Faith Is A Gift – But We Must Relentlessly Pursue Faith
Repentance and faith are gifts – two sides of the same coin. Without faith, there can be no repentance. Without repentance there can be no faith. If both are gifts, does this mean that I can sit back and let Jesus do all the work in me? I don’t think so. I have a role to play. I have to act – and act relentlessly. Here’s how:
First, faith is a gift, but I must choose, receive, and accept faith. Only I can choose to believe. No one can do it for me. Paul writes:
“God, our Savior, wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Jesus Christ, who gave Himself as a ransom for all men” (1 Timothy 2: 4 – 6 NIV); and Peter affirms, “He is patient with you, not wanting any one to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3: 9 NIV).
God wants all men to be saved. But not all men will be saved. Why not? Obviously not because of a choice God made — He wants all men to be saved. Scripture tells us that we can reject faith in Jesus — we have a choice and some choose to walk in unbelief.
“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him” (John 3: 36 NIV).
Paul writes: “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10: 9 NIV).
The scripture begins with ‘if’, because you can choose. The word ‘believe’ reinforces the idea that you have to make a choice. It expresses reliance, trust, and submission. These are our actions, although once we take a step of faith, God will work to make them a reality in our lives.
In general, the power of Jesus to heal and make whole will not be active in those lives and places where Jesus is not invited and welcomed — where healing is not wanted. This principle is demonstrated in Jesus’ instructions to His disciples and the 72 when He sends them out to “the lost sheep of Israel” to proclaim the Kingdom of God, heal diseases, and cast out demons in Matthew 10 in Luke 10, respectively:
“But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off against you. Yet be sure of this: the Kingdom of God is near’. I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town . . . He who listens to you listens to Me; he who rejects you rejects Me; but he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me” (Luke 10: 10 – 12, 16 NIV).
Some rejected the message of the Kingdom, which was the same as rejecting Jesus and His healing power.
Jesus wants us to welcome Him into the places of trauma, wounding, and pain in our hearts where we harbor anger, shame, and unforgiveness. He has the power to transform places of darkness and bondage into places of light and freedom. To heal. In general, He does not go where He is not invited or welcomed. When I pray with people I always ask them, “Are you willing to let go of your anger?” Most say, “Yes”, but some say “No”. In the latter case, emotional healing is probably not going to happen.
Second, He wants to break my outward man. I can resist His work. When He calls me to ‘die’, I can say “no” – just like the Rich Young Ruler. Often, God is calling us to release our dependency on idols. That dependency resides in our outward man. God breaks us in two ways – quickly, like He did Peter or Paul; or over time – a little bit here and a little bit there. But we must see these painful circumstances as an opportunity to be broken and set free. Really, a blessing. Jesus tells us “deny yourself, pick up your cross, and follow Me.” The cross is not a burden; it is a place of death and brokenness. Like Peter, without the breaking of our outward man, we will always be a stumbling block to Jesus, to ourselves, and to others who depend upon us. But after the death of our hyphenated self-life? Resurrection life!
Third, we must stay connected. We don’t pray, study, or memorize Scripture to feel ‘good enough’ or be more acceptable to God. We do these things so that we can draw closer to Jesus and Jesus can draw us closer to Him. They are acts of worship and surrender. Scripture tells us to love God, and keep on loving Him; follow Jesus and keep on following Him; be filled with the Holy Spirit and keep on being filled; obey Jesus and keep on obeying Him, and repent and keep on repenting. These actions require daily connection to the source of love, power, faith, and repentance. The world wants to fill us with distractions and busyness. We need to learn how to engage the world, but stay focused on Christ in us at the same time. That requires staying connected and centered. Our life is in Christ – but this life must be continually received.
Fourth, we must follow and obey. Jesus gives us choices – there are always ‘two trees’. When Jesus calls me to some activity or action, including confronting sin in my life, I have the freedom to say, “No, I will not do that” or choose the ‘wrong’ tree. My life with Christ depends on my obedience. Will Jesus leave me? I don’t think so. But the Kingdom life of Jesus – His vitality and power in me – do depend on my obedience. I can become so consumed with the things of the world that I do not have the time or inclination to listen to Jesus’ voice in my heart and obey. Jesus wants the very best for my life – not just heaven when I die, but heaven now.
I have learned another lesson from my study of Peter. God has provided details in Scripture about Peter’s faith journey, including all of his failures. It was not to condemn Peter. After all, the life of true faith – living in the Kingdom of God – requires the Holy Spirit. Peter did not have the Spirit until Jesus breathed on him in the Upper Room. No, in one sense it is not about Peter. It is about me. Jesus does not want just the pre-resurrection faith of Peter for me. Jesus is showing me what the “I believe and I love Jesus-faith” walked out in my own power, will, personality, and emotion looks like. It is necessary. It brings us to a place where we can accept the Kingdom life through repentance when it is offered to us. My faith in Jesus is necessary. But Jesus is showing me that the faith of Jesus in me is His ultimate objective for my life.
“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2: 20 KJV).
“And to be found in Him, not have my own righteousness which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith” (Philippians 3: 9 KJV).
Last, or maybe first, He is calling me to repent – Jesus is telling me that true, serious repentance (turning from finding my ultimate value in things of the world to Jesus, who is my value) is essential – and He is calling me to the Kingdom life, which is the only place where true faith can be found. It in only in the Kingdom of God that we receive the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit — the settled, permanent, penetrative presence of the Holy Spirit in my heart — which is Jesus in me. We can never repent perfectly or completely. It is a journey. God calls us, but we must respond.
“The Kingdom of God is at hand (in Greek the word for ‘at hand’ can also mean “has come”, “has arrived”, or “is here), repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1: 15 NKJV) and “Repent and be baptized . . . in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2: 38 NIV).
The first word of the Gospel is, “Kingdom”; the first command of the Gospel is “repent”.
Only the work and righteousness of Jesus open the door for us to enter the Kingdom. Faith and repentance are gifts. They are conditions for Kingdom life. We must choose, receive, and accept them.
No matter how much we say we love and trust Jesus and God, we cannot love or trust Them enough in our power. But, there is Good News. Because of the death and resurrection of Jesus, Christ lives in me and I live in Him – the rule and reign of Christ in my heart – which is the Kingdom of God. He will do for me what I can never do for myself, including ‘live’ – not just for eternity, but here and now because eternal life begins today.
“Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you” (John 14: 19, 20 NIV).
“And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through the Spirit who lives in you” (Romans 8: 11 NIV).
This is the Gospel – the Kingdom of God is here, and we have the right and privilege to enter into the Kingdom and receive the Kingdom gifts, one of which is the indwelling Holy Spirit and all that it bestows upon us – including the joy, hope, peace, healing, righteousness, and power of Jesus. And the faith of Jesus. This is post-resurrection faith, the type of faith that the pre-resurrection Peter could not have, but received in the Upper Room from the resurrected Jesus. The faith of Jesus is the faith that moves mountains. We cannot obey Jesus in our own power. Without Jesus alive and active in our hearts we are lost. But the Good News is that we do have a Savior who lives in us and tells us that, “You yourselves are God’s temple and God Spirit lives in you”.
And, we don’t generate righteousness – the righteousness of God though the faith of Jesus, Who lives in us, lives in the Kingdom man or woman.
“But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being confessed by the law and the prophets; even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe” (Romans 3: 21, 22 KJV).
What a gift – one that was unimaginable to Peter in his pre-resurrection life – but is alive in me not just through God’s agape love, mercy, and grace, but through my relentless pursuit of Jesus and His constant desire to live in intimate relationship with me. Hallelujah!
Constantly astonished by His gifts,
John