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Faith is NOT a get out of jail card as so many claim -- Grace is. Believing in the saving power of Christ is no cure for the human condition - even the devil believes in this. That is why he works so fervently to pervert our understanding of faith. Some have claimed and even taught that it is by faith that we are saved as if it is a "open sesame" code for heaven. If this is so, it renders Salvation by Grace ineffectual, turning our salvation into something we earn by what we believe and declare -- hence by what we do. Consider Scripture with care. What does it it mean when Scripture declares that He is the author and finisher of our faith? Does it not mean that even what little faith we have originates from Him and is completed in Him? So on what do we boast? By the same token, Scripture also declares that faith without works is dead? Does it not mean that true faith must manifest itself in life level changes in the condition of our hearts and minds to result in tangible out flowing through acts of trust, love, service, and compassion. Biblical faith as attested to in Scripture is a deeply moral one, rooted in He who is our creator and grounded on love which is the foundation of all the declarations of the prophets. Like our sanctification, our faith is ongoing work of the Spirit. Let us not confuse our justification with the ongoing work of sanctification. By this some claim that Gods sovereignty precludes any volitional role we may have, others claim that it is entirely by our volition that we gain our salvation. In truth, both positions demeans the sovereignty of our Creator. The first declaring that He cannot afford us free will and still have dominion over all things; the second, turns God into One who must acquiesce to save us based upon what we profess, making Him a slave of our whims and choices. Neither are true because His dominion and sovereignty is beyond all human comprehension and man-made constructs or philosophy. That is why Scripture declares that we must love God with all our hearts, mind, soul, and strength. The regenerate know this well because it is a knowledge touched by God, one that is compelled through Holy, gentle and loving compulsion to receive Him as Lord and Saviour. It is this compulsion that girds our faith, makes good works and fruit possible, and renders all argument superfluous. It is a knowledge borne out of the confluence of experience (the heart), logic (the mind), the knowing beyond knowing (the soul), and every fibre of our physical being (our strength). It is the knowledge of this irresistible grace and compulsion that leads to true humility because we KNOW that it is by grace and grace alone that we believe, and it is by grace and grace alone that we trust, love, serve, and have compassion. It is by grace and grace alone that we bear fruits.
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