"Now faith is
being sure of what we hope for
and certain of what we do not see."
"Fix your eyes on Jesus the author and perfecter of
our faith."
We know from studying Father God's Most Holy Word;
that we are only on this earth for a short while.
For we are citizen's of heaven.
Philippians 3:17-21
"Dear brothers and sisters, pattern your lives after mine,
and learn from those who follow our example. For I have
told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes,
that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies
of the cross of Christ.
They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite,
they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this
life
here on earth. But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus
Christ
lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior.
He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious
bodies
like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything
under
his control."
Jesus Christ of Nazareth died upon the cross of Calvary for us.
His righteous sin-free blood has released us from Satan's grip.
In Father God's eyes all believers in Christ Jesus are righteous
with their
names written in "The Lamb's Book of Life."
James 2:14-25Faith Without Good Deeds Is Dead
"What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you
have faith
but don't show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save
anyone?
Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing,
and you
say, "Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well"
-- but then you
don't give that person any food or clothing. What good does that
do?
So you see, faith by itself isn't enough. Unless it produces good
deeds,
it is dead and useless.
Now someone may argue, "Some people have faith; others have
good deeds."
But I say, "How can you show me your faith if you don't have
good deeds? I
will show you my faith by my good deeds."
You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God.
Good for you!
Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. How
foolish!
Can't you see that faith without good deeds is useless?
Don't you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right
with God
by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You
see, his faith and
his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete.
And so it happened
just as the Scriptures say: "Abraham believed God, and God
counted him as righteous
because of his faith." He was even called a friend of God.
So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not
by faith alone.
Rahab, the prostitute, is another example. She was shown to be
right with God by
her actions when she hid those messengers and sent them safely
away by a
different road.
Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead
without good works."
