A CHRISTIAN LIFE WITHOUT CHRIST?

By Shantal Palacios

It is so pleasant and encouraging to witness a life that walks in obedience to Christ, that cares to know God’s commandments and puts them into practice, and that despite the stumbling blocks and falls, it still rises and continues to walk on the path of faith, confessing that he is a sinner and that only Jesus is his Lord and Savior. Seeing such a life would inevitably lead to affirm that this person knows God and that his walk is nothing more than a reflection of what is inside him. But can we see his heart? Or moreover: can this person see his own heart as it is?

Ever since I was a child I had been taught by my mother the truths of the Bible and to fear God. She met the Lord before I was born, so ever since my infancy, I found myself involved in that environment. 

I got instructed on how to read the Bible, pray, share in community, and to be good testimony wherever I was. In short, I got instructed on honoring God with all that I am.

At the end of my childhood, everything that I was used to since I was a child, began to make sense. My mind was able to recognize the seriousness and truthfulness of the Christian life. This change in me was the result of the transformation that the church I was attending was going through. We had begun to put all the teachings, activities, and customs in the light of the Bible. We had started studying the Bible.  

With this change, many realities came to my acknowledgment; I was a sinner like everyone else; this sin was leading me to a destination: eternal punishment; I could do nothing by myself to remediate it; Christ had already done it all and now, I had to have faith in that perfect sacrifice. 

With all of this, and even though I knew my hope of salvation ought to rely only on Christ, it was not until later that I realized that I was far from this truth. Only God Himself by His love and mercy could show me my heart and how fallen it still was, something that no one else could have noticed, or warned me about, not even me. 

So it is true that we can learn to live a godly life, treasure correct doctrines, and everything that is necessary for an assurance of salvation but still be far from it. It is only God who – through His Son Jesus Christ – can change our heart from stone into one of flesh. “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” Ez. 36:26, ESV; “For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. ” 2Co. 4: 6, ESV.

The sacrifice of Jesus Christ on that cross gave way to all of this, so that now we can, through faith, be part of Christ … “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. ” Ga. 2:20, ESV. 

Our works of goodness or any action that we consider good in our lives, cannot save us from the punishment that we deserve because of our sins, they are not enough to reconcile us with God. “For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh …” Rom. 8: 3, ESV. These good works have a limit, as Jerry Cross writes in his book ‘Living in the Power of the Gospel’: 

“Obedience transforms the external,
it is faith in the redemptive work of God that transforms the heart.”

 At this point some very important questions arise: 

What’s the purpose of my good works if I’m not saved by them?

It is clear that we cannot be saved by our works, however, they are intimately linked to our new heart, they are linked to our faith in such a way that one cannot exist without the other. “For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.” Sant. 2:26 ESV. That faith without works is not a saving faith. On the contrary, saving faith is one that will produce works as fruit. “I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit; for apart from me you can do nothing.” Jn. 15: 5, ESV. 

The fruits that will be pleasing to God are those produced by the faith that lies in Jesus Christ. This means that the difference between one type of good work and the other will be the direction to which our faith is directed. To find out the true motivation for your “good” works, you can ask yourself the following question: Is my faith and confidence of salvation placed in the works themselves or in Jesus Christ? 

What use does knowing the Bible have if it cannot save me?

In the same way, since the Bible is the Word revealed by God Himself, studying it is a very important means that the Holy Spirit uses to work within us. “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” Rom. 10:17, ESV. It is also through it that we can know the works and commandments that God ordains so that we can live a life of piety. In addition, it will serve to proclaim it to men, carrying the central message of salvation and it will be used by God himself, according to his will for each life.  “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” 2Ti. 3: 16-17, ESV.

Now, it is important to recognize that both the good works we do and the knowledge of the Word of God are an essential part of the true and genuine Christian life, but are nullified if our faith is not placed in Jesus Christ. So, if you are a person who led a life similar to mine, growing up in a Christian environment or you have been putting your faith in God for many years, it is time for you to stop … 

Stop to test your heart, face it, and in prayer ask God to reveal the sin that still dwells in your heart and the deep need you have for Jesus Christ. Lest we are living immersed in our false goodness and when the day comes we will find ourselves in the group of which Christ himself came to warn us in Matthew 7:22-23 ESV…

“On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness’.”