Faith: The Free Gift Of God

For Christ is the end of the law

for righteousness to everyone

Who believes…..

But what does it say?

‘The word is near you,

in your mouth and in your heart’

(that is, the word of faith which we preach):

that if you confess with your mouth

the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart

that God has raised Him from the dead,

you will be saved.

For with the heart one believes unto

righteousness, and with the mouth

confession is made unto salvation.

Romans 10:4; 8–10

            Many are taught that everyone who believes will be saved, that is to purport that this verse (Romans 10:4) speaks about those in the future: it does not! The Greek word for believes is: πιστεύοτι, a present tense indicative word, and the meaning by it being present is just that: whoever is presently believing will be saved. How then does one come to believe? By faith! How does then one get faith? Is this faith that is necessary for one to believe impossible due to the fact of original sin that all men are infected with, and have not then the ability by any works, that is to believe by means of their own ability. It is impossible, for to be able to choose faith by your own ability is to do works and Scripture is clear that works does not give a person faith, or salvation. Paul, in verse 17 of this chapter tells this: “So then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the world of God” (Romans 10:17). Now let us think upon this fact: you must hear the word of God to have faith, and faith then is activated to you by the grace of God: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 1:8). True faith never, established by works, not of doing, even if you think what you are doing is of God. Some think that they are believers by going about attempting to heal people. There are those who speak of raising the dead, (even though there is no proof of that actually happening). Speaking in unintelligible words, etc., no faith is to believe, to be converted and this by the word of God, the Gospel, and the Gospel that people need is that they are sinners and in need of a Savior and that Savior is Jesus Christ who died for sin upon the cross. The confession of our mouths is this Gospel of Jesus Christ, not His works, although they are proof of Him being God, and this confession must come from your heart that God, the Father raised Him from the dead. To be converted is to have made a vow, an oath, a promise to do and to behave in a certain manner, that is, we who confess that we are Christians must then act as Christians, and our model is Jesus Christ, and led then by the commandments of God. We must be submissive to God. There is confusion by those who have ingested the culture of this age; a culture that does not believe in absolutes and a culture that believes everyone have a truth. Many have swallowed the lie that there is no such thing as an absolute, an absolute truth, and this belief affects by undermining a person’s faith. This is a watershed issue; that there are no absolutes, no absolute truth. Fact: If attempting to land a vessel upon the planet Mars, for instance, and the mathematics enabling the vessel to hit its target is incorrect by even a minute measurement, it will miss the planet. If our theology is off by even a minute understanding, we will miss the truth and then led into doctrines that are not doctrines of God. We will be confessing, that is even if we do confess, that which is not of God, rather it will be of our own making, or that of another whose theology is askew. This dichotomy of thought, the division that is not of Scripture, will then have major consequences, first for the believer, then for the hearer. A believer will not be able to fully, if at all, answer any reasonable and rational question by the unbeliever and will not be able to defend their faith. Answers will be missing, and the Gospel will not be accepted, and even the elect will not have their faith, this free gift of God given to His children have any power in their life. There is an urgency to train Christians how to fight this war against truth, and for you, the Christian to be able to stand.

            Do you have fear? Is your fear that you will be ridiculed, or maybe that you would lose face, a job, a position, etc., and if so then your faith is not in God, or in His word: “For the Scripture says, ‘Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame” (Romans 10:11; cf. Isaiah 28:16). We, as ambassadors of Jesus Christ, those who have converted and then by this conversion have vowed, takes an oath, a promise that is based on that vow, that oath to speak the Gospel to whomever who will listen, or ask: For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for th same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For ‘whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved” (Romans 10:12–13; cf. Joel 2:32).

            May you, and me, be what God has called us to be: His mouth, His feet, His witness. What do we have to fear? Nothing! We are already legally in heaven. We are a blessed people, and we are to be a blessing to those around us, both believers and non–believers. This is being a Christian and having faith, this free gift from God.

How beautiful are the feet of

            Those who preach the

Gospel of peace. (Isaiah 52:7)

            Who bring glad tidings

Of good things. (Nahum 1:15)

                        Romans 10: 15b

Celebrate the Glad Tidings and Peace

Richard L. Crumb