This would be the sin of unbelief!
Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Who gives faith?
Ro 12:3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
Where else does faith come from?
Ro 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Faith comes by hearing, can everyone hear?
Mt 11:15 He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. (Jesus indicates that some have ears to hear and some don’t. The question arises, if some do have ears to hear, how did they get them and if some don’t, how did this come to be? The answer is given in Ex 4:11 And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD? This is true for physical and spiritual deafness and blindness.)
Speaking to the disciples about the spiritual deafness of the Pharisees Jesus said, Mt 13:11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. (Who gives it to the disciples? Who does not give it to the Pharisees? In each case God is the one choosing who can hear and who cannot.)
Can we choose to hear if we are deaf? Can we choose to receive if it is not given? Can we enter into the Kingdom of our own choice?
Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (Jesus has to escort us in, we cannot come in on our own.)
In a discussion regarding who could be saved Jesus taught:
Mr 10:26 And they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, Who then can be saved?
27 And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.
Joh 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. (Notice the sequence here! No man can come to Jesus! Period! Unless they meet the exception which is to come to Jesus the Father must draw them . . . followed by, “and I WILL raise them up at the last day”. Who did Jesus say He would raise up? Those who the Father draws! No exceptions! Jesus here establishes that He and God the Father are solely responsible for everyone who does or does not come to Him. If anyone could choose not to come to Jesus when the Father draws them, then Jesus couldn’t have declared in truth that He absolutely will raise them up!)
Lu 10:22 All things are delivered to me of my Father: and no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him.
1Co 4:1 Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God.
2 Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.
3 But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man's judgment: yea, I judge not mine own self.
4 For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord.
5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then SHALL EVERY MAN have praise of God.
6 And these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and to Apollos for your sakes; that ye might learn in us not to think of men above that which is written, that no one of you be puffed up for one against another.
7 For WHO MAKETH THEE TO DIFFER from another? and WHAT hast thou that thou DIDST NOT RECEIVE? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?
In the above passages we find that God chooses who to give faith to. We find the Pharisees in a state where it is not given them to understand. We also find that man cannot choose to come to God, but Jesus has to get them. We see that by default, no one can know God or the Son unless God delivers them to the Son and the Son then reveals God to them. Lu 10;22 We observe that faith is given by God and without it, it is impossible to please God. We find that being saved is impossible for man, and that NOTHING is impossible with God. Is it possible for man to choose to be saved? Absolutely not, unless God gives it to him to hear and to believe. Is it possible for God to cause a person to be blind to the obvious, and then to give sight to that blind man. Absolutely, nothing is impossible for God. Is it possible for God to cause every single human He created to be saved? Absolutely! Nothing is impossible with God unless He doesn’t want to. Does God want to save every human sinner? Does He want to save the ungodly?
1Ti 1:15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.
Ro 5:6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
2Pe 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
I think it is interesting that those who claim to know the gospel today, preach a powerless Christ who is unable to save whoever He wants, and preach that people have more power over their own salvation than Jesus does.
This is not the teaching of the Bible. The Christian church today, very closely resembles the religious establishment of Jesus day. Full of divisions, full of meaningless traditions, having a form of godliness but denying the power of Christ, the power of His resurrection and glorifying man instead. The leaders are still collecting tithes and enjoying the exalted positions of spiritual leadership, while many are still making their followers two times the children of hell that they themselves are.
I have good news! Our Saviour, Jesus Christ, has come to set all men free from the burdens that have been laid on them.
Mt 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Are you a church leader? This good news is for you too. You don’t need to stay in the bondage of religion. Let God set you free. You know what I’m talking about. In your religion you are not allowed to believe differently than your creed. No doubt you do, in some areas, yet you cannot say so. Do not worry about what you will eat, or what you will wear or where you will sleep for your heavenly Father knows you need all these things. He feeds the birds, He will feed you, oh ye of little faith. Come out from among them. Pr 29:25 The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.He that has ears to hear, let him hear.
1Jo 2:27 But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.
To bring this full circle, I include a few more verses. I encourage you to note the word “all”. You see, in the above verses it is established that God alone controls if and when we are saved. The following verses indicate how many will be saved by the end of time. If God is revealing His mystery to you through this, praise Him.
Joh 12:32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw ALL men unto me.
1Ti 4:10 For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of ALL men, SPECIALLY of those that believe.
1Jo 2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of THE WHOLE WORLD.
1Co 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ SHALL ALL be made alive.
Ro 5:18 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon ALL MEN UNTO JUSTIFICATION of life.
Since we know that faith is given by God to ALL MEN as God see’s fit, and Jesus will draw all men to himself. We also see that all will come to him and be raised with Him on the last day.
Joh 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
Like was pointed out above: NO man CAN come to Jesus! . . . UNLESS . . . the Father draws him . . .and those whom the Father draws, Jesus WILL raise up at the last day.
Ro 3:30 Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith.
Ro 11:25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, UNTIL the FULNESS OF THE GENTILES BE COME IN. 26 And so ALL ISRAEL SHALL BE SAVED: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
(Both are saved, all Israel, and all the Gentiles. That's everyone.)
1Ti 1:15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. (Who is NOT a sinner?)
Ro 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Who did Jesus come to save?)
Ro 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
Jesus came into the world to save sinners and He cannot fail! He is the Word and it is prophesied that the Word will accomplish ALL that it was sent to do. Isa 55:11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
Ro 11:32 For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.
This is the true Good News of Great Joy which shall be to all people! The false tradition of “eternal’ damnation is a demonic affront to the Glory and Power of Jesus’ resurrection.
Lu 2:10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of GREAT JOY, which SHALL BE to ALL PEOPLE.
Eternal hell can only bring anguish to all people for all will be affected. If one person is in eternal hell, since we are all one in Adam, that would be the same as having one of your body parts being in extreme irritation, without hope of healing. Ever had a broken toe? Or finger? Or any ailment such as a headache or stomach ache? The whole body can be incapacitated by a single part in pain. In Adam we are all one, and to have one part in agony we all suffer and are affected. If Christ doesn’t save all of Adam, then we all will forever bear the consequences. As in Adam all die so in Christ shall all be made alive.
Ro 8:21 Because the creature itself also SHALL BE delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
Friday, August 20, 2010
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Need Fire Insurance?
Recipe for Faith:
Conviction of Sin
Hope of Eternal Life
Fear of Eternal Hell?
Does this sum up the Christian Life?
When I tell people that I believe that God will ultimately win every man, woman and child to himself, they often ask, "Then what's the point?"
I know what they mean. They think that the most prominent ingredient for Christianity is the fear of eternal Hell. With out the "anti-carrot", the ultimate punishment, the hard line of demarcation--what would move someone to follow Christ? Of course this presumes several interesting ideas:
1. Membership services are a crucial responsibility of the Believer (How will they hear, etc, if we don't tell them?)
2. Not going to Hell is the most important goal of the Believer.
3. God is love, except when it comes to those who don't follow Him.
I'm going to stop right there. I learned some time ago that unbelievers, though considered blind to a multitude of spiritual things, have an expert knack in recognizing hypocrisy. If you've ever talked to a telemarketer or walked the sales tables at a county fair, you know what I'm talking about. If an unbeliever hears that God loves them, but only if they buy the product, why are we surprised when they treat it as a load of Kansas cow waste?
"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." I believe this (and every other truth in the Bible). Genuine judgment, difficulty, pain and despair follow poor choices. Resisting God, rebelling against His will and fighting His kingdom plans can lead to incredibly complicated lives. However, the other end of wisdom is that "perfect love casts out fear." Fear is designed to lead us to God. An "eternal Hell" is neither necessary nor helpful in leading people to know Jesus.
A few years ago the World Wide Church of God faced a major transition. The leaders at that time wanted to move away from some of the Church's long held tenants. One of those tenants was a mandatory 20% tithe. Immediately following this change the Church faced financial crisis. It seems that such giving was never "from the heart" in the first place.
It is interesting that many believers in Jesus are afraid to remove the "eternal Hell" clause for the same reason. Would many find church unnecessary if they knew they didn't need "fire insurance?" What genuine faith is taking place in such hearts? Can they really know and enjoy Jesus in this synthetic salesman environment?
I am confident that more, not less, unbelievers would pursue the Lord should the Gospel be accurately preached. Like many ideas that man handles, they begin to look more like man than God. Is it not man's control and sense of judgment that this "eternal Hell" reflects most?
Confident that God will win every soul, whether in this age or the next,
Tim
Note: This post is a challenge to the tradition of eternal Hell. I personally believe tradition has influenced Christians more than scripture on this topic. However, you will find plenty of posts here investigating the scriptural foundation for Judgment and Hell as well.
Conviction of Sin
Hope of Eternal Life
Fear of Eternal Hell?
Does this sum up the Christian Life?
When I tell people that I believe that God will ultimately win every man, woman and child to himself, they often ask, "Then what's the point?"
I know what they mean. They think that the most prominent ingredient for Christianity is the fear of eternal Hell. With out the "anti-carrot", the ultimate punishment, the hard line of demarcation--what would move someone to follow Christ? Of course this presumes several interesting ideas:
1. Membership services are a crucial responsibility of the Believer (How will they hear, etc, if we don't tell them?)
2. Not going to Hell is the most important goal of the Believer.
3. God is love, except when it comes to those who don't follow Him.
I'm going to stop right there. I learned some time ago that unbelievers, though considered blind to a multitude of spiritual things, have an expert knack in recognizing hypocrisy. If you've ever talked to a telemarketer or walked the sales tables at a county fair, you know what I'm talking about. If an unbeliever hears that God loves them, but only if they buy the product, why are we surprised when they treat it as a load of Kansas cow waste?
"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." I believe this (and every other truth in the Bible). Genuine judgment, difficulty, pain and despair follow poor choices. Resisting God, rebelling against His will and fighting His kingdom plans can lead to incredibly complicated lives. However, the other end of wisdom is that "perfect love casts out fear." Fear is designed to lead us to God. An "eternal Hell" is neither necessary nor helpful in leading people to know Jesus.
A few years ago the World Wide Church of God faced a major transition. The leaders at that time wanted to move away from some of the Church's long held tenants. One of those tenants was a mandatory 20% tithe. Immediately following this change the Church faced financial crisis. It seems that such giving was never "from the heart" in the first place.
It is interesting that many believers in Jesus are afraid to remove the "eternal Hell" clause for the same reason. Would many find church unnecessary if they knew they didn't need "fire insurance?" What genuine faith is taking place in such hearts? Can they really know and enjoy Jesus in this synthetic salesman environment?
I am confident that more, not less, unbelievers would pursue the Lord should the Gospel be accurately preached. Like many ideas that man handles, they begin to look more like man than God. Is it not man's control and sense of judgment that this "eternal Hell" reflects most?
Confident that God will win every soul, whether in this age or the next,
Tim
Note: This post is a challenge to the tradition of eternal Hell. I personally believe tradition has influenced Christians more than scripture on this topic. However, you will find plenty of posts here investigating the scriptural foundation for Judgment and Hell as well.
Monday, August 2, 2010
FAITH
God's Word has so much to say on this incredible topic.
God controls the measure of faith that each person receives, and the measure ranges from great or abundant to none.
Ro 12:3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
There is no other source of faith, each person is "dealt THE measure of faith" that he begins life with.
1Co 4:7 For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?
So now, knowing faith comes from God alone, and is given to every person at His discretion, and in the quantity He decides, we can observe:
De 32:20 And he said, I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end shall be: for they are a very froward generation, children in whom is no faith.
As we see here, to some of His children, He gave no faith, that it might "be seen" what their end shall be. . . and next we will see that without faith we can't please God.
Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
For God to deny them faith is to hide His face from them. This is how He demonstrates what the results are to people who have no faith. These become a living example of faithlessness because God chose them to be without faith.
To others He gave great faith:
Mt 8:10 When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.
This man became a living example of the result of God’s blessing one with great faith.
Faith is only received when it is given by God yet, it can be increased and decreased at God’s discretion.
Mt 13:9 Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
He gives, He increases faith in those He gave it to, and those He gave little to, He takes away even what they had. All this for a higher purpose which we shall see.
In this we find faith to be like a fire in that when it is little, it diminishes and goes out, but when it is big enough, it begins spreading and increasing. The Bible teaches about a fire that will some day increase until it consumes everything including the earth and heaven. (2Pet 3:9-18) I believe this is a picture of faith. Someday those whose faith is great will ignite all those who are around them, even those who had small faith that became extinguished, it will be rekindled in the overwhelming heat generated by those who have been blessed with great faith. We find that the faith of others was all that was needed to heal a paralyzed man. (Mark 2:1-12) We have other indicators in God’s word that the end of the earth will be filled with all believing. Mt 13:31,32; Mt 13:33; Isa 11:9; Hab 2:14; Rev 5:13 to name a few. (But this is another study.)
Speaking of hearing, (He who has ears, let him hear.) we find:
Ro 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
It is significant that the Greek word translated word in this verse, is rhema. Rhema, as opposed to other words translated word, means "utterance" or “something spoken”. This is more than just reading words on a page, this is hearing the Lord speak to us personally. When we hear Jesus speak to us personally, our faith is increased. Combine this with what Jesus said:
Joh 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
These verses are illuminating the concept that God gives faith to the ones He chooses to speak to. The ones He has given ears to hear to.
Ro 9:18 Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.
This concept cannot be received by many. It is not given them to comprehend. Those who would be classified as Calvinist, are able to receive this much, yet, since they believe in eternal damnation, they are forced to conclude that God has created many only to subject them to His wrath endlessly.
Those who believe in eternal damnation, yet cannot accept that God would be so cruel as to create people for eternal torment all on His own, not giving them any escape route have accepted a free will illusion that gives God an excuse for His drastic and immeasurably cruel action, by saying (falsely) that man, by rejecting Jesus, chooses this destination for himself, therefore God is not responsible for their terrible fate.
I believe the truth is found when God opens our eyes to reject the false ideas we have collected through the traditions of men, through Greek mythology and through biased translations, regarding Hell, damnation, and eternal separation, yet I understand that it has to be given us to understand this. If God does not give it to you, you will not, indeed, you cannot see it.
Ro 14:23 . . . for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.
If whatsoever is not of faith is sin, and God gave to everyman the measure of faith each possesses, then God takes full responsibility for our sin. He has made us, He can do what He pleases, He can make me with faith, or without faith.
He can tell me sin is NOT good, and yet place me in a situation where I must taste it for myself.
I agree with Him, sin is not good. It is yuck! I don't want to step in it. I trust Him, in His wisdom, to know when to take me out of this world, so that I won't have to step in it anymore! Until then, every time I find myself soiled, I will thank Him (1Th 5:18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.) and trust Him to deliver me when He sees best.(1Th 4:3 For this is the will of God, even your sanctification).
I know some who don't believe that sin is yuck. They want to roll in it!
He has not given them the faith to understand yet. In time, they will change their minds, as all sin leads to death, this too, is in God's hand. With man it is impossible to be saved but not with God, with God all things are possible. God can restore every single created being no matter how long they have been dead, no mattter how many bits they have been blown up into, no matter how badly they have been burned or crushed or dismembered. No matter how completely they have destroyed their souls. He has conquered death! He restoreth my soul!
De 32:39 See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.
He purchased the whole world, we were all servants to sin. Slaves! He purchased us all. (1Jo 2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.) Nobody is able to deliver His purchased possession out of His hand. Slaves cannot choose not to be purchased, and we are powerless to escape from Jesus, our new owner.
We are truly, "fearfully and wonderfully made". While some of us are vessels of wrath, fitted to destruction, and others are objects of mercy, we all fulfill the role He has created us to fulfill. In addition, we are created with the capacity to learn, to change, to think differently. I am convinced that those who are hardened now, will be super strong in Christ when we are gathered to worship Him and to bow our knees professing Him as our Lord. Didn't Jesus tell us?
Mr 10:31 But many that are first shall be last; and the last first. And . . .
He who has been forgiven much, loves more than he who has been forgiven little. (Luke 7:40-50)
It is my desire to impart faith, hope, and love to the people God places around me. If you have ears to hear, you will no doubt increase in faith, hope and love. Those who have not yet been given, may have their faith ignited by those around them, that's why we are told to proclaim the good news.
As opposed to knowledge, which is imperfect, and which will pass away. May our lives be marked by faith.
Faith is true belief in God. When we truly believe, we always act in harmony with that belief. When we say we believe but we get upset, (like I did when the previous final draft of this post got lost in cyberspace), we prove that our belief is not faith, but theory. God controls everything! God works all things for good for those who love Him. God is building His church. When we fail to love anyone, we prove our belief is not complete, for He has commanded us to love. When we think we have done anything to help Him save us, we demonstrate our pride and belief that He alone is not able to save.
Php 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
That He is doing this work according to His plan is evident in that He began it in each of us before we were conceived.
Ps 139:16 Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.
Jesus is the Author, (the one who conceived and wrote your faith) and Finisher (The one who brings your faith to the conclusion of perfection in Him. Your salvation is a free gift, and you will be happy to accept it as will every last person He has created, because His love will draw us all into His sinless perfection, and we will all be perfect, sin proofed, educated. It will be impossible for us to choose to go against His will because we won't want to and we will have power to do all our will.
Heb 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith;
It's time that we who think we know the Lord, think differently. If we know Him, let us prove it by loving others more than ourselves. By accepting and forgiving others even as we want to be forgiven.
Mt 25:40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
God controls the measure of faith that each person receives, and the measure ranges from great or abundant to none.
Ro 12:3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
There is no other source of faith, each person is "dealt THE measure of faith" that he begins life with.
1Co 4:7 For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?
So now, knowing faith comes from God alone, and is given to every person at His discretion, and in the quantity He decides, we can observe:
De 32:20 And he said, I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end shall be: for they are a very froward generation, children in whom is no faith.
As we see here, to some of His children, He gave no faith, that it might "be seen" what their end shall be. . . and next we will see that without faith we can't please God.
Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
For God to deny them faith is to hide His face from them. This is how He demonstrates what the results are to people who have no faith. These become a living example of faithlessness because God chose them to be without faith.
To others He gave great faith:
Mt 8:10 When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.
This man became a living example of the result of God’s blessing one with great faith.
Faith is only received when it is given by God yet, it can be increased and decreased at God’s discretion.
Mt 13:9 Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
He gives, He increases faith in those He gave it to, and those He gave little to, He takes away even what they had. All this for a higher purpose which we shall see.
In this we find faith to be like a fire in that when it is little, it diminishes and goes out, but when it is big enough, it begins spreading and increasing. The Bible teaches about a fire that will some day increase until it consumes everything including the earth and heaven. (2Pet 3:9-18) I believe this is a picture of faith. Someday those whose faith is great will ignite all those who are around them, even those who had small faith that became extinguished, it will be rekindled in the overwhelming heat generated by those who have been blessed with great faith. We find that the faith of others was all that was needed to heal a paralyzed man. (Mark 2:1-12) We have other indicators in God’s word that the end of the earth will be filled with all believing. Mt 13:31,32; Mt 13:33; Isa 11:9; Hab 2:14; Rev 5:13 to name a few. (But this is another study.)
Speaking of hearing, (He who has ears, let him hear.) we find:
Ro 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
It is significant that the Greek word translated word in this verse, is rhema. Rhema, as opposed to other words translated word, means "utterance" or “something spoken”. This is more than just reading words on a page, this is hearing the Lord speak to us personally. When we hear Jesus speak to us personally, our faith is increased. Combine this with what Jesus said:
Joh 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
These verses are illuminating the concept that God gives faith to the ones He chooses to speak to. The ones He has given ears to hear to.
Ro 9:18 Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.
This concept cannot be received by many. It is not given them to comprehend. Those who would be classified as Calvinist, are able to receive this much, yet, since they believe in eternal damnation, they are forced to conclude that God has created many only to subject them to His wrath endlessly.
Those who believe in eternal damnation, yet cannot accept that God would be so cruel as to create people for eternal torment all on His own, not giving them any escape route have accepted a free will illusion that gives God an excuse for His drastic and immeasurably cruel action, by saying (falsely) that man, by rejecting Jesus, chooses this destination for himself, therefore God is not responsible for their terrible fate.
I believe the truth is found when God opens our eyes to reject the false ideas we have collected through the traditions of men, through Greek mythology and through biased translations, regarding Hell, damnation, and eternal separation, yet I understand that it has to be given us to understand this. If God does not give it to you, you will not, indeed, you cannot see it.
Ro 14:23 . . . for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.
If whatsoever is not of faith is sin, and God gave to everyman the measure of faith each possesses, then God takes full responsibility for our sin. He has made us, He can do what He pleases, He can make me with faith, or without faith.
He can tell me sin is NOT good, and yet place me in a situation where I must taste it for myself.
I agree with Him, sin is not good. It is yuck! I don't want to step in it. I trust Him, in His wisdom, to know when to take me out of this world, so that I won't have to step in it anymore! Until then, every time I find myself soiled, I will thank Him (1Th 5:18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.) and trust Him to deliver me when He sees best.(1Th 4:3 For this is the will of God, even your sanctification).
I know some who don't believe that sin is yuck. They want to roll in it!
He has not given them the faith to understand yet. In time, they will change their minds, as all sin leads to death, this too, is in God's hand. With man it is impossible to be saved but not with God, with God all things are possible. God can restore every single created being no matter how long they have been dead, no mattter how many bits they have been blown up into, no matter how badly they have been burned or crushed or dismembered. No matter how completely they have destroyed their souls. He has conquered death! He restoreth my soul!
De 32:39 See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.
He purchased the whole world, we were all servants to sin. Slaves! He purchased us all. (1Jo 2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.) Nobody is able to deliver His purchased possession out of His hand. Slaves cannot choose not to be purchased, and we are powerless to escape from Jesus, our new owner.
We are truly, "fearfully and wonderfully made". While some of us are vessels of wrath, fitted to destruction, and others are objects of mercy, we all fulfill the role He has created us to fulfill. In addition, we are created with the capacity to learn, to change, to think differently. I am convinced that those who are hardened now, will be super strong in Christ when we are gathered to worship Him and to bow our knees professing Him as our Lord. Didn't Jesus tell us?
Mr 10:31 But many that are first shall be last; and the last first. And . . .
He who has been forgiven much, loves more than he who has been forgiven little. (Luke 7:40-50)
It is my desire to impart faith, hope, and love to the people God places around me. If you have ears to hear, you will no doubt increase in faith, hope and love. Those who have not yet been given, may have their faith ignited by those around them, that's why we are told to proclaim the good news.
As opposed to knowledge, which is imperfect, and which will pass away. May our lives be marked by faith.
Faith is true belief in God. When we truly believe, we always act in harmony with that belief. When we say we believe but we get upset, (like I did when the previous final draft of this post got lost in cyberspace), we prove that our belief is not faith, but theory. God controls everything! God works all things for good for those who love Him. God is building His church. When we fail to love anyone, we prove our belief is not complete, for He has commanded us to love. When we think we have done anything to help Him save us, we demonstrate our pride and belief that He alone is not able to save.
Php 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
That He is doing this work according to His plan is evident in that He began it in each of us before we were conceived.
Ps 139:16 Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.
Jesus is the Author, (the one who conceived and wrote your faith) and Finisher (The one who brings your faith to the conclusion of perfection in Him. Your salvation is a free gift, and you will be happy to accept it as will every last person He has created, because His love will draw us all into His sinless perfection, and we will all be perfect, sin proofed, educated. It will be impossible for us to choose to go against His will because we won't want to and we will have power to do all our will.
Heb 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith;
It's time that we who think we know the Lord, think differently. If we know Him, let us prove it by loving others more than ourselves. By accepting and forgiving others even as we want to be forgiven.
Mt 25:40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
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