July
20, 2008
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Action
Required: Faith–The Real Thing
Biblical
Christianity demands the highest levels of commitment. Jesus
Himself expressed that He expected His disciples to be
willing to sacrifice their very lives to bring people to
salvation or they could not even consider themselves His
disciples.
Gary
Collins, in his book “Beyond Easy Believism”
(Word) says: “Cheap grace sounds a lot like easy
believism. It is a Christianity without cost or commitment.
It sees religion as a personal hobby or an
‘extra’ experience which does little more than
add zest and interest to life. . . The heroes of Hebrews 11
would have buckled under if their faith had involved nothing
more than a casual commitment to easy believism. The
thousands of believers who suffer today in Iron-Curtain
prison camps do not maintain their stability and convictions
because they have only a cheap grace” (page 35).
"Easy
Believism" is the idea that having a mental belief in Jesus
Christ is the same as obtaining salvation. In other words,
people only need to believe correct doctrines about Jesus and
salvation, rather than to actually trust Jesus Christ Himself
for salvation. The Bible notes that the "devils also believe
and tremble". (James 2:19 KJV)
We are going to look at the passage in James 2:14-26 and see
the importance of the balance of faith and works. This is the
most controversial and misunderstood passage in the book of
James. In this
passage
James talks about the difference between real and counterfeit
Christians, authentic believers and fake believers. He talks
about how you can have a real faith.
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NORTH RALEIGH CHURCH OF THE NAZARENE
9200
Strickland Road
Raleigh, North Carolina 27615
919.870.1141 Phone
919.870.1447 Fax
web@nrnazarene.org