Romans 1:17 (Amplified) says, "For in the Gospel a righteousness which God ascribes is revealed, both springing from faith and leading to faith (disclosed through the way of faith that arouses to more faith) as it is written, the man who through faith is just and upright shall live and shall live by faith."
Only the Holy Spirit can lead us into the faith to faith process. We move into that process as He reveals more light on Jesus and Who He is and what He's done. We must first believe that Jesus is the Son of God, by the Holy Spirit and then, by faith, believe that Jesus died in our place. Then, by faith, we must believe that Jesus paid our penalty for sin and He gave us new life. As the Holy Spirit leads us, we must believe that in Him we are justified and declared righteous before God.
These steps take us from faith to faith. Many people have believed by faith, that Jesus died in our stead. And, many have believed that Jesus bore our sins. Now, we must believe by faith, that we are righteous and in right standing with God through Him.
2Corinthians 5:17 (Amplified) tells us, "For our sake He made Christ (virtually) to be sin Who knew no sin, so that in and through Him we might become (endued with, viewed as being in, and examples of) the righteousness of God (what we ought to be, approved and acceptable and in right relationship with Him, by His goodness)."
So many of us have our faith falter at this truth. We confess to believe by faith that Jesus bore our sin and unrighteousness, then we still view ourselves as sinners and quote Romans 3:10 saying, "None are righteous, no not one." We don't allow the Holy Spirit to bring us into the next step of faith Paul speaks of in Romans 3:23-24 (Amplified) which says, "Since all have sinned and are fallen short of the honor and glory, which God bestows and receives. (All) are justified and made upright and in right standing (righteous) with God, freely and gratuitously by His grace (His unmerited favor and mercy), through the redemption which is (provided) in Christ Jesus."
Although we're in right standing with God, without the Holy Spirit's leading us into this step of faith, we continue standing outside of this truth and still strive to enter into that right standing by works. We've already been declared righteous by the Father Himself, but we only stand in this righteousness by faith. Our own effort deny faith and return to relying on works to enter into righteousness. Hebrews 11:6 (Amplified) says, "But without faith it is impossible to please and be satisfactory to Him. For whoever would come near to God must (necessarily) believe that God exists and that He is the rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek Him (out)."
The Holy Spirit is the One Who can reveal Jesus to us through His Word and our seeking Him out. The "reward" He gives, is the revealing of what we were seeking. As we seek a way to be righteous before Him, the Holy Spirit will reveal Jesus in the Word which proclaims our righteousness in Him. Then, we are pleasing to the Father, because we have come to Him in righteousness by faith in Jesus and not by our own efforts.
When the Holy Spirit is allowed to reveal Jesus to His people, He will lead us from one depth of faith to another. So many believers are content to "just go to heaven" and don't allow Jesus to be Lord in their lives now. We witness many degrees of faith in the Body of Christ today. All must have faith to even be born again, but many stop there.
Many of us in the Church believe that leading someone to salvation is the most important thing in our walk. I suppose this is true, but what about after they're saved? That would be like a mother saying, "I've carried and delivered this baby, and he will survive if he's tough enough." A newborn must be fed, trained, raised and nurtured until he becomes strong and mature to survive on his own.
These infants become what they were fed and trained in. Their faith seems to end in whatever degree we teach them. Although we see many degrees of faith in today's Church, we haven't seen anyone who has reached the full potential of it. The Holy Spirit is the only One Who can take us to this depth of faith. The Lord told me once that, "Grace has provided so much more than our faith has ever yet received." He told me about the "unclaimed riches of grace." There are many things in our covenant of grace that have been provided, but lay dormant because we don't have the faith to receive them.
There's more than just being saved, but so many have stopped there. We see others who have entered into the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and speak in other tongues. We see other believers who have faith in their prayers being answered, while others pray, "If if be Thy will." Some in the Body of Christ believe in healing and the Gifts of the Spirit, while others believe that those things have passed away. Each of these show the degree of going from faith to faith.
Some Christians believe God is their problem and puts trials and tests on them. I've known some believers who think God allows satan to put things on them in order to test them. These beliefs come from not allowing the Holy Spirit to lead and reveal Jesus and then receiving man's ideas and religions. The Holy Spirit will never teach one part of God's family that they are righteous and then teach another part of God's family that they are still sinners saved by grace. We were sinners who were saved by grace, but now we're not only forgiven sinners, we are sons and daughters of God. We are the righteousness of God in and through Christ Jesus. You are a whole new creation who is born again of the "incorruptible Seed of God, His Word."
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