Faith is not a one-time act, no, not for the Jew nor for the Gentile. Nowhere in the Scripture does it say accept Christ, but it does say, obey, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” (John 3:36; Ga 5:7). To believe is to have faith to obey the leadings of the spirit (Ro 8:14). Faith to obey must remain from beginning to end (Ro 1:17) for the Jew and for the Gentile (Ro 3:30). This is aligned with the teaching that faith without works is dead because the works that you must do are the ones that God shall write in your heart (He 8:10). Neither does it stand in contrast to the teaching that your own good works do not put you right with God, for it is your faith to do God’s ordained work that shall make you righteous, otherwise, your faith is dead, it is useless, and it does not serve God’s purpose for anointing you. The Great Day of the Lord precedes a time of great tribulation (Mt 24:21; 2Th 2:3) that has not occurred before it, nor one that will occur again. That’s the reason Christ’s disciples and believers need to endure with faith to obey until the end (Mt 24:13; 25:13).

Consider Abraham, Father to the faithfuls. Although he had already demonstrated his faith in God, he needed to continue showing it until his work for God is done. Prior to this, Abraham had already shown his faith in God. First, when he went his way out of his country, from his relatives and from his father, bringing with him his entire possessions, to a country that God had yet to reveal (Ge 12:1). After that, when God promised that he shall have a son who shall succeed him as heir (Ge 15:4) and that he shall have as many seed as the stars in heaven, (Ge 15:5) Abraham trusted and held his faith.

So what was the final test for? Abraham’s final test of faith (Ge 22:1) was for the completion of his work for God. Being the patriarch of faith that he was, Abraham’s work was to endure the agonizing moments of choosing to obey the will of God in order to become an example to his descendants on what kind of faith God requires of His people. The final test to offer his son Isaac (who is his life) had completed his work to do the will of God, even as Christ’s final test to offer his life was the perfect finish to his work to do the will of the Father (Jo 15:13).

Each of the disciples, then and now, are anointed with the spirit for the good work that had been prepared in advance for each of them (Eph 2:10). Through the spirit, God Himself shall be acting within each one, so that none of them can boast (Eph 2:9), to desire and to act (Php 2:13) in order to fulfill the Father’s good purpose. As for Abraham, the spirit had enabled him to do the good work that God had given him to do.

Not everyone saying, “Lord, Lord,” will enter into the kingdom of the heavens, but the one that finishes his work for God will (Mt 7:21). When Christ declared, “It is finished”, he was referring to the work that God had ordained for him (He 10:7). Clearly, had Abraham withheld to offer his son Isaac, his faith shall not have been counted as righteousness even if he had shown faith earlier (Ez 18:26; Heb 6:4-6). In the same way, Christ’s faith in God shall not have been counted as righteousness had he changed his mind to complete the Father’s will (Mt 26:42) even if earlier he had prophesied in God’s name, and had expelled demons in His name, and had performed many powerful works in the Father’s name (Mt 7:22).

Let the ones who have wisdom to understand take heed.