What is FAITH? “Preachers” talk about “Faith” in Jesus? Does the Bible teach it is some cognitive recognition of the fact that Jesus is the Son of God? Does it teach, as many heretics and false teachers are heralding, that Faith in Jesus means that you profess Him, and that what He did on the Cross, and that “saves you?” The Bible never says any of that. Well, unless you cherry-pick a verse here and there, conceal the context of what was taking place that the writer was addressing 2000 years ago, and convince the naive and ignorant of the scripture that it means what they say, rather than what the Apostles’ made plain.
Romans 16:18 “For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the NAIVE.”
So FAITH? What is it? The term comes from the Hebrew word “emunah”. In Romans, Paul quotes from Habbakuk 2:4. The Romans English translation reads as this:
Romans 1:17 “For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The RIGHTEOUS shall live by FAITH.”
So because people do not know their Bible, nor what is actually being said, false teachers present this passage as “faith” meaning to trust in the finished work of Jesus on the Cross. So basically they tell you to repeat their make believe “Sinner’s Prayer”, and believe because you are told to receive “Jesus into your heart”, by their definition of “Faith”, then you will be “saved”. Sounds good, huh? They quote, “nothing can separate us from the love of God….”, but never explain that God’s love for you doesn’t save you. He loved us while we were yet sinners, so it obviously didn’t save us until we decided to accept the gift He offered in providing a way of salvation by faithfulness, and a perfect atoning Lamb to cover the debt of sin. So what does the nature and love of God have to do with your nature and love for Him? Zero! His love for mankind has never been the issue. It is mankind’s lack of loving fidelity toward God that is the salvation issue. These liars also throw around this verse….
Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
Oh buddy!!! Here is the token proof-text of all proof-texts in the western false church. This is the mac-daddy from which they sell the false salvation idea from! But since we are about to see what “FAITH” (אֱמוּנָה emunah) is in the text (faithfulness), let’s unpack this blasphemed verse and see what is really being said by Paul.
“For by GRACE….”. Well, what does the scripture define GRACE as? Good question. We know those today declare that it is some form of unmerited favor upon us from God, where he pardons us because he knows we are human and subject to sinful nature, right? WRONG!!! Yes, that is the heresy being promoted, but there is no scripture to support it. Well, unless you are again willing to blaspheme and twist some verses out of context. Trust me, you’d have plenty of company if you did!!! But…GRACE? Peter says this…..
1 Peter 2:19 “For THIS IS GRACE, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly.”
So what, at the core, is Peter stating? That GRACE is the power of God provided in believers to endure suffering, just like Jesus did. So GRACE is the role of the Holy Spirit given to God’s New Covenant believers who live obedient to Christ. Hmmmm. But I thought works were not necessary??? LOL. Yeah right. I told you these “preachers” are liars who teach those things. Let me ask this: Is enduring suffering, works? Hello?!? Absolutely. What is one of the prerequisites of obtaining an immortal body like Jesus? Romans 8…..
Romans 8:16-17 “The Spirit (of Grace) himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if we are indeed children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ (to His Kingdom), PROVIDED THAT WE SUFFER WITH HIM IN ORDER THAT WE MAY ALSO BE GLORIFIED WITH HIM.”
Hmmm, so you mean that if we refuse to take up our own crosses daily, and FOLLOW His exemplified life of utter allegiance to God’s word, and suffer in so doing, that we cannot be saved? Well, isn’t that what Jesus and the Apostles said?Hello??? Maybe many listen to their false pastor god, rather than the One True God?
Luke 14:27 “Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after (follow) me CANNOT be my disciple.”
You see, these Calvinists and unconditional eternal security folks, and a “works-less” gospel, etc. deny Jesus Christ before men. They pervert His word and are His enemies. They do things in His name, but are really taking His name in vain. What did Jesus tell the Jews who believed Him in John 8?
John 8:31 “Then Jesus said to those Judeans who had believed him, “If you continue to follow my teaching, you are really my disciples.”
What about those who are not faithful and obedient? These preachers are telling you that you are saved, right? Yeah, but what did Jesus just say? Anyone who isn’t doing His word is not recognized by God.
So guess what? There is ZERO support for any of that “faith alone” BS, apart from the stated proof-texting I mentioned. And I’m gonna show it.
What about this verse where Paul quotes Joel 2:32…….?
Romans 10:13
For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
The heretics quote this out of context too. You see, a text without its context is just a con. What was the context of this passage in the days of writing by Paul? Today’s false prophets quote this to imply that if someone calls out to Jesus they will be saved. But in its early church context, to call on the name of the Lord looked like this….. Let’s picture ourselves as captured Christians under the reign of Nero Caesar, or Domitian, and we are standing in an arena where the Romans are gathered to witness hungry lions about to be released on us. We are told that if we will renounce Jesus Christ as the Son of God and Lord and Savior, then we can walk out of the arena. But…..if we “CALL UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD”, the lions will be released to devour our children before us, and then us. Now do you see how much different the concept of calling upon the name of the Lord is when the true context to which Paul quotes is given?? Yeah! That is called FAITHFULNESS, and GRACE is given to endure suffering unjustly. Let’s put the passage back into its scriptural discourse from Paul and see what we find. Yes??
Romans 10:8-16
“But what does it say? “The word is near you, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” BUT THEY HAVE NOT ALL OBEYED THE GOSPEL.” For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?”
Is the Word in your mouth and heart? Do you know it for yourself? Care to? Do you speak it openly in the face of all, even to your discomfort and ridicule? THAT is to confess with your mouth. Are you firm in being faithful to Christ even if it means death in so doing? THAT is to believe in your heart. But the liars tell you it means to “acknowledge Jesus is God’s Son and He died and rose again, and was born of a virgin”….blah blah blah. Sure a believer believes that. But so do the demons, and they tremble at His name!
James 2:19-23
You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God.
Faith means faithfulness in doing what God said. It DOES NOT mean to believe He is God and live a self-absorbed life.
In Habbakuk 2:4, which Paul quoted in Romans 1:17, a verse the false teachers LOVE to quote, it says this:
Habakkuk 2:4 “Look at the proud! They trust in themselves, and their lives are crooked. But the RIGHTEOUS will live by their FAITHFULNESS to God.”
That word “faithfullness” is the Hebrew word, emunah (אֱמוּנָה). What does it mean? FAITHFULNESS. Another english word would be the term “fidelity.” If you are FAITHFUL in your marriage, what does that mean? It means you live within the rules of that covenant. You keep your vows made to God and spouse. What do we call it when one is unfaithful in their marriage? INFIDELITY. So being unfaithful is the opposite of FIDELITY. So…..throughout the gospel of Jesus and His Apostles, FAITH is demanded. Faith means FAITHFULNESS. Emunah!!! Fidelity. Unwavering loyalty. Are you seeing how many false prophets call themselves Pastors, preachers, teachers, etc., yet are the enemy of the Son of God? Yeah, I hope so for your sake. You know why they have those positions? Because YOU DO NOT READ AND KNOW YOUR BIBLE. You are the perfect person to deceive. Remember that metaphorical serpent in the garden called Eden? His name is Helel, often called the Satan (the adversary/accuser), or Lucifer. How did he deceive Eve? By twisting what God said and making her question what God said. You know why he went to Eve? Because she had second hand information. God spoke directly to Adam. The person who hadn’t learned directly from God was the easy target. So is today’s church people who allow a preacher to be their only source for hearing God’s word.
Habbakuk said “the righteous” will live in faithfulness to God.” Paul also is clear in what substantiates righteousness in
Romans 6:16….. “…Sin leading to eternal death, or…….Obedience leading to RIGHTEOUSNESS!!”
So the just, aka “righteous” are faithful and obedient!! Hmmm but “they said Jesus’ righteousness was imputed on us and now God sees His blood and sees Jesus and not our sin.” (Someone shoot me and put me out of my misery please!)
FYI: If your pastor teaches the crap I have mentioned above, he is a liar. Period. Show me where in the scripture that Jesus’ righteousness is imputed upon us. Show me where we are righteous because of what He did on His Cross? It IS NOT in the Bible ANYWHERE. But this passage that wholly refutes that idea is:
Romans 6:16-18 Do you not know that if you present yourselves as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or OBEDIENCE RESULTING IN RIGHTEOUSNESS? But thanks be to God that though you WERE ONCE slaves to sin, you OBEYED from the heart THAT pattern of TEACHING you were entrusted to (the Apostles teaching), and having been freed from sin, you became enslaved to righteousness.”
How do we become enslaved to righteousness? Paul said we are righteous by our own obedience. Well yeah, you enslave yourself to obeying the way of righteousness in keeping the LAW OF CHRIST, which is often referred to as the “RED LETTER” in your Bible.
“But they say we are not under Law, but under Grace???” Well THEY are quoting the two prior verses to the ones we just looked at…
Romans 6:14-15 “For sin will have no mastery over you, because you are not under law but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Absolutely not!
What is the context there? Who is Paul addressing, and what issue was he bringing clarity to? THAT is where the errors lie, by not answering such questions to see the real thing being spoken. Paul is addressing the Judaizers (those who were trying to push Mosaic Law on Gentile Christians. ) Paul was declaring to these Roman believers that they were not called to adhere to Mosaic Laws, nor the customs of Judaism, such as kosher food laws, or any other. In context, the Mosaic Law being referred to there were ceremonial laws and levitical laws. There is a facet of the Mosaic Law that is always followed, and that is the moral law aspect of the Mosaic Law. To simplify that, just know that if God called something sin then, then it is still a sin. Adultery, murder, sexual immorality, theft, coveting, etc.. That is the moral law aspect. It still matters because it defines God’s heart on what He deems lawless.
So Paul is telling these Romans that Christ has not burdened believers with the Ceremonies and Priesthood laws given under Moses, and not to be deceived by these Jews who were trying to enforce such things in them, such as circumcision. So, as pertaining to the church, does that in any way constitute the utter blasphemy that modern so-called pastors are twisting this passage to mean? NO! And if they don’t repent, they will suffer the lowest hell for perverting the right ways of the Lord. The sad fact is, most think they’re pleasing God, but have been deceived by doctrines of demons themselves. It is sad.
We are not under Mosaic Law, but “under Grace.” Let me ask this: What entity was given to believers to empower them to walk as Jesus walked? The Holy Spirit. What is He called?
Hebrews 10:29 “How much greater punishment do you think that person deserves who has contempt for the Son of God, and profanes the blood of the covenant that made him holy, and insults the SPIRIT OF GRACE?”
The Spirit of what??? GRACE. What was grace? The power to live righteously, to walk as Jesus walked, and to suffer injustice and endure.
So we are indeed not subordinate to Moses’ Law, but rather empowered under the presence of the Holy Spirit of Grace within us to walk in obedience, leading to righteousness, in pursuit of eternal life, by enduring until the end. Those are the people who will be saved.
Matthew 24:13 “But the person who endures to the end will be saved.”
“Chris, I thought some “Sinner’s prayer” and “raising our hand to receive Jesus in your heart” was salvation?” You better find another church!
Anyone who teaches that the New Covenant has no law is a liar as well. Why would Jesus say this otherwise?
Matthew 7:22-23 “On that day (His return) many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy (preach) in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works IN YOUR NAME?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of LAWLESSNESS.’
You can’t have lawlessness without law, folks. And be mindful, that is Jesus talking. That is New Covenant stuff.
Romans 8:1-14 “There is therefore now no condemnation for those WHO ARE IN CHRIST JESUS. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death (flesh passions). For God has done what the law (of Moses), weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he CONDEMNED SIN IN THE FLESH, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who WALK NOT according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it DOES NOT SUBMIT TO GOD’S LAW; indeed, it cannot. Those who are walking in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, IF IN FACT THE SPIRIT of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ DOES NOT BELONG TO HIM. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life BECAUSE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh YOU WILL DIE, but if by the Spirit YOU PUT TO DEATH THE DEEDS OF THE BODY, you will live. For all WHO ARE LED by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
A couple of points to be made here…..
1. “Those who are in Christ Jesus” – how did Jesus say we are in Him? Remember John 8? “If you continue to follow and obey My word, then are you my disciples.”
2. The law of the Spirit – The Spirit is called Grace. The scripture says the Word and the Spirit are one and the same. So no one can possess the Holy Spirit without the Word of God in them. How many profess Christ, yet are willfully ignorant of His word, nor even desire it? Exactly.
3. Jesus condemned sin in the flesh- how? He resisted it and overcame its power by submission to the Spirit of Grace. He obeyed the Word of God without compromise. Without the Holy Spirit, which none in the Old Testament had living in them, it was impossible to keep the Law of Moses. But by the Spirit, Jesus did, therefore fulfilling the requirement of the Law of Moses.
4. “For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it DOES NOT SUBMIT TO GOD’S LAW; indeed, it cannot. Those who are walking in the flesh cannot please God.” – clearly Paul is distinguishing between the flesh mongers and those who submit to the Word and Spirit, being that he is stating those who now walk in the flesh are hostile to His law, and cannot please God. But those who walk in obedience to the Word/Spirit, do not fulfill their desires for the fleshly appetites. Works! What did Jesus say repeatedly? “I will judge each man according to his WORKS.” That is the judgment, whether we kept Christ’s law, from a heart of thankfulness, or whether we rejected Him to love this life and the flesh appetites.
5. IF IN FACT THE SPIRIT of God dwells in you – who has the Holy Spirit? Acts 5:32…
“And we are witnesses of these events, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those WHO OBEY HIM.”
Romans 8 continues, saying… “Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ DOES NOT BELONG TO HIM.”
So anyone who does not live obedient to the Word of God DOES NOT have the Spirit of God. Can the Bible be any more clear???? Geez……
6. “the Spirit is life BECAUSE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS” – how are we said to be righteous??? Paul said in Romans 6:16, “obedience = righteousness”. He has clarified here that no person has the Spirit without living in subjected obedience to the Law of Christ.
7. “For if you live according to the flesh YOU WILL DIE, but if by the Spirit YOU PUT TO DEATH THE DEEDS OF THE BODY, you will live. For all WHO ARE LED by the Spirit of God are sons of God.” – so there is no such thing as a carnal Christian!! Anyone who lives in satisfying the flesh is going to die eternally. Anyone who, by the power afforded through Christ sending His Spirit, puts their flesh to death, and subjects their life to unwavering faithfulness to Jesus will inherit eternal life. No one else!!!! Anyone who excuses their flesh denies Jesus, and the power thereof, and exhibits a mere form of godliness that blasphemes what the finished work of His cross really did, and that was to provide His followers with the same Spirit in which He walked obediently unto His own death, paid the debt for sin, and offered resurrected eternal life. “But Chris, we can’t walk like Jesus. We are just human!” So was He, with the exception of the Spirit of Christ in His human body, which He died to give us.
Romans 8:11 “Moreover if the same Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will also make your mortal bodies alive through his Spirit who lives in you.”
1 John 2:4-6 – “The one who says “I have come to know God” and yet does not keep his commandments is a LIAR, and the truth is not in such a person. But whoever OBEYS HIS WORD, truly in this person the love of God has been perfected. BY THIS WE KNOW THAT WE ARE IN HIM. The one who says he resides in God OUGHT HIMSELF TO WALK JUST AS JESUS WALKED.”
John the Apostle said that! Any arguments????? I spent hours writing this for your sakes.
Matthew 24:11-13 “And many false prophets will appear and deceive many, and because lawlessness will increase so much, the love of many will grow cold. But the person who endures to the end will be saved.”
Lawlessness is synonymous with the “spirit of Antichrist.” Same thing. It rejects Jesus for the love of this world: The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.”
I pray you hear me!