Basic question on Salvation and Discipleship

heirmiles said:

So, is faith in Christ the first evidence that God has indeed applied Christ's righteousness toward us?

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We are eternally united with Christ by virtue of the covenant made in eternity within the Godhead. Our justification is an immanent act before God and our faith is the "evidence of things not seen." We MUST have faith to be saved but we are not saved by our faith, faith is instrumental, not causal. (more notes on my blog)

Yours in the Lord,

jm

Related to the topic...sometime ago I read Augustine's On the Spirit and Letter and thought this portion of was especially helpful:

...the very will by which we believe is reckoned as a gift of God, because it arises out of the free will which we received at our creation. Let the objector, however, attentively observe that this will is to be ascribed to the divine gift, not merely because it arises from our free will, which was created naturally with us; but also because God acts upon us by the incentives of our perceptions, to will and to believe, either externally by evangelical exhortations, where even the commands of the law also do something, if they so far admonish a man of his infirmity that he betakes himself to the grace that justifies by believing; or internally, where no man has in his own control what shall enter into his thoughts, although it appertains to his own will to consent or to dissent. Since God, therefore, in such ways acts upon the reasonable soul in order that it may believe in Him (and certainly there is no ability whatever in free will to believe, unless there be persuasion or summons towards some one in whom to believe), it surely follows that it is God who both works in man the willing to believe, and in all things prevents us with His mercy. To yield our consent, indeed, to God's summons, or to withhold it, is (as I have said) the function of our own will. And this not only does not invalidate what is said, "For what do you have that you did not receive?" 1 Corinthians 4:7 but it really confirms it. For the soul cannot receive and possess these gifts, which are here referred to, except by yielding its consent. And thus whatever it possesses, and whatever it receives, is from God; and yet the act of receiving and having belongs, of course, to the receiver and possessor.

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heirmiles said:

"For by grace we are saved through faith"

This will probably lead to more questions, but I've noticed over the years that I have questions about my faith and life in Christ that I have thoughts about but I haven't sought out answers to beyond what I know of what Scripture has said and how that works in my own life. So I thought I would seek a better understanding through discussion here.

My question is,

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Hope I can help.

When it comes to our faith in Christ Jesus, I recognize that it is God who has chosen to save us, that we have nothing of ourselves by which we are saved. And yet through God's mercy He has chosen to apply Christ's sacrifice for sin to those who believe in Him.

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The answer is that it is God who does all in the salvation of a sinner and He uses our very wills to do it. Faith is the gift of God (Eph. 2:8) but God does not believe for us. Faith involves the mind, the will and most of all the heart. When God works in a chosen sinner to bring him to life and faith in Christ He first conquers his rebellion and stubburn will. He makes the sinner to fall at The feet of Christ begging mercy because he has no other hope. After He has come as a Conqueror He comes as a Comforter. Once He has broken the sinner He heals him with His grace and love. That is what John 16: 8-11 is talking about.

Christ is the Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world. (Rev. 13:8) God's grace was given us, that is all the elect, in Christ before the world began. (2Tim. 1:9) and we were put in Christ by the gift of the Father to Him before He ever came into this world. (John 6:37, 17:2-3) So then being in Christ in the purpose of God and actually saved by Him in time when He died we come to experience that salvation when we believe. The merit of Christ is not applied to us when we believe except as it is applied to our hearts by faith.

So, is faith in Christ the first evidence that God has indeed applied Christ's righteousness toward us?

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Heb. 11:1

And secondly, is conviction regarding sin, and its contravention against God's Holy righteousness an indication of God's work within our hearts in drawing us to seek His face through the ministry of His Word and His Holy Spirit?

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Again I would point you to John 16:8-11. A sinner will never seek Christ until he has been made to know the righteousness of God and his own filthiness. He will come to religion and clean himself up and do all kinds of good works to make himself appear to be clean but only a sinner will seek mercy and only a sinner will find it. If a man ever finds out he is a sinner I have some very good news for him. It isn't good news to good people. The Gospel is for sinners. Forgiveness is for sinners. Hope is for sinners. Grace is for the ungodly and sinners. If you ever find out you are a sinner it is only because God has done a work of grace in your heart.

heirmiles said:

It is God who works within us to will and do according to His good pleasure, and our response can be one of acceptance when we hear the gospel of Christ proclaimed (and read) to us. And yet there are also those who reject Christ and His work of salvation. I'm wondering though, when it comes to giving into temptation, are we in a way rejecting the work of His Spirit within us; or in being dead to sin and alive in Christ are we continually considered as righteous in Christ's righteousness. and is it then through confession and repentance that our awareness of this relationship is then restored; that is as we "come to our senses" regarding giving in to sin, we recognize our folly and once again seek to be united with God in Christ?

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As He is so are we in this world, 1John 4:17. We are righteous in Christ now and nothing we ever do will change that. We are not just considered as righteous we are righteous in Christ. Our sin, and yes we commit sin in everything we do in this life, was put away by Christ when he bore it in His own body on the tree, 1Pet. 2:24. He purged our sin by Himself and sat down of the righthand of the Majesty on High. Heb. 1:3. He blotted out the handwriting of ordinances that were against us and took it out of the way nailing it to His cross, Col.2:14. All the sin of all the elect is gone forever and God will not and cannot hold it against us. Read Rom. 8:29-39 with your mind engaged. Shall anything we do or don't do change the love of God which is in Christ Jesus toward us? Never. Now go and sin no more.

Correlation is not causation. We MUST have faith, this is parallel to the cause of our salvation which is the work of Christ, but faith is not the cause itself.