Types of Faith and Tests of the Authenticity of Faith

 

Types of Faith and Tests of the Authenticity of Faith

 

Justification by faith means that one obtains salvation through faith in Jesus. It may sound simple, but it carries much meaning. For believers today, saying that they believe in Jesus means that when a believer believes that Jesus has become the atoning sacrifice on their behalf, they receive forgiveness from all sins and attain salvation.

Is the subject of the statement "I believe in Jesus" me or Jesus? Naturally, believers will consider themselves to be the subject of their faith.

In Romans 3:21-24, it says, "But now a righteousness from God has been revealed apart from the law, which is attested by the law and the prophets. This righteousness of God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to everyone who believes, without distinction. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by God’s grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus."

“Through faith in Jesus Christ” (dia pisteos esuje christou). Translating the Greek again, it means “through the faith of Jesus Christ.” This implies that faith is the same as that of Jesus Christ; it means “through the faith in Jesus Christ.” In other words, it means that the subject is not me, but Jesus Christ is the subject of faith. Put another way, it is a faith in which I am united with Jesus Christ, who died on the cross and resurrected with me. Since I died on the cross with Jesus, it means that I am absent, and only Jesus Christ exists—such is the kind of faith.

However, if it is not such faith, it means that it is still faith under the law. Galatians 3:22-23 states, "But the Scripture has confined everything under sin, so that the promise which comes by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. For before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the time when faith would be revealed." The phrase "before faith came" means before the faith in Jesus Christ came.

Let's say I have such faith. Then how can I know whether that faith is true faith in God's eyes or not? It is through testing. Testing is a tool to distinguish between truth and falsehood.

Jesus also underwent three temptations from Satan. As soon as Jesus was baptized, a voice from heaven was heard saying, "My beloved Son." The temptations Jesus faced were to test whether He was worthy to carry out God's will as the Son of God. Likewise, believers today are also tested in their faith. God causes Satan to test believers in three ways.

 

Test of the Sincerity of Faith (Satan's Three Temptations)

First, Turn Stones into Bread

Luke 4:3-4 “The devil said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become bread.’ Jesus answered, ‘It is written: “Man shall not live by bread alone.”

The stone signifies the Law, and the bread signifies the Gospel of resurrection life. It does not refer to bread that sustains physical life, but to resurrection life that sustains the spirit. It serves as a test to determine whether the believer believes they have currently received resurrection life. If a believer has not received resurrection life, they remain under the Law.

Second, it means that if you bow down to me, I will return everything I have given you.

Luke 4:5-8 “Then the devil led Jesus up to a high place and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment. He said to him, ‘I will give you all this authority and its glory, for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore, if you will bow down to me, it will all be yours.’ Jesus answered and said, ‘It is written: “You shall worship the Lord your God and serve only him.”’”

Satan places Jesus in the seat of God. It is a test to see if one is the master. One who is the master is one who sits in God's seat of their own accord, and ultimately becomes a slave to Satan. Although believers say they believe in Jesus, the majority are masters of their own accord. They strive diligently for the glory of God and live lives where they perform everything themselves to bear fruit. If you look closely, they become the subject.

Fundamentally, this is a test regarding the death on the cross. Although they believe that Jesus' death was an atoning death for them, it is a test of whether or not they have died with Jesus. If they have not died with Jesus, they are still sitting in the seat of God. They are those intoxicated by their own righteousness.

Third, jump from the pinnacle of the temple; an angel will catch you.

Luke 4:9-12 “Then he led them to Jerusalem and set them on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to them, ‘If you are the Son of God, jump down from here, for it is written: “God will command his angels concerning you to keep you,” and “They will lift you up in their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”’ Jesus answered, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

Jesus was God before He came into the world, but He came into the world as the Son of God. Colossians 2:6-8: “He, being in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death—even death on the cross.”

Today, most believers refer to Jesus Christ not as the Son of God, but as God the Son. This, too, is a form of idolatry. Satan’s temptation is whether Jesus is God or the Son of God.

The question is whether the believer believes in Jesus as God the Son in the form of a judge, or as the Son of God who came into the world for an atoning death. Those who believe in Jesus as God the Son will be subject to judgment and will be judged according to the law.

These three trials are the essence of the faith of Jesus Christ. It is the faith that is united with the death on the cross and united with the resurrected Christ. This faith leads to becoming God's covenant people.