Changing Your World

Correctly dividing God’s Word of faith is essential for us if we’re to avoid falling into the trap of self-effort in our belief. Having faith in God could lead us to think that we must do something to develop our own faith; this is different than having the faith of God, which He offers to us as a gift with no need to earn it. We receive this gift when we receive Jesus, who is a reflection of God’s faith in human form.

Correctly dividing God’s Word of faith is essential for us if we’re to avoid falling into the trap of self-effort in our belief. Having faith in God could lead us to think that we must do something to develop our own faith; this is different than having the faith of God, which He offers to us as a gift with no need to earn it. We receive this gift when we receive Jesus, who is a reflection of God’s faith in human form.

A proper interpretation of the Bible is essential if we as believers are to be effective in sharing the Gospel of Grace. When Jesus gave His disciples the Great Commission, He meant it in a broader sense of simply traveling to a physical location to spread the Word we’ve been given; He meant incorporating it into everything we do as part of our everyday lives. Reading the New Testament requires that we read it through the lens of the finished works of Jesus Christ.

A proper interpretation of the Bible is essential if we as believers are to be effective in sharing the Gospel of Grace. When Jesus gave His disciples the Great Commission, He meant it in a broader sense of simply traveling to a physical location to spread the Word we’ve been given; He meant incorporating it into everything we do as part of our everyday lives. Reading the New Testament requires that we read it through the lens of the finished works of Jesus Christ.

Salvation is something we immediately received when we got born again. As believers, our status as redeemed and ready for heaven is one thing that sets us apart from the world; it’s therefore critical that we understand what God’s Word of grace says about the relationship between our faith and our works. No striving or self-effort is needed to earn what we now have as God’s children. We’re efficient and at rest when working out of the supply that God has already placed in us.

Salvation is something we immediately received when we got born again. As believers, our status as redeemed and ready for heaven is one thing that sets us apart from the world; it’s therefore critical that we understand what God’s Word of grace says about the relationship between our faith and our works. No striving or self-effort is needed to earn what we now have as God’s children. We’re efficient and at rest when working out of the supply that God has already placed in us.

Salvation is something we immediately received when we got born again. As believers, our status as redeemed and ready for heaven is one thing that sets us apart from the world; it’s therefore critical that we understand what God’s Word of grace says about the relationship between our faith and our works. No striving or self-effort is needed to earn what we now have as God’s children. We’re efficient and at rest when working out of the supply that God has already placed in us.

Knowing the connection between our belief and our actions helps us to understand how they both fit together in our service to others. We must never minimize the power of faith. Our works are indeed important, but by themselves they don’t justify us before God; they should instead flow out of our faith in His grace. Our works should be the evidence of our strong faith; they should demonstrate our belief in a tangible way that others can see.

Knowing the connection between our belief and our actions helps us to understand how they both fit together in our service to others. We must never minimize the power of faith. Our works are indeed important, but by themselves they don’t justify us before God; they should instead flow out of our faith in His grace. Our works should be the evidence of our strong faith; they should demonstrate our belief in a tangible way that others can see.

When we get born again, God immediately declares us righteous because of our belief in Jesus. This is our stance in Christ, independent of our actions. Our salvation comes as a gift from God, but we receive it through faith. We could never earn our righteousness or our salvation; we received them as gifts because we believed. Just like Abraham, God sees us as righteous when trust in Him—not in ourselves—is our motivation for the things we do.

When we get born again, God immediately declares us righteous because of our belief in Jesus. This is our stance in Christ, independent of our actions. Our salvation comes as a gift from God, but we receive it through faith. We could never earn our righteousness or our salvation; we received them as gifts because we believed. Just like Abraham, God sees us as righteous when trust in Him—not in ourselves—is our motivation for the things we do.

As believers, we routinely learn about belief in our deliverance and how it fits with God’s grace, but we need to take this one step further. Genuine faith in all the gifts He gave us doesn’t waver, even when we don’t see them on the physical level yet. Through His grace, God has already made available everything we need; we receive these gifts by faith, with no laboring or striving needed. Resting our faith in God’s love positions us to receive from Him.

As believers, we routinely learn about belief in our deliverance and how it fits with God’s grace, but we need to take this one step further. Genuine faith in all the gifts He gave us doesn’t waver, even when we don’t see them on the physical level yet. Through His grace, God has already made available everything we need; we receive these gifts by faith, with no laboring or striving needed. Resting our faith in God’s love positions us to receive from Him.

As believers, we routinely learn about belief in our deliverance and how it fits with God’s grace, but we need to take this one step further. Genuine faith in all the gifts He gave us doesn’t waver, even when we don’t see them on the physical level yet. Through His grace, God has already made available everything we need; we receive these gifts by faith, with no laboring or striving needed. Resting our faith in God’s love positions us to receive from Him.

Believers have been made right with God. He sees us as righteous not because of anything good we’ve done, but because of what Jesus did and our faith in that. This is a significant departure from Old-Testament law, which demanded strict obedience and constant self-effort to earn righteousness. Our stance in Christ is permanent and independent of our behavior, which reflects our continually transforming state on our Christian journey.