Reference: James 2:14 and Ephesians 2:8-9
As you read the above scriptures writtenby two different apostles of Christ, do you think there is a contridictionbetween what is said about being saved? The apostle James tells us that faithwithout works cannot save you and the apostle Paul tells us that we are savedby grace through faith and not of works or else a person will boast. There isabsolutely no contridiction between the statements above if you can understandwhat it means to be saved and how this operation is brought about. The worksthat the apostle James is speaking about and the works that the apostle Paul isspeaking about are not the same type or kind of works in question. You mustknow what these works are in order to be truly saved having the works thatcontribute to the cause of being saved. Most people think that works, whenspoken of, are the type of works that will cause a man to boast, but theseworks that James is referring to are not the type of works that one does inthemself thinking it is being done to merit salvation. Are you aware of thefact my friend that faith alone cannot save you? Do you know what it means tosay that faith alone cannot save you?
Are you awakened to the fact that manyfalse teachers are in the land today deceiving thousands of people giving thema false concept of what true salvation is? Let us consentrate on what theapostle James says about faith without works not being able to save you. Iwould say that there are countless thousands of people in the world today thatconfess to be saved, but if the truth is known not hardly any are truly savedas to how the gospel reveals the subject. If we were to look at the averageconfessing Christian today it is an evident fact that ninety some percent ofthem are basing their salvation on the fact that they believe a certain verseof scripture that the Bible states. The most common scripture that today's confessingChristians base their being saved on is the scripture found in Acts 16:31. This verse ofscripture says to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved, andthy house.. Just about everydenominational organization that I know of teach that all you have to do to besaved is to confess that you believe on Christ and that you have accepted himas your Lord and Saviour. Now what this belief actually boils down to be inessence is that you are only believing that you are saved. You can't be trulysaved just because of the fact that you believe it with a mental concept in themind. If you believe that you are saved becaue of what a verse of scripture maysay, then you are relying on your faith alone and believing only the letter ofthe word. Just to believe that you are saved does not do anything to changeyour condition physically or spiritually. Do you think a man can believe he issomething and not really be what he thinks he may be? If you know that justbelieving you are something when actually you are not, then you should be ableto understand what it means to just believe that you are saved based only onbelieving a verse of scripture. You may think that to believe a verse of theword of God saves you but are you aware of the fact that just to believe averse of scripture is only giving you a mental knowledge of what the writtenword says? Do you honestly think you become a saved born again new creature inChrist based on the fact that you believe a single verse of scripture with amental concept of the mind? If you just believe that you are saved, then thisis exactly what the apostle James is referring to when he said that faith alonecannot save you. You must have works along with your faith, but the works thatyou must have are not the type of works that the apostle Paul refers to in Ephesians 2:9. The worksreferred to by Paul are works such as your trying to keep the law of Moses.Other types of works that Paul is referrring to are works such as doing deedsthinking they will merit toward your receiving eternal life. These type of works are your doing all youcan with what available substance you may possess such as money, property,stocks and bonds etc. The works that Paul is referring to are works that aperson can do, but the works that James refers to are your works of receivingand being obedient to the revealed truth of the gospel. Just to believe thatyou are saved leaves you stranded on a simple belief all by itself. This wouldbe the same as you believing that you are a millionaire when all the time youdon't possess a penny in the bank or any other investments or security. Theword of God says to believe on Christ and you shall be saved, but this cannotpossibly mean that you are saved the precise moment you may have confessed tobelieve this. It is impossible to change from an unbelief in Christ to a beliefin Christ in a split second of time. I can say this because the word of Godreveals that Christ is the light that lighteth every man that is born from thewomb of a woman. Nobody is born an atheist. An atheist is made by the hardeningof the heart by the deceitfulness of sin. To say that you are saved the momentthat you believed on Christ would be saying you never believed on him until youheard about him through a preacher or some other means. The Bible of coursereveals the work and name of Christ, but your coming to the knowledge that aman named Jesus came to this earth and died on a cross for the sins of theworld cannot save you. This only can give you a mental concept about it in yourown mind. You must hear the gospel to be saved, but the gospel that will saveyou is not coming to the knowledge that Christ died for you on the cross andshed his blood. In order for you to be saved you must receive and obey thetruth that is revealed in the gospel. Your receiving and walking in therevealed truth are the works that will save you if you obey it. Just yourbelieving on Christ thinking you are saved when you heard a preacher tell youthat you are saved if you receive Christ as your personal Saviour, leaves youwith a mental concept of what the Bible says, but it does not save you makingyou a new creation in Christ. You can only become a new creation by yourreceiving the revealed truth contained in the gospel. God's word is creative.Believing the truth will transform you into the image of Christ. Only the truthwill have a transforming effect on the believer that receives and obeys it.Your believing one or two verses of scripture and thinking you are saved onlygives you a mental knowledge of what the letter of the word says. There is agreat difference between believing thatyou are saved, and actually being a new creation in Christ and knowing that youare saved. Just to believe that you are saved leaves you stranded on the letterof the word. The revealed truth will perform a transformation on your wholebeing through a daily process. Most people today have only a mental belief thatthey are saved having based this on one or two verses of scripture found in theBible. The many false prophets are teaching doctrines contrary to what the wordof God reveals. False doctrines will only give you a mental knowledge of orabout salvation only....