How Does Faith Stop Us From Sinning?
Manage episode 371705327 series 3299902
Many know Ephesians 2:8-9 by heart: "“for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, that no one would boast." (WEB)
Saved from what? The very next verse (10) tells us, saved from bad works, or wrong-doing. So, we are saved from sinning through faith.
People often assume that what we are saved from is the *penalty* of sin, even while we continue to commit sin in our actual experience. But as we show from Scripture, the salvation offered in the Gospel is salvation from sin. And only by abandoning sin can we be saved from its penalty. God offers us, not a cloak for sin, but deliverance from sin.
And we learn from Ellen White that genuine faith is more than belief that Jesus is not an impostor. It is more than believing that the name of Jesus is the only name under heaven whereby man may be saved. Just knowing what the truth is about Jesus, and believing that it is true, is not what genuine faith is. Genuine faith is something that enables us to keep His commandments.
So today, we take a look at faith, since it is the means by which we are saved from sinning, the means by which we can become righteous – which is to walk in good works.
For further study, see:
"If We Are Never Able to Keep the Law, Wouldn't Satan Be Right?"
Sabbath School Q3 2023: Ephesians - Week 4, "How God Rescues Us."
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
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