His Gift Is His Faith!

        Since the resurrection of Jesus, sin is no longer a legitimate basis for separation from God. He paid for all sin by nailing every bit of it to His cross. Our righteousness rests on our (God given) faith in His substitutionary atonement.
        But be warned, truth is not always readily received:
Prov. 18:2 "A fool hath no delight in understanding, but that his heart may discover itself (meditations - turning inward)."
Ezek. 13:3 "woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit..." (follow divination)
I Cor. 1:21 "the world by wisdom (learning and human discernment) knew not God, (therefore) it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe." For;
I Cor. 1:27 "God hath chosen the foolish things of the world (that is, preaching) to confound the wise (those that think themselves wise); and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are (esteemed) mighty." That is:
I Cor. 1:18 "the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God!"
Prov. 17:10 "A reproof enters more into a wise man than an hundred stripes into a fool."
Rom. 1:21 "When they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful, but became vain in their imaginations (manipulations of truth), and their foolish heart was darkened."
II Thes. 2:10-12 "because they received not the love of the truth (God's Word)... for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: that all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness."
II Tim. 3:1-7 "in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves...heady, high minded (thinking themselves wise)... having a form of (appearance of) godliness but denying the power (the witness of the Holy Spirit) thereof...ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." (always in study, but rejecting God's word)

        But to those which cling only to His atonement:
II Cor. 5:15 "He died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves (for themselves) but unto Him (for Him) which died for them and rose again."
Col. 2:14 "Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us (the law condemned us), which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to His cross."
Heb. 10:10 "we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all."
I Tim. 2:6 "Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time."
        But His sacrifice, through His death burial and resurrection, is applicable to me only if I receive the truth of His gift in my inmost being, and I accept that this gift is the only basis on which I have any righteousness before God.

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        God has always wanted us to believe Him, to take Him at His word. In the Garden of Eden God set forth a test of righteousness, whether they would believe Him. Righteousness was determined by where they would put their trust in God's word, or in their own reasonings and perceptions, as influenced by the deceiver.
Prov. 3:5 "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding." That was the test.
 
        Where do you place your trust? Is your trust in Him, or is your trust in your own understanding? To receive the blessing of His righteousness we must not only believe in the mind that He died for our sin, we must receive it in the heart!

        The key to the gospel is understanding that you and I didn't get saved, we didn't receive Christ, I didn't get the Holy Ghost, I didn't do any thing to get saved, He did it all! By His Holy Spirit He opened my understanding. He gave me grace to repent.
He showed His love for me, when I was in rebellion. He offered me the best free gift in the universe. He shed His blood to wash away my sins. He forgave my sins. He made me His very own child! And I did nothing to obtain this blessing! And I still can't do anything to keep it. It is in His hands.

        When we align with;
Rom. 10:9 "If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God Hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."
        Believing in the heart that Jesus died for our sins and rose from the grave, then God has granted us salvation and nothing can take it from us. He will never leave us or forsake us. We are His children bought and paid for by His precious blood.

Rom. 11:29 "For the gifts and the callings of God are without repentance (once given He will never change His mind)!

        If I think that I did anything to get saved, then I steal His glory. If I think I can stay saved by my will by my choices or my actions; by prayer, Bible study, by witnessing, or by any other thing I can do; If say I can stay saved by any of these things, then I deny the cross of Christ and I steal His glory.
If I think that by my actions I can stay saved, then I have substituted my works for His grace, I have fallen from grace!
(Works righteousness is one of the great lies of the Devil.)

Gal 3:2 "Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?"
        It is Holy Ghost which works in us faith to believe, that opens our understanding to the deity and salvation of Christ Jesus. And it is the Holy Ghost which continues to bear witness to the simple truth of the gospel. That simple truth, that the Holy Ghost revealed to us, is why the Holy Ghost is called the comforter! Indeed that is comfort!

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I Cor 1:18-29 "For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God! ... it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe ... Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men... God hath chosen the foolish things of the world(mankind) to confound the wise... and the weak to confound the mighty.... that no flesh should glory in His presence."
Rom. 5:1. "Therefore being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."

        As we move in agreement with the word of God and the true witness of the Holy Ghost, then the power of God flows through us freely, ministering to the needs of others.

II Cor. 5:17-19 "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature, old things are passed away (dead), behold all things are become new...."

I must truly realize that I can do nothing apart from Him.

        How do we overcome doubts and fears, guilt and worry? We read and study God's word until, by His grace, we believe it, and when we do, we will then realize that it is His faith that saves us every day, all day.

I John 3:20 "For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart and knoweth all things."

        Only then do we rest in Him! If we think that righteousness comes from our actions, then we know that we are lost. When we know that it is His will to save us, and that He is steadfast and faithful in keeping us through any and all circumstances, then we can truly rest in Him.
        Trusting and resting in Him we are motivated totally by love, the perfect love of Christ Jesus. We love everyone and there is no respect of persons with us! With such love, we really love the lost, and we strongly desire to share Jesus, our best friend, and that the truth is "easily entreated."
        Relying on His faith and grace, knowing that we can do nothing without Him, we can then have no ego, no pride, and we can take no credit for the salvation He gives or anything else that He does.
We naturally become "meek and lowly."

Rom. 4:10 "It is of faith (His unshakable unchanging faith), that by grace (unmerited favor), that to the end the promise might be sure!" (that His promise might be certain until the end of time)
I Cor 2:2 "For I determined not to know anything among you save Jesus Christ and Him crucified."