The second main condition for entering the Kingdom of heaven is faith. To be saved and begin to follow the Lord Jesus Christ as his disciples, we must believe that we are sinners and that Jesus shed his blood and died for our sins We must repent of our sins and ask God to forgive us for it. Then we must give our lives to Jesus.
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Ephesians 2: 8-9
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.
We are not born with the ability to put our faith in God. This faith is a gift of the Holy Spirit, who is the one who works in our life so that in the first place we turn to God. When we respond and listen to God, our life is open to receive this great gift of faith, which enables us to put our trust in God and receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior.
Hebrews 11: 1
Faith is the guarantee of what is expected, the certainty of what is not seen.
We can exercise faith in Christ if we have the certainty that He exists, if we have a correct idea of His character and if we know that we are striving to live according to His will. Having faith in Jesus Christ means trusting in Him completely; trust in His infinite and unconditional power, wisdom and love, which includes believing in His teachings; It means to believe that even if we do not understand all things, He does understand them. Because He has experienced all the pains, afflictions and illnesses we may suffer, He knows how to help us overcome the difficulties of everyday life.
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Live by faith
- Faith is much more than a passive belief. We express our faith by means of facts, by the way we live. - Faith in Jesus Christ can motivate us to follow His perfect example.
- Faith can induce us to do good works, to obey the commandments and to repent of our sins.
- Faith can help us overcome temptation.
According to our faith, the Lord will work great miracles in our lives.
Hebrews 11: 6
Without faith it is impossible to be of good pleasure, because the one who approaches God must believe that he exists and that he becomes a remunerator of those who solicit him.
- Faith in Jesus Christ helps us to heal both spiritually and physically through the Atonement.
- During the moments of trial, faith will give us the strength to go forward and face difficulties with courage. Even if the future looks uncertain, faith in the Savior will give us peace.
How can we increase our faith?
Faith is a gift from God, but we must nourish it to keep it strong because it is like a muscle: if it is exercised, it grows and strengthens; but if it remains inactive, it will weaken.
We strengthen our faith by keeping the commandments. Like all the blessings of God, faith is gained and increased through personal obedience and righteous actions. If we wish to strengthen our faith to the highest possible degree, we must keep the covenants we have made. We can also cultivate the faith by studying the Word of God.
Examples of faith.
Hebrews chapter 11 is known as "the chapter of faith" because it describes great acts of faith.
- Faith Abel offered a pleasing sacrifice to God (v. 4); by
- Faith Noah prepared the Ark at a time when the rain was unknown (v. 7);
- Faith Abraham left home and obeyed God's command to go without knowing where, then willingly offered his only son (verses 8-10, 17);
- Faith Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt (verses 23-29);
- Faith Rahab received the spies of Israel and saved her life (verse 31).
Many heroes of the faith are mentioned "who by faith conquered kingdoms, did justice and reached what was promised, closed mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames and escaped from the edge of the sword, drew strength from weakness, proved brave in the war and they put to flight foreign armies "(vv 33-34).
Clearly, the existence of faith is demonstrated by action.