I Believe, isn’t that enough?

By Mike DeSario

"You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe and tremble!" James 2:19

Today multitudes are under the impression that they will go to heaven when they die because they ‘believe’ in Jesus Christ. The modern established churches have led millions into this false assumption because of their utter failure to explain the fundamental difference between ‘Believing’ and ‘Doing’.

Every professing Christian knows that it is by Grace you are saved through faith; it’s a FREE GIFT, not of WORKS lest anyone should boast. (Eph. 2:8-9) Yet FEW know what to say when they hear that the ‘devils’ also believe and tremble! Even though this explains the HUGE difference between faith that saves and faith that is in vain.

Who is to blame for the vast multitude of church going people today who know nothing about self-denial, humble obedience, purity of heart, and newness of life? Why is it commonplace among professing Christians to be lukewarm, complacent about sin and lethargic toward duty to God? People who have attended church for many years are destitute of righteousness and true holiness, vacant of the Spirit in their daily lives, and have no desire whatsoever to see others transformed into the image of Christ.

The Gospel is clear enough on the necessity of daily self-denial, purity of heart, and righteousness of life. The message Jesus declared clearly states that "NARROW is the way that leads to life and FEW there be that find it!" (Matt. 7:13-14) He warned of the reality of false teachers who would come to you in ‘sheep’s clothing’, but inwardly be ‘ravenous wolves’, proclaiming a false message of Grace. By Divine revelation He told us that Millions would appear at the Great Judgment claiming to have known and worked for Him, while they remained in bondage to their sin. (Matt. 7:15-23)

CLEARLY the majority is said to be on the Wide road that leads to destruction. And the Narrow Gate is so difficult to find that Jesus Himself told us we must MAKE EVERY EFFORT to the point of agony to enter through it. (Lk. 13:24) He said this in answer to the question, "Lord, is their FEW who are saved?"

"STRIVE to enter through the narrow gate, for MANY I say to you will seek to enter and not be able."

WHY isn’t this message being shouted from the rooftops, far and wide across our land? WHY is it that people can attend church most of their adult lives and be wholly ignorant that Jesus has made these demands in order to inherit eternal life? WHY aren’t the people being warned of the impending danger of complacency, of false profession, religious hypocrisy and lack of obedience to the truth? WHO decided that it’s not necessary to OBEY the Commands of Jesus to inherit eternal life?

"IF anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me! For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it!" (Lk. 9:23-24)

Will you stand at the great Judgment and quote doctrines to the Lord of Glory? Or claim that your pastor assured you of eternal life because you repeated a prayer? Ringing in your ears throughout eternity will be HIS WORDS:

"IF anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes and his own life also, he CANNOT be My disciple. And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple!" Lk. 15:26-27

But I BELIEVED! You will proclaim, wasn’t that enough? The passage said ‘Whosoever believes will be saved!’ (John 3:16) I believed and confessed! (Rom. 10:9-10)

But you never ENDURED. Jesus told you that ‘He who endures to the end will be saved!’ (Matt. 10:22) But your pastor told you that ‘everyone who believes, will endure’ slightly twisting the words of our Lord and thereby setting you up for a WRONG IMPRESSION that exempted obedience to His more ‘difficult’ commands.

Therefore you have ‘believed’ in Vain, to no effect, without success! Self-denial, humble obedience, godly behavior and self-control did not accompany your profession of faith. You believed the false teachers who told you that in Christ you are ‘pronounced’ righteous while you remain in bondage to your sin. Heart purity and true holiness were never an issue because of Grace. You continued to enjoy your sins while you ‘believed’ them to be forgiven in Him.

"Do you not know that to whom you present yourself slaves to obey, you are that one’s slave whom you obey; whether it is sin unto death or OBEDIENCE unto righteousness!" Rom. 6:16

NO ONE can remain a slave to sin and at the same time be a Son of God. "He who commits sin is a slave to sin." Jesus said, (John 8:34) But who the Son sets free is FREE indeed! Free from the corruption, bondage, and slavery of sin. The evidence of a New Birth from above is a renewed heart into the image and likeness of Christ.

"If anyone be in Christ he is a NEW CREATION, old things have passed away, behold all things have become new!" 2Cor. 5:17

You cannot become a new creation in Christ and not also possess a humble and obedient heart dead to self-life and purified of known sin. Jesus said you must lose your life to find it, NOT find it in this world and then imagine you can ‘use’ it for Him. You have to die before you can truly live. Because with self in control, you are destined for hell fire.

"Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone, but if it dies it produces much grain. He who loves his life will lose it and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life." (John 12:24-25)

Coming to Christ is not repeating a prayer or attending church. Many who preach the Word are still in bondage to sin and will die supposing themselves saved because of the doctrines of men. If you follow them, you also will die in your sin. (John 8:24)

Faith that saves the soul is faith that will cleanse the heart from the corrupting influence of sin. Faith that will Strive to enter by the Narrow Gate, faith that will Make every effort to grow and be rooted and grounded in love, Faith that will WORK OUT salvation with fear and trembling, Faith that will be found pure and blameless at His coming, and faith that will GUARD and keep what has been entrusted to it by God!

Nothing short of this faith will enter the kingdom according to the Holy Scriptures. According to the modern preachers this is ‘works’ and not necessary. But the question is WHO are you going to believe? MOST will continue down the road to destruction believing they are ‘saved’ and never take a second look at the commands of Jesus. Will you be one of them? Don’t go to your grave clinging to an ‘assumption’, Come to Christ and find deliverance from your sin.

"And anyone who does not take his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it and he who loses his life for My sake will find it!" (Matt. 10:38-39)