Evidence of Salvation and Faith Evidenced By Works

With this entry I plan on wrapping up my little "Blog Trilogy." I didn't plan to do this, but I'm going to roll with it! So far, I have said that we are supposed to love God through obedience and following His commandments, and that believing in Him and repenting of our sins leads to salvation. In this installment I am going to show how we know we are saved, the signs that become evident in true followers of Jesus. Let's kick things off with what the Master says in John 15:

[1] I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
[2] Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
[3] Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
[4] Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
[5] I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
[6] If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
[7] If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
[8] Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
[9] As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.
[10] If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.
[11] These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.
[12] This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
[13] Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
[14] Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
[15] Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.
[16] Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
[17] These things I command you, that ye love one another.

As usual, Jesus uses a beautiful and brilliant analogy to illustrate a very important point to us. He compares Himself to a vine, and His people grow out of that vine. The ones that are producing good fruit for Him are trimmed, so they may grow further and continue to be productive. The branch can't bear fruit on its own, it's totally dependent on the vine for its nutrition. The branches that are not connected to the vine will wither and die, and be cast into the fire. Notice here again that Jesus is giving us a conditional statement, like I mentioned in my "how does one love God?" entry. [10] If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.

Now, when Jesus talks of abiding in Him and He in us, He's referring to the Holy Spirit living in us. We can only produce fruit through the Spirit.

John 14:16-17
[16] And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
[17] Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

By the way, this isn't the only time a vine or vineyard is mentioned in the Bible. Of course, being the supernatural infallible masterpiece of the Word of God, we see foreshadowing in the Old Testament.

Psalm 80:14-19
[14] Return, we beseech thee, O God of hosts: look down from heaven, and behold, and visit this vine;
[15] And the vineyard which thy right hand hath planted, and the branch that thou madest strong for thyself.
[16] It is burned with fire, it is cut down: they perish at the rebuke of thy countenance.
[17] Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, upon the son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself.
[18] So will not we go back from thee: quicken us, and we will call upon thy name.
[19] Turn us again, O LORD God of hosts, cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.

The end verses of this Psalm are a messianic prophecy. The vineyard is planted through Christ, whom God placed with His right hand. The branch is another name for Jesus. (Is. 11:1, Jer. 23:5, Zech. 3:8, and more) So before I get too off topic here, I just wanted to show that Jesus is the vine, the branch, and it was foretold many years before He came to earth. Not a surprise, right?

Paul writes about the fruit of the Spirit in the book of Galatians 5:22-24:

[22] But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
[23] Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
[24] And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

Something important to note here: Paul deliberately writes "fruit," in the singular form. Why not fruits? All these things he lists are evident in a believer, not just one or a few. The fruit we produce yields love, joy, peace, etc.

I don't want anyone to think that this all comes instantly when someone is saved. It's not this automatic life transformation where all your weaknesses and faults instantly go away, and you're a little Christ robot. No, this is a process. Certain things will manifest themselves in a believer rather quickly, while others may take time. Jesus works out the kinks in us through the process of sanctification, which I'll talk about a little later.

So after learning about good fruit, what should we take away from this? Do we have to go out and save the universe? Nope. Producing good fruit could be as easy as smiling at someone, sticking up for Jesus, witnessing, fellowship, standing against the devil, denying the lusts of the flesh, donating to the poor, anything that is done for God's glory. It comes natural to the believer, and becomes more apparent and abundant as Jesus continues to trim us. If you can see that you're producing good fruit in your life, that's definitely an indication that you are saved by the Lord Jesus.

I just mentioned that the fruit-bearing process is just that - a process. Christ Jesus sanctifies us through his Holy Spirit over time, conforming us to Him. The word sanctify means "to set apart for sacred use, to make holy; purify." This is the miraculous power of the Lord at work in a believer. Let's see what the Bible says about sanctification.

Romans 15:16
That I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost.

Hebrews 10:14
For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.

1 Thes. 4:1-4
[1] Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more.
[2] For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus.
[3] For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:
[4] That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;

2 Thes. 2:13
But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:

John 17:17
Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

Exodus 31:13
Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you.

1 Corinthians 6:9-11
[9] Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
[10] Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
[11] And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

There are even more verses that illustrate sanctification in the Bible, but I feel this is enough for you to get a feel of what's being said throughout. Sanctification is a process that God Himself does, alone, by the Holy Spirit and the Word of God, to make us holy and to conform us to the image of His Son Jesus Christ. This sanctification process produces the fruit of the Spirit in us, and we can examine ourselves and see if these fruits are evident in our lives.

Let's take another look at 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 above. God is giving us a stern warning, and shows us what kinds of people will NOT inherit the kingdom of God. It's also repeated in Galatians 5:19-21:

[19] Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
[20] Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
[21] Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

Ephesians 5:3-5
[3] But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;
[4] Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.
[5] For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

God never pulls punches when He gives us warnings! To be honest, I'm glad He doesn't. Jesus also explained to us that we can know if someone is in God by their fruit. Too often I hear "Christians" say "don't judge, don't judge!," although Christ Himself gave us insight on it. I'm not talking about judging Christians here, I'm talking about weeding out false Christians and false prophets.

Matthew 7:15-23
[15] Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
[16] Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
[17] Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
[18] A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
[19] Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
[20] Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
[21] Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
[22] Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
[23] And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Here we see a reinforcement of what Jesus said in John 15, but with a little more emphasis on false prophets. If someone isn't abiding in Jesus the Biblical (only) way, and doesn't regard His law as holy and righteous, Jesus will cast that person into hell on the day of judgment. No doubt about it. So it is ok to examine people by the fruit they produce in life (like our rotten soon-to-be former President Dubya), and we are actually supposed to do so!

Before this entry gets too long winded, I want to illustrate one more point. Faith evidenced by works. This is a tricky one, because people can get sucked into works salvation. I believe the Catholic church teaches works salvation in part, although I could be wrong. Anyway, our faith is made apparent through the things we do in life. Some Bible for ya:

James 2:14-26
[14] What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
[15] If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
[16] And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?
[17] Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
[18] Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
[19] Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
[20] But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
[21] Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
[22] Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?
[23] And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.
[24] Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.
[25] Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?
[26] For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

Matthew 7:26
And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:

1 John 3:18
My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.

Again, there are even more verses that illustrate this, but for the sake of brevity I'll just include these. It is very important to read these passages carefully! They are easily twisted. Our faith is demonstrated and justified by the things we do, and going back a few blog entries, our obedience. If we have faith but don't obey the Lord, what good is that? What good is faith without action? It's dead. On the other hand, if we have faith that produces good fruit and that is evident by our works in life, we are justified and in good standing with the Lord Jesus!

Finally, I want to clearly show in Scripture that our works have nothing to do with obtaining salvation! They are simply evidence that we are indeed truly saved.

Titus 3:5-7
[5] Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
[6] Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;
[7] That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Ephesians 2:8-9
[8] For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
[9] Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Romans 3:20-28
[20] Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
[21] But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
[22] Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
[23] For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
[24] Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
[25] Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
[26] To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
[27] Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.
[28] Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.

Galatians 2:16
[16] Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.

I hope you see the distinction the Bible makes on this. We are saved by faith alone through Christ Jesus. Any man that thinks his own works play a role in his salvation is fooling himself and robbing God of His glory! It is God alone who saves, who sanctifies us, who produces good fruit through us, and who leads us in our Christian walk. Without Christ we can do nothing. Without works, we don't have much faith at all though, do we? Is it genuine?

This entry has been a massive undertaking! I hope it isn't too long, and I hope I have made my points clear. We know we are saved by the good fruit we produce in our lives, the fruit of the Spirit that becomes evident, the things we do for the glory of God, and the overall sanctification process we see in our lives. We sin less over time, and gain a real victory over sinful ways in general - a life of holiness. We owe this all to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, without whom we can do nothing. Thanks be to God!