So let’s finish that ancient discussion on faith.  (Then hopefully I’ll go onto predestination as planned).

So in the Book of James, it says “Faith without works is dead.”  But doesn’t Paul kept on emphasizing that we are saved by Grace, through Faith, not of Works, lest any man should boast?? How can we reconcil this?

The key comes in understanding that James and Paul are both talking about the same faith, but each is focusing on a different aspect of it.  Paul emphasizes faith as the reason for salvation.  That it is because of faith that we are saved, not of anything that we can do by ourselves.  However, James is emphasizing on the CHARACTERISTIC of faith.  That is: TRUE FAITH WILL BE FOLLOWED BY GOOD WORKS.

So jumping slightly forward to predestination, this is the “salvation timeline” (I forgot some tiny details so this is only a rough sketch):

1) You are predestinated by God the Father to be his elect before the world begins.

2) God sent his servant to preach hs Word.

3) You hear the Word of God.

4) The Holy Spirit moves in you and gives you the faith to believe.

5) You realize your sin and offense to God, then obey the Holy Spirit by crying out to God for salvation and forgiveness.

6) Jesus cleanses you of your sin and saves you.

7) Your life is transformed and you make up your mind to live a life that pleases God (by doing good works).

Therefore, step number 7 (where you started doing good works) is the DIRECT CONSEQUENCE of the faith that God gives you;  You are saved by faith, and then that faith proceeds to impel you to perform good works.  TRUE FAITH ALWAYS LEAD TO REPENTANCE AND DESIRE TO LIVE A GOD-CENTERED LIFESTYLE.

In the above paragraph it sounds like I’m hinting at the possibility of false faith.  Well, not quite, but as shown in the Bible there are people who goes to church, claims themselves as Christians, but who are not really chosen by God.  These are the people described in Hebrews 6.

So how can we distinguish between them?? How do we know if we’re really saved by God, or our emotion is just playing with us?

This is the most depressing part about the majority of Calvinists; they do not know how to answer this question, and as the result they are convinced that there is no way to find out if a person is truly saved or not.  As the result, they live through their lives with fear and trembling, and can only say things that “I’m am MOSTLY sure that I’m saved.”

However, I do not think it cannot be done. I believe that with the Book of James, we can examine our faith and find out if we’re truly saved or not (However, note that it’s impossible to know if someone other than you is saved or not, as you are not him).

So how? Fortunately, Bible gives us a perfect example of a person who seems 100% to be saved by others, but is actually condemned by God in the beginning.  He’ll be our case study.  His name is Judas Iscariot.  Let’s look at him in conjunction with Hebrews 6:

⁴ For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, ⁵ and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, ⁶ if they fall away,^[b] to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.
⁷ For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God; ⁸ but if it bears thorns and briers, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned.

Is Judas enlightened? Yes, he hear and saw the preachings and miracles of Jesus.  Has he tasted the heavenly gift? Yes, he is there when Jesus feed thousands of people.  Is he a partaker of the Holy Spirit? Yes, he saw the works of the Holy Spirit through Jesus (here partaking is interpreted as seeing the event, but not necessarily the recepient).  And definitely he has tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come; he saw Jesus casting out demons, freeing those in bondage, etc.

But why does Judas not be saved, BECAUSE HE DOES NOT THINK THESE EVENTS HAVE ANY PERSONAL IMPLICATIONS TO HIM.  All he cares about is money, whenever he sees or saw something, he only thinks about how it might benefit him and please his flesh.  When he saw Mary anointing Jesus, he does not think about the glory of Jesus and how Mary rightly demonstrated what the Son of God deserves, HE ONLY THINKS ABOUT HOW HE LOSES MORE MONEY TO STEAL FROM.  To Judas, Jesus being the Son of God does not imply any actions from his part, it’s simply a chance, an oppotunity, a stepping stone to further benefit his own lust and desires.

So how do we know that we’re truly saved? We should examine ourselves; are we doing what we’re doing only to please ourselve, or are we trying to please our God? Is our faith constantly transforming ourselves to be more like Jesus, or are we just taking advantage of the blessings from God to satisfy our flesh and earthly desires?

May we all look deep into our hearts and repent sincerely before God.