Do You Have False Faith?

“Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith. Examine yourselves. Or do you yourselves not recognize that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless you fail the test.”  2 Corinthians 13:5

We must test ourselves to see if our faith is genuine.  The consequences of false faith are deadly -- eternal destruction.  The following are the marks of false faith:

1) Mere mental assent.  You say you believe all the right things about Jesus?  So do the demons (James 2:19).

2) Mere strong belief.  It doesn't matter how strong your faith is if it does not have the right object.  You can strongly believe the earth is flat, but it will still be round. 

3) No repentance.  The true believer renounces all sin (Mk 1:15).

4) Reliance upon good works.  Faith is the opposite of works (Eph 2:8-9).  Many believe in Christ, but they rely upon good works to earn heaven.  Ask them why God should let them into heaven, and they will tell you all about their good works. 

5) Self-boasting.  The true believer does not see anything good in himself.  He believes that if he were to get what he deserved, it would be eternal damnation.  All of his boasting is in the cross of Jesus Christ (Gal 6:14; 1 Cor 1:31). 

6) Reliance upon religious rituals.  God commands us to practice the ordinances of baptism and communion, but the true believer puts no faith in these for salvation.  The ordinances are to be practiced because you are saved, after you are saved, not as the means of salvation.  Either your faith is in Christ or in rituals; it cannot be both/and. 

True faith is relying upon Jesus Christ alone for salvation.  If you fear that your faith may not be genuine, take a moment today to invite Christ to save you.  Forsake all reliance upon works and rituals.  Hand the steering wheel of your life to Jesus, and put all your hope in the cross for salvation.