The third element, which is commitment to Christ, may be the most important element of all, at least in the evangelical church. Today, some people approach the idea of faith as simply an intellectual agreement with what is preached. As long as someone says, “Yes, I believe Jesus is the Savior and that He died for my sins,” then it doesn’t make any difference at all whether you actually follow after Jesus Christ. But if Christ isn’t my Lord, then He isn’t my Savior. If I am trusting a Christ who isn’t the Lord, I am not trusting the true Christ. Only the Lord can save you, so you have to commit yourself and follow after Him.
It’s very important to realize what faith is so that people do not make the mistake of believing they’re saved when they are really not. When the classical theologians used to talk about faith, they always said that faith had three elements: content, assent, and trust. Faith is based upon the promise of God, which is why we teach and preach the Gospel so people will learn of it. And once people understand the content of faith, there must be assent, or agreement, that the content is true. Then, lastly, there must follow a commitment to Jesus Christ.
In yesterday’s devotional, we concluded by noting that although the crucifixion was foolish and revolting to the world, yet it’s the very power of God unto salvation.
Paul recognized the difficulty when he wrote to the Corinthians, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing” (1 Cor. 1:18a). The cross was seen as an offense to some, but he knew that Christ crucified is still the power and the wisdom of God, which is what the story in Numbers 21 illustrates.
Here we learn where this pattern of complaining leads. You may begin by complaining in a mild way, but when you get into a complaining frame of mind, there is a tendency to exaggerate the difficulties, which get worse and worse every time you mention them. And the more you complain, the more and more vehement you become in what you say. (That’s a bad way to pray, by the way.)
Numbers 20, which records the deaths of Miriam and Aaron, as well as Moses’ sin of striking the rock, which resulted in God’s punishment of not being allowed to enter the promised land, was a chapter of almost unremitting gloom. But in chapter 21 this mood begins to change because here we have the beginning of the actual march upon Canaan and the first victory, leading up to the full possession of the promised land.
