Monday, June 3, 2013

You Believe that He Is – Do You Believe that He Saves?

"But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." (Hebrews 11: 6)

Faith is more than knowing that God exists – you have to believe that He rewards those who desire Him.

The more that you know Him, the more of His grace you receive (2 Peter 3: 18), and by His grace you receive more blessings in your life.

For us believers, He has given us His Son, who is our life (Colossians 3: 4), and with Him we receive all things (Romans 8: 31-32)

Many people believe in Jesus. They believe that He was a good man who did good things. Yet they do not believe that He is Savior - -not just one who saved us from death, hell, and the grave, but God in the flesh who comes to save us every day.

There are Christians who believe in Jesus, that He died for their sins and has provided them a place in heaven, yet they live their daily lives convinced that they are on their own, that as far as eternity is concerned, they have nothing but grace, but on this earth it’s keep the rules or getting the bat. Nothing could be further from the truth – for the law is of the Old Covenant, and that covenant was faulty and has vanished away.

In the Old Testament, there were two prophets – Elijah and Elisha. Elijah is a picture of the Old Covenant – God Is – and Elijah did great things, but when he fled from Jezebel following her empty threats, he came to the end of himself, for the law will always bring man to the end of Himself.

Elisha  -- whose name means “God saves”  -- is a picture of Jesus Christ and the New Covenant. From the first time we read of Elisha, he requests a double portion, not afraid to ask for more. Like Jesus, Elisha went about healing and doing good (Acts 10: 38). While Elijah called down fire on his enemies, Elisha led the blinded Syrian hordes to the Israelites, only to have their needs met and then set free. The goodness of God led them to repentance, enough that the Syrians never bothered the Israelites again.

We need to see Him and see Him as one who serves and gives and ministers to us! That is Jesus, full of grace and truth! To see Him as a static God who does not care about us – well, that’s just not the truth!

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