Do You Have A Saving Faith?
...or is your faith one of the culture around you?
Introduction
Did you know that there are many people who say they are Christians, but really aren't?
Many people are just there because the rest of their friends, family, etc. are going along with it. They don't have real faith in Jesus. I believe this is the majority of people who call themselves Christians today. At least in America.
As an example, most people in America celebrate Christmas, but most people focus on buying/getting presents, watching "Christmas" movies that have nothing to do with Jesus, etc. instead of celebrating the birth of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. They go along with the holiday because it's just part of the culture.
The Woman With An Issue of Blood
Consider this story from the Bible. There was a woman who had "an issue of blood." What exactly that issue was, I don't know. I just know she had some type of plague for 12 years. The doctors could not cure it and it just kept getting worse:
(Mark 5:25-26) "And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years, {26} And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse,"
She had relied on physicians and spent every last dollar on them. The outcome was that she got worse. Now this woman was desperate. Next she put her trust in God to help her. She heard about Jesus and believed on him. She went to go see Jesus and merely touched his garment as he passed by and was miraculously healed immediately.
(Mark 5:27-29) "When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment. {28} For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole. {29} And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague."
Jesus' Reaction To The Woman
What gets really interesting about this story is how Jesus reacted when this woman touched his garment. He immediately questioned who touched him.
(Mark 5:30) "And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes?
Notice Jesus' disciples reaction:
(Mark 5:31) "And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?"
Notice that Jesus had many people around him touching him, but he noticed only that woman that touched him. This woman out of all the multitude of people was the only one that really had true faith in Jesus. The rest of the crowd was just there because it was the thing to do.
The Woman's Total Submission To Jesus
Next, notice the woman demonstrated her submission to Jesus when he asked who touched him.
(Mark 5:33) "But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth."
Jesus' response, as it is with any true believer, is that you have been made whole. You are healed! You are saved!
(Mark 5:34) "And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague."
Conclusion
After reading this story of the woman with the issue of blood, I hope that each of us really thinks about if we have true faith in Jesus or if our "faith" is just a product of our culture that surrounds us.
Do you have faith that Jesus died for your sins on the cross? Do you have faith that he was buried 3 days before he miraculously resurrected? If you think you do, Will you confess that?
How To Get Saved
If you are not saved yet by Jesus Christ for all of eternity, God wants you to know that you can be. It doesn't matter who you are or what you've done. God loves us so much he gave his only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins on the cross even though we don't even deserve it. He was then buried for 3 days, and then gloriously resurrected 3 days later.
This is what the Bible says about how you can be saved:
(Acts 16:30-31) "And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? {31} And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house."
If you want to know more about salvation and how to live a victorious Christian life after you get saved, I have a salvation guide on profile or here:
What a beautiful picture of salvation.