In this enlightening episode, we dive deep into the concept of faith as more than just a condition for salvation. Our host challenges the traditional view, urging listeners to see faith not as a personal contribution or work, but rather as a divine gift from God. Drawing from biblical passages and personal insights, the discussion emphasizes that faith is included in the salvation God provides, and it is not determined by human effort. Instead of succumbing to doubt or feelings of inadequacy, listeners are encouraged to embrace faith in the light of gratitude and trust in divine grace.
So, over the last couple of days, I’ve been emphasizing that the gospel is for everyone. Everyone. Remember Romans 11, verse 32, God has imprisoned all under sin that he might have mercy on all. everyone. But the tendency is that we exclude ourselves. We think it is God excluding us, when in fact we are so riven with guilt and shame and fear that we exclude ourselves. And the point, one of the major points of the gospel, is that you may stop that self-exclusion. You may stop those voices in your head that say, well, I’m no good, I’m not good enough for this, God can’t save me, I’m too bad, oh, I’ve gone too far. But some will say to me, yes, but Colin, it says, to everyone who believes. Well, we’ve got to believe, and if we don’t believe, we’re not going to be part of the everyone.
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Well, let’s talk about that, shall we?
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It is possible to turn even faith into a work. If you make faith a… Well, let’s read the verse. Hold on, I should read the verse. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes. So, to resume, if we make faith a condition, then we have actually turned faith into a work. You may say, well, okay, I understand that, Colin, but still, how then do we understand faith? Well, Paul is not describing faith as a condition, as a, what shall I say, a bargaining chip that God will save you as long as you have faith. That’s not what Paul is doing. Now, I grant you, as you listen to Paul, as you read the book of Romans, the Romans letter, you will see him emphasizing faith so often that that you will think that it is a condition, that is, God saves us as long as we believe.
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But suppose it’s not a condition, but part of the
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salvation that God gives itself. Try to reposition your mind when listening to this verse, for it is the power of God to the salvation of everyone who believes. Supposing then faith is not a condition for salvation which man provides, but a gift along with the salvation that God provides, and so that Paul is not describing faith as as a limiting factor, but as an including factor. Now you say, yes, but how do we know? Well, we know, and I don’t have time to go into it here, as to what the Bible says on the New Testament particularly, well, the Old Testament as well, about faith. Faith is a gift from the Lord. It is not a contribution of human effort. That is not to say that God doesn’t call us to believe, but that when we believe, we are receiving the gift of God, which is included in the gift of his Son.
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That gift comes from the Holy Spirit, and we exercise it.
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Now, if you’re not certain of this, I know this is not much of a quick answer, but do plan to get my book when it’s published, which will be in about a month or two, because that has two chapters in it in regard to the origin of faith. But I want to say to you now, then, how we believe, how we exercise or receive this faith. You see, you can say to the Lord, Lord, I believe salvation is everything, is for everyone, but I’m sorry, Lord, I don’t have enough faith to believe it. Now, what you do when you pray like that is simply to rehearse your doubts. That’s not praying as you need to pray. You need to pray something like this, Father in heaven, Thank you that you include me. And though I have a hard time believing it, I thank you that you give me faith to know that I’m included.
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You see, your heart will say to you, your faith isn’t strong enough.
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You don’t have a sincere enough faith. You’re not earnest enough in faith. If you had faith, you would read your Bible more. You would give thanks to God more. You would be having more victories. And on and on, you create a situation where you nullify faith by your actions. But the effect of that, or rather the ingredient of that, is the belief that faith is a work, that you contribute to God. But it is not a work. No man comes to the Father except the Father draws him. No man comes to Jesus except the Father draws him. So when you start believing in Jesus, it’s because the Father is creating faith in you. And therefore, you go before God in your prayer life and you say, Father, I thank you. that though I have many doubts in my life, I praise you this moment for the gift to believe in Jesus, to believe that he is my Savior, to believe that he was sent from you and is your son for the sacrifice, the substitutionary sacrifice for all the sins of the world, and I believe that, Father. No man can reveal that to me, but you. You remember what Jesus said to Peter? Peter, who do you say that I am? You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Blessed are you, Peter, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. And so when you believe that Jesus is the Son of God, you are not contributing your human will to your salvation, for your human will is broken down. Only when Jesus is believed and received is your will released for further action. But faith must first come from God to release that will. And so how do we then respond? We respond like that man who said, Jesus, I believe. Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief.
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You see, there is a real certainty that belief has to be helped.
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It has to be helped by God. Now, why is this so? Because the first thing to go when you sin is trust.
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When you sin, you feel guilty. When you feel guilty, you feel the condemnation of God. When you feel the condemnation of God, you cannot trust him anymore to be your friend or to be your savior. So we have to recognize that there’s something far worse than sin and it’s loss of trust.
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And so we come to God the Father and we say, Father, I thank you so much for Jesus. Now look, in the very act of thanking God is the exercise of faith. You don’t say, oh Father, please help me to believe in Jesus my Savior. That is anxiety praying. It is praying that isn’t trust at all. Once you express thanks, you are beginning to trust. That is, once you express thanks, the Holy Spirit is operating in you the energy of faith. And so you say, Father, thank you that you are here with me today. Thank you for this trouble I’m going through, because you are with me and supporting me and walking me through it. Father, thank you that Jesus is my Savior. In those thanks, and remember Paul says, give thanks every day for everything that For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus. 1 Timothy 5.18 and Ephesians 5.20 And so we give thanks, and in the process of giving thanks, we are exercising faith. At the same time, we say, Father, I thank you for the faith you give me to believe that Jesus is my Savior. I know that the faith you give me is being blocked so often by my doubts, but I praise you, dear God, that the faith that you give me is greater than my doubts. Now remember Abraham. We’ve talked about him before. God told him he would have a child. God told him that at the age of 75. That child did not come to him until he was 100 years old. Now look, during those 25 years, Abraham had many ups and downs, many, many doubts. Oh, Lord, how shall I know that you will give me a child? Oh, Lord, if only Ishmael would be your son before you, the heir before you. He goes off to Egypt, not believing in the promised land anymore because there’s a famine there and lots of war, warring tribes. He lies to the king of Egypt, to Pharaoh. about who his wife is. That’s my sister, he says. Simply to avoid being killed by the courtiers of Pharaoh’s court. Why would they want to kill him? So that they could take his wife and give him to Pharaoh, because Pharaoh noticed that she was a very beautiful woman. You see, all these are doubts. What does God do? Does he rebuke Abraham? No. He gently takes him outside and tells him to look at the stars. Your descendants will be as many as the stars. He tells him to pick up the sand in his hand and run it through his fingers. Your descendants will be more than the sand of the sea. He assures him. all the time, every time. Now, what is that assurance? That is the message of grace given by God that creates faith, that gives birth to faith. And so you don’t go before God and say, Oh God, please give me faith. Oh God, please help me to believe. Rather, Father, I thank you that you are giving birth to my faith. I praise you that I trust you right this moment. Even though I may not trust you an hour from now, I trust you now. And I thank you. Now listen, this faith… is not about you overcoming every single sin that you have or every tendency towards sin. It’s not about you having the right state of mind all the time. This is faith in the fact that Jesus is your sacrifice, is the judgment for your sins. He has sacrificed himself so that you may never be charged with guilt anymore. That is an astonishing reality. And as you believe it, you say, Lord God, I want to feel guilty before you because I sinned today. But I thank you that you do not charge me with guilt. I thank you that Jesus took the judgment for me. Lord God, when I thank you this way, I’m exercising the faith that you have given me. How wonderful of you, dear God, to give me that faith. And suppose you’re depressed and anxious. Father, I feel so depressed and anxious today, but I praise you that it has no power over me because Jesus has taken my humanity and no longer charges it as mine. He took it to the cross. And so I’m not charged in my natural humanity, broken as it is. I’m charged with the humanity of Jesus. I am justified. All of this affirmation and this thanks about who Jesus is, is your exercise of God’s gift of faith to you. Thank you, everyone, for listening today. Download a free app, soundcloud.com or podbean.com, and key in how it happens with Colin Cook when you get there. And you have the privilege of making a donation. You can make it online to this listener-supported radio. Go to faithquestradio.com. Thanks. I’ll see you next time. Cheerio and God bless.
