Carl Heinrich Bloch (1834–1890) – The Sermon On the Mount
Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent. – John 6:29
This is a key verse to debate those who teach the “faith only” doctrine. Those who have allowed themselves to believe that there is nothing one can do to be saved have overlooked this verse.
There is also a difference in believing “in him” and “believing him.” If we are to believe in Christ, we have to trust that what he said is the way of salvation. Finding ways around his teaching is contrary to the spirit of what Jesus was about. A number of the followers turned away in John 6 when they started figuring this out.
Jesus marveled at man’s disbelief. (Mark 6:6) His villagers even used the fact that he was born among them and therefore could not possibly be worthy of his claims.
- Not believing in God makes us equal to the animals
- Not believing is contrary to human nature
- Not believing leaves man without hope
- Not believing closes the mind to the evidence of God
Faith takes a lot of work. It is how we separate ourselves from the world. It is how we decide to set priorities for “spiritual bread” over the physical bread.
As we make our daily choices – let’s pay more attention to which bread we are working for by choosing to enrich our faith.
May 9, 2014
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