I say “pervasive” because this one error has sown more doubt and confusion about the finishing of our faith, as it has been so solidified in how we think about the process of justification. And, since christianity places the power of salvation within the control of people, many become frustrated over the fact that they cannot control the work of the Holy Spirit—we want to maintain complete control over that. We want to own both our role and the Holy Spirit’s role.
But, if we are the ones who control salvation, what kind of gift is that? It is our duty to believe in Messiah (identify with the Passover sacrifice) and confess Him before men. We don’t have control over the Father placing His covenant within us—HE decides to do that, and the timing is all HIS.
We are to remain faithful in our belief. Remember, Yahoshua said in Luke 8:13 that some will believe for awhile, but then, during their time of testing, which all must endure to receive the covenant, they will fall away because they were given no source of spiritual life. If our belief means that we immediately have the covenant, then Messiah was just speaking nonsense there, for how could one fall away after awhile, if he had been given the eternal seal of redemption? One who has been adopted is a child—nothing can change that.
James says that the trying (testing through temptation) of your faith produces patience, and letting patience complete her perfect work, you will be made perfect and whole, lacking nothing. That is the completion of your faith—being given the covenant, which makes you perfect and whole in the Father’s eyes. James doesn’t say that the trying of your “salvation” does that, but the trying of your faith—your belief.
From the time the Holy Spirit led us out of the “church,” it wasn’t until about FOUR YEARS later that the Holy Spirit confirmed to me, in a dream, exactly who I am in Yahoshua the Messiah. I had other dreams along the way. I had a couple visions. I even heard the Spirit speak to me audibly once during that time (and at another time subsequently). Those messages from Him confirmed that I was on the right track. He was telling me to “stay the course.”
Because He was speaking to me, I knew that He had begun a good work in me, and that He would be faithful to finish that work in me. He wasn’t communicating with me by accident, nor would He let me fall through the cracks. Because He was leading me and communicating with me, I wholly rested in the fact that my salvation was in His hands. Having no control over it, I simply entrusted it to Him, and remained faithful to my belief in Messiah Yahoshua.
I held that belief as a real substance. I embraced the fact that He was leading me as evidence He would perfect my belief. And, He did. He not only told me I am His, He specifically identified me as a soldier of His, and also assured me that the accuser who stood against me has been vanquished.
Allow Him to complete your belief. Don’t fight Him to get it. Don’t lose hope in the waiting. If He is leading you through dreams, or by connecting you to someone who has the Holy Spirit for instruction, just hold onto the fact that He is leading you, and He wouldn’t be doing that if He had no plans for you in Him. The Father is writing your adoption papers—allow Him to finish it in His time, and then to seal His eternal judicial decree of adoption. Live no differently in your faith right now than you would if He had already confirmed you as His. That’s true belief!
For more information: Between Belief and Salvation