How about a slice of melon from our own little plot? Oops! I forgot - we took it to Bonaire to share with our friends Alan and Jane Gross - and it was good, I must say so, as did they and Bicento. What about some of Aruba Cashew Nut fruit? It tastes good and makes the best of juices! Try it!
(A Translation of the Papiamento Blog: “CUA TA E FE CU TA SALBA?”)
The Bible tells us so plainly and clearly that: without FAITH it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6)
As I am writing today’s Blog, I have my Bible before me, and I read and see that it explains very clearly to us everything concerning the subject of FAITH. I (Bicento) have lived here in Aruba for most of my lifetime, and from the time I was very small I heard the word FAITH (“FE”) mentioned many times, but it wasn’t until I was twenty three years old, that I heard, for the first time, about THE FAITH that is according to the Scriptures. Indeed, I have repeated the so-called CREED since childhood: “I believe in the Father God Almighty and in His Son, our Lord… etc., etc.” However, for the greater majority of us, it was only endless repetition of religious words, which we repeated time after time with our mouths, when in fact our hearts were very far from God.
By saying that, I do not mean that the words in the Creed: “I believe in the Father God Almighty,” etc., are wrong or erroneous, but the problem lies in the fact that we say them only with the mouth, and our hearts are cold and indifferent towards God – therein lies the problem! Let us take a moment and see what the Scriptures have to say to all peoples of the world, which of course, includes the people of Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao, just like the rest of humanity.
In Apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans, he was writing to the believers living in Rome, and he says: What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one. Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit. The poison of vipers is on their lips. Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know. There is no fear of God before their eyes. Now we know that whatever the law says, it is to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. Therefore no one will be declared righteous in His sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.” (Romans 3:9-20)
Dear friends of all different ages, perhaps you are asking – if indeed the keeping of the law is of no avail as an escape from eternal punishment, why then was the law given?
I would like to encourage each precious one of you, reading this message at this moment, to take time and read the entire letter to the Roman believers, and the letter to the Galatian believers, as well as the letter to the Hebrew believers. In those three books we learn a lot about the WHY of the LAW, the PURPOSE of the LAW and the FULLFILLMENT of the LAW. According to those Scriptures the LAW in itself is holy, just and good. More than that the LAW was given because of failure to perform, or because of transgression, but NOT TO GIVE LIFE! (Galatians 3:19)
The possible question remaining is: WHICH FAITH THEN SAVES? The answer is very clear in the Scriptures. The faith that saves is the FAITH that comes by hearing the WORD OF GOD. In the letter to the Romans, we read this (Rom. 10:8-13). But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth, in your heart, that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scriptures say, “Anyone who trusts in Him will never be put to shame. For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile –the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on Him.”
Dear Blog reader: that is the FAITH that saves! Believe what God says in His Word about Himself, His Son, and His Spirit, and believe in your heart in Him Who was raised His Son back to life and confess Him unashamedly. He is the Way, the Truth and the Life!
Have any questions, feel free to drop us a note - either to our email address above, or comment at the end of this blog.
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