"He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned." Mark 16:16. Why do we have to believe to be saved?
"But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." Hebrews 11:6. So, faith is the precursor to belief. If we refuse to have faith, we will not be able to see the things that lead to belief, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.". Here is the connection that helps us understand why we must have faith. If our salvation depended on something we do or believe, after we have evidence, we could boast that we were somehow responsible for our salvation. However, we are not in any way responsible for our salvation after we choose faith; it is a gift of God. We cannot add anything to the gift; it is all Jesus's sacrifice.
When we drive down a two-lane road, our faith tells us that the driver coming towards us will not swerve into a head-on collision. We do not know the other driver. They could be having a heart attack. So, why do we have enough faith to drive down that road? It could be our desire to risk a near-death experience. We could have heard from other people that it would be safe to drive on that road. It could be our ignorance that leads us down that road. Or, it could be that we have faith that the other person will not hit us because we do not want to hit them. Whatever the reason, it requires faith to drive down that road.
The faith God is talking about has a much bigger outcome at stake, our eternal salvation. So, why don't we have enough faith to believe in a creator God? If we choose to have faith, what are the risks? We might decide to follow Jesus, meaning we would love everyone. We would live the fruit of the Spirit, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law." Galatians 5:22-23. This would lead us to be patient when others are rude, joyful even when we are suffering, meek even when others are aggressive, or moderate in our desires. We would also not lie, cheat, or steal since that would not be a loving way to treat others. Living this way would mean we could not use ill-gotten gains to buy a bigger house or fancy car. However, we would gain the peace that only Jesus can bring us, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." John 14:27.
Having faith allows us to experience the fruit of God's love in our lives. Without faith, we would never be able to live the way God has designed this world to work together for good, "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28. Therefore, we must have enough faith to follow Jesus. This allows us to experience that everything is better when we have faith. It is the starting point of our salvation through sanctification, which means we slowly, over time, become more and more like Jesus because of our faith. Without faith, we can never follow Jesus. Instead, we will continue to follow our ideas of how all things work together for our own good. This selfish attitude prevents us from having the faith necessary to follow the only one who can deliver us from our self-made prisons.
So, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Hebrews 11:1. This is the hope Jesus came to bring us, "Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus: That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God. Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers: And that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy; as it is written, For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name. And again he saith, Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his people. And again, Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and laud him, all ye people. And again, Esaias saith, There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles trust. Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost." Romans 15:5-13.
Faith in Jesus is the only path to salvation, "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." John 14:6.
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