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You might wonder, what does Moses lifting up the serpent in the wilderness have to do with being saved by faith? How could lifting up the serpent save anyone? Well, that is really what this lesson will ultimately address. What does this have to do with being saved by faith? Most people in what we would refer to as the Protestant world believe in salvation by faith. But we will explore what the Bible says about the type of faith that saves. Is it any faith? Is it mere belief?

What does it mean to be saved by faith? We will start with the Old Testament and then transition to the New Testament. We'll explore some well-known stories and accounts that we likely grew up listening to and reading.

    

Bobby Stafford

Last week in the bulletin the article was by Bob Oliver.  The first paragraph of the article said something that really stood out to me.

“’You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder’ (James 2:19) so if we say we believe, we can only say, “Congratulations, you’ve qualified to be a demon!”

That is a terrifying thought, is it not?  I had not thought of applying this verse in such a way, but it makes a striking point.

This morning I want to look at a very good example that shows that belief, that is faith alone, is not enough

Scott Perkins

Evidentiary Faith  

Being a Christian requires us to have faith in two things, the Bible, and in Christ.

We’ll start with a Biblical faith in the Bible, because if we don’t have faith in the Bible what it tells us about Christ is moot. 

The Greek word most commonly translated to faith in the Bible; the word is pistis which means most literally translated an “active trust.”

Webster’s similarly defines faith as “the assent of the mind to the truth of what is declared by another, resting solely and implicitly on the reliance of testimony.”

    

Scott Perkins

Salvation by Faith alone precludes accountability.

Speaking to Christians, Paul said in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11
9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
KJV

Paul listed sins that will keep a Christian out of heaven.  If one is truly saved by faith alone, then nothing a Christian can do can cause one to be condemned.  

David Hersey

As I travel across this nation working in various places, I meet a lot of people who claim Jesus Christ as their savior and when you engage them in conversation about their beliefs, they have this notion that grace and faith are the tickets to heaven and in a sense they are right.  But their understanding of just what grace and faith is as a comprehensive Biblical term is not always in line with reality.   They know that grace and faith is there but they really don't have a clear understanding of just what grace and faith are and how each one of these functions in our justification and subsequent salvation. 

For the purpose of this lesson, we are going to examine these two vital and essential elements that play such an important role in our lives as Christians and try to gain a better understanding of them from an overall Biblical perspective. 

First of all, what is Grace?

What is Faith?

Grace is God reaching down to the lost from heaven with a chance for eternal life.  Faith is man reaching upward to God in hope of that salvation.  We can't have one without the other.  Grace won't save without faith and faith can't save without grace.  It's God's grace and our faith.

  

David Hersey

The text for our lesson is found in 1 John 5:11-13:

"And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 12 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. 13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life..." (NKJV).

"that you may know that you have eternal life".   In past few weeks we have seen a number of our members who had been immersed in water at some time in the past develop some doubts as to whether or not their baptism was valid.  I myself had these doubts many years ago and, like several of our members lately, I chose to eliminate that doubt entirely.  Whether or not this action was necessary is not the subject of this lesson.  The subject of this lesson is first that we must be sure and secondly, that we can be sure. 

Why must be sure of our eternal salvation?  The most obvious answer is that our final destination is eternal and we don't get any do-overs.  Once we die and leave this physical realm, our eternal destination is forever sealed.  We only have one life to offer God and we better get it right.   We can correct our failures so long as we live in this life, but after we die, the consequences for failure are permanent. 

  

David Hersey

Jesus promised to build only one church.  Matthew 16:18, "and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it." Jesus shed His blood and died for only one church.   Ephesians 5:25, "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it", [Singular].  Christ only purchased one church with His blood, Acts 20:28, "Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood."  And Christ is the head of and the savior of only one church.  Ephesians 5:22-24, "Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body."  The body of Christ is the church.  Since Christ only built, bled for, died for, rules and saves one church then doesn't it make sense that we must be a part of that church and no other?  

David Hersey

Bobby Stafford

Bobby Stafford

Bobby Stafford

Bobby Stafford

Bobby Stafford

Bobby Stafford

Bobby Stafford

Bobby Stafford

Bobby Stafford

Bobby Stafford

Bobby Stafford

David Hersey

The Bible defines faith as "the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1).  Simply stated this means that faith is the foundation of our hope and a conviction in our hearts of things we cannot see.  In fact, the words "faith" and "belief" are from the same original root word in the Greek New Testament--pistis, a noun that has to do with being convinced of something.

David Hersey

There is considerable confusion today on the issue of faith and works.  Brother Lipscomb in commenting on the extremes that people go to said, "they are like the pendulum of a clock."  On one extreme there are those who say that we are saved by works.  This is the position of many of the world religions where the emphasis is on man and what he does, and not what God does.  These people are basically saying that you must do works that merit or earn your
salvation.

On the other extreme, you have people who hold to a faith only belief which says that man is completely passive and that salvation has been fixed for him. These people are basically saying that no matter what you do or do not
do, your salvation is a result of faith in God without any human interaction. This is the position of most Protestant Denominations.  What we are going to try to establish is whether either of these ideas is correct or if there is another option that is correct.  We will do this by answering from the scriptures these questions:

1. Is faith necessary? 

2. What is the nature of faith?

3. What types of works are mentioned
   in the Bible.

Pat Cowden

If you are calling a doctor, is one as good as the other?  If you are seeking a wife, is one as good as the other?  If you are buying a prescription, is one as good as the other?  If you are buying a car, is one as good as the other?  If you are buying a house, is one as good as the other?  If you are needing a mechanic, is one as good as the other?  If not, then why be so particular in material things and so careless and "broad minded" in matters pertaining to your eternal destiny?  How often do we hear someone say "one faith, one way, one worship, one religion, one baptism, one church, one name or doctrine is as good as another."

Faith
Is one faith as good as another? If so, then why did the apostle teach "one lord, one faith, one baptism." (Ephesians 4:5)  Also, a dead faith would be as good as an active one.  The Bible speaks of both kinds. (James 2:26)

Way
Is one way as good as another? If so, why did Jesus say, "I am the way." (John 14:6)  Furthermore, Proverbs 14 says, "There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death." Is this way as good as the straight and narrow way that leadeth to life everlasting? (Matthew 7:13-14)

Wendell Winkler

The question of being saved by faith comes up quite often when discussing the plan of salvation. Some people say that faith in Christ is all one needs
to be saved. They say that once you believe in the truthfulness of the salvation that Christ offers you are saved and nothing more is needed to
enter into the Kingdom of God. The plan of salvation is simple, but not that simple. Faith is just the beginning.

Kim Reynolds

Gene Wood

“(John 3:16) For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

 And of course, in the way they teach that, a great amount of emphasis is placed on that word “believeth.”  It will also refer to I John Chapter 1 verse 9, which actually isn’t the correct use of that particular verse.  In I John Chapter 1, John is writing to Christians, and he writes in that particular passage that, yes, there are times that we must confess our faults and pray to God, repenting of those sins and asking for His forgiveness.  But actually, that is written to  Christians.  But of course, in the steps of salvation, for those who have not become a Christian, in order to become a Christian, yes, we must confess our faith in Christ Jesus and we must repent of our sins.  And then that particular passage, what is written in the back of her Bible refers to Ephesians Chapter 2 verses 8 and 9.

Richard Chambers

What does the Bible say about Faith?  Where in the Bible can I find verses on Faith? What does the church of Christ teach about faith? Scriptures on Christian Faith have been assembled and published here.  The Bible is always its own best commentary. When considering the topic of Christian Faith, it is important to note that we do not learn everything about it and what its significance is from any single context.  To gain a thorough understanding we must consider all of what the inspired writers taught about faith and put it all together into a single doctrinal teaching and then apply it correctly to our lives.  All scripture references are from the KJV unless otherwise noted. 

Faith Is:

Hebrews 11:1
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Faith is Confidence:
According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord: In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.  Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory (Ephesians 3:11-13).

Faith is Joy:
And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith (Philippians 1:25).

David Hersey