Faith Food – June 12

Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. . . . Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. — JAMES 1:18,21

What about our souls? Aren’t our souls saved when we’re born again? No. There are many Christians who have been saved and filled with the Holy Spirit for years whose souls are not saved yet!

Some have lived and died without their souls being saved. Did they go to Heaven? Certainly. They were children of God, and their spirits were
born of God.

The soul, you see, is not born again. The saving of the soul is a process.

The Epistle of James was written not to sinners, but to Christians. And James was telling us that our souls are not saved yet. James 1:21 bothered me for some time, until I found out the difference between the spirit and the soul.

A man’s spirit — the innermost man — receives eternal life and is born again. But his intellect and his emotions — which constitute his soul — still have to be dealt with. They must be renewed.

Confession: I am a spirit. I have a soul. I live in a body. “I” am begotten of God by the Word of truth. “I” am born again. Now I receive with meekness the engrafted Word which contains the power to save the soul which I possess. My intellect is being renewed with the Word of God.