How Does Authentic Faith Differ From Superficial Faith?
In contrast to this modern age's "easy believism" gospel, however I have decided to really show the difference between superficial belief vs. to that of authentic faith. In contrast to what some may think that Paul and James are contradictory to each other, they are not. Now here's a little bit of quotation from the book "The Jesus You Can't Ignore" by Pastor John Macarthur taken from page 54:
Here is a practical lesson from this account: a positive response to Jesus should never be taken as proof of authentic trust in Him. There is a shallow, fickle brand of "belief" that is not saving faith at all. From the first public miracle He performed until this very day there have been always people who "accept Christ" without truly loving Him, without submitting to His authority and without abandoning their self confidence and trust in their own good works. That is precisely what John describes at the end of John 2, and that becomes his transition into the Nicodemus narrative. Nicodemus was (at this point) one of those almost-believers to whom Jesus did not automatically commit Himself."
I just gave that statement a thought. Well here's the reality- we do have superficial believers. They just believe and acknowledge the basic facts yet they are not Christians. Anybody can say, "Well I'm a Christian." yet otherwise, the lifestyle does speak the opposite. Here's what James 2:14-17 says, "What doth it profit, my brethren though a man say he hath faith and have not works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body what doth it profit? Even so faith if it hath not works is dead being alone." Now please DO NOT even say that this is proof of faith plus works salvation. No it is not. As said, no man is saved by their works yet no man is ever a saved man and not produce good works is what James has spoken.
In James 2:19 it also says, "Thou believest that there is one God thou doest well: the devils also believe and tremble. But wilt though know o vain man that faith without works is dead?" That is there is a kind of believing that does not save. It's not the pisteoun type of belief or complete reliance and surrender to Jesus. This is merely acknowledging a few facts yet it has the kind of faith that does not create the right type of works. That is in short, either you are saved or not saved- not doing good works to stay saved yet real good works are an evidence of a true conversion. I seriously dare say, "How can you ever tell me you are saved by faith when your life is so dirty? How can you enjoy sinning and say you are saved? Saved people stay saved, yes, but nobody who has eternal security will live like devils! If you're in Christ and His forever, your life ought to be different than the rest of the world!"
Now it's time to really do some analysis of authentic faith in these illustrations from the Gospel according to Jesus that true faith results to real works:
- Matthew 7:17-20 says, "Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every good tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them."
- John 15:1-8 says, "I Am the True Vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in Me that beareth not fruit He taketh away and every branch that beareth fruit He purgeth it that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the Word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in Me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the Vine, no more can ye except ye abide in Me. I Am the Vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth in Me and I in him the same bringeth forth much fruit for without Me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in Me, he is cast forth as a branch and is withered and men gather them and cast them into the fire and they are burned. If ye abide in Me and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified that ye bear much fruit so shall ye be My disciples."
In these passage, looking at its meaning Jesus was showing evidence of what a true conversion is. In truth, everybody starts of as a bad tree that brings forth evil fruit. In Romans 3:10 it says, "As it is written, there is none righteous, no not one." and going down up to verse 18, we see how evil and wicked man is. In 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 we see just how the unrighteous cannot inherit the Kingdom of God yet in verse 11, it shows the lifestyle before and after salvation. Now could a Christian be in any sense be fruitless? No. Looking at John 15:1-8 one can see Jesus talking that He is the Vine, people are the branches. Again, every person starts of as branches that cannot bear fruit. This brings forth the need for a rebirth as Jesus said to Nicodemus in John 3:3 saying, "Verily, verily I say unto thee, Except a man be BORN AGAIN he cannot see the Kingdom of God." That is, it requires genuine spiritual rebirth. Man by default are sinners. Like it or not, sinful lifestyles are a result of being unsaved and no saved person can live a life of sin. I cannot buy the term Christian homosexual, Christian drunkard, Christian porn star, Christian thief... these are very oxymoron because 1 Corinthians 6:11 says, "And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the Name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God." That is, from sinful lifestyles and they are saved to sin no more. Being saved means possessing a new spirit, new desires, sinning less, living a life that's for God because grace does not give license to sin, it destroys sin as read in Ephesians 2:8-10 and Titus 2:11-15. God's grace changes lives... not give a license to sin. Having eternal security equals changed life- not staying saved regardless how one lives but rather how one lives shows one is saved.
In fact, I'd like to quote the the late Reformer, Martin Luther:
"Faith however is something that God effects in us. It changes us and we are reborn from God, John 1. Faith puts the old Adam to death and makes us quite different men in heart, in mind, and in all our powers; and it is accompanied by the Holy Spirit. O, when it comes to faith what a living, creative, active, powerful thing it is. it cannot do other than good at all times. It never waits to ask whether there is some good work to do, rather, before the question is raised, it has done the deed and keeps on doing it. A man not active in this way is a man without faith. He is groping about for faith and searching for good works but knows neither what faith is nor what good works are. Nevertheless he keeps on talking nonsense about faith and good works."
The Westminister Confession of Faith (1647) of the Presbyterian world also has this statement:
"They who are effectually called and regenerated, having a new heart and a new spirit created in them are further sanctified, really and personally through the virtue of Christ's death and resurrection by His Word and Spirit dwelling in them; the dominion of the whole body of sin is destroyed, and the several lusts thereof are more and more weakened and mortified and they more and more quickened and strengthened, in all saving graces, to the practice of true holiness, without which no man shall see the LORD... Although the remaining corruption for a time may much prevail yet, through the continual supply of strength from the sanctifying Spirit of Christ, the regenerate part doth overcome and so the saints grow in grace perfecting holiness in the fear of God."
Also from the great Presbyterian commentator, the late Matthew Henry taken from Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible pages 981-983:
"We are too apt to rest in a bare profession of faith, and to think that this will save is; it is a cheap and easy religion to say, "We believe the articles of the Christian faith." but it is a great delusion to imagine that this is enough to bring us to Heaven. Those who argue thus wrong God and put a cheat upon their own souls; a mock-faith is as hateful as mock-charity, and both show a heart dead to all real godliness. You may as soon take pleasure in a dead body, void of soul or sense or action, as God take pleasure in dead faith where there are no works... Those works which evidence true faith must be works of self-denial, and such as God Himself commands... The most plausible profession of faith without works is dead... We must not think that either without the other will justify and save us. This is the grace of God wherein we stand and we should stand in it."
Here's also the fact- there are many also who claim to be Christians but they are not. So far it's NOT enough to affirm any of these Biblical truths and foundations of Christianity and be a Christian such as the Trinity, the Deity of Christ, the sacrificial bloody death of Christ, the moral principles of the Bible or in another group some claim to be Christians but attack the basic truths like salvation by grace through faith alone with the doctrine of works salvation. In fact some people claim to be Christians as well but also teach the heretical doctrine of conditional security to which it directly or indirectly separates the Christian from the Spirit-produced good works, instead teaches that the Christian must do their part or perform good works to stay saved and if they sin, they lose their salvation rather than teach that a Christian's good works are but the inevitable result of God's grace. In short, conditional security appeals to pride in saying, "Well I'll keep doing good works to be saved." in contrast to the Christian who says, "Well I'm doing good works only because God and not me is at work." What a difference.
Seriously, what is so paradoxical is this- Christians teach that they are nothing but helpless sinners in need of salvation and teach salvation is by faith alone in Jesus Christ live a life of good works YET many who teach works salvation (which is really impossible because all men have sinned- Romans 3:23) and conditional security end up becoming what Jesus would call in Matthew 23 saying, "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of Hell than yourselves." How true indeed. It's in fact PLENTY in the religious crowd who rely on works and rituals (especially MUCH idolatry can be involved!) to get saved that are either homosexuals, swindlers, tall tale makers who accuse others of being liars, criminals, pedophiles, rapists, drunkards, liars, adulterers and the list can go on... such who do not inherit the Kingdom of God because THEY ARE NOT SAVED TO START WITH. No Christian also will ever deny the reality that Jesus is Lord or even consider submission to the Lordship of Christ a burden but rather, every Christian has the delight in having Jesus Christ as their Lord.