"He is the image of the invisible God, the first born over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in Heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things and in Him all things consist." (Colossians 1:15,16,17)
Nearly two thousand years ago The Creator and man united as one in the man, the Son of God, Jesus Christ. He came to be a witness to the truth and to make a way for us to be reconciled to God. Be careful that you are receiving Gods Word with an open heart. Because many false teachers have risen up.
Some teachers of Gods Word say that we are justified by faith. Quoting
Ephesians 2:8, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of
yourselves; it is the gift of God."
Not realizing that this letter is written to specific people,
Refer to Ephesians 1:1, the letter is written to,
"The saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus."
We must realize that the recipients of the letter had a deep understanding
of Salvation and the Gospel of Christ, and are referred to as saints and faithful
in Christ Jesus. Failure to understand this, results in a misunderstanding
of the Word in general.
If we are saved by faith alone, that is to believe in Jesus only, being
justified by faith, How can Jesus say in Matthew 7:21,22,23?
"Not every who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven,
but he who does the will of my Father in Heaven. Many will say to Me in that
day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, and done many wonders
in Your name?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you;
depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!"
These people surely "believed" in Jesus.
The answer is that: Faith is more then just saying, "I believe", Faith is believing and being faithful to Gods Word.
"So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God."(Rom.10:17)
Any misunderstanding in the Word will result in a false faith. A failure to
understand the truth.
Jesus says in Mark chapter 4 verse 24,
"Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be
measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given."
Jesus makes it easy to understand in Luke 6:46, when He says,
"But why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do the things that I say?"
Peter says in First Peter 2:6,7,8,
Therefore it is contained in the Scripture, "behold, I lay in Zion A chief
cornerstone, elect, precious, and he who believes on Him will by no means
be put to shame." Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those
who are disobedient, "The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief
cornerstone," and "A stone of stumbling and a Rock of offense."
"They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed."
Do not be disobedient, but repent (turn away from sin) and believe in the Gospel.
"Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Prove yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?-unless indeed you are disqualified."(2cd.Cor.13:5)
Receive the Salvation that God has made available, through Jesus Christ, TODAY.
Revised with copyright 1999. The Word on line. Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.