We have all heard someone say, “You just have to have faith.” Or, “You need to decide to follow Jesus.” First of all these are true statements and they are biblical. They are, however, law statements. The scripture clearly states such statements condemn us. In Romans chapter 7 & 8 St. Paul explains that the law is powerless to save. So the problem with these statements is they do help the person have faith.
You have heard me say it thousands of times. “God’s Word in your mouth is God’s Word and He is really present in His Word.” When we give someone only God’s law we are to put it bluntly telling them they are going to hell.
I recently saw a post on FaceBook (I do not remember from who) that illustrates this so clearly. “Telling someone struggling in unbelief to decide to follow Jesus is like telling a drowning victim to just swim.” The truth is they cannot. They need to be rescued. If they are already drowning they need to expel the fluid from their lungs or they will simply die later.
But this is our standard approach to most human problems. “Try harder. Stop sinning.” We even judge those who don’t. “They made their bed now they have to sleep in it.”
The truth is, we are, all guilty of causing the messes in our lives and we cannot undo them and we point the finger at each other saying swim harder. We need to be rescued from the outside. We need the fluid expelled from our lungs. We cannot do it ourselves.
What we all need is the Gospel. We need Jesus. Speaking the Gospel gives people Jesus. The Gospel gives them faith. “Faith comes from hearing the message of Christ” When we give them the Gospel we don’t simply say swim harder, we give them Jesus and He reaches out through His Word in my mouth and grabs the one drowning in their sin and He breathes His Spirit into their lungs pushing out the sin and replacing it with His Spirit.
So my friend having been given this gift of faith may we pass it on and fan it into flame.
You have heard me say it thousands of times. “God’s Word in your mouth is God’s Word and He is really present in His Word.” When we give someone only God’s law we are to put it bluntly telling them they are going to hell.
I recently saw a post on FaceBook (I do not remember from who) that illustrates this so clearly. “Telling someone struggling in unbelief to decide to follow Jesus is like telling a drowning victim to just swim.” The truth is they cannot. They need to be rescued. If they are already drowning they need to expel the fluid from their lungs or they will simply die later.
But this is our standard approach to most human problems. “Try harder. Stop sinning.” We even judge those who don’t. “They made their bed now they have to sleep in it.”
The truth is, we are, all guilty of causing the messes in our lives and we cannot undo them and we point the finger at each other saying swim harder. We need to be rescued from the outside. We need the fluid expelled from our lungs. We cannot do it ourselves.
What we all need is the Gospel. We need Jesus. Speaking the Gospel gives people Jesus. The Gospel gives them faith. “Faith comes from hearing the message of Christ” When we give them the Gospel we don’t simply say swim harder, we give them Jesus and He reaches out through His Word in my mouth and grabs the one drowning in their sin and He breathes His Spirit into their lungs pushing out the sin and replacing it with His Spirit.
So my friend having been given this gift of faith may we pass it on and fan it into flame.
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