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BELIEVE
THAT JESUS CHRIST IS CAPABLE OF SAVING US (FAITH)
To
be an effective savior, Jesus must be both capable of saving
and willing to save.
Jesus
is capable of saving because He was and is both fully human
and fully divine. He came to earth specifically to show humanity
what a sinless life looked like and to be offered up as the
ultimate sacrifice to forgive the sins of all. Having been
fully human, He suffered from the same kinds of temptations
we all do; so He is able to help us in our temptations. Since
the Godhead is holy, He cannot be directly approached by sinful
man, but Jesus is able to act as our mediator—one who
has experienced life as a human but who is actually as aspect
of God (part of the Trinity).
When
Jesus went to the cross, he took the sins of all humanity
on His back and suffered cruelly. The only cleansing element
God has ordained is blood: And according to the Law, one may
almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without
shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. (Hebrews 9:22)
Given
His divine nature, it is hardly surprising that Christ Jesus
is capable of saving us. What is truly incredible is that
He is, in fact, willing to save us. He demonstrated that willingness
throughout his earthly ministry. For example, leprosy was
one of the most feared diseases when Jesus lived, particularly
among Jews since it made one ceremonially unclean and therefore
unable to participate in temple functions. Yet, Jesus reached
out even to the lepers:
And
a leper came to Him and bowed down before Him, and said, “Lord,
if You are willing, You can make me clean.” Jesus stretched
out His hand and touched him, saying, “I
am willing; be cleansed.” And immediately his
leprosy was cleansed. (Matthew 8:2-3)
Jesus’
willingness does not extend just to a relatively few individuals,
it is for everyone who has faith in Him and reaches out to
Him.
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This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,
who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge
of the truth. (1 Timothy 2:3-4)
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The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count
slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to
perish but for all to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9)
Two
things should be apparent from these verses written by the
Apostles Paul and Peter: (1) God wants everyone to be saved,
not just a pre-determined few and (2) repentance is the next
step in establishing the relationship with God.
Faith
is absolutely essential to salvation: And without faith
it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must
believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who
seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6)
Faith
is produced by the Word of God, not by some blind leap, speculation,
or opinion: So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by
the word of Christ. (Romans 10:17) Preaching is one way
you can hear the Word, or you can read the Word: Therefore
many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the
disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have
been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ,
the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His
name. (John 20:30-31)
Yet,
despite the enormous emphasis on faith and belief in the Bible,
it is not totally sufficient: You believe that God is
one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.
(James 2:19) Faith and belief are necessary, but God expects
us to meet him partway.
So
if you have come to recognize your separation from God (sin),
go to a Bible-believing church and hear the Word, or seek
out someone with whom you can read the Scriptures.
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