Guest Post- Josh Westfall- Faith and transformation

When I was younger, I always heard “you are saved through Faith by Grace, not by works, so no one may boast.” Many of us are familiar with the verse from Ephesians 2:8-9, but it was never explained to me. So, for the longest time, I just understood it as all I had to do was say the prayer and believe in God, and I had my ticket to heaven; nothing else I needed to do. While those things are true, Romans 10:9 tells us "that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." I was missing a couple of critical pieces in my belief. One, that it had to come from the heart. For me, logically, God was the only explanation, so of course I believe, but that was all intellectual, not heart. Second, I was missing the part that I had to believe God raised Jesus from the dead. While I believed this, it didn’t occur to me that it was the key to focus on. These are the steps required for salvation, but they are not all we are told to do. Truly believing in your heart and not your mind is what will transform your life so we may Truly live by Faith.

            Throughout the Bible, we are repeatedly instructed to love God, love our neighbors, help the needy, serve others, and show kindness. We are also encouraged to obey and trust in God. But didn’t we just see Ephesians 2:8-9 and Romans 10:9? That my salvation isn’t riding on doing these things, and I need to confess with my mouth and believe in my heart that Jesus rose from the dead. My question to you, then, is: if you are not doing these things, are you truly saved? Do you truly believe in your heart?

            Confessing with your mouth and believing with your heart should cause a transformation in your life. You will not desire the things you used to do, but have new desires to love God, love your neighbors, help the needy, serve and show kindness to others, to obey and trust God. While not all of these things are required for salvation, it is a good sign that you or someone is saved. James 2:14-26 talks about how Faith and Works go hand in hand. James 2:17 goes as far as to say Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead by itself. John 14:12 Jesus says Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do because I go to the Father. 

So, I implore you to examine your faith. Are you not doing any of these things we are told to do? Are you doing these things because it makes you feel good or because it says to do it in the Bible, so you do it? If any of those are the only reasons, you may want to open your Bible, begin to pray, and see where your heart truly stands. These should be done through conviction. If you have the opportunity to do these things and are convinced to do so, and you let it slip by you, you should feel conviction from the Holy Spirit. This does not mean every time you could help someone, you will feel convicted for not doing it, but you will have an opportunity where you will be convicted, and if you let it slip by, you will feel grieved as it will grieve the Holy Spirit.

            Faith, while it does mean to believe, it also can mean to trust or to obey. When we are saved through faith, we need to take that as more than just belief. The devil believes Jesus exists. He knows he was resurrected, so we need more than just belief. Jesus did not say Pick up your cross and believe in me. He said, “Pick up your cross and follow me.” We are to trust and obey God in all aspects of our lives.

            I pray that each of you will examine your life and your heart, and ask yourselves if you truly know you are saved. Read Psalm 51, pray, and invite God into your heart. Pray to be shown your shortcomings and any areas where you need repentance, then repent and turn away from those areas.  True Faith in Jesus is not just a mere intellectual agreement but should be a deep, action-oriented belief that convicts you to draw closer to God, live more like Jesus, and have a complete transformation of your life!

Josh Westfall