www.ILOVEYOUGOD.com
Part I
By Steven Merten
�Copyright 1990
Note: Jesus' words are in red
We Christians all agree that the only way to enter heaven is through the blood of our Lord, God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Where we Christians do not all agree is what Jesus will be looking for in a person when He judges who will enter into heaven through the mercy of His blood and who will go to hell.
St. Paul, Jesus, St. James, St. Peter and the Old Testament all give us teachings to obey God if we wish to enter into heaven through Jesus. St. Paul also gives us writings, which seem to teach the opposite. St. Paul seems to contradict even himself. This conflict is what we see today as the faith alone vs. faith through works conflict. This is a huge conflict.
The faith alone vs. faith through works conflict is even seen as a conflict within scriptures. Both St. Peter and St. James directly go into conflict with the writings of St. Paul over this issue (2PE 3:14) (James 2:14). St. Peter warns us that this issue is an end of times issue (2 Peter 3:8-18). Even Jesus directly deals with the, faith alone vs faith through works, conflict (MAT 7:21) (LUK 6:43).
...who know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ , even we have believed in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.
"Teacher, what good must I do to possess everlasting life?" He answered, "Why do you question me about what is good? There is One who is good. If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments." "Which ones?" he asked. Jesus replied "You shall not kill"; 'You shall not commit adultery'; 'You shall not steal'; 'You shall not bear false witness'; 'Honor your father and mother'; and 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"
"The Father has given over to him power to pass judgment because he is Son of Man; no need for you to be surprised at this, for an hour is coming in which all those in their tombs shall hear his voice and come forth. Those who have done right shall rise to live; the evildoers shall rise to be damned."
"You will live in my love if you keep my commandments, even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and live in his love."
"And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.'......Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.'...
...'Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.' And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."
Jesus proclaimed aloud: "Whoever puts faith in me believes not so much in me as in him who sent me; and whoever looks on me is seeing him who sent me. I have come to the world as its light, to keep anyone who believes in me from remaining in the dark. If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I am not the one to condemn him, for I did not come to condemn the world but to save it. Whoever rejects me and does not accept my words already has his judge, namely, the word I have spoken it is that which will condemn him on the last day. For I have not spoken on my own; no, the Father who sent me has commanded me what to say and how to speak. Since I know that his commandment means eternal life, whatever I say is spoken just as he instructed me."Jesus tells us that those who have faith great enough to move mountains, prophesise or exorcize demons, but do not have love through obedience, He will damn to hell. To love Jesus is to obey Jesus (JOHN 14:15). St. Paul tells us that to possess faith great enough to move mountains is nothing if you do not love. Love is greater than a faith, a faith even great enough to move mountains, if that faith does not express itself through love and love for Jesus equals obedience to Jesus.
"None of those who cry out, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of God but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. When that day comes, many will plead with me, 'Lord, Lord,' have we not prophesied in your name? have we not exorcized demons by its power? Did we not do many miracles in your name as well? Then I will declare to them solemnly, I never knew you. Out of my sight, you evildoers!"NAB MAT 17:20
"I assure you, if you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you would be able to say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it would move. Nothing would be impossible for you."NAB 1CO 13:1-13 Excellence of the gift of love.
Now I will show you the way which surpasses all the others. If I speak with human tongues and angelic as well, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong, a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and, with full knowledge, comprehend all mysteries, if I have faith great enough to move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.NIV JOH 14:15
"If you love me, you will obey what I command."
My brothers, what good is it to profess faith without practicing it? Such faith has no power to save one, has it? If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and no food for the day, and you say to them, "Good-bye and good luck! Keep warm and well fed," but do not meet their bodily needs, what good is that? so it is with the faith that does nothing in practice. It is thoroughly lifeless.St. Paul teaches us to obey God's commandments if we wish to enter into eternal life through Jesus (Romans 2:6) (Romans 2:13) (1 Corinthians 7:19). St. Paul tells us that the "law" of circumcision is not needed for salvation. St. Paul alines faith as obedience to Jesus and the Father.To such a person one might say, You have faith and I have works is that it? Show me your faith without works, and I will show you the faith that underlies my works! Do you believe that God is one? you are quite right. The demons believe that, and shudder.
Some men came down to Antioch from Judea and began to teach the brothers, "Unless you are circumcised according to Mosaic practice, you cannot be saved." This created dissension and much controversy between them and Paul and Barnabas.
I was circumcised on the eighth day, being of the stock of Israel and the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrew origins; in legal observance I was a Pharisee, and so zealous that I persecuted the church. I was above reproach when it came to justice based on the law. (GAL 6:13)
"You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have come to believe, all of them staunch defenders of the law. Yet they have been informed that you teach the Jews who live among the Gentiles to abandon Moses, to give up the circumcision of their children, and to renounce their customs."NAB GAL 5:6
(St. Paul is speaking.)In Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor the lack of it counts for anything; only faith, which expresses itself through love.NIV 1JO 5:3
(John is speaking)This is love for God: to obey his commands.NAB 1CO 7:19
(St. Paul is speaking.)Circumcision counts for nothing, and its lack makes no difference either. What matters is keeping God's commandments.NAB 1TI 1:19
(St. Paul is speaking.)hold fast to faith and a good conscience. Some men, by rejecting the guidance of conscience, have made a shipwreck of their faith,
For it is not those who hear the law who are just in the sight of God; it is those who keep it who will be declared just.
. . . when he will repay every man for what he has done: eternal life to those who strive for glory, honor, and immortality by patiently doing right; wrath and fury to those who selfishly disobey the truth and obey wickedness. Yes, affliction and anguish will come upon every man who has done evil, the Jew first then the Greek. But there will be glory, honor, and peace for everyone who has done good, likewise the Jew first, then the Greek.When ever reading St. Paul's letters remember St. Peter's warning about St. Paul's letters. St. Peter strongly warns us that St. Pauls letters can be confusing and the wicked distort them to their own eternal ruin. Do not let someone use St. Paul's letters to lead you astray from Jesus' teaching to obey God's commandments if you wish to enter into eternal life through His blood. If, in your mind, you cannot get St. Paul's letters to fit into Jesus' many teachings to obey God if you wish to enter into life through Him, then focus on Jesus' teachings over St. Pauls. Do not throw out Jesus teachings for what one seems to think St. Paul is saying. It is Jesus' Word we must believe in and be true to for salvation.
Consider that our Lord's patience is directed toward salvation. Paul, our beloved brother, wrote you this in the spirit of wisdom that is his, dealing with these matters as he does in all his letters. There are certain passages in them hard to understand. The ignorant and the unstable distort them (just as they do the rest of Scripture) to their own ruin. You are forewarned, beloved brothers. Be on your guard lest you be led astray by the error of the wicked, and forfeit the security you enjoy.
"Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other. And many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold. But he who stands firm to the end will be saved."
To hold on to everlasting life, St. Paul 'charges' us to keep God's commandments. St. Paul compares our 'fight of faith' to Jesus' 'noble profession' of faith in His obedience to death on the cross before Pontius Pilate. Jesus refuses to make a verbal 'noble profession' to Pilate that JESUS IS LORD, Jesus is King or Jesus is Salvation (MAT 27:11) (MAR 15:2)(LUK 23:3) (JOH 18:33). Nor does Jesus preach to Pontius Pilate. It is through Jesus obedience to the will of the Father, in obediently going to His death on the cross, that Jesus makes His 'noble profession' of faith before Pontius Pilate, according to St. Paul.
Instead, seek after integrity, piety, faith, love, steadfastness, and a gentle spirit. Fight the good fight of faith. Take firm hold on the everlasting life to which you were called when, in the presence of many witnesses, you make your noble profession of faith. Before God, who gives life to all, and before Christ Jesus, who in bearing witness made his noble profession before Pontius Pilate, I charge you to keep God's command without blame or reproach until our Lord Jesus Christ shall appear.
It is through a man's loving, obedient, faith in God that he is approved by God and made just by the blood of Jesus Christ. It is through faith that the sons of Abraham and Christians come to eternal life through Jesus. Through the scriptures, let us seek out how to have faith in God.
Adam broke faith with God and chose to be unfaithful. Adam cheated on God by selfishly choosing sin.
Like Adam, they have broken the covenant - they were unfaithful to me there.Men have been breaking faith with God ever since. Although the faith covenant between God and man is often broke, it is never God who has broken it. Man often casts off this faith covenant between God and man and becomes unfaithful to God. Man breaks faith with God either through disloyalty as with St. Peter and Judas. Or through infidelity as did the Israelites who worshiped false gods. Adam broke faith by showing himself untrustworthy and disobedient with God's property of the tree of knowledge. There are many forms of breaking faith with the Father and Jesus. All of them are choices opposing God and choosing not to follow God.
Opposing God's will, commands, and words is always breaking ones allegiance to God. Without allegiance in obedience to God, man is unfaithful.
"The whole assembly of the LORD says: 'How could you break faith with the God of Israel like this? How could you turn away from the LORD and build yourselves an alter in rebellion against him now?'"
I look on the faithless with loathing, for they do not obey your word.
Informed that the people were sinning against the LORD by eating the flesh with blood, Saul said: "You have broken faith."
The LORD had humbled Judah because of Ahaz king of Israel, for he had promoted wickedness in Judah and had been most unfaithful to the LORD.
Our fathers acted faithlessly and did evil in the eyes of the LORD, our God. They abandoned him, turned away their faces from the LORD's dwelling, and turned their backs on him.
Likewise all the princes of Judah, the priests and the people added infidelity to infidelity, practicing all the abominations of the nations and polluting the LORD'S temple which he had consecrated in Jerusalem.
"If anyone sins and is unfaithful to the LORD by deceiving his neighbor about something entrusted to him or left in his care or stolen, or if he cheats him, or if he finds lost property and lies about it, or if he swears falsely, or if he commits any such sin that people may do - when he thus sins and becomes guilty, he must return what he has stolen or taken by extortion, or what was entrusted to him, or the lost property he found, or whatever it was he swore falsely about. He must make restitution in full, add a fifth of the value to it and give it all to the owner on the day he presents his guilt offering."
But after he had become strong, he became proud to his own destruction and broke faith with the LORD, his God. He entered the temple of the LORD to make an offering on the altar of incense. But Azariah the priest, and with him eighty other priests of the LORD, courageous men, followed him. They opposed King Uzziah, saying to him: "It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the LORD, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron, who have been consecrated for this purpose. Leave the sanctuary, for you have broken faith and no longer have a part in the glory that comes from the LORD God." EZE 20:27Besides obedience, trust is one of the ways a being can show faith in another being. God trusted Adam with His two most precious possessions, the tree of life and the tree of knowledge. Adam who had been entrusted with the power of free will was to be trustworthy back to God in the garden. Adam had the choice to hold faith in God or break the covenant of faith.
One of the ways God the Father is faithful to us is that He puts trust in us. God gave us each other and the universe and then He entrusted us with free will to do as we chose with these gifts. As God put faith through trust in Adam, we can put faith in God by trusting in God. The following verses show faith by putting trust in God, similar to God putting trust in Adam and mankind.
Before Jesus had finished speaking to them, a synagogue leader came up, did him reverence, and said: My daughter has just died. Please come and lay your hand on her and she will come back to life. Jesus stood up and followed him, and his disciples did the same. As they were going, a woman who had suffered from hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him and touched the tassel on his cloak. "If only I can touch his cloak," she thought, "I shall get well." Jesus turned around and saw her and said, "Courage, daughter! Your faith has restored you to health. " That very moment the woman got well.
When Judas learned of Nicanor's advance and informed his companions about the approach of the army, the cowardly and those who lacked faith in God's justice deserted and got away. But the others sold everything they had left, and at the same time besought the LORD to deliver those whom the ungodly Nicanor had sold before even meeting them. They begged the LORD to do this, if not for their sake, at least for the sake of the covenants made with their forefathers, and because they themselves bore his holy, glorious name. Macabeus assembled his men, six thousand strong, and exhorted them not be panic-stricken before the enemy, nor to fear the large number of the Gentiles attacking them unjustly, but to fight courageously, keeping before their eyes the lawless outrage perpetrated by the Gentiles against the holy Place and the affliction of the humiliated city, as well as the subversion of their ancestral way of life. "They trust in weapons and acts of daring," he said, "but we trust in almighty God, who can by a mere nod destroy not only those who attack us, but the whole world." (HEB 11:32-33)
Then Jesus left that place and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. It happened that a Canaanite woman living in that locality presented herself, crying out to him, "Lord, Son of David, have pity on me! My daughter is terribly troubled by a demon." He gave her no word of response. His disciples came up and began to entreat him, "Get rid of her, She keeps shouting after us." "My mission is only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel," Jesus replied. She came forward then and did him homage with the plea, "Help me, Lord!" But he answered, "It is not right to take the food of sons and daughters and throw it to the dogs." "Please, Lord," she insisted, "even the dogs eat the leavings that fall from their masters tables." Jesus then said in reply, "Woman, you have great faith! Your wish will come to pass." That very moment her daughter got better.
I have trusted in the Eternal God for your welfare, and joy has come to me from the Holy One Because of the mercy that will swiftly reach you from your eternal savior.
For the king trusts in the LORD, and through the kindness of the Most High he stands unshaken.
Jesus set out with them. When he was only a short distance from the house, the centurion sent friends to tell him: "Sir. do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you enter my house. That is why I did not presume to come to you myself. Just give the order and my servant will be cured. I too am a man who knows the meaning of an order, having soldiers under my command. I say to one, 'On your way,' and off he goes; to another, 'Come here,' and he comes; to my slave, 'Do this,' and he does it." Jesus showed amazement on hearing this, and turned to the crowd which was following him to say "I tell you, I have never found so much faith among the Israelites." When the deputation returned to the house, they found the servant in perfect health.
I will make certain that you escape and do not fall by the sword. Your life shall be spared as booty, because you trusted in me, says the LORD.
This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed in Cana of Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.INT EXO 14:31
And when the Israelites saw the great power the LORD displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.
| PSA 28:7 | MAT 9:2 | PSA 44:6 | ISA 12:2 | ISA 26:4 | PSA 86:2 |
| PSA 13:5 | NAH 1:7 | PSA 22:5 | JER 49:11 | PSA 125:1 | PSA 56:3 |
| EXO 19:9 | ISA 28:16 | PSA 40:3 | PSA 146:3 | PRO 29:25 | PSA 32:10 |
| PSA 37:5 | PRO 16:20 | NUM 20:12 | DEU 1:32 | DEU 9:23 | 1KI 18:30 |
| 2KI 17:14 | 2KI 18:5 | 1CH 5:20 | 1CH 29:18 | PSA 4:5 | PSA 9:10 |
| PSA 19:7 | PSA 20:7 | PSA 22:8 | PSA 22:9 | PSA 25:2 | PSA 26:1 |
| PSA 31:6 | PSA 31:14 | PSA 33:2 | PSA 37:3 | PSA 52:7 | PSA 52:8 |
| PSA 55:23 | PSA 56:11 | PSA 62:8 | PSA 62:10 | PSA 78:22 | PSA 84:12 |
| PSA 91:2 | PSA 111:7 | PSA 112:7 | PSA 118:8 | PSA 119:42 | PSA 143:8 |
| PRO 3:5 | PRO 13:17 | PRO 22:19 | PRO 28:25 | ISA 8:17 | ISA 25:9 |
| ISA 30:15 | ISA 31:1 | ISA 36:15 | JER 13:25 | JER 17:5 | JER 49:4 |
| DAN 6:23 | ZEP 3:2 | ZEP 3:12 | PSA 78:7 | PSA 115:9 | SIR 2:8 |
| SIR 2:6 | SIR 11:21 | SIR 32:24 | SIR 33:3 | SIR 34:15 | SIR 45:4 |
| LUK 5:18 | LUK 9:40 |
Many are disloyal to God and therefore breaking faith with God.
They would not be like their forefathers - a stubborn and rebellious generation, whose hearts were not loyal to God, whose spirits were not faithful to him.
"But I have prayed for you Simon, that your faith many not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers."
their hearts were not loyal to him, they were not faithful to his covenant.
Like their fathers they were disloyal and faithless, as unreliable as a faulty bow.Confidence is also a form of faith in God.
"But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him."
For you have been my hope, O Sovereign, LORD, my confidence since my youth.
For the LORD will be your confidence, and will keep your foot from the snare.
"This is what Sennacherib king of Assyria says: On what are you basing your confidence, that you remain in Jerusalem under siege? When Hezekiah says, 'The LORD our God will save us from the hand of the king of Assyria,' he is misleading you, to let you die of hunger and thirst."
(Confidence defined in a human relationship)
Cherish your friend, keep faith with him; but if you betray his confidence, follow him not; For as an enemy might kill a man you have killed your neighbor's friendship.It is faith and love that God desires. Just as man's most prevalent desire is to have a loving faithful spouse, so is God looking for a faithful loving partner. As man is to remain faithful to the marriage covenant so also is he to remain faithful to his baptismal covenant. If you love your spouse do you not choose allegiance, love and service to your spouse. Do you not put trust in your spouse and also become trustworthy and loyal to your spouse? These are all forms of faith. Through faithfulness man and woman share love with one another. Through faithfulness God and man share love with one another. When a man becomes selfish, wishing faithfulness from God but following every self desire for himself, he is a worthless partner. He has not love or faith for his God. When a man becomes selfish, wishing fidelity from his wife but he sleeps with every prostitute in town, he has become a worthless spouse. He has not love or faith for his wife.
During the reign of King Josiah, the LORD said to me, "Have you seen what faithless Israel has done? She has gone up on every high hill and under every spreading tree and has committed adultery there. I thought that after she had done all this she would return to me but she did not, and her unfaithful sister Judah saw it. I gave faithless Israel her certificate of divorce and sent her away because of all her adulteries. Yet I saw that her unfaithful sister Judah had no fear; she also went out and committed adultery."
"Return, faithless people," declares the LORD, "For I am your husband. I will choose you one - from a town and two from a clan - and bring you to Zion."
But like a woman faithless to her lover, even so have you been faithless to me, O house of Israel, says the LORD.
"The house of Israel and the house of Judah have been utterly unfaithful to me," declares the LORD.
Oh, that I had in the desert a lodging place for travelers, so that I might leave my people and go away from them; for they are all adulterers, a crowd of unfaithful people.Men are eager to turn faith into a word instead of a free-willed life of allegiance, trustworthiness, loyalty, obedience, following and love that faith truly is. The world can measure proclamations from the lips, and the worldly measure themselves by this. Faith is not something that you wake up one morning and find in your soul. Faith is something that grows or dies, increases and decreases, is discarded or cherished. (1TH 3:2-3) (1TI 4:1)
On a man's wedding day after he gives a pledge of fidelity to his wife, does the crowd at the feast say that man is faithful to his wife? This would be a foolish thing to say. It has only been a couple hours since they were married. What was he to do between the altar and the banquet hall - stop at a prostitute's house? It is a life of faithfulness to his wife that allows him the title of a faithful husband. After death it is decided whether he has been faithful to his wife or not. To say that a man will die faithful while he is still alive and entrusted with free will is a bit premature.
On a man's Baptism day, after he gives a pledge of fidelity to his God, does the crowd at the feast say that man is eternal because he is faithful to his God? This would be a foolish thing to say. It has only been a couple of hours since he became a Christian. What was the child or adult to do between the altar and the banquet hall stop in and shoot someone while robbing a bank? It is a life of faithfulness to his God that allows him the title of a faithful saved Christian. After death it is decided whether he has been faithful to his God or not. To say that a man will die faithful while he is still alive and entrusted with free will is a bit premature.
Faith is three dimensional, not two dimensional as many tend to make it. It is not upon the farthest dimension of one faithful act that your faith is scaled. It is the dimension of faithful acts over a lifetime of faithfulness that God uses as a measure of faith. Many times Jesus discussed the different sizes and amounts of faith man can possess. You can be barely faithful to Jesus or you can have a great magnitude of faith in Jesus. When you turn to God, whether it be a small step towards him or falling off a horse like St. Paul, this is the beginning of your faith. Now let us look at the duration of your faith.
