THE PROBLEM OF INCONSISTENT FAITH

While Christians generally profess to believe that they are justified by faith in Christ, I often detect a dangerous inconsistency in their faith. Although they claim to be justified by faith, they do not act like they believe it. On the contrary, they talk and act as if their standing with God, His blessing on their life, and His favor depends on what they do and the rules that they keep, rather than on what Christ did on the cross. And, that is dangerous because if they believe that their standing with God depends on what they do, then they are trusting in what they do rather than in what Christ did.

This inconsistency may be what James referred to as being “double-minded” (James 1:8). If so, that may explain why those who seem zealous for the law sometimes do foolish things, or fall into sin. I know of a music minister who ran away with a member of the choir, a pastor who was found guilty of adultery, a seemingly dedicated church member who left his wife for another woman. The list could go on and on, but I want to stress this fact. As long as we are trusting in the forgiveness we have in Christ, not only to save us but also to make us righteous, the Holy Spirit will keep us from falling into sin (Galatians 5:16-18). However, if we deceive ourselves into thinking that it is our works (the things that we do) that make us righteous in God’s sight then the Holy Spirit cannot help us without helping us to deceive ourselves.

It is important to understand that the forgiveness we have in Christ cleanses us from all sin, making us pure, perfect and holy in God’s sight (Hebrews 10:10, 14). So holy that nothing we do could improve on it one bit (Isaiah 64:6).