The Substance of Faith

Faith has substance and it is not our performance! It is guaranteed and backed by one thing and one thing only: the spiritual and historical good news that the Cross and Resurrection of Jesus were, are, and always will be a monumental success! The evidence is indisputable. Jesus is alive and at the Father’s right hand interceding for our every need. Every other so-called ‘god’ is dead or inanimate!

God; in the person of His only begotten Son Jesus, stepped into our dilemma and totally rescued the ‘life of our design’ by redeeming our pre-fallen innocence. We will never again be judged righteous or unrighteous by our own ability to obey moral laws! Our performance (whether good intentioned or not) will never have any bearing on our relationship, fellowship or future with God! Only the finished work and faith of Jesus will ensure our salvation!

Faith is not a reward for personal diligence; it is everyone’s portion; no one’s faith is inferior to another’s because God sees all equally justified in Jesus Christ. Salvation belongs to everyone based on exactly the same merit. God’s righteousness is responsible for our faith (Rom.1:17). The only question that remains to be answered is, ‘are we going to believe the Gospel for ourself everyday’?

“Herein lies the secret of the power of the Gospel; there is no good news in it until the righteousness of God is revealed!” Scripture reminds us the “our righteousness is as filthy rags.” It will never cut the spiritual mustard. Our best falls woefully short of any standard of right living. Therefore, I need constant reminding that it is only and always faith in the finished work of Jesus that pleases God and produces righteousness.

Our measure of faith is purely gift, not merit. And the measure we have reflects the faith of Christ on our behalf.

“Only a con-artist will try to be a law-man and a grace-man at the same time! My co-crucifixion with Christ is valid! I am not making this up. In His death I died to the old system of trying to please God with my own good behaviour! God made me alive together with Christ. How can any human effort improve on this?

The terms, co-crucified and co-alive defines me now. Christ in me and me in Him! His sacrificial love is evidence of His persuasion of my righteousness! (The life that I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God. He believes in my innocence!)

It is an insult to the Grace of God to prefer law, tradition or rule keeping to the Grace of Jesus! (That would reduce your salvation to a ludicrous contest between your obedience and the obedience of Christ! God forbid!) Would you like to be overwhelmed by the multiplied effect of grace and peace in your life?

1:2 With a faith of equal value as our reference, we may now increasingly know ourselves the way God has always known us, (the knowledge of God) realised in Jesus our leader, and be engulfed with grace and peace fully amplified within us. (In this context no one can ever feel ignored or neglected again.)

1:3 God’s powerful intervention gifted us with all that it takes to live life to the full. He has always known us. (Jer. 1:5, 1 Cor. 13:12) He introduced us as it were to ourselves again (kaleo, to surname) through a glorious display of His efficiency (through His own glory and virtue).  

1:4 This is exactly what God always had in mind for us; every one of His abundant and priceless promises pointed to our restored participation in our Godly origin! This is His gift to us! (Had it been a reward for good behaviour, we would never have qualified.)  In this fellowship we have escaped the distorted influence of the corrupt cosmic virus of greed. (Our Godly origin; His image and likeness redeemed and revealed in us. The factory settings are restored; every compatible programme is again installed in the hard-drive of our hearts to facilitate the life of our original design.)  

(But, there is a level of understanding that can only be accessed by faith. Heb.11:3, “by faith we understand that the ages were framed by the Word of God...)

1:6 The one attribute reveals the other, strength of character emerges out of faith-knowledge, in its strength follows the ability to prevail in patient perseverance, and these are the ingredients that reveal depth of devotion;

1:7 out of such devotion and worship flow true friendship, brotherly affection inspires and is found in (agape) divine love. The agape-love of God is at the heart of every virtue that faith reveals.

1:8 While you diligently rehearse the exact qualities of every divine attribute within you; the volume will rise with ever increasing gusto, guarding you from being ineffective and barren in your knowledge of the Christ-life displayed with such authority and eloquence in Jesus.

1:9 If anyone feels that these things are absent in his life, they are not; spiritual blindness and short sightedness only veil them from you. This happens when one loses sight of one’s innocence. (The moment one forgets the tremendous consequence of the fact that we were cleansed from their past sins, one seems to become pre-occupied again with the immediate sense-ruled horizon, which is what short-sightedness is all about; this makes one blind to His blessings. Spiritual realities suddenly seem vague and distant. Practice your innocence!)

1:10 Therefore I would encourage you, my Brothers, to make every immediate effort to become cemented in the knowledge of your original identity revealed and confirmed in the Word (logic) of God. Fully engage these realities in your lifestyle; if you do this you will never falter or fail. (Adapted from Galatians 2:18-21 and 2 Peter 1:2-10, The Mirror)

Wow! Wow! Can you take in and begin to comprehend what you just read? Without the faith of Christ it is sheer silliness and unfathomable fantasy. But with faith in the measure of Christ’s gift of faith within you, it is the power of God unto salvation!

Walking by faith, not by sight! Ron