True Saving Faith
Minister: |
Rev. Ronald Van Overloop |
Date: |
4/26/2015 AM
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Text:
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Acts 5;
Lord's Day 7
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Psalters: |
50, 339, 60, 392 |
- Faith’s Power
- The Bible teaches that the Mediator died only for the elect who are gathered from all over the world.
- The Bible rejects universalism: that God loves every man and that Jesus died for everyone.
- The Bible teaches limited or definite atonement: Jesus died only for His people (Matt. 1:21 John 6:37-40; 10:14,15,26).
- Because salvation is by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8,9), salvation is impossible without faith.
- Faith is the means God has chosen for salvation.
- Faith is a gift of God through the Spirit (Eph. 2:8; Acts 5:31; 18:27b; Phil. 1:29).
- Thus Scripture speaks of faith as a graft: connected and a living connection.
- Only the grafted ones are saved, not all who fell in Adam!
- True saving faith is an ability (active) - faith without works is dead (James 2:17,20,26).
- First, faith is the knowledge of what God has revealed in His Word, centrally that Jesus is God.
- Faith is not sight, i.e., “seeing is believing” (II Cor. 5:7; Romans 8:24,25; Heb. 11:1), nor “a leap” into the unknown.
- Central to the Scriptures is the revelation that Jesus is God and that He is the only Savior.
- Second, faith expresses itself by resting on or trusting in Christ and His wisdom and care.
- Faith knows that God is trustworthy, so we have confidence that He will always be there for us.
- Learn and keep learning about our God and of the Christ from His Word. Then we are persuaded!
- Bound together with Christ, Christians are assured of their salvation.
- What believers know makes them confident and sure.
- The activity of faith is like anything living, namely, it should be developing, but sometimes is wanes.
- Our assurance usually corresponds to the activity of faith.