Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him. Psalm 62:1
She was a gift of the people of France to celebrate the first centennial of the United States. Made in France and disassembled in crates, she was transported to the United States to be assembled and placed on what is now known as Liberty Island. However, the United States had to do their part by creating the base on which she would stand.
As Christians, we have a base for our faith. The base of the Christian faith is the death and resurrection of Jesus, without which there would be no Christian faith or salvation.
Undoubtedly, Jesus is the object of our faith. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (emphasis added). Acts 16:31 says, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (emphasis added). So, we place our faith in Jesus. The question then becomes, can we believe in Jesus apart from the Bible?
A foundation is the base or groundwork of something. The Christian faith has the person and work of Jesus Christ as its foundation: our faith is built upon Christ, the rock of our salvation and the chief cornerstone (Isaiah 28:16–17; 1 Peter 2:6). Jesus, God in the flesh, is a real person who came to earth at a specific time in history. His death and resurrection are historical events. At the same time, the person and work of Jesus cannot be understood apart from God’s Word, the Bible. Ephesians 2:20–21 tells us that our faith is “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord” (emphasis added). Christ is the cornerstone of our faith, and our understanding of this is built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets—i.e., what they recorded in the Bible (Matthew 23:35; 2 Timothy 3:16).
The entire Bible points to Jesus (see John 5:39): the Old Testament reveals our need for a Savior, predicts His coming, and sets the stage for the significance of His sacrifice; and the New Testament describes His coming, His death and resurrection to bring salvation to our sinful world, and His ongoing work as we await God’s kingdom and the restoration of all things (Acts 3:21; Revelation 21:1). The Bible sets Jesus as our foundation and leads us to understand salvation.
Jesus gave us salvation, but He calls on us to live the base of our faith. He healed Lazarus but called on the crowd to unwrap the grave cloths.
Are you doing your part to live out the base of our Christian faith?
by John Grant
used by permission
John Grant is an Attorney and Retired Florida State Senator
FURTHER READING
Setting a Proper Foundation for Business and Life
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