The Biblical Characteristics of Saving Faith
Author: Steve Amato
Description: What qualities must your faith have to be of salvific merit?
Keywords: bible study,Bible, faith, salvation, justification, hell, eternal life, Christian

# A Sermon on
The Biblical Characteristics of Saving Faith

## The Qualities of Saving Faith

### It is Humble

Humility is the most essential character quality a person must have to be saved. For without humility there is no conviction of sin and thus no sense that one needs salvation. A proud person refuses to acknowledge their sins before God. It's too condescending for such a person to view oneself as a filthy rotten sinner worthy of eternal condemnation.

"All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" Romans 3:23

A person whose conscience and spirit have been corrupted by sin is baffled at why God would send people to hell, being blind to the concept of justice.

Pr 28:5 "Evil men do not understand justice,
but those who seek the LORD understand it fully."

Furthermore, without humility people refuse to listen thinking themselves to be wise in their own eyes. God speaks and the proud person shuts his eyes and ears.

### It is Application Oriented

God is not interested in the kind of faith that many claim to have - that which is simply artificial. It is not a "make-pretend" or "experimental - lets try this out and see what happens"-type of faith that saves. Neither is it a doubtful wavering faith. The faith that saves is fully assured and confident that what God has promised He is also able to perform, as Paul describes Abraham's faith:

"Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised." Romans 4:20,21

Saving faith is simply real faith which is evident by its outworkings such as:

Hope - Not the vain wishful thinking that people mean today by the phrase "I hope", in which they really mean "I wish". But the confident feeling of anticipation of a future event that you really believe will occur.

Heb 11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

1Co 15:19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.

It also results in a changed life. For if God has spoken, then shouldn't one's life be conformed to what He said? If people call sin for what it is, yet continue to conform their lives to their sinful desires, then do they really believe such to be sin? Or are they speaking in vain?

Lu 6:49 "But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete."

##

## The Object of Saving Faith

### The Atoning Work of Christ on the Cross - Alone

It is not through any works or ceremonies that one can be saved, but only by believing.

Romans 4:4,5 "Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness."

Eph 2:8,9 "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."

And the object of one's faith must be the atoning work of Christ.

John 3:14,15 "Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life."

The object of faith is not one's own faith. Believing "hard enough" will not save you, for you are not focussing your faith on Christ, but on your own faith. You're simply putting faith in yourself.

Furthermore, if one adds to the cross either his own works or ceremonies, such a person is disqualified from receiving eternal life, until one puts their faith in Christ's atoning work ALONE

Gal 5:4 You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.

Gal 3:21,22 Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe.

What are you trusting in to save you from hell? Neither Catholic nor Protestant ceremonies will save. Praying to a saint like Mary won't do any good either. For what are man-made ideas and traditions compared to the Bible. If God has spoken in the Bible, then why don't people listen to Him? The Bible is the only explicit source of information concerning Jesus and concerning what God said. So why is it that many people who claim to believe in Jesus reject what the Bible says? Why is it that they don't even read and study it? Do you have something more important to do? So I exhort you:

"Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you-- unless, of course, you fail the test?" 2Cor 13:5

For

"He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power." 2Thess 1:8,9

And as for those who preach a false gospel such as in Catholicism or New Age philosphers preaching a bunch of psychobabble, as John writes::

1John 4:1 "Do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world."

And Paul who writes to those caught up in the legalism of performance-based salvation, says to them:

Gal 1:6-8 "I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel-- which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!"

The Berean Christian Bible Study Resources