” Psalm 51:2-3, but King Saul was not willing Matthew 23:37.

          Keeping our trust on God and maintaining our faith in Jesus includes recognizing our mistakes, confessing our sins, and getting back into God’s will by a deliberate choice to put our trust on Him.  It is our responsibility to ask for the Holy Spirit who inspires believing faith and trust.  Psalm 51:10 “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”

          If we have defiled our conscience by an unscriptural decision, a wrong choice, or a rebellious attitude, we need the Holy Spirit to inspire us in faith to repent and to trust on Jesus for the spiritual cleansing we need.  “Grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me” Psalm 51:12.

          When King David was convicted of sin, he was willing to act in faith to correct that.  He was honest with himself, since God already knew his heart, so he prayed “Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.”  All rebellious attitudes will be revealed on the Day of Judgment so we should change them now.  Hebrews 4:13 ”Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight.  Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”

          The entire theme of the Bible is to trust God in faith (with nothing between us and Him that we could depend on).  He promises to heal us, protect us, provide our needs, and save our soul, if we will believe Him and trust Him in faith.  The sacrifice for sin (that His Son made for us), is what heals our body (without prescription drugs), protects us from harm (without the world’s devices), provides our needs (without laid-up resources) and gives us salvation—all those things by an enduring faith in Christ to the finish.  “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again?" Mark 9:50.  It is possible to fall away from trust on God and faith in Christ.  1 John 5:12 ”He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.”

          Our time on earth is to serve and glorify God.  Every thing we possess in this life is on loan from Him.  While we wait for His blessed return, we are to trust Him in faith and make changes whenever they are revealed.  The passing from this life is just going to the next.  “The world, with its cravings, is passing away, but he who does God’s will continues for ever” 1 John 2:17.

          Every true believer must actually know God and place a trusting faith in the atonement work of His Son for all life issues.  Faith to the finish includes trusting God for all needs.  Banks give a few percent interest, but God promises 10,000% interest if we will give Him our treasure.  The reason most people do not give their money to God, is because they do not believe He will actually do that.

          Jesus specifically said Matthew 6:19-21 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where [nothing can touch them].  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  God called the man a fool who built bigger containers to store up supplies so he could depend on them.  God said his life was demanded from him, and Luke 12:21 "This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God."  Trusting God every day for the needs of that day is all part of keeping our faith to the finish.

          Jesus came to pay our sin-debt and He now invites us to follow Him in trusting faith to the finish.  1 John 5:20 “The Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true.  And we are in him who is true—even in his Son Jesus Christ.  He is the true God and eternal life.”  He has promised to heal, provide, and save our soul.

          We are warned 1 John 5:21 “Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.”  Idolatry can take many forms.  Colossians 3:5-8 ”Therefore put to death your earthward inclinations—fornication, impurity, sensual passion, unholy desire, and all greed, for that is a form of idolatry.  Because of these [very sins], the wrath of God is coming.  You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived.  But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.”

          To love God with all of our heart is to trust Him for all things.  A believing faith in Him includes asking for divine wisdom by the enlightenment of His Spirit, healing by our faith in the atonement work of His Son, protection under the blood of the cross, supplies from His storehouse of blessings, and eternal life by His grace through faith in Jesus.

          This life is a test of faith James 1:12 and we must pass the tests by trusting on Jesus to the end of our lives.  Trials reveal idols in our heart.  If there are any, we must know it and correct that.  Psalm 26:2-4 “Test me, O LORD, and try me, examine my heart and my mind; for your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in your truth.  I do not sit with deceitful men, nor do I consort [go along] with hypocrites.”

          Jesus said that a hypocrite was anyone who looked religious on the outside but had no faith in God on the inside Matthew 23.  These religious hypocrites seriously opposed Him.  “They will treat you this way [He said] John 15:21 because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me.”  He then said Mark 7:6 "Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.’”  It is a serious thing to be a hypocrite who does not trust God, because Jesus said His Father will “cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” Matthew 24:51.

          Faith to the finish is a salvation issue, so we must persevere in the faith and keep trusting on the atonement of Jesus to the end of our lives.  Our only concern in this life is to be ready to meet the Savior with our faith in His sacrifice of atonement still active and real.  2 Timothy 4:7 “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

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First Century Gospel Church © 2011
PO Box 24283
PHILA PA  19120-5283
contact@fcgchurch.org