works are important {even necessary}

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Continuing in James 2:

James-series

14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?

15  If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,

16  And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?

17  Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

18  Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.

19  Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

20  But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?

21  Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?

22  Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?

23  And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.

24  Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.

25  Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?

26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

[bold emphasis added]

I think these verses are hard for us to swallow sometimes. [At least, I’ve had difficulty on occasion… 🙂 ]

{And there’s a bit of Old Testament here… because it’s just as relevant today as it was then! But that’s another post…}

Is James telling these Jewish Christians to maintain keeping the law in order to be saved?

NO. He isn’t.

But he is telling them, and us, that after we have confessed Jesus there WILL be a mark of works that show our faith to a lost world [and even to other Christians].

There is not really any explanation necessary:

We show our Christianity to others by
the works we do in our daily lives.

It’s that simple…
~ ~ ~ ~ and it’s that hard.

I’d love for you to share your thoughts on these verses!

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answering {simple} questions .3

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As before, I must preface this by saying that only if you as the parent/adult are already saved  
can you truly answer a child’s questions regarding salvation. 
Only God can guide your words to speak appropriately.
6. How does being saved take your sins away? 
and
 7. Can a person be saved without asking Jesus?
I’m taking notes, Momma!
{I have not personally ever heard small children ask these questions, and some of these thoughts may be a little hard for very small children to understand, but I pray this can be a launching point for your own study into how to answer your own sweet babies.}

When you understand that you have sin in your heart and believe what the Bible says about why we have to be saved to live with God in heaven and you make the choice to ask Jesus to save you , then Jesus takes away your sin. He does that by being a substitute. When you do wrong, you have to be punished. But if someone else takes your punishment [maybe a friend gets a spanking or put in time-out FOR you], that is a SUBSTITUTE. that friend takes your wrong as his own responsibility,  and that is what Jesus did for us! When He came to live on earth as a baby and then grew up without ever sinning and then died on the cross, He became our SUBSTITUTE. Because he was not guilty of any sin, as we are, God allowed Him to take our punishment. He took the responsibility for our sins.

The Bible tells us very plainly that no one can enter heaven without accepting Jesus’ SUBSTITUTION. In John 14:6, Jesus said: No man cometh unto the Father [lives with Him in heaven] but by me [trusting Jesus]. And in Acts 4:12, the Bible tells us this about Jesus: Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name [JESUS] under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. We cannot be good enough or go to a certain church or be baptized to help us get to heaven. Jesus is the only path that leads to living with God in heaven forever.
Some Scripture Reading:
I Corinthians 15:3,4
II Corinthians 5:17-21
Galatians 4:3-7
Ephesians 2:4-9
Titus 2:11-14
{There are many more Scripture passages that deal with all of these salvation questions, and only individual Bible study can help you find them all. I have only tried to include a few passages to help you get started.}


answering {simple} questions .2

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answering {simple} questions .2

As before, I must preface this by saying that only if you as the parent/adult are already saved  
can you truly answer a child’s questions regarding salvation. 
Only God can guide your words to speak appropriately.

 

3. Why does a person need to be saved?
4. What is sin?
and
5. How old does a person have to be to get saved?
How can I understand, Mom?
The Bible tells us that every person has sin in his heart. We also learn from studying God’s Word that God cannot have sin in heaven, and if we keep sin in our heart He cannot hear our prayers [except for the prayer of salvation] or allow us into Heaven to be with Him.  We have to ask Jesus to wash away the sin in our heart to have God take us to heaven.
Simply put, sin is breaking God’s Law. Another simple explanation of sin is “anything that I may think, say, or do that does not please God.” some examples are: lying, hitting, disobeying, thinking mean thoughts. {Be specific when dealing with your own children. Give examples of things you know they have done that are sin.}
If you know the difference between right and wrong and you understand that there are consequences to doing wrong, then you are old enough to be saved. There is no specific age that God says, “You cannot be saved before you are xxx years old.” But neither is there an age that God says, “All people are old enough after they are xxx years old.”  {If your child is asking these questions, it is possible that they are indeed ready to make the decision to ask Jesus to save them. But this is an area where parents must ask God for wisdom in guiding each individual child.}

some Scripture reading: [again] John 3; 14:6; 
Romans 3:23; 5:6-21

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answering {simple} questions .1

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answering {simple} questions .1

I must preface this by saying that only if you as the parent/adult are already saved  
can you truly answer a child’s questions regarding salvation. 
Only God can guide your words to speak appropriately.
1. What does it mean to be “saved”?
and
2. How does Jesus come into our hearts?

 

These answers will be written the way that I would address a small child [under age 5]. Children can understand so much, but we must also be aware of just how literal they are!
because one day they will need to know how to hold God’s hand!

 

“Saved” means that you have asked Jesus to come into your heart and wash away the sin. [This does not mean that another person is going to come into your body. It is not something we can see.] This is also called being “born again.”
This also means that you have Everlasting Life. which means that when you die you will go to heaven to live with God. Those who understand this and choose not to “get saved” will not go to heaven but hell when they die-living an eternal death.
Jesus will only save you or come into your heart if you ask Him to. He then becomes a part of your life and He can help you in your mind to choose to do right instead of wrong. He can help you think good thoughts and be nice to others. He can help you be strong enough to help others {such as a younger brother or sister} choose to do right, too.
some Scripture reading: John 3:1-21 [especially: 16,17] 
and Acts 2:21 & 10:13; 16:30-33.

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{1} give your heart to Christ

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{key 1} give your heart to Christ

Spiritual redemption is the first key toward developing a correct self-image. People who do not know Jesus as Savior may claim that they think healthy thoughts about themselves, but most unbelievers I know who state that they are self-sufficient in themselves and do not need Christ are miserable people in crises. They are like beautiful flowering weeds with no strong root system.

These people have only themselves upon which to rely for strength, energy, enthusiasm, creativity, and new methods. Eventually, they get to the end of themselves. They do not have the Holy Spirit residing in them to transform their lives in Christ in a way that is based on truth and is comforting even in times of chastisement.

Having a relationship with Christ Jesus resolves many issues that undermine emotional wholeness: 

–feeling guilty. Guilt is created when you have unforgiven sin. When you ask for God’s forgiveness, you are forgiven. Guilt is washed away. 

–feeling unloved. When you turn to Christ, you realize that God loves you and desires to have an eternal relationship with you!

–having a spirit of revenge. Once you have accepted God’s free gift of salvation, you are no longer in a position to  justify why God should not forgive others who are also sinners in need of a Savior. What God has done for you, He desires to do for all men and woman, regardless of their past. 

 –striving to earn favor with God. God’s gift of salvation is free. You cannot earn it, buy it or achieved it through good works. You do not deserve it. When you truly are born anew spiritually, you will realize that any favor you have with God is on the basis of what Christ has done, is doing, and will do in your and through you.

If you truly want to be emotionally whole, you must first give your life to Christ.

originally written by Dr. Mike Rouse, used by permission, edited

Spiritual redemption is the first key toward developing a correct self-image. People who do not know Jesus as Savior may claim that they think healthy thoughts about themselves, but most unbelievers I know who state that they are self-sufficient in themselves and do not need Christ are miserable people in crises. They are like beautiful flowering weeds with no strong root system.

These people have only themselves upon which to rely for strength, energy, enthusiasm, creativity, and new methods. Eventually, they get to the end of themselves. They do not have the Holy Spirit residing in them to transform their lives in Christ in a way that is based on truth and is comforting even in times of chastisement.

Having a relationship with Christ Jesus resolves many issues that undermine emotional wholeness: 

–feeling guilty. Guilt is created when you have unforgiven sin. When you ask for God’s forgiveness, you are forgiven. Guilt is washed away. 

–feeling unloved. When you turn to Christ, you realize that God loves you and desires to have an eternal relationship with you!

–having a spirit of revenge. Once you have accepted God’s free gift of salvation, you are no longer in a position to  justify why God should not forgive others who are also sinners in need of a Savior. What God has done for you, He desires to do for all men and woman, regardless of their past. 

 –striving to earn favor with God. God’s gift of salvation is free. You cannot earn it, buy it or achieved it through good works. You do not deserve it. When you truly are born anew spiritually, you will realize that any favor you have with God is on the basis of what Christ has done, is doing, and will do in your and through you.

If you truly want to be emotionally whole, you must first give your life to Christ.

originally written by Dr. Mike Rouse, used by permission, edited

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