The above verse is yet another foundational Holy Scripture that is not understood by mainstream Christians, otherwise known as the delusional Cainite-Judeo-Christian Religion.
This article is about the confusion that exists within the Cainite-Judeo-Christian Religion between belief and Faith, although most would not admit that they are confused. It’s also about them thinking that it’s their faith that saves them and this idea, of course, goes hand in hand with their other erroneous idea of them thinking that THEY can ‘accept’ Yashua Messiah (the Lord Jesus Christ) as their Saviour.
You see, everything they do in terms of salvation is ‘down to them’, and The Father does not feature in their salvation at all. How can He, when salvation is on their terms and conditions of acceptance? As I describe elsewhere in my articles, this is a “tail wagging the dog” scenario. Please see my article (link below) entitled Is The Father Calling You To His Son Yashua Messiah.
With the above in mind, this means, we often hear a term that they use with great regularity, especially within Anglicanism/Episcopalianism, and the term is: “I have a faith”. Now what, exactly, does this expression mean and what do they have a faith in? Well, we don’t know, do we, for they do not tell us and they do not tell us because they do not know themselves!? The correct expression should be “I have faith in God the Father” or “I have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ” which automatically tells us that he or she is trusting or putting their faith in the Godhead, but to just say “I have a faith”, tells us nothing. It could mean they have faith that night will follow day – so what, even the lost can do that!
We also hear another expression from them, not dissimilar from the one above, that is, “I have a saving faith” or even the question “Do you have a saving faith?” Again what, exactly, does this term and question mean? Quite plainly it means that they think that their faith is related to or directly connected to their salvation or that their faith is the determining factor in their salvation. Well I have news for them; their faith has nothing to do with it, it has nothing to do with their salvation at all and to prove it, I will turn to the book of James. There we read the evidence that faith without works is dead:
James 2:20 (KJV) But wilt thou know, O vain man, that Faith without works is dead? (Emphasis mine)
So, from this, we can easily deduce that our faith is not something we can have or express without effort or action on our part – it doesn’t really exist until we do something. This proves it is something we can bring to life and/or display or prove, by our actions or acts of faith – known Biblically as “works”.
Abraham showed his faith through action or with works when he offered his son Isaac as a sacrifice, but we never heard him say “I have a faith” or “I have a saving faith.” In reality, these terms are just churchianity or Cainite-Judeo-Christian religious jargon and the next time you hear them say these things, ask them what they have faith in and then for them to show you their works to prove it is real. You won’t be very popular, but then nor was Yashua Messiah when He walked this earth and challenged the men of religion of His day. You could also ask them who gave them their ‘saving faith’ but don’t hold your breath while you wait for their answer.
So then, moving on, this leads me to ask the question: Is belief, faith? No and yes is the answer to this question. Belief can mean acknowledging something or someone is true or real just like the demons do:
James 2:19 (MCV) Thou believest that there is one Godhead (that is the Godhead is number one and therefore all powerful); thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
Here we can see they believe there is a Godhead that’s number one and all powerful, but that’s it, (please note, to say that oneness as in the KJV causes them fear is utter nonsense) all they have to show for it is a dreadful fear of the Power and Awesomeness of God. There is no faith, exercised with works, by these demons and it would be impossible for them to show faith anyway for fear kills faith just as fear kills love.
So does belief become faith? Yes, if you keep on believing and/or remain trusting and faithful no matter what; this is where the two come together, for continued belief whilst suffering trials and not giving up in this life when the going gets tough, shows Faith, especially in times of persecution. However, when we do this, all we are doing is exercising the Faith we have been given. We were given this Faith with Grace at the beginning of our walk with Him. Our faith, though, comes into its own when we take a leap of faith like doing something risky and that may involve our sticking our necks out, so to speak. So if you haven’t, as yet, done so then go on, what are you waiting for!?
Now bearing all this in mind, what is Faith, for Our Lord specifically asks if He will find it on the earth when He returns:
Luke 18:8 (KJV) I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when The Son of Man cometh, shall He find Faith on the earth? (Emphasis mine)
Notice, He is not going to ask if any of them or any of us are believers, why would He? He gave or has given us the ability to believe at the point of our calling, that is, when we were saved and when The Father drew us to His Son. Once we are Baptised and receive the gift of The Holy Spirit we are given Faith and thereby the ability to believe 24/7. As already stated, this is all part of the free gift, along with His Glorious Grace. Once the Father God makes us aware of His presence or the fact that He exists we are without excuse, so we must believe, we have no choice – how can we not believe and how can we not answer His call?
Now from here on in is where the real Cainite-Judeo-Christian religious errors kick in and cause so much trouble and confusion for them.
“For by Grace are ye saved through Faith and that not of yourselves, it is The Gift of God”
Now, believe it or not, it’s from this very verse that most of the Cainite-Judeo-Christian Religion thinks they are saved by their faith. They accept that Grace is a gift from God, but not the Faith part as well. So if the Faith part of this gift is not ours, whose is it? Come on, think about it, you should know very well whose Faith it is – Yashua Messiah’s (The Lord Jesus Christ’s) Faith, who else’s!?
Do you not know that it took immense Faith for Our Lord to go to the stake and die for us? This is what: “and that not of yourselves” is referring to, IT IS NOT OF US!! Do you understand this very basic and fundamental Truth, I hope you do, because this is real fundamentalism of the True Christian Faith, not that fear based meaningless, Ten Commandment obeying, Fundie, Bible bashing Judaiser’s variety?
Now mark, learn and inwardly digest this crucial point, for not only is Grace a part of this free gift but Faith is as well – Yashua Messiah’s Faith, it’s not our faith to begin with. Both His Grace and His Faith make up the wondrous free gift of salvation and we must take this fully on board or our Christian walk will be forever half baked or even dead. Why? Why, because as long as we think it is our faith that determines whether or not we are saved we will always have doubts about our salvation. This cataclysmic error is what the ‘salvation by works’ system of the Cainite-Judeo-Christian Religion is based upon, it is founded upon not realising that Faith is part of the gift of salvation – period – full stop – end of.
Now just for the sake of this study, let’s look at it from another perspective. OK, so it’s not our faith; what’s the point you’re trying to make I hear some of you say? The point here is this; if we claim that all faith is ours then what we are really saying is that we are involved in our salvation and it’s all down to us when, quite clearly, it is not – we play no part in it at all. All we do is answer the Father’s call to His Son and receive His wondrous free gift, that’s all there is to it – nothing else. We have no part in the process of our salvation – none! Yashua Messiah is the author and finisher of Faith, not us:
Hebrews 12:2 (MCV) Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of Faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the stake, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of The Throne of God.
So what are you saying – what about OUR faith I hear you say again; are you saying our faith has no role at all!!?? A good question, what about OUR faith? Well, as I have clearly shown, to begin with, we don’t have any faith of our own; it’s given to us in order to redeem us and then it’s dead until we do something with it, that is, works: the Lord’s Faith has done its job and saved us, but all it is, is Faith alone.
James 2:17 (KJV) Even so Faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. (Emphasis mine)
There we have it; our faith is dead if it does not have works and yet we still have Faith and is here called ‘Faith alone’. This is like a business man receiving an interest free loan; he now has the money for free which will enable him to set up his business. He is now officially a business man (saved), but how he utilises this wonderful gift of free money (Faith) will determine whether he is a successful business man or an unsuccessful businessman – a good and faithful servant or a bad, slothful lazy servant. Please read the parable of the talents for the Lord’s explanation of this arrangement.
This is the point the Cainite-Judeo-Christian Religion misunderstands from the bad teaching they receive on Ephesians 2:8. If our salvation is dependent upon our faith and that faith in turn is then enlivened or made real by works, then we automatically have a part in our salvation and we can literally lay claim to it, for it is our works that have made our faith alive. Furthermore, we can even boast and pat ourselves on the back because our works are now involved; we could even say: “I have a saving faith,” for it’s all mine. Now most, if not all the Cainite-Judeo-Christian Religion, will admit that we cannot earn our salvation by works, but at the same believe in just that – salvation by works. Is it any wonder why many of them are confused? You see, if we believe that all faith is ours and that it is brought into being by our works, our creativity, and is a catalyst in our salvation then, by default, our works must feature in our salvation and we are then earning our salvation and yet at the same time we all know (if we are TRUE Christians) this is nonsense and a blasphemy.
So, if our faith has nothing to do with our salvation, what is the point of our faith, what use is it and what does it achieve for us? Well I’ll tell you straight it doesn’t save you that’s for sure, but, what it does do is this, it proves and it rewards. It proves we are true believers because we remain believers through thick and thin, through trials and then faith becomes a verb instead of a noun, and hopefully we keep on believing right to the end of our lives, but be warned for this is the minimum requirement. For when we display faith in action as well, though risky living and/or stepping out in faith, it scores and stores us rewards or treasures in heaven which we will receive when Yashua Messiah returns to set up His Kingdom here on this earth.
As I have already mentioned, this is what the parable of the talents is all about in Matt 25:14-30. We all have God given talents of some description or another so we are literally without any excuse if we say we have nothing to offer our brothers, sisters and fellow man. The Father God gives us the basics or foundational building blocks of salvation through His Grace and Faith and it is up to us to build upon what we have and what we have been given. Here though is a warning. Whatever you do, do not bury or hide your talents for, whatever you were given will taken from you and given to those who showed that being the recipients of that free gift of Faith they put it to good use and displayed it by the results of their works.
Please note, acts of faith do not have to always be ‘good works’ or do-gooding charitable actions alone. For example you may take on a project that is outside your comfort zone – something challenging or testing. As a son or daughter of God you are in partnership with your brother The Lord Jesus Christ, no matter what you do, and you will rely upon Him for your success. When you succeed you will then give Him the praise, the thanks, the honour and the Glory.
From the other perspective, a worldly man will do none of these things apart from swagger, boast, pat himself on the back and show off to his friends. I know, because in the past as a lost soul, I did all these things, but they didn’t last!!
In Yashua Messiah’s name
Brother Charles
Is The Father Calling YOU to His Son, Yashua Messiah? 