Both faith and righteousness on the part of the salvation-seeker are necessary in order to attain the eternal life he seeks. Faith is the absolute assurance that what God said in His Word is true. Righteousness is the result of obeying the Truth (Jn. 17:17) He recorded in His Word. Though this process sounds simple enough, it isn’t. Satan’s self-assigned job is to keep us from believing and obeying God’s inspired Word. That he is very good at what he does is proven by the number of people world-wide who claim to be Christians but who neither believe nor obey what the Lord said in the Bible. See the Introduction to this website for a few examples. This website, given to me by a stranger, was designed by Him to reveal the difference between His requirements for salvation and what professing Christendom believes is necessary for salvation. His Word and church doctrine are as different as light and darkness, life and death. Again, God commands both faith and righteousness on the part of the seeker of salvation.

The question is: By whose faith is righteousness made possible? The Apostle Paul addressed this question in Romans 3:22 when he wrote that THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD (that the seeker must have) is by (comes from) THE FAITH OF JESUS CHRIST. In Revelation 14:12 John writes about those who KEEP GOD’S TEN COMMANDMENT LAW using THE FAITH OF JESUS. What is hard to grasp but is absolutely true is the fact that GOD’S SAINTS HAVE THE SAME FAITH AS JESUS CHRIST. They have that faith in their earthly life for the same reason He had that faith during His earthy life–TO PROVIDE THE POWER NECESSARY TO KEEP GOD’S COMMANDMENTS. Using the faith God provided Him, Jesus overcame Satan by obeying the Ten Commandments, thereby qualifying to be mankind’s Savior. We must have that same faith/power in order to overcome Satan by obeying God’s commandments, thereby qualifying to join Him on His throne in the Kingdom of God upon His return to earth. Jesus stated this fact in Revelation 3:21: “To him that overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, even as I also overcame and am set down with My Father on His throne.” The faith He possessed while walking the earth as a man was and still is available to His fellow man. This faith enables His saints to “walk even as He walked” (1 Jn. 2:6). Walking His walk is necessary in order to qualify for eternal life. As a man Jesus created nothing, not even His own faith. Like everything else He had, His faith was given to Him by God. See Jesus Christ: God, Man or Godman? Jesus offers His faith to those who are determined to manifest His righteousness by walking (living) as He walked (lived). Only those who live as He lived will sit with Him on His throne and reign with Him forever in God’s earthly kingdom (Rev. 5:10;20:6; 22:5). See The Kingdom of God.

Spirit-begotten Christians have the very faith of Jesus Christ. It is not our faith in Him that enables us to keep God’s Law and qualify for salvation. Only by having and using the faith of Jesus Christ can one overcome Satan. Christ’s faith acts in and through us, enabling us to use the power of the Holy Spirit that resides in us to withstand the tests, trials and temptations that constantly come at us from the world. And how do we overcome Satan who will at times “come in like a flood” (Isa. 59:19)? By doing what God told Moses to do when he found himself trapped between the Red Sea and the Egyptian army: “Be still and see the salvation (deliverance) of the Lord.” This is not easy to do. In our humanness we want to take charge and take care of business. But in and of ourselves we are incapable of doing this. We must quietly wait for God to intervene. He might require us to act, but it will be by His power, not our own. This is a difficult lesson to learn. But learn it we must if we are to have any chance at eternal life. To be continued. L.J.