Integrity- People of God

CONFESS WITH YOUR MOUTH

James tells us if we believe in the true and living God, our actions should be consistent with what we say we believe. If we truly believe, God is Who He says He is, then, there will be some corresponding actions that validate our beliefs. Every choice we make displays our faith in whom or what we believe. Whether we trust God or our own strength, it is revealed in the decisions we make.

When we help those who are poor and give to them out of our own sustenance we are saying we can give because we trust God to supply our needs. When we hold back from giving, it is usually because we are scared we may not have enough for ourselves. This shows we are trusting in our own limited ability to provide and not in God’s abundant provision. If we believe this is a process and what we give is a seed planted and will grow then we are trusting in God’s word. When we are babes in Christ, we learn to rely and trust Him. As we grow, we are learning that we can trust Him to provide and meet all our needs no matter the situation.

James 2: 14-20 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?  If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead. NKJV

With the heart, we believe. At some specific point in time, the believer’s heart reaches a point that it believes the truth of God’s Word, that He raised Jesus from the dead. This belief is expressed in the action of confessing this belief with our mouth, saying Jesus is the Lord of our life. To believe and confess Jesus is Lord is not just head knowledge that Jesus existed and lived in some ancient times. It is a heart conviction knowing that Jesus is the True and living God. He is reliable and faithful and we can trust Him as the Lord of our lives, to help defend and protect us. As a believer, we are committed to follow and obey Jesus.

With the mouth, our confession of belief in Jesus gives us His salvation. With our mouth, we declare Jesus as Lord and this brings into existence our salvation by changing our relationship with God. Salvation means to rescue, to bring to safety, to deliver, to bring to health, to do well and make whole. This is what God does for those who believe in Him. He gives us salvation, not just for eternal life, but also for abundant life on this earth

Romans 10:9-11 That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.  For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” NKJV

Many have a knowledge of God and believe He exists but they do not believe in what God says is truth. Faith in God is shown when we will rely on God no matter the circumstances knowing He will never fail us though the situations we are in may not be what we want them to be but we trust God to work it out for our good.

Everyone have situations in life that test our belief. We will go through problems that will challenge the promises of God to save and rescue us. We are to stand in faith believing He will deliver us in every situation. How and when God will deliver us, we do not know but we are assured He will and we will not be put to shame. We have to endure the process or the testing, to persevere to the end to see God’s deliverance. We are not to confuse, the struggles and crisis we go through as the end of the story. They are only the methods used to reveal what we truly believe.

We must understand we have an enemy that is trying to destroy us and trying to make us give up on God. The command God gives us is to believe and have faith in Jesus for salvation. When we stand on the word of God and press through the difficult times, by faith in Jesus, we will see the salvation of God in our circumstances in the end. The key is not giving up, to persevere, to keep going until we win.

John 11: 25-27Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” She said to Him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world

No matter what we go through God will work it out for our good, and in the end, we will not be put to shame. Most people give up and they never get to the end and then blame God for not coming through. The key is for us not to faint, we will have everlasting peace. Our hope is in the Risen Lord and when we view our situation through the eyes of salvation, we can walk through the temporary struggles of these individual battles because we know we will win the war.