Evidence of Faith

Recently, I was browsing around http://www.godtube.com/ and I found a video of a pastor speaking at a youth evangelical conference in which he was supposed to have made some shocking statements. Obviously, my interest was piqued. You can view the video at http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=19fd9c84c942a08316e0. Strangely, after watching the video, while I found it to be very powerful, I really didn't find it to be all that shocking. As I walk closer with Jesus, it gets easier for me to recognize truth when I see it, and I found truth in this video. Okay, so what was so shocking you ask? Basically, the pastor stated that even though you may have repeated the words of the "Sinner's Prayer" stating that you recognize you are a sinner and you believe through faith in Jesus Christ, etc.., that you may not, in fact, be saved.

His concern is for those who say they repeated the words with their lips and claim to have meant it in their heart, but in fact, were not actually sincere. How does one know if he or she was actually sincere? He will know because there will be evidence of faith, evidence of change in his life. Though he will still be far from perfect in his actions, if he truly received the Holy Spirit and Jesus into his heart, there will be a new conviction in his soul that demands change in his life. Take for example, a group of 12-year-olds, all best buddies, all at church summer camp together, when one night at the revival meeting, there is an altar call and three of the five buddies go immediately to ask Jesus to come into their hearts. The other two stand there for a second, unsure what to do because they felt no such call to do anything, but wanting to go along with whatever their friends are doing, they also go to the front and bow their heads and repeat the Sinner's Prayer as instructed. Let's go on to suppose that from that day forward, these last two reluctant repenters do absolutely nothing differently in their lives. They never pray, nor read the Bible; they get drunk every weekend, they have adulterous relationships, etc.. until the day they die. Were these last two in fact saved? The pastor in the video used Matthew 7:17-23 as the primary basis for his teaching that perhaps the two in question were not actually saved. Of course, who are we to judge another person's salvation? Only God knows a person's heart and only God saves. However, is it right to let individuals believe that simply stating some words by rote will magically give them eternal life and salvation and that no action is required on their part after asking for and receiving Jesus into their heart?

In Matthew 7, Jesus is speaking and He says some key things such as the gate to life is narrow and only a few will find it; that a bad tree cannot bear good fruit and that a tree that doesn't bear good fruit is cut down and thrown in the fire; that not everyone who says "Lord, Lord" will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only those who do the will of the Father. I don't at all think that He is saying that we must do good works to enter heaven. As I have said in a previous post, our best deeds are but filthy rags to the Lord. We can never do good enough works to warrant entry into heaven and eternal life. However, I do think He may be saying that professions of faith with your lips alone are not good enough; you must also back it up with evidence of faith by carrying out the will of the Father.

Evidence of this belief, although often contested by some, are the words written in James 2:14-17,

"What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead."

He goes on to say in James 2:24 that "You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone" and in 2:26 "As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead". See http://evangeliku.blogspot.com/2008/05/st-james-not-by-faith-alone.html for more on this.

As our pastor taught us in recent weeks, a true Christ follower who is awake in Christ can be distinguished by the fact that he is Knowing, Sowing and Growing. That is, he cultivates an intimate relationship with Jesus on a daily basis so that he will truly know Him; he sows by trying to bring the Good News of Christ to others in his sphere of influence; and he grows in spiritual maturity as evidenced by his loving relationship with others and actions of service to others. Knowing Christ and being in relationship with Him is, perhaps, the most critically important of the three, and if carried out, always leads to the other two. Jesus tells several parables in the book of Matthew in which people were cast out because, as Jesus said, " I never knew you". This is another example of how simply being a good person or doing many good deeds does not save a person. Jesus did the work of salvation Himself on the cross and it is only by His grace that we are saved by His sacrifice. Jesus did this out of a profound love for His Creation and His desire to live in relationship with us. Growing into a love relationship with our Lord is everything. It's all that is really important. And of course it is (not coincidentally) the greatest commandment: to love the Lord with all your heart. If one is really really trying to do that, then inevitably I think that person will begin to grow in a love relationship with everyone around him and through that love relationship will eventually feel compelled to serve others, to meet others needs, and to perform acts of compassion and kindness. As I grow in my relationship with Jesus, as I begin to surrender willingly all of myself to Him, I will become indelibly part of Him, one with Him, even as He is one with the Father. As my faith grows, so too I believe will the evidence of my faith in my daily actions.

I don't know if that person who spoke the Sinner's Prayer just to go along with the group, just going through the motions with no sincerity or heart and with no subsequent actions that would evidence that their faith has changed their life is truly saved or not. That's for God to decide. I pray though that that person's first declaration of faith, ill-conceived or insincere though it may be, will act like the ploughing of a new field, preparing the soil of their heart to one day be ready to take root and produce good fruit.