4. Each person has been given enough faith to be saved by God.
Before he laid the foundation of the world God knew each believer beforehand and he carefully planned good works for them to do. Most believers will complete very few of the good works God has planned for them to do. God knows this. God is not a one trick pony. God is unfathomable and multiple in all things. If there’s a good work God has planned for us and we don’t do it God has someone else lined up and ready to take our place. Failing to do what God has planned for us to do means we’ll lose the blessing or reward tied to that good work and it’ll go to someone else who was more obedient to God. We see an example of this spiritual truth played out in the book of Ester. God placed the Jewish girl Ester as the wife of King Ahasuerus of Persia so she could save her people from the evil plot of Haman to destroy all Jews. Ester’s uncle Mordecai told Ester that God made her queen so that she could save her people and if she refused to do it then God would raise up another deliverer and she would perish.
Ester 4:13-14 – And Mordecai told them to answer Ester: Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king’s palace any more than all the other Jews. For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?
Ecclesiastes – He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.
Don’t be discouraged. Just run the individual race God has given you with perseverance while continuing to do all the good works you possibly can. We’re all sinners, we all have a sin nature and we’re all living in a fallen and cursed world. We can do nothing for God until he first saves us and then to accomplish anything after that we must be in obedience to God’s word and work through the power of the indwelt Holy Spirit. When believers stand before the bema judgment seat of Jesus Christ on the last day to receive their rewards for good works done in the body Jesus will indeed let them know the good works they have done. But believers will also be made aware of the good works that God had planned for them that they failed to do, and the rewards they missed out on due to their disobedience.
Ephesians 2:10 – For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
2 Corinthians 5:10 – For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
Hebrews 6:10 – For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister.
Matthew 28:19 – (Jesus speaking) – Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
God has never planned any good works for the nonbeliever because what’s the point? The number one good work the believer can do for God is to witness the gospel of Christ to nonbelievers. In addition to witnessing the gospel message of Christ to all nonbelievers we Christians are also commanded to do other good works such as helping the poor and the needy. If the believer isn’t first fulfilling the Great Commission that Jesus gave his disciples, which is to share the gospel message of Christ , then all other good works are meaningless to God. Other good works are just icing on the cake but witnessing is the important thing; witnessing is the cake. Without the cake the icing is useless so it gets thrown in the trash.
Proverbs 11:30 – The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise.
Proverbs 14:25 – A true witness delivers souls, but a deceitful witness speaks lies.
Acts 10:42 – And He commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that it is He who was ordained by God to be Judge of the living and the dead.
Titus 2:15 – Speak these things (the gospel), exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you.
Nonbelievers, on the other hand, have no good works planned for them because they are not saved unto eternal life by God’s grace. Those who don’t know God certainly can’t witness about something they know nothing about. God is efficient with no wasted motion. God doesn’t waste his time on things that are meaningless. I’m not saying that nonbelievers can’t do good works in this world; they can. I’m just saying anything good done in this world by nonbelievers has no impact on their eternal destination because they will be condemned by God on the last day if they aren’t saved and they cannot do the main thing, which is to witness for Christ. If you’re not a believer you have no personal testimony to give because you don’t know God. Other good works will not be credited to anyone’s account if they don’t first witness the gospel of Christ. You cannot please God if you don’t share Jesus Christ with nonbelievers at every opportunity.
1 Timothy 2:3-4 – For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
Colossians 3:25 – But he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality.
Titus 3:8 – This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men.
2 Corinthians 5:20 – Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God was pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.
Nonbelievers will one day have to stand before the Great White throne for judgment by Jesus Christ while still abiding in their sins, no matter how much they help the poor and needy. We can’t buy our way into heaven; we can only get there through faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Jesus Christ will dispense justice fairly to everyone which means he will condemn nonbelievers to the lake of fire forever for their sins. You must understand that God is good but also just. God didn’t make any man with the knowledge and intent of sending them to hell. By his foreknowledge God knew who would accept his saving grace and who wouldn’t. Always remember that God is good, God is great and God is fair to every creature he has made. Every man on earth has equal opportunity to find God, know God and accept God’s salvation unto eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
1 Corinthians 1:9 – God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
1 Thessalonians 5:24 – He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.
Psalm 37:3 – Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
John 4:36 – (Jesus speaking) – And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.
I once thought I had an unfair advantage over someone living Russia, China, Saudi Arabia, etc., because I lived in the United States and hearing the gospel message of Christ happens easily and often in a Christian country. I thought I stood a much better chance of being saved than the people of those other countries and I felt sorry for their loss. I saw things only from a human perspective and not how God sees things. The Lord is a God of justice so he made every person with the same small amount of faith on the inside of them so that anyone can find salvation unto eternal life if they sincerely want salvation and ask God for it. There’s no such thing as a person who really wants to be saved but they can’t achieve it. It says in the Bible in Romans 10:13, that we can be saved unto eternal life if we ask it of God. We all have enough faith within us to be saved, no matter how small that faith is, because God made us all with the capacity to be able to accept his saving grace. It’s all part of God’s salvation plan for man.
Hebrews 11:1 – Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
2 Corinthians 5:7 – For we walk by faith, not by sight.
Romans 5:1-2 – Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we also have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
2 Corinthians 9:6 – But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
The dictionary defines faith as, “complete trust or confidence in someone or something.” For the believer that means complete trust in Jesus and complete confidence that we are saved unto eternal life and will one day be in heaven with the Lord. Nothing compares to our faith in God. It gives us peace with God and the peace of God. There’s a great example in the gospel of Luke of the spiritual truth that it takes only a small amount of faith to be saved. In Luke 23:42-43, Jesus grants salvation to someone who has what I’d say is only a small amount of faith. One of the two thieves that were condemned and crucified on the cross alongside Jesus spoke to the Lord only once. The thief addressed Jesus as Lord and then he asked Jesus to remember him when he came into his kingdom. Based on that one brief statement alone Jesus saved the thief then and there and told him he’d be with the Lord in Paradise that day.
Luke 23:42-43 – The he (the thief on the cross) said to Jesus. “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”
Matthew 22:14 – (Jesus speaking) – For many are called, but few are chosen.
Hebrew 11:6 – But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
Romans 11:29 – For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.
God calls all men to salvation but few are chosen. Ultimately the Lord alone decides who he will save through the Holy Spirit, what criteria he will use to save them and what amount of faith is needed for their salvation; even among nations and peoples that are unfamiliar with Christianity. It’s not for us to judge the actions of God or the salvation plan that God has in place for man. While it’s true that some Christians will continue to grow their faith as they walk humbly with God, there are many other Christians, in fact most Christians, that never seem to grow the small amount of faith that God has given to all men. Either way, God saves anyone who asks him, whether their faith is large or small.
Romans 10:13 – For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Romans 8:30 – Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called, these He also justified, these He also glorified.
2 Thessalonians 2:14 – To which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Luke 6:39 – (Jesus speaking) – Can the blind (nonbelievers) lead the blind? Will they not both fall into the ditch?
I’m sure when the Apostle Paul first met Jesus Christ on the Damascus road he was saved into eternal life by his great faith in the Lord. Seeing the resurrected Christ will do that for you. On the other hand, when an innocent eight year old child stands before the church congregation and accepts Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior his or her faith is small yet God saves them too. God cannot lie. God is ever faithful to fulfill his word and save you if you cry out to him no matter whether your faith is large or small; no matter whether you are young or old. God loves us all and his net is wide so that he can harvest as many souls as possible for the kingdom of God. Praise God for his love, mercy and grace!
Romans 4:5 – But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness.
John 3:36 – (Jesus speaking) – He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.
1 John 2:25 – And this is the promise that He has promised us – eternal life.
Romans 3:28 – Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.
If anyone recognizes their sinful state before God and asks for God to forgive them of their sins and save them then Scripture says God will do it. The Bible doesn’t say God might save you if you ask him to forgive you of your sins; the Bible says God will save you if you ask him. There are no ifs, ands or buts about it; no qualifiers whatsoever. The Scriptures don’t say God will check your level of faith first and if it’s great enough then God will save you. God makes a promise to forgive you of your sins and save you, period. No questions asked. If you have enough faith to ask for God’s grace you can be sure your sins are forgiven. Always keep in mind that God loves us dearly and he wants us to be in heaven with him forever.
2 Timothy 4:1-2 – I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.
John 3:18 – (Jesus speaking) – He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
Daniel 12:2-3 – And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever.
John 3:27 – A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.
God is for us and his goal is for all of us to be in heaven with him for eternity. God is inclusive which is why God made his salvation plan so easy for us to understand. God is doing his best to get us into heaven, not keep us out. All we have to do is turn from our sin and accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and we can be certain we’re going to heaven. We have God’s solemn promise! Salvation appears so easy some people might think it’s a trick, that their must be a catch. I can tell you there’s no catch; salvation really is that easy. The only caveat is that man must make the free will decision to serve God while they yet live. A person choosing to serve Satan will go to hell forever. Not deciding whom to serve is a default selection for Satan also resulting in eternal damnation.
2 Corinthians 5:11 – Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men.
Hebrews 10:31 – It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Matthew 10:28 – (Jesus speaking) – And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
1 John 1:9 – If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.