I’M SAVED, NOW WHAT? (part-24)

I’M SAVED, NOW WHAT?

BELIEF IN GOD
James shifts his focus to belief in God.
    You believe that there is one God. Good!
    Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
    (James 2:19)

He says it is good to believe there is one God, but implies that much more
is required for salvation. Salvation includes a belief that Jesus was God’s
Son, that He died on the cross for our sins, and that He was resurrected on
the third day. Additionally we have to be honest about our sins, admit them
to the Lord, and ask for His forgiveness. Lastly, we need to express a desire
to go in a different direction – a direction away from sin and toward a new
life of serving the Lord in whatever capacity He desires.

James points out that even the demons, who are opponents of God, also
believe in His existence but are not saved. Incidentally, in order for them
to be in opposition to God, they have to believe in His existence. If they
did not believe in His existence, then why would they oppose Him and
His principles?

EVIDENCE OF FAITH
You can sense his passion and concern regarding faith
as James cites two examples where faith was proven through actions.
    You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without
    deeds is useless? Was not our father Abraham considered
    righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on
    the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working
    together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And
    the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God,
    and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called
    God’s friend. You see that a person is considered righteous by
    what they do and not by faith alone. In the same way, was not
    even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did
    when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different
    direction? (James 2:20-25)

Abraham showed his faith by offering his son on the altar of sacrifice
as God instructed him to do (Genesis 22). He could have refused God’s
instructions at any point, but he faithfully obeyed. We aren’t told if
Abraham believed that God would spare his son or not. All we know
is that through his actions, he showed a faith that whatever God wanted
of him, he would do. As a result of his faith, he may have felt that even
if God did not spare his son, he would still experience something good
as a reward for being obedient.

The second example he gave involved Rahab a Gentile prostitute (Joshua 2).
Her faith was shown through her actions when she took care of the Israeli
spies who were sent to assess the challenges the Israelites would face when
entering the land the Lord wanted them to inhabit. At great personal risk,
she hid them and sent them back to Joshua before they could be captured by
the king of Jericho. If all she did was confess her faith, we may have never
had the opportunity to read about her in the scriptures. But we can read about
her because she showed her faith through her actions. What would be written
about your faith words and actions for future generations to read?

Although Abraham and Rahab were different,
they had some important things in common:
    Both were people of faith.
    Both put their faith into action.
    Both were declared righteous before God.

James re-states the theme of his message
about faith and deeds, and how the two are related.
    As the body without the spirit is dead,
    so faith without deeds is dead. (James 2:26)

So how did Abraham and Rahab prove that their faith was not dead?
    Abraham’s actions, which proved his faith, would culminate
    in the sacrifice of his only son. He did not know that the reward
    for his obedience would be the sparing of his son’s life.

    Rahab’s actions, which proved her faith, put her life in danger.
    She could have been killed for hiding the spies.

Our actions, which prove our faith, are not as risky as those of Abraham
and Rahab, yet we may not be doing a very good job of showing our faith
in our daily lives.

Some questions we should ask ourselves:
    Do I have a saving faith, and if so, is it genuine?

    Have I, to the best of my ability, repented of my sins
    and trusted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior?

    Has this faith led me into a personal relationship
    with God, and not just a belief about Him?

    How has my life been changed as a result of my faith?

    How is my life different from the non-Christians I know?

    How do I respond to opportunities of service in Christ’s name?

Here is a real life example of what James was talking about:
    During the long ocean voyage on the Mayflower, the sailors made fun
    of the faith of the Pilgrims. However, that changed during the first winter
    in Plymouth when an epidemic swept through the settlers and the crew of
    the Mayflower. The Pilgrims lovingly tended to their own families and
    neighbors. They also risked their lives by tending to the sick and dying
    members of the Mayflower crew. By contrast, the healthy crew members
    shunned their sick friends. A young boatswain’s mate had been among
    those who had cursed and scoffed at the Pilgrims, but he said, “You, I
    now see, show your love like Christians indeed one to another, but we
    let one another die like dogs”.

Whether we like it or not, others notice our actions and weigh them against
our faith. Our challenge is to make every effort to let others see Jesus living
in us. We can’t just tell them about our faith; they want to see our faith in
action. They want to know that our faith is genuine and that Jesus is living
through us. More importantly, lost souls want to see a reason for seeking
salvation from the Lord. If they see things in us that they consider (whether
they are right or not) to be sinful actions, then we need to abstain from those
things so that we will not cause them to miss out on salvation.

Paul emphasizes the importance of considering things that other people
might believe is sinful.
    I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus,
    that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards
    something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean.
    If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you
    eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating
    destroy someone for whom Christ died. (Romans 14:14-15)

    It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything
    else that will cause your brother or sister to fall.
    (Romans 14:21)

Just keeping it real:
    We could discuss the consumption of alcohol all day.
    We talk about how people in the Bible drank wine, but
    when we consider the alcoholic content of what they
    drank, it was mostly the same as drinking grape juice.

    Look at what happened when the Holy Spirit
    affected the people on the day of Pentecost.
    Since the people were acting differently, some
    of the others who had not received the Holy
    Spirit ridiculed them and assumed they were drunk.

    But look at how Peter responded to their assumption.
    He basically said, “These people are not drunk, since
    it is only 9:00 in the morning”. He implies that the
    alcoholic content of the wine is so low that they would
    have to drink for many hours to get a “buzz”.

    Using this part of the bible, some justify that drinking
    alcohol is permissible in God’s eyes. Personally I don’t
    believe God wants members of His family putting anything
    in their body that damages the way He made us. But even
    if He allowed it, Paul tells us that ‘anything’ that we do
    which keeps someone from being saved (or causes a
    believer to fall away from God) is wrong.

We can sense the influence and impact we can have on others
when we hear people make comments like:
    “Sure I drink beer, whiskey, and wine but it is okay
     because I know some Christians who drink alcohol”.

    “Why do I need to be a Christian?
     The Christians I know do the same things I do”.

    “Christians are nothing by hypocrites. They go to church
     on Sunday, but still drink alcohol throughout the week”.

    “I am a Christian, but since my Christian friends drink,
     I’ve decided its okay for me to drink too.”

Paul is not debating what is right and wrong in God’s eyes, but he
is telling us that anything we do is wrong if it keeps someone out
of heaven. Eating is not wrong (unless it is gluttony), but if someone
thinks it is wrong to eat something specific, then we should not be
eating it in front of them.

More than likely most people in a restaurant would not be judgmental
about the things we eat which are on the menu, however, if they know
we claim to be a Christian, then some will scrutinize our drinking of
alcohol. They may not know us at all, but if our paths cross later and
we become acquaintances and they remember observing us drinking
in the past, what opinion will they have of us?

So, what do we do? Do we only drink at home with nobody else around?
What about when others see us purchasing beer, alcohol, etc.? Think
about it, if we are debating about something being wrong in God’s eyes,
when shouldn’t we assume there is a struggle between what God wants
and what the evil one wants us to do? Our best choice is just to abstain.

Do we really need alcoholic drinks? Do they affect us at all? Can they
become a slippery slope to alcohol addiction (for ourselves or for someone
else)? We have to remember that, as Christians, we have become agents
and representatives of our Lord and Savior. If the things we do only cause
confusion in others, then we know it is something to be avoided.

We have the option of doing things that will hinder others from being saved,
or doing things that will point them to Jesus. Which choice should we make?
Which choice have you made? Do you have the attitude of, “They just need
to get over it”? The scriptures are clear about how we should consider our
actions:
    Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather,
    in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to
    your own interests but each of you to the interests of the
    others. In your relationships with one another, have the
    same mindset as Christ Jesus. (Philippians 2:3-5)

Paul highlighted eating and drinking, but if we are to have
“the same mindset of Christ Jesus” then we need to exchange
all of our ‘selfish desires’ for a ‘selfless attitude’ that has a keen
consideration of others and the impact our actions can have on
them (either for the kingdom or away from it).