God Works Through Faith
“Believing is more than knowing facts. There are a lot of people who know a lot of facts about Jesus. And knowing facts is important, but knowing facts is not faith. The Bible says that demons know the facts about Jesus, but they are definitely not saved.” – Tony Walliser
Read Romans 10:1-13
God Works Through Faith
On social media we sometimes see videos of someone asking random people whether they know what will happen to them when they die – whether they’ll go to heaven, or even if they believe in an afterlife. Their answers are revealing.
Some people, including a few that I’ve encountered, will reply they don’t believe there’s a heaven or a hell. One fellow told me he believed that when we die, “That’s it. End of story. They just stick us in a hole in the ground and there’s nothing after that.” A pretty dismal view of life – and death – right?
The majority of folks, however, will express belief they’ll go to heaven. “I’m a pretty good person,” they might say, reasoning the good they’ve done will counterbalance the bad. Interestingly, it’s reported even most of the inmates on death row hold that opinion. Other people will cite good deeds, church attendance, observance of religious rituals, support of charitable causes, belief in God, and a host of other things they feel should merit admittance to heaven.
Then we hear the argument, “How could a good God send people to hell?” That question has spawned many sermons, articles, and books. But it’s a subject for another time.
The bottom line is, what do the Scriptures say about who gets in – and who doesn’t?
To begin with, we’re told we can’t work our way into heaven. Unlike a job in which you earn your pay, or a college class where you study hard to earn a good grade, there’s no way to earn God’s favor and acceptance. It’s all about His mercy (not receiving what we do deserve) and grace (receiving what we don’t deserve).
Ephesians 2:8-9 makes this clear: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.” We’re saved by grace through faith, and according to this passage, even the faith we have is a gift from Him.
Writing to a man he was discipling named Titus, the apostle Paul affirmed that nobody can work their way into God’s eternal kingdom: “He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5).
It all comes down to faith. We either have it, or we don’t. Just as a woman can’t be “a little bit pregnant,” we either have saving faith – fully trusting in the life, atoning death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ – or we don’t.
Some might complain, ‘That sounds pretty narrow.’ Jesus agreed. He said, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow is the way that leads to life, and only a few find it” (Matthew 7:13-14).
Jesus was unapologetic in declaring He is the one and only way to a true, eternal relationship with God: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).
The apostle Peter, speaking to the Jewish rulers, elders, and teachers of the law, affirmed this as well: “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
But what about folks who say they believe in God, and can even point to a spiritual experience, or a host of spiritual activities they’re involved in? Doesn’t that count for something? The apostle Paul addressed this, pointing to very religious Jews who were proud of their pious works. He said, “For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge” (Romans 10:2). They had a lot of enthusiasm but hadn’t embraced their Messiah.
Another apostle, James, explained intellectual belief is very different from saving faith. Writing to professing believers whose actions weren’t aligning with the faith they claimed to possess, he declared, “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that – and shudder” (James 2:19).
From the passage in Romans above we learn saving, transforming faith is a transaction involving both the head and the heart. Paul explained, “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, ‘Anyone who trusts in Him will never be put to shame.’”
There’s the answer right there in a nutshell. If you – or someone you know – is wondering, “How can I know for sure that I’m saved and will go to heaven?”, it’s a simple matter of believing with the heart, down deep in our soul, and confessing with the mouth, publicly confessing faith in Christ as Lord.