The great deception!
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· 13 viewsMany church attendees are deceived and believe they are saved, but their life show the opposite. Their faith is not real!
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Read Jam 2:14-26
The devil is an expert in deceiving people; no wonder he is called “the father of all lies”. One of his greatest deceptions is to make people believe that they are saved, when in reality they are more lost than the devil himself.
It seems the problem was obvious in probably all the churches of the first century. That’s why also the apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians, the more carnal church of that time:
Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test?
The deception is much more present in our days in our churches. Many so called “believers” will be surprised when they die and go to Hell instead of Heaven.
James is not saying that works save anyone! He is warning us about the great deception! He is saying that true faith is demonstrated by good works!
The great deception includes believing that saying you believe is enough.
Saying you believe is enough.
Saying you believe is enough.
What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him?
There is a big difference between saying to have and having!
James is denouncing “lips’ faith”! “Del dicho al hecho, hay mucho trecho.”
1000 Illustrations for Preaching & Teaching Faith in Afterlife?
In an interview with Dotson Rader (Parade, March 6, 1983), Bette Davis declared:
I keep wondering how it will all end. I keep making bets about how I will finally go. I’m curious whether it will be in an airplane or somewhere else. I don’t want to miss anything, that’s why I would hate to die. I’m very religious, though I’ve never been a big churchgoer. Being a working woman, I decided God would allow me Sundays off. I also have a deep belief that most truly religious people aren’t found in church. I don’ believe in an afterlife. No, I believe we have our heaven and hell here, and then it’s over.
What a contradiction! She was very religious, but not a churchgoer! She did not believe in after life either! She had “lips’ faith”!
To say you believe is not enough because:
Faith without good works is dead.
Faith without good works is dead.
Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.
Lips’ faith is faith that does not create any impact on the person’s life, much less on the life of others. It is ineffective, “dead”, there is no life in it.
That’s the kind of faith that see someone in need, but does not help him:
If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?
If this were the test of your faith, Would you pass?
Is your faith real? Is your faith impacting others? Has it transformed you into a Jesus-obeying person?
Demons believe, but they are not saved.
Demons believe, but they are not saved.
If you ask people if they will go to Heaven when they die, most will answer saying, “I believe in God”. But what kind of belief is that?
The words “faith” and “to believe” are sisters. Faith is the translation of “pistis” and “to believe” is the translation of “pisteuo”. The first one is a noun, the second one a verb. Verbs describe or demand action!
You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.
Why do they shudder or tremble? They will go to Hell!
If saying “I believe” will not take demons to Heaven, what makes you believe that it will take you to Heaven?
You better make sure that your faith is real and proven!
I said, “proven” because the great deception also includes believing that...
You do not have to prove your faith.
You do not have to prove your faith.
“Well, God knows my heart…!” , you may say. Yes, He knows it! He also knew Abraham’s heart, but He tested Abraham’s faith!
Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar?
Faith is like gold! It must be tested with fire to see if it is real. Make sure that yours is not like “fool’s gold”; pyrite (look like gold, but it is not; it has no value either).
Faith must be proved because faith is perfected by works.
Faith is perfected by works.
Faith is perfected by works.
You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected;
“faith was perfected.” What does this mean? First of all, let’s try to understand the word in the original language: τελειόω means “to bring an activity to a successful finish”, “to complete, to accomplish”, “to reach a goal”.
Therefore, we may conclude that faith without works is not complete. They must go together: lit. they work with one another, they work “synergetically.”
“Faith is idle when circumstances are right, only when they are adverse is one’s faith in God exercised. Faith, like muscle, grows strong and flexible with exercise.”
Works justify our faith.
Works justify our faith.
You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?
We may say we are an avocado tree, but unless we produce avocados, no one will believe us. I mean that our fruit justify or back up our words.
No wonder James also warned us about being doers of the Word, not just hearers. If we hear and do not do, we deceive ourselves. (Jam 1:22)
Abraham believed and acted upon that faith by being willing to obey God’s command: Go and sacrifice your son!
Rahab believed the promise of the spies and protected them. Her actions justified her belief!
The third aspect of the great deception is to make you believe that:
You can separate faith from works.
You can separate faith from works.
Trying to separate faith from works is like trying to separate the spirit from the body. When such separation occurs, the body dies.
Likewise, when you separate works from your faith, your faith dies!
Works give life to our faith.
Works give life to our faith.
For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.
What I mean by works giving life to your faith is that works add effectiveness to faith.
A dead person cannot impact anyone! He impacted others when he was alive. His faith determined the way he lived, how he treated others, how he faced difficulties
When you say you believe, but people cannot see the works that back up your words, they will no believe your words.
We were saved to do good works.
We were saved to do good works.
Salvation is NOT the reward to our works! Salvation is a gift from God and received by grace through faith.
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
But we are saved or created in Christ so this world may see the work that Christ has done in us when they see our good works:
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
We are here to glorify God and bring others to glorify Him. But people cannot see what is in our heart, they can only see what we do. If we want them to glorify God, they must see our works.
Jesus told the disciples:
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.