How to have Pure Faith

Tim Meier is a dear friend of mine. He is a humble, Jesus-focused young man who is passionate about the Word of God. He is a graduate of Ellerslie Training and has recently joined the deeperChristian team to help manage the deeperChristian quotes website. If you are curious how to have a simple and pure faith, Tim not only tells us what it is but also what it is not. I pray it presses you into a tighter and more glorious relationship with our precious Jesus.

God has been teaching me lately what it is to have a pure faith. I don’t know that it’s a strictly biblical term, but what I mean by it is a faith that is not mixed or divided in its placement. I’ve been realizing how much I have put faith in Jesus plus ___________ (fill in the blank). Allow me to give a few examples.

For some time in the past, I was seeking some great, monumental experience of being filled with the Spirit and speaking in tongues. Looking back on that time, I see now that I was really looking for something other than Jesus in which to place my faith. Among other things, I wanted that experience so I could know for sure I was saved.

I am often tempted to get into the mindset of having faith in Jesus plus spending enough time in the Word or enough time in prayer. Or very similarly, if I live in victory and obey God perfectly, then I’m sure my faith is real. But in all these, it is me trusting in Jesus plus my own works.

And then there’s the real kicker: “I don’t feel saved,” or “I don’t feel like I have the Holy Spirit.” I easily fall into thinking I need to constantly feel saved in order to actually be saved. In other words, I have a tendency to put my faith in Jesus plus feelings.

But what does the Word of God have to say on all this? I’ve received a glorious kick in the pants lately from what I’ve found, simple and basic though it is.

• Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1)
• Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life. (John 6:47)
• But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:22-26)
• [I count all things as rubbish] … that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith (Philippians 3:8-9)

(For the sake of space, I won’t write out any more, but here are some additional references for you to look up on your own and meditate upon: John 3:14-18, 36; Ephesians 2:8-9; John 5:24; John 20:30-31; 1 John 5:9-13; Galatians 5:4-6; Galatians 3:11; John 7:38-39; John 1:12; Habakkuk 2:4; Romans 4:3-5; Hebrews 10:38-39; Romans 1:16-17; Galatians 2:16-21; Romans 3:19-31)

“…he who believes in Me has everlasting life.” “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.” We are “justified by faith” and have righteousness “through faith in Christ.” This is so simple, but it’s so amazing! All we have to do to be justified (seen as completely righteous) in the eyes of the perfect, holy, blazingly pure, almighty God and Creator of the universe is to believe we are through Jesus? Yes! All we have to do is just believe it! It doesn’t matter how you feel, it doesn’t matter if you’ve had some impressive experience of being filled with the Spirit, it doesn’t matter what kind of hours you “clock in” with prayer and Bible reading / study. That is not what our salvation is based upon. It is based upon faith – a pure faith – a faith in Jesus Christ alone, in His sufficiency and powerful grace and mercy.

Now please don’t hear me saying that it doesn’t matter how much or how little time you spend in the Word and in prayer, that feelings are unimportant, that it’s unbiblical to have an obvious experience of being filled with the Spirit, or anything like that. I’m simply saying that our salvation indeed is based upon belief in Jesus Christ alone, and not upon anything outside of or in addition to Him.

Walking in this pure faith produces action. It produces victory over sin and self, increasing love for Jesus, a desire to be in His Word, and so on. And I’ve been experiencing this more as God has been purifying my faith.

So let us truly look to Christ alone, not merely for eternal salvation, but for all things. He alone is our Redeemer, our Comforter, our Shepherd, our Father, our Life, our Guide, our Sin-Bearer, our Wrath-Remover, our Intercessor, our Propitiation, our Rock, and so much more.