Keep the Faith 7/28/10

Monday, September 06, 2010

Opinion	September 06, 2010

7/29/2010 9:16:00 AM

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Dr. Tony Taylor

Keep the Faith 7/28/10

By Dr. Tony Taylor

"One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: "Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?" Luke 10:25-37

Jesus was always asked questions, and He always answered them in unforgettable ways. The questions asked of Him always seemed to fall into one of two categories. They were either questions about entrance into the kingdom, or questions about how to live ethically within that kingdom.

In our text today, Jesus gives, perhaps, His most unforgettable answer to a kingdom entrance question. He spotlights the requirement that our faith go beyond believing to acting in accordance and obedience to Christ's purpose. He highlights the fact that we are in preparation for kingdom living here and now.

We all want eternal life. We talk about it, profess it to be real and true, and proudly claim it as our final destination. But what are we actually doing to prepare for it? What physical and spiritual acts are we doing to prepare for our eternal future?

Paul spoke of this in light of an athlete preparing for an event. He gives us the mandate of physically conditioning ourselves to be winners. A true man of religion believes in one God; he is neither an atheist nor an agnostic. He is a believer, and note, his belief in God is said to be a good thing.

The man does well to believe in God. But believing in God is not enough. There is a dead belief and a living belief, a belief that does not lead to salvation and a belief that does lead to salvation. Consider the demons or evil spirits. They believe in God; they know God exists. They even believe in the deity of Christ. On one occasion, they cried out to Jesus, "What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God?" (Matthew 8:29). But the demons are not saved. Their belief has not affected their lives and behavior at all.

James 2:20 says: "Know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead." Do not be vain, meaning empty, useless, foolish. True faith is a living faith, a faith that works, a faith that stirs a person to prepare for the race, run the race and win the race!

True faith calls for us to reach completion in Christ. We all want to go to "heaven," but are we preparing ourselves to go? What qualifications do we bring before God? To "inherit eternal life" requires some planning, training and some qualifying on our part. But it is ours to have!

Christ did His part - all that remains is for us to do ours.

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