0376. Faith in Christ

Faith in Christ

"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved" (Act_16:31).

Faith is an evident token of salvation. Frequently we hear the expression: "Is it possible that nothing but simple faith can save us?" Others say: "That’s altogether too easy." "Am I simply to believe in Christ?" "Must I not add works and a faithful Christian life, and noble deeds before I can know that I am saved?"

Illustration: A miner was preparing to take a preacher through the mines. As they were walking, the minister was pressing upon the miner his eternal salvation. Something like the following conversation took place.

The minister said: "You must receive Jesus Christ as your Saviour. Simply accept Him, trust Him, believe Him and the work is done." The miner replied; "Preacher, that is too dead easy. I want to do something. You can’t make me think that the salvation of my soul can be made secure by my simply trusting Christ."

At this juncture they came to the shaft and stood waiting for the elevator. When the elevator was ready and the door opened, the miner, touching the minister’s elbow, said: "Step aboard, preacher, and we’ll go down into the bowels of the earth." The minister stood back, and, looking the miner full in the face, he said, "Do you mean to tell me that all I’ve got to do is to step aboard,–that’s too dead easy." The miner replied: "It is not so dead easy as you think, it cost the company thousands of dollars to sink this shaft, and a number of lives were lost before it was completed. Your stepping into the cage, is not all there is to it. The rest is already accomplished, and therefore, there is nothing else left for you.

"And salvation was not so dead easy," said the preacher. "It cost God the gift of His Son, and it cost Jesus Christ His own precious Blood; but the work is all done; the door is open wide, and all the poor sinner needs to do is to step aboard."

When we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ; when we have received Him as our Saviour, we know we have eternal life. God has promised in many Scriptures to save the believer, and when God stretches forth His hand, who can draw it back? When God has spoken, who can disannul it?

If believing in Christ is an evident token of salvation, unbelief is an evident token of condemnation. One does not need to be an immoral wretch in order to be lost: Unbelief is sufficient. "He that believeth not is condemned already" (Joh_3:18). "And all unbelievers * * shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone" (Rev_21:8).

Autor: R.E. NEIGHBOUR