Hebrews 11:6 New Living Translation
“It is impossible to please God
without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and
that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.”
According to the writer of Hebrews,
one cannot please God without faith. Jesus said in the Gospel according to Luke
if you have faith the size of a mustard seed you could move mountains. The
mustard seed was the tiniest seed in the world at that time so Jesus was saying
it didn’t require a lot of faith to find favor with God. [1] If we
believe that God exists by faith we will be rewarded. There is a lot more to it than simply
believing though. You have to take the
Bible in its entirety and not cherry pick the verses you like. We are to be imitators. The Apostle Paul says multiple times to
imitate him as he imitates Christ. [2]
Imitating Christ is to draw close to
him and study how he lived. What did he say and do in various situations. The
Bible is the only book that chronicles his brief time on this earth. You must
read it to know the author or you can simply cling to the verse that says
believe and be saved. No doubt
billions of people down thru the ages believed in the existence of God, but I
would venture a guess that most are not going to heaven when all is said and
done.
Imitation and submission … we must
submit to the will of God. His will is
for us to be blessed and not cursed; therefore it is not a difficult thing to
submit to him. He is not a dictator or
evil ruler who will promise one thing and deliver another. He desires to bless us and wishes us to voluntarily
pledge allegiance to him and him alone. Knowing you are free from past sins
frees up your spirit so that you can truly live life as God intended in the
first place. So place all your faith and
trust squarely on God and know that if you allow him to, the Holy Spirit will
guide you into all good things. Until
next time, walk with the King and be a blessing!
Resource: The Life Application Study Bible, published by
Tyndale House.
[1] Luke 17:6 “The Lord answered, ‘If you had faith even as small as a
mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, 'May you be uprooted and
thrown into the sea,' and it would obey you!”
Philippians 3:17 “Join
one another in following my example, brothers, and carefully observe those who
live according to the pattern we set for you.”
Philippians 4:9 “Whatever
you have learned and received and heard from me, and seen in me, put these
things into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”
1 Thessalonians 1:6 “And
you became imitators of us and of the Lord when you welcomed the message with
the joy of the Holy Spirit, in spite of your great suffering.”
2 Thessalonians 3:9 “Not
that we lack this right, but we wanted to offer ourselves as an example for you
to imitate.”
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