The Essence of Saving Faith
The account of the fiery serpent which Moses made and put on a pole teaches us the essence of saving faith.(Numbers 21:9) This is a remarkable miracle because of what it shows us about real faith. Let's consider a few things about it.
First of all, the people were punished because of their sin. They spoke against God and Moses, again. This time God sent fiery serpents who bit people, and many died. This parallels Romans 6:23a, which says that "the wages of sin is death." However, the people confessed their sin to Moses, and they asked him to pray for deliverance from the snakes. It was then that God showed Moses what to do. Before we can exercise saving faith, we must turn from our sins in repentance and ask for salvation, like these people did.
God gave Moses a plan of salvation from the deadly serpents. The plan was to make a fiery serpent, put it on a pole, and tell those who were bitten to look at the serpent for healing. It did not make sense logically or medically, but it was God's Word, and they were to exercise faith in His Word. By taking time to look at the serpent on the pole, they were putting faith into action, and they were saved. We must do the same thing to be saved from our sins. We must trust God's Word about Jesus dying in our place and paying for our sins with His blood, even if it does not make sense to us fully. It is God's Word and God's way, so we must trust Him. When we do that by accepting Christ as Lord and believing He is the only One who can save us, we are cleansed from our sins and given eternal life.
See what I mean? Faith is trust, and these people were trusting God for their salvation. We must trust Jesus as Lord in much the same way to be saved today. In fact, Jesus even alluded to this passage in John 3:14,15, when He spoke to Nicodemus. Whoever would trust in Him after He was lifted up would be saved.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Numbers 22-24.
First of all, the people were punished because of their sin. They spoke against God and Moses, again. This time God sent fiery serpents who bit people, and many died. This parallels Romans 6:23a, which says that "the wages of sin is death." However, the people confessed their sin to Moses, and they asked him to pray for deliverance from the snakes. It was then that God showed Moses what to do. Before we can exercise saving faith, we must turn from our sins in repentance and ask for salvation, like these people did.
God gave Moses a plan of salvation from the deadly serpents. The plan was to make a fiery serpent, put it on a pole, and tell those who were bitten to look at the serpent for healing. It did not make sense logically or medically, but it was God's Word, and they were to exercise faith in His Word. By taking time to look at the serpent on the pole, they were putting faith into action, and they were saved. We must do the same thing to be saved from our sins. We must trust God's Word about Jesus dying in our place and paying for our sins with His blood, even if it does not make sense to us fully. It is God's Word and God's way, so we must trust Him. When we do that by accepting Christ as Lord and believing He is the only One who can save us, we are cleansed from our sins and given eternal life.
See what I mean? Faith is trust, and these people were trusting God for their salvation. We must trust Jesus as Lord in much the same way to be saved today. In fact, Jesus even alluded to this passage in John 3:14,15, when He spoke to Nicodemus. Whoever would trust in Him after He was lifted up would be saved.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Numbers 22-24.