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The Daily Word of Righteousness
Faith and Fruit, continued
Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions. (Mark 10:21,22)
We can say we love Christ, that we believe in Him. But it is our actions that give final proof.
Did the rich young ruler believe in Christ? Did he love Christ? He thought he did until Jesus told him to turn over his vast possessions to the poor. No, he did not truly believe in Christ. He did not truly love Christ. Faith and love are revealed by our actions, not by our words alone.
Faith apart from works is dead. No person can be saved by a dead faith.
Today we have in Christianity what might be termed a "ticket to Heaven" doctrine. The ticket doctrine is based on Paul's teaching that we are saved by faith and not by works.
One of the sources of the confusion here is that Paul was speaking of the works of the Law of Moses, not of righteous and holy conduct. But let us leave that for now.
The ticket to Heaven doctrine teaches that if any person will make a profession of Christ (and this apart from sincere, thorough repentance!) he will go to Heaven when he dies. We go to Heaven by "faith" and not by works, it is claimed. All that is required of the believer is that he does not renounce this profession. In some extreme instances the ticket doctrine adds that once the profession is made there is nothing that the holder of the ticket can do that would deny him entrance into Paradise.
Many people are genuinely converted to Christ under the ticket doctrine, including its extreme form, and develop into truly fine saints. They receive strong assurance from the doctrine of righteousness by faith and this assurance enables them to emerge as victorious saints.
However there are multitudes of professing Christians whom we cannot regard with such confidence. They are living according to the appetites and lusts of their soul and flesh, disobeying God, and believing they hold a ticket that guarantees their entrance into the full blessings of the Kingdom of God, a ticket that cannot be made void by wicked conduct.
Let us see what Peter says to those who have made a profession of Christ but who are continuing in the ways of the world:
For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. (II Peter 2:20,21)
"The way of righteousness"! "Turn from the holy commandment"! "Escaped the pollutions of the world"! These statements sound more like a way of living than they do like holding a ticket.
To be continued.