Trusting Jesus
I have found a lot of people who say that they trust Jesus, but either they don't understand what that means or they don't really trust Him. I am not being judgmental. I am making an observation, and I hope it helps someone.
Trusting is what we do when we put our faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior. It is not just trusting that He can take away our sins, because He died on the Cross. That is part of it. However, putting our trust in Him is for a lifetime. We trust Him by doing what He says, and we know a lot of what He says by reading the Bible. All of the Bible is God's Word, so if we trust Jesus we will want to learn and obey the Bible. I have come to understand James 2 in that light. James told us that "faith without works is dead." It is not trust if we are not doing what He says. John says the same thing in His writings when He says that if we love Jesus we keep His commands.
Therefore, trust is not a fuzzy feeling in our hearts. It is a commitment to follow Jesus as Lord. If we say we trust Jesus, but we don't read the Word, pray regularly, obey what we read by worshiping Him and serving Him, there is no real reason to conclude that trust in Jesus is a part of our lives. Trust is not something we did when we were 14 years old, but we haven't done it for 20 years. We either trust Jesus or we don't. It is not a one time thing; it is a continuous thing. We have to stop trusting ourselves and doing our own will. We have to deny ourselves, take up our crosses daily, and follow Him. (Luke 9:23) Trust happens day in and day our after we first come to know Him when we turn from our sins to put our trust in Him as Lord.
I sincerely hope this helps someone. I have told many people that I fear we have really messed up by telling people, "All you need to do to be a Christian is to believe that Jesus died on the Cross for your sins and ask Him to come into your heart." Why would Jesus come in to live in the heart of a person who was not surrendering to Him as Lord? It doesn't make sense. He would be living in the dirty heart of a person who has not repented of sin and does not recognize Him as Lord of all. Jesus comes to live where He is exalted as Lord. That is who He is, not our slave to forgive our sins and leave us alone.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Isaiah 3-4 and Galatians 6.
Trusting is what we do when we put our faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior. It is not just trusting that He can take away our sins, because He died on the Cross. That is part of it. However, putting our trust in Him is for a lifetime. We trust Him by doing what He says, and we know a lot of what He says by reading the Bible. All of the Bible is God's Word, so if we trust Jesus we will want to learn and obey the Bible. I have come to understand James 2 in that light. James told us that "faith without works is dead." It is not trust if we are not doing what He says. John says the same thing in His writings when He says that if we love Jesus we keep His commands.
Therefore, trust is not a fuzzy feeling in our hearts. It is a commitment to follow Jesus as Lord. If we say we trust Jesus, but we don't read the Word, pray regularly, obey what we read by worshiping Him and serving Him, there is no real reason to conclude that trust in Jesus is a part of our lives. Trust is not something we did when we were 14 years old, but we haven't done it for 20 years. We either trust Jesus or we don't. It is not a one time thing; it is a continuous thing. We have to stop trusting ourselves and doing our own will. We have to deny ourselves, take up our crosses daily, and follow Him. (Luke 9:23) Trust happens day in and day our after we first come to know Him when we turn from our sins to put our trust in Him as Lord.
I sincerely hope this helps someone. I have told many people that I fear we have really messed up by telling people, "All you need to do to be a Christian is to believe that Jesus died on the Cross for your sins and ask Him to come into your heart." Why would Jesus come in to live in the heart of a person who was not surrendering to Him as Lord? It doesn't make sense. He would be living in the dirty heart of a person who has not repented of sin and does not recognize Him as Lord of all. Jesus comes to live where He is exalted as Lord. That is who He is, not our slave to forgive our sins and leave us alone.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Isaiah 3-4 and Galatians 6.