Faith Is Not Optimism

Faith is not optimism!  I once heard a man say, “Boy brother, you just gotta believe!”   Though he was sincere, he was speaking of optimism, not faith.  The dictionary defines “optimism” as “The optimistic feeling that all is going to turn out well.”    This is definitely NOT faith.   I can say all day long that “I believe” a chair will hold me up if I stand on it but that’s NOT faith, that’s optimism.   Faith would be for me to go over and stand up on the chair!  Do you see the difference?  To stand upon the chair would require my trust, my faith, that it will hold me up.   One can say he believes in Jesus all he wants to but that is NOT faith unless he actually places his trust upon Christ.  Salvation is NOT merely a belief, it is believing on Jesus Christ.  Believing requires a personal decision on your part to trust Christ.  Salvation is a relationship; a relationship where you become a Child of your heavenly Father.  Either you are a Child of God or else you are a child of the devil.  Believing that Jesus is real is NOT enough.  Even the demons believe that Jesus exists, “...the DEVILS ALSO BELIEVE, and tremble” (James 2:19).   You must not only acknowledge that Jesus is the Savior, you must personally ask Him to forgive your sins.  You must decide for yourself to rely 100% upon Christ to take you to heaven.   Only Jesus died on the cross for you.  Only Jesus shed his blood for you.  Only Jesus has the nail-scars in His hands and feet for you.  Have you ever made a deliberate, conscious decision (knowing you were a sinner) to rely upon Jesus Christ to forgive your sins and take you to heaven when you die?  Have you ever asked Jesus to save you?   You surely should remember a time in your life where you prayed in your heart for God to forgive you of your sins and save your soul.  If not, there’s no time like the present.  Maybe you remember praying many times but don’t know which time you were saved.  That’s easy—The first time!  God only requires a child-like faith.  If you had enough faith to “ask”, then that’s all the faith required for salvation.  “ASK, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you” (Matthew 7:7).   If you ask Jesus to save you, confessing that you’re a hell-deserving sinner, He will save you.  This is a promise from God!, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord SHALL BE SAVED” (Romans 10:13).  Salvation is of the heart my friend, it is NOT optimism.   There are millions of people who are optimistic that they will make it to heaven someday, but they won’t.   This is the great deception of religion and good works.  The Bible is clear, “The just shall live by FAITH” (Romans 1:17).   You must put your faith in Christ!  
       When I first became a Christian, I doubted my salvation for several years.  I simply didn’t understand the Bible enough to KNOW whether or not I was saved.  I had dozens of questions going through my mind.  Did I have enough faith?  Did I really “believe” on Christ?  If I did believe, then why am I unsure about my salvation?   What if I’m not saved?   Is God upset with me because I keep asking Him to save me?  Does it show a lack of faith because I keep asking God to save me?   Why can’t I find peace on the matter?   
       Over the years which followed, I purposed in my heart to learn the Bible.  I wanted to know everything about salvation and faith there was to know.   Anytime I heard a sermon about faith or believing, I listened attentively.  I read every Gospel tract I could get my hands on, each several times through.   Time and time again I would admit to God I was a sinner and ask Him to save me.  I remember telling God in prayer that I had a right as His Child to KNOW if I was saved.  I told God that I would get saved in a heartbeat if I wasn’t saved.  The big problem was that I didn’t KNOW 100% sure whether I was saved or lost.   The doubts continued for many years.  The Holy Spirit showed me many wonderful truths and finally, in time, I grasped the assurance of my salvation.   I had been saved all along but lacked the Bible knowledge to be at perfect peace about it.   I had been afraid of something which I didn’t understand.  I had been looking to a prayer and a past experience instead of looking to what was in my heart at the present.   I had learned that salvation is of the heart, not the mouth.   It wasn’t my prayer, but my faith that saved me.   After five years of searching and wondering, I had the assurance of my salvation.   Next to my salvation, this was the greatest thing which God had ever done for me.  I had learned that faith is NOT optimism.  It was ok to doubt, just as long as I was “believing on Jesus.”  No amount of doubt can keep a soul out of heaven, just as long as you “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.”