Faith

As a child, and even a teenager, I thought that salvation was very mysterious and confusing. I thought salvation must be what Saul experienced on the road to Damascus, and that if I were to be saved, I would need to have some type of similar experience myself.

Acts 9:3-9

And as he journeyed, he (Saul) came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:

And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?

And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.

And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.

And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus.

And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink.

So I prayed and waited, but nothing happened.

It wasn’t until I was a little older that God directed me to the words in John 3:14&15: And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

And John 3:16-17

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

And Romans 10:9 That 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.

We know we are sinners:

 Romans 3:32 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

And sin results in death:

Romans 6:23a For the wages of sin is death;

But do you know that God has provided a way whereby we can be saved?

Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 6:23b but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Come to Jesus, place your trust in Him, look to Him and Him alone for your salvation and you will be saved!

Acts 16:31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

Spurgeon, in his book, the Wicket Gate, puts it like this:

“All the sound doctrine that ever was believed will never save a man unless he puts his trust in the Lord Jesus for himself.”  (Page 21)

“The plan of salvation is most blessed, but it can avail us nothing unless we personally believe in the Lord Jesus Christ Himself." (Page 23)

“To many, faith seems a hard thing. The truth is, it is only hard because it is easy.” (Page 29)

“People think that salvation must be the result of some act or feeling, very mysterious, and very difficult; but God’s thoughts are not our thoughts, neither are His ways our ways. In order that the feeblest and most ignorant may be saved, He has made the way of salvation as easy as the A,B,C. There is nothing about it to puzzle anyone; only, as everybody expects to be puzzled by it, many are quite bewildered when they find it so exceedingly simple." (Page 29)

“The fact is, we do not believe that God means what He is saying; we act as if it could not be true.” (Page 29 )

“Faith is so simple a matter that, whenever I try to explain it, I am very fearful lest I should becloud its simplicity.” (Page 34)

“Just so, eternal life is free and it can be had, yea, it shall be at once had, by trusting in the Word of Him who cannot lie. Trust Christ, and by that trust you grasp salvation and eternal life. Do not philosophize. Do not sit down, and bother your poor brain. Just believe Jesus as you would believe your father.” (Page 35)

“Faith is trusting, trusting wholly upon the person, work, merit and power of the Son of God. Some think this trust is a romantic business, but indeed it is the simplest thing that can possibly be. To some of us, truths, which were once hard to believe, are now matter of fact, which we should find it hard to doubt.” (Page 35)

“But oh, how simple it is to us who have the new life, and have communion with spiritual realities! We have a Father to whom we speak, and He hears us, and a blessed Saviour who hears our heart’s longings, and helps us in our struggles against sin. It is all plain to him that understandeth. May it now be plain to you!” (Page 36)