Evidence of A Saving Faith

Commentary

I’m going to start with the bad news first, which is the sad reality that there are many professing Christians today who are not really followers of Jesus. They are people who don’t really have a saving faith, but have deceived themselves into thinking that they do. I hate having to point that out, but I was once one of them, and as a result, God has given me a heart for such people. Jesus Himself said that there will be those who say to Him, “Lord, I did such and such in Your name”. Yet, Jesus doesn’t know them because they don’t really know Him on a personal level.

The great Charles Spurgeon said, “When I look along my galleries I mourn over those who have been hearing the word ten years, and are the same as if they never heard it.” It’s horrifying to think that there are such deceived people in this world — those who will receive the shock of eternity when they stand before their Creator thinking they were Heaven-bound, only to be cast into Hell.

The Bible makes it clear that the believer who has a saving faith is a person who shows evidence of such by how they live. It’s not perfection, but evidence of spiritual change that is clear to those who know you well.

In this study, we will see what the Bible says regarding this topic, and my hope is that if you know someone who might have a false conversion or you yourself discover that you have falsely converted, then today might be the day of salvation.

Commentary

This verse was written in context for Israel and the coming day when God will bring the remnant of Jews to believe in Jesus. However, the overall statement still holds true for all real believers. Upon coming to faith in Jesus, that heart of stone, which wanted nothing to do with the True Living God, is replaced with a heart that wants to never be away from Him. The real believer in Jesus has a heart set upon living holy. Though we are still sinful, it is now our heart’s desire to run from sin as much as possible.

Jesus explains in His parable above that a real disciple of His is like a healthy tree, one who will produce good fruit, and therefore we can have a very good idea of who likely belongs to Jesus and who may not. Though I must point out that we cannot definitively know another person’s salvation status, God knows, and each of them should also know. It’s in my own experience that I came to understand how Biblically illiterate and wishy-washy a false convert can be in their faith. Often times these are “Christians” who don’t know if they are going to Heaven and also often believe that they are good people and therefore probably are going. But the Bible makes it clear that faith can only come once a person understands that they are a sinner in need of a Savior. It’s that genuine understanding that you are a sinner, which leads you to seek the One who can save you.

Commentary

The passage above tells us that unsaved people’s lives are ruled by sin, and that once saved by God’s grace, we are made clean. The very fact is, you will still sin as a true believer, but your life should not be ruled by sin. The difference between a false believer and a true believer is that the false believer doesn’t really ever feel genuine remorse for the sins they commit, often even making excuses for them. Saying such things like, “I’m under God’s grace so I have freedom to do as I want”, “those things don’t really apply to today” or “my lifestyle draws me closer to God”. The true believer, though he or she may enjoy the sin at the time, will ultimately be dissatisfied and feel tremendous guilt shortly after, if not immediately after. There is a genuine and clear desire to live for the Lord first.

It’s the true disciple of Christ who desires to walk in the Holy Spirit and draw closer and closer to God. The false convert loves the hope and joy of being involved in Christian things like singing worship songs and hearing the positive messages, but often keeps away from the Bible’s warning about sin and does not care to or desire to make time to study Scripture and pray from the heart to God on a regular basis, if ever. The passage above states the fruit that should be evident in a believer’s life, more often than not: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. It’s clear that the Bible teaches us that there can be no Christian thief, Christian prostitute, or any real Christian who is living a life centered around their sin.

Commentary

A Christian apologist by the name of Dr. Frank Turek likes to say, “It’s not belief that, but belief in”. Many people believe that Jesus is Lord and that’s pretty much it, they may go to church on Sunday, but then the other six days they act as if they’ve never heard a sermon in their life. In the passage above, James addresses this by stating that even the demons believe that Jesus is Lord, because it’s a fact. A reminder, demons aren’t saved, they are destined for the Lake of Fire. Fact is not faith and the Bible states that faith is required. Faith in Biblical terms is trust. A saving faith is to trust in Jesus alone as the only way for salvation. As evangelist Ray Comfort likes to say, “you must trust in Jesus like you would trust a parachute while jumping from a plane, you wouldn’t flap your arms to save yourself”.

Understand that salvation comes by God’s grace, through your faith in Jesus. The Holy Spirit, through James, is telling us that there is no genuine faith if there are no outward signs of it. If you trust in Jesus, then He will begin a good work in you, and as a result, you will perform good works for Him. As He says, some 30-fold, some 60-fold, some 100-fold. It’s not a competition with others but an indication that the Holy Spirit is indeed living inside you and orchestrating change.

Also understand that these works are not done automatically. While God gives you the desire to do such things, you must take up your cross daily and follow after Jesus. Denying your fleshly desires takes obedience to the Lord, and in doing so, you will naturally be inclined to do good things for His glory.

Commentary

A true disciple of Jesus is one who strives to honor Him by how they live. I’m not saying perfection or religious legalism, I’m saying that a changed heart shows a love for God that can’t be denied. How you are when you are alone is probably one of the best indicators of your salvation. If you are constantly in sin and have no desire for time with the Lord, then you should be nervous and seek God’s counsel, if you indeed have that concern.

Though many true believers will use foul language at times and do things that don’t look Christian, it’s best to ask the Lord for the self-control to avoid overdoing those things. Because if you have a saving faith in Jesus, then you are a representative of Him, an ambassador. What kind of witness will you have if all you do is cuss and cut people down or constantly participate in sinful things? Your relationship with God will suffer the more you sin, because He has no part in such darkness.

Obedience to the Lord, out of your genuine love for Him, helps you achieve what Paul was praying for the church in Colossae to achieve — to please the Lord and grow in the knowledge of Him. Maturity in faith is vital in order to truly know the Lord and to live as He wants you to live. Being a Christian for 30 years doesn’t automatically make you more mature in your faith if in those 30 years you did little to grow in your knowledge of God.

Know that if you’re concerned about your salvation and are trusting in the Lord Jesus — desiring to know Him, you’re in a good place. The false believer has little to no concern about such things. Their relationship is one-sided, with all the focus on themselves and excusing away their sin because they’ve invented and are following a “Jesus” of their own making who supports their lifestyle.