Part 3: Faith in Jesus, or is it Faith in Something else?

Dan A. Rodriguez Articles, Books, and Podcasts

Are you self-deceived? I hope that you are not. No, I did not ask you if you are deceived. I asked you about self-deception. It is one thing to be deceived by the enemy, and some are, but it is another thing to deceive your self!

Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves (James 1:22 MEV).

Self-deception is the result of hearing the Word and not doing it. You heard a good Bible message, for example, concerning generosity and honoring God with the tithe, said amen and “glory hallelujah,” and then did nothing to obey the Scripture. That, my friend, is self-deception. You go to church, hear good Bible teaching, take reams of notes, and don’t do any of it. The next verses in James reveal that only the doers are blessed.

But whoever looks into the perfect law of liberty, and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this man will be blessed in his deeds (James 1:25 MEV).

What a great way to refer to God’s eternal Word: THE LAW OF LIBERTY! It works ALWAYS and for all because it is law that brings liberty to the doer of it. Wow!

Here is where I get back to our subject matter in these podcasts.

Test yourselves to make sure you are solid in the faith. Don’t drift along taking everything for granted. Give yourselves regular checkups. You need firsthand evidence, not mere hearsay, that Jesus Christ is in you. Test it out. If you fail the test, do something about it (2 Corinthians 13:5 The Message).

Self-examination or self-testing reveals where you stopped doing what God said in His Word. That is what is so critical about testing yourself to see whether you are in the faith. It brings conviction, exposition, reproving, and even rebuke so there can be correction to self-deception.

I trust that this is a word from the Lord for you in due season. Be blessed with Part 3 of these messages.