The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in 2 Thessalonians 1:3-4,
"We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing. Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring."
We become children of God through faith. A lot of folks have a lot of ideas as to how one gets to heaven. The Scriptures have their own direction and it could not be clearer. Salvation is by faith and faith alone. Over the years I have seen and read a number of "lists" of things required for salvation. Many denominations and groups have sprung up with their own ideas.
At the heart of the issue is that Jesus Christ sacrificed himself on a cross to pay the penalty for our sins. The Scriptures are perspicuous - we cannot add to his sacrifice or adorn it with our own good ideas or actions. Jesus' sacrifice was entirely sufficient, it lacks nothing. He did all the heavy lifting on the cross when he satisfied his own Father's sense of justice. All sin will be paid for. Either we pay for our own sin (and all have sinned) or we can have Jesus' payment for our sins credited to our account in God's courtroom. The gospel message is clear that we have Jesus' payment for our sins credited to our account with our Creator God by placing our faith and trust in him. "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast." Ephesians 2:8-9. There is nothing we can do to add to Jesus' sacrifice. We can't adorn it, as if his sacrifice was not sufficient to bring us salvation. "If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved." Romans 10:9-10. We just cannot add anything to what Jesus wrought on that miserable cross!
The book of Romans is Paul's effort to show that entering into God's family is a matter of faith, not works we may do. We are simply saved by faith. In a bewildering twist, otherwise wonderful teachers in the history of the church, notably Augustine, Calvin and others have somehow confused the issue by thinking faith is a "work". Paul addresses this so I am somewhat perplexed as to how they have missed it. Here is Paul's observation of Abraham's experience, "What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, discovered in this matter? If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. What does Scripture say? 'Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.' Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness." Romans 4:1-5.
The truth of this is seen so clearly in Romans 3:21-25, "But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith."
Clearly, salvation is by faith. How much faith? Jesus spoke of a faith as small as a mustard seed in Matthew 17:20. There the issue at hand was an inability to deliver a demon-possessed boy by faith. There was not sufficient faith on the part of the disciples to help out. Jesus taught even a little bit of faith can accomplish a lot. We can have no faith, a little faith, and, more faith. Apparently faith is dynamic and can grow.
"We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing. Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring."
We become children of God through faith. A lot of folks have a lot of ideas as to how one gets to heaven. The Scriptures have their own direction and it could not be clearer. Salvation is by faith and faith alone. Over the years I have seen and read a number of "lists" of things required for salvation. Many denominations and groups have sprung up with their own ideas.
At the heart of the issue is that Jesus Christ sacrificed himself on a cross to pay the penalty for our sins. The Scriptures are perspicuous - we cannot add to his sacrifice or adorn it with our own good ideas or actions. Jesus' sacrifice was entirely sufficient, it lacks nothing. He did all the heavy lifting on the cross when he satisfied his own Father's sense of justice. All sin will be paid for. Either we pay for our own sin (and all have sinned) or we can have Jesus' payment for our sins credited to our account in God's courtroom. The gospel message is clear that we have Jesus' payment for our sins credited to our account with our Creator God by placing our faith and trust in him. "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast." Ephesians 2:8-9. There is nothing we can do to add to Jesus' sacrifice. We can't adorn it, as if his sacrifice was not sufficient to bring us salvation. "If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved." Romans 10:9-10. We just cannot add anything to what Jesus wrought on that miserable cross!
The book of Romans is Paul's effort to show that entering into God's family is a matter of faith, not works we may do. We are simply saved by faith. In a bewildering twist, otherwise wonderful teachers in the history of the church, notably Augustine, Calvin and others have somehow confused the issue by thinking faith is a "work". Paul addresses this so I am somewhat perplexed as to how they have missed it. Here is Paul's observation of Abraham's experience, "What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, discovered in this matter? If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. What does Scripture say? 'Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.' Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness." Romans 4:1-5.
The truth of this is seen so clearly in Romans 3:21-25, "But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith."
Clearly, salvation is by faith. How much faith? Jesus spoke of a faith as small as a mustard seed in Matthew 17:20. There the issue at hand was an inability to deliver a demon-possessed boy by faith. There was not sufficient faith on the part of the disciples to help out. Jesus taught even a little bit of faith can accomplish a lot. We can have no faith, a little faith, and, more faith. Apparently faith is dynamic and can grow.
So how much faith does salvation take? Apparently of such a small amount that what is there can be added to.
What we learn from Paul in 2 Thessalonians 1:3-4 is that the faith required to bring us into God's family is something that is built on. "Your faith is growing more and more." This is not a reference that more people were joining the church in Thessalonica (although that probably was the case), but that the faith of these believers was growing, and that beyond their salvation. It was something God was doing in their lives as it is God Paul gives his thanks to for it. Faith is something that grows and develops as we mature in the Lord, as we continue on our walk with him. God builds upon the saving faith we have as we mature in him, and he is the one responsible for that growth in faith.
We see this in other passages, such as Romans 12:3, "For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you." Paul speaks here of faith God distributes to people who are already "believers", people who are already members of the kingdom of God.
We see this in other passages, such as Romans 12:3, "For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you." Paul speaks here of faith God distributes to people who are already "believers", people who are already members of the kingdom of God.
Faith is dynamic and faith can be added to. Where are we at on the faith spectrum? How can we measure our faith? Is it possible the challenges God puts us through in life are designed to "grow" our faith, as God was doing with the Thessalonians? There is a lot to consider here.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
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