The word of God says through James 2:26, “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.” In the previous part we saw that salvation is a gift and this gift was given away when Jesus died on the cross and rose again from the dead conquering death and sin and Satan and opening the door of Heaven for all mankind. We also saw how to receive the gift already given by believing in Jesus Christ. “Believing” is a big concept and today we are going to see what believing means.
Let me give you an example. Suppose you need a pen. It is extremely important for you as you have your exams. You don’t have the money to buy one and you don’t know anyone who could get one for you. In short, it is humanly impossible for you to have a pen to write with. I sensed this need and urgency and gifted you a good and expensive pen. But what puzzles me is that you still failed in the exams! I try to find the reason and get to know that you did not write the exam. When I ask you why you did not write the exam, you tell me that you did not have a pen. Well, I myself had given the pen to you so you can’t say that you did not have a pen. I want to know the actual reason. There are two reasons: One, you did not think that the pen was good enough to write the exam. And second, you wanted to write the exam with the pen that you bought yourself.
It is the same with the gift of salvation. Jesus Christ died for us on the Cross carrying the burden of our sins when there was no other way of saving us. Romans 5:6 says, “At just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly”. The Bible says powerless and ungodly meaning it was beyond our capacity to save ourselves and Christ did not die for the godly but for sinners. We did not have to be good and well behaved, obeying the Law word by word for Christ to die for us but He died purely out of His incomparable and never fading love for us. God made a way when there was no way and that way is none other than Jesus Christ as He says in John 14:6, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” Read carefully, the Word of God says, “No one can come to the Father except through me.” This clearly shows that there is no other way except Jesus and if we do not choose this way, there is no way. Romans 3:24 says that we are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. Mark here, Jesus Christ and no one else redeemed us from the clutches of sin, Satan and death.
I have seen many people addicted to vices like smoking, alcohol, etc. All these are very harmful. They damage lungs, kidney, liver and what not and may even cause cancer. It is not that people are ignorant of the harmful effects of these addictions. It is mentioned clearly in the packs and there are a number of infomercials that convey the message. Yet people are addicted to these and stick to these. They know the facts, then why do they still do it? There can be two reasons just like the pen example: One, they don’t believe it. And second they are stubborn to give up their bad habits. But any of these two reasons can’t stop them from suffering the consequences.
It is the same with believing in Jesus Christ. Earlier, we saw that we receive the gift of salvation already given out once and for all by believing in Jesus Christ. When you have heard the Word of God and you are aware of the truth, you have three options: You believe it; you don’t believe it or you be stubborn. Being stubborn and sticking to your own sinful ways will lead you to hell as sure as not believing it.
Most of the times, stubbornness is the reason why people can’t get the salvation experience. The Israelites were stubborn and kept going back to evil practices. That is why Hebrews 3:7 says, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.”
Let us look to the Word of God. We will meditate on 1 John 2:3-6 and Romans 6:8-14. We say we know Jesus Christ but do we really know Jesus and believe in him. The answer is clear when we read 1 John 2:3-6, “We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.”
John says that knowing Jesus is not a onetime process. It is not like a two hour sitting when you talk to the other person to know him. John doesn’t use these words but his intent is the same. Knowing Jesus is a process, a lengthy one, that’s why John says, “We know that we have come to know him...” John doesn’t say, “We know that we know him”, he says, “...we have come to know him...” clearly showing that it is a long driven process. We know Jesus Christ little by little each day as we meditate on the Word of God, as we talk and interact with God’s people and as we believe in Him and are led each day by the Holy Spirit who teaches us (1 John 2:27).
First of all, a person who accepts Jesus Christ is spiritually like a new born child craving spiritual milk to grow up in his salvation (1 Peter 2:2). It is not that the child gets nourished by itself but it is by the Holy Spirit that sanctifies us each day and prepares us for the day of Christ. This is what Paul tells Philippians in Philippians 1:6, “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” You are not alone in this project of Salvation. God is with you as Paul says in Philippians 2:12-13, “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed – not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence – continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.” Furthermore, Hebrews 11:40 says, “God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.”
Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him.” And 1 John 5:3-4 says, “This is love for God: to obey his commands and his commands are not burdensome for everyone born of God overcomes the world.”
Through all these verses I wanted to show you one thing. Everything comes down to one thing from our part and that one thing is “Obedience”. God can work in the lives of those who love him. He has great plans for people who love him. And people who love him obey him. Without obedience there is no love and no partnership. And God cannot work in you in you do not agree with him. How difficult it is when we have to work in groups with people who do not agree with each other! It is much more difficult for God to work in us if we keep rejecting him because he loves us so much.
The day we stop obeying God’s commands, it’s like we stop loving him and once we stop loving him; we stop working with him. And God can’t work alone because only together with us would they be made perfect. Loving God is like loving our Father. If you love your father, you won’t try to do things that might hurt him. Even if you do, you would try to hide it so that your father doesn’t know about it. With God it is impossible to hide things. He knows our every secret and he even knows our every thought. Therefore, the only way not to hurt our Heavenly Father is to keep away from sin and live in obedience to his commands. Many a times, it will be difficult but remember that God remains faithful and He eagerly waits for us to come back as it is written in 2 Timothy 2:11-13, “Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will disown us; if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.”
The only thing He asks of us is “Obedience”. Obedience is a very important quality. Isaiah 1:18-19 says, “...Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land.” Being disobedient means rebelling against God.
Now let us look to Romans 6:8-14
Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.
As we live in obedience to Christ Jesus, the Holy Spirit keeps working in us and makes us like Jesus, holy and perfect. When we walked in sin, sin had mastery over us. Being under sin is being under law and impossible to be saved. But once we accept Christ and are obedient to him, we are no longer under sin but under grace and we are no longer slaves but free. Once we are under grace, we are no longer slaves to sin and we can boldly say “NO” to sin as Paul says in the letter to Titus 2:11-12, “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age.” Since, we can say ‘no’ to all the sinful things, it clearly shows that we are no longer under the slavery of sin. You are dead to sin and alive to god in Christ Jesus and sin no longer reigns in your mortal body.
By accepting Christ Jesus, you gain freedom from the penalty of sin and by being obedient to Christ Jesus; you gain freedom from the power of sin. This is learning to exercise your freedom in Christ Jesus by overcoming evil with good (Romans 12:21).
May our Lord, God and Saviour Jesus Christ give us understanding and insight into His Holy Word. Amen.
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