Archive for the ‘Free-will Salvation’ Category
Raising Lazarus – A Salvation Example
I have always felt that the raising of Lazarus from the dead by Jesus was more than just a miracle event. I could never get away from the thought that it had something to do with salvation.
Sometimes we read secondary verses were we just gloss right over them and not give them even a passing thought. There was one verse that I read several weeks ago, which I had read many times before, and I just could not get it out of my mind. Then it hit me, the verse explained what happened at the tomb of Lazarus. Before I give you that verse let us revisit the raising of Lazarus.
Here was Jesus standing outside the tomb of Lazarus in the cemetery. Others were standing around watching to see what Jesus would do and Jesus did not disappoint them.
The first thing we notice is that Jesus said loudly, “Lazarus, come forth.”
Now think of this. Lazarus was dead. He had been lying in the tomb for several days and there was no life in him, and when Jesus called out to him to “come forth” what was the first thing that had to be donebefore Lazarus could respond at all. Think about that for a moment while we look at the secondary versementioned above.
The verse is found in 2 Timothy 1: 9 carried over from verse 8. Here it is.
2Ti 1:8 Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;
2Ti 1:9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,
So, what was the first thing that had to be done before Lazarus could respond? He had to be given life – saved. Otherwise, he would not have been able to respond to the call to “come forth”. Just like Lazarus we, too, can do nothing unless we are “first” given life – saved.
In verse nine we see the steps God takes to save anyone. He first saves us, gives us life, and then calls us with an holy calling. We, in our spirit, are like Lazarus in his body. We are dead spiritually in our sins,devoid of spiritual life, and in this state we can do nothing to respond to God. Just like Lazarus was devoid of life he, too, could do nothing to respond to the call of Jesus to “come forth”.
Take another break for a moment, think about what just has been said, and look at these verses that will help to clarify this.
Joh 6:65 And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.
Joh 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
Have you seen it? These verses speak of how we, as Lazarus, are dead and before we can respond to the call of Jesus to “come forth” we first must be given the ability to respond, we first must be given life. In other words, we must be “born again”.
This explains what we read in 2 Timothy 1: 9. Salvation is given to us through the new birth – being born again – so that with this new life we can respond to the call of God, as He wills, to “come forth” as Jesus calls.
Now do you see it? 2 Timothy tells us God’s steps to our salvation. Just as Lazarus needed to be given life (saved) before he could respond we, too, are first given life (saved) – being born again by the will of God – and then He calls us and we respond as He wills. If you see it, you will also notice that God had planned this even before the world began.
God saves us and calls us, and we believe on Jesus all because it is done by God. Without first being born again (saved), if Jesus were to call anyone by name to “come forth” no one would respond. We would just stay dead in our spiritual tomb.
Salvation is “all” of God, from beginning to end. There is no way we can save ourselves. It is God who saves us and calls us, individually, to “come forth”, and when He does, we respond with a resounding “YES”!
Accept Jesus or Confess Him Lord?
Actually, both words “accepting” and “confessing” each have different meanings and only one is biblically correct.
I am sure you have heard it said many times, “If you just accept Jesus as your Savior you will be saved.”Well, you will not find that phrase anywhere in the Bible. Only once in the New Testament is the word “accept” used and it is not in connection with Jesus at all.
However, confessing that Jesus is Lord is written and it is stated in connection with being saved. In Romans 10: 9 we read:
Rom 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
And in Philippians 2: 10, 11 we read this:
Php 2:10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
Php 2:11 And that every tongue should confessthat Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Accepting anyone for any reason does not mean that you are subject to them.
Jesus stated the following in giving a good example. In Luke 9: 12, 13, 14 we read these words by Jesus in a parable He was giving:
Luk 19:12 He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return.
Luk 19:13 And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come.
Luk 19:14 But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us.
These servants “accepted” this man to be a nobleman, and King, but they hated him and stated as such and even said that they would not have him to reign oven them. They accepted him but they did not confess him to be their lord and master, and accepting Jesus as Savior does not automatically get you saved.
However, when you “confess” that someone is Lord you are also saying that you are subject to him, will obey him and will follow him no matter what.Confessing Him to be your Lord is proof that you are saved. As it is written in Romans 10: 8 – 13:
Rom 10:8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
Rom 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
Rom 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Rom 10:11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
Rom 10:12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
Rom 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
So, which would you do, which have you done – accept Jesus as Savior or confess Him to be your Lord?
How Is Your Salvation Working Out?
How long has it been since God forgave you for your sins and you were born again into the family of God? So, how has your salvation been working out? Everything going OK, or are you having problems doing the things that you were told you should do now that you are saved?
You know, maybe just maybe you have been going about it all wrong.
Many churches will tell newborn Christians, “this is what is expected of you, and you should now follow this or that in order to keep your salvation.” After all, you do not want to lose what God gave you, do you?
Some churches might say this to you what the Apostle Paul wrote to the Philippians:
Php 2:12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
Sounds scary, does it not? After having lived in sin for many years, doing what you wanted, you are now expected to be perfect and do what the church tells you to do. Yeah, I know, it made me worry also when I was first saved.
However, God had mercy on me and, by His grace, He put me into a position to read the read the rest of the verses that followed. Here they are.
Php 2:13 For it is God which works in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
Php 2:14 Do all things without murmurings and disputings:
Php 2:15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God…
Look at verse 13 and read, read and read it over several times until it sinks in. It is God which works in you both to will and to do of HIS good pleasure. I kept reading this verse over and over and over until suddenly in the thick skull of mine I realized what it was that God was telling me. He is working in me both to will and to do what HE wants me to do, because it pleases Him.
You see, I did not make a bunch of changes right away, but I did begin to notice how my actions were starting to be different. Here is but one example, I was really good in being quite selfish. Hardly a day would go by without insisting, “has to be this way,” without considering what my family wanted, and I was married with two kids. Good example, huh?
Then it started. One day, after proclaiming loudly on doing it my way, I saw a look in the eyes of my two kids that I had never before noticed. It bothered me to no end. Over a period of a week, I started feeling the same way with anything that I wanted, without asking what others would like. Then it dawned on me. God was working in me to change my very selfish attitude.
At first that sacred me as I realized that I was being so selfish, not taking into consideration what others of my family would like, and doing so in the presence of God. The thought of that un-nerved me to no end. Then I realized that God, in His mercy, was working His will in me to start thinking of the needs and wants of my family, in putting them first before me.
God just opened my eyes for me to see my selfish attitude, and how it was hurting other members of my family. In His way, He was letting me know that this needed to stop. God was giving me the will and desire to do as He wants. God changed me because it pleased Him.
Since then, in every part of my life, I have seen God work in me to see those things that needs to be changed, working in me to show me those wrongs and to give me the will and desire to stop; to do those things He wants of me.
When God saves someone, He does not let them go on their own to become a good Christian by themselves. God knows what we need, what He wants us to do, and He works in us His will to become willing, not only to change, but also to actually make the change as He wants.
As we work out our salvation on a daily basis, living each day doing our normal activities, God will show us those things in our life that He wants to change. We may go for days or weeks before God steps in and, in some way, puts the breaks on our activity, and then the change begins. We will never know when that will happen, but it will happen.
After God’s Grace has saved us, He does not leave us by ourselves to grow on our own, to change on our own. For by His Holy Spirit God works in each and every one of us, for whom Jesus died to secure our salvation, to show us our sins, to see how bad they really are and then to work in us His will to change us so that we become willing and do those things that He wants.
Yes, as disciples, God works in us – some like me more than others – through our whole time here on earth both to will and to do of His good pleasure. Soon the fear and trembling that we experience will become a sign to us that God is working in us once again because it pleases Him. Even discipline can be involved, as I have discovered, and we will praise Him for what He is doing.
So, as you walk with Jesus on a daily basis, if someone asks the question, “How is your salvation working out?” You can joyfully answer, “Wonderful! Just wonderful!”
Can Salvation Be Lost?
Is it true that once saved you can still lose your salvation and go to hell? Some people will say that this true, and it depends on the one given salvation.
However, numerous Scripture verses teach otherwise, and we are going to look at just a few of them; especially ones that Jesus stated. Read them for yourself and then decide if Jesus is right or if man’s religion is right. Then we will finish with a quote by Charles H. Spurgeon from his book, “All of Grace.”
All of the following verses are taken from the Gospel of John.
John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
John 3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
John 1:12, 13 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
John 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.
John 6:37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
John 6:39 And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.
John 6:40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.
We see in these verses that they lay out God’s plan for salvation and why once someone is forgiven for their sins, because of the sacrifice of Jesus on their behalf, they can never die spiritually and be sent to hell.
Jesus tells us that one must be born again not only to be able to see Heaven but also to enter into Heaven. This act of being born again, as seen in John 1:13 is not done by being born into a Christian family (not of blood), nor of being born by our good works (of the will of the flesh) or of our own free will (of the will of man), but of God.
The act of being “born again”, which provides our salvation, is “All” of God and man adds nothing to his salvation.
As for whom will receive this gift of salvation it is explained quite clearly by Jesus in saying that “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him:” Not only does God draws whom He wills but Jesus also said, “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me”.
In addition, all whom the Father draws to Jesus not only will come and be saved but, be kept saved as Jesus says, “And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.”
As we have seen, God saves whom He wills, draws whom He wills to Jesus, makes them alive in their spirit and guarantees their salvation will never be lost and will keep them unto the end. Not because of anything that man has done or deserves, but because of what Jesus has done for them on their behalf.
The great British Preacher, C. H. Spurgeon, says this about salvation in his book, “All of Grace”…
“If you will have Jesus, He has you already, If you believe on Him, I tell you that you cannot go to hell, for that would make the sacrifice of Christ of none effect. It cannot be that a sacrifice would be accepted and yet the soul should die for whom that sacrifice has been received. If the believing soul could be condemned, then why a sacrifice? If Jesus died in my stead, why should I die also? Every believer can claim that the sacrifice was actually made for him. The Lord would not receive this offering on our behalf and then condemn us to die.”
Many other scripture verses will back up this statement that once a person is given salvation by Jesus Himself he is saved for all eternity. The true “born again” disciple of Jesus will never lose their salvation.
Salvation is provided by God, given by God as He wills, and saves for all eternity everyone for whom Jesus was sacrificed. Salvation, true God given salvation, can never be lost.
I pray that God will open your heart and your spiritual eyes to see this marvelous promise of God and receive it as your own, and have true peace in the security of your salvation. For it truly is all of God.
Do Good People Go To Hell?
You Know, being confined to Hell for all eternity can be a scary thought. I wonder if good people go to Hell. If good people do go to Hell, then how good does one have to be “Not” to go to Hell?
Right now, you are probably thinking that, “I know I am good enough to go to Heaven and not be sent to Hell.” Yeah, I know the feeling.
When I was a teenager I was quite active in the Episcopal Church. I was an acolyte, a Sunday School Teacher, taught in Vacation Bible School, and was leader of the Youth Group – Spy’s it was called, which stood for “St. Peter’s Youth”. Catchy, do you not think?
What I really enjoyed doing was when I was asked to be a Lay Reader during Morning Prayer Service. It got to the point that, except for giving the sermon and the blessings at the end of the service, I got to do everything else. Man, I was King Teen of the Church. I was a pretty big guy on campus, so to speak, and the thoughts of going to Heaven when I died were never in doubt.
After graduating High School my life began to change and church activity began to drift off, especially after I was called to active service in the Navy. I had already joined the Navy Reserves when I was just a Junior in High School and the Navy, in its wisdom, saw fit to bring me up to the big leagues. Actually, I really enjoyed my three years on active service. It is a time of life that I would do over again.
Strangely enough, I never went to church at all while serving in the Navy. Church was the last thing on my mind. I was too busy, well, being a Sailor…
Eventually I was released from active service, got married, had kids and was living life OK. During all of this, I still felt that I would go to Heaven when I died. If someone were to ask me how I knew – this is what I would tell them. “Well, I know that when I get up there God would put all of my good qualities on one side of a scale and all of my bad points on the other side of the scales and the good would out way the bad and for that reason I would be allowed to get into Heaven.” With that kind of thinking about what was there to worry.
To make a long story short, along the way I started going to church, got involved in various activities and actually started reading the Bible; not a good idea for someone with the thinking about going to Heaven that I had. Maybe this would be you as well.
Over a period of time, there were three words that would pop up on occasion; four times in Psalms, once in Romans and twice in the Gospels. What were these three words? There were, “There is none.”
Now, by themselves, the phrase, “There is none,” is really not a bad thing about which to ponder, but when you add three more words to them it becomes a big thing. The other three words are, “That does good.” So, when you put them together you get, “There is none that does good.” Think about that for a moment and then let me add what Jesus said about being good.
In the Gospels of Matthew and Mark there is a story about a person that came up to Jesus and said, “Good Master, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ Jesus answered like this,
“Mark 10:18 – And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.”
Man, that was like running into a brick wall. Jesus actually said that, “No one is good except God.” I mean, if no one is good that would mean me! How could Jesus say that I was not a good person? Look at all of the work I did in the church early in my life and being told how I was a good little boy. Look how I was a good father and husband. Look how people liked me and said that I was a good person. Everyone thought that I was a good person except… except Jesus!
Now, how could I doubt Jesus? However, if He was right… then I had nothing good to offer God when I died. If I had nothing good I would not be allowed into Heaven. If we cannot get into Heaven by our good works how do we get into Heaven?
I started reading and studying the Scriptures, especially the New Testament. I learned that the reason we are not considered good is that we have a sin nature, and this sinfulness has separated us from God. In order to come back into a right relationship with God we need to repent of our sinfulness and to seek forgiveness for our sins.
However, our sins require a penalty for which they need to be paid. We need to pay for them – unless – unless someone stands in our place and takes on them the penalty for which we owe God. I learned that Jesus has done this for they who would confess with their mouth that Jesus is Lord and to believe in their heart that God has raised Him from the grave. In other words, whoever would call upon the name of the Lord would be saved.
If we would just repent of our sins and believe that Jesus is Lord of our life because of what He has done, and have a desire to be obedient to Him, to do His will, then we would be forgiven for our sins based on the fact that Jesus died for sins and paid the penalty for them.
In fact, if you would just call upon Jesus as Lord of your life you will find out that you have been forgiven, saved from paying the penalty for your sins by facing the wrath of God on Judgement Day, and are now in God’s family for all eternity.
Good works will never save you, anyone or me. Only by calling upon the name of the Lord Jesus, will anyone be forgiven, saved and allowed into Heaven.
Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Surely you do not want to be one of those good people, depending on your good works, who wind up in Hell? Will you not now call upon the Lord Jesus to be saved? It really is that easy. If I, one who was a very religious and good working man can do so – you can as well.
Throw your good works aside and call upon Jesus to be saved. Do so before it is too late.
Could You Forgive As Jesus Asked?
Everything that Jesus taught is to show man that he could not be obedient to God, and was unable to earn his way into heaven. What Jesus said about forgiveness is a good example.
In Matthew 6: 14, 15 Jesus said the following:
Mat 6:14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
Mat 6:15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Let me ask you a question? How easy is it to forgive someone? Is isn’t is it. In fact, depending on the offense, it is not easy and it may be that you do not want to forgive them at all. Am I right? I do speak from experience.
Here, however, Jesus tells us that unless we can forgive others for their sins against us then He will not forgive us for our sins against Him. If you think about it, that is very scary. You think, how can I forgive them for what they did to me? If you only knew what they did, you would understand why I cannot nor do I want to forgive them.
If that is the case then we are stuck. If God will not forgive us because we will not forgive others, how are we going to get into heaven? That is the question, and that is what Jesus is showing us. In simple terms, Jesus is telling us that we just can never do what is needed to earn our way into heaven. There has to be another way, and there is.
In John 14 Jesus tells us what the only way is for us to get into heaven:
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.
In everything, Jesus taught that, because of our sinfulness, we cannot be obedient to God the Father and earn our way into heaven. Someone must do that for us and that someone is Jesus.
We do not want to forgive because we cannot forgive; that must be taken out of the way. Jesus did just that for His sheep.
Are you among His sheep? Only until you become a member of God’s family will you ever want or desire to forgive others as God forgave you. Once you have been born again, the change to being able to forgive others could happen quickly or over a period of time, and eventually you will find it easier to forgive as God wants. Especially when you realize what all God has forgiven you.
Forgiving without God will never happen nor completely go away even if you say you do. Only after being forgiven by God and given the gift of forgiveness will you forgive as God intends. Only after being able to forgive others for their sins against you will you be able to appreciate God’s forgiveness of you for your sins against Him. Then, you can truly say that God forgave you as you have forgiven others.
A Most Misunderstood Verse
There are many verses in the Scriptures that a number of well-meaning Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers will take completely out of context when preaching on them. It seems they do this to support their version of theology that they were taught in studying for the ministry.
The one verse we are looking at today is a good example. This verse needs to be read completely in context to understand fully what it is saying.
Here is that verse… John 1:12
John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, to them that believe on his name
At first glance, this looks like it means that anyone who believes on the name of Jesus and receives Him into their life then Jesus will give them the power to become sons of God. Well, how can this be when we are all spiritually dead in our sins and are unable to respond to God in this manor?
Here is the answer. When John 1:12 is read in context of verses 11 and 13, we can easily see that it means something completely different.
John 1:11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
The first thing we see is that when Jesus came to His own people they did not believe on Him nor did anyone receive Him. However, we know there were many who did believe on Him and receive Him into their life. So, what changed some people who did not at first receive Him?
Easy, the reason they believed on Him and received Him is this. Jesus “first” had to give them the power to become sons of God.
Verse 13 supports this and explains it perfectly.
John 1:13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
We read here that they were “first” born again “before” believing and receiving Jesus. Being born into a believing family did not give them the right, doing good works did not give them the right, nor choosing of their own will to be born again gave them the right. The only thing that gives anyone the right to become sons of God is by God’s own will, and His alone.
When the Spirit of God makes one alive, they have been given the right to become sons of God and once they are born again they then believe on Jesus and receive Him into their life and confess Him to be Lord. So, lets read all three verses together and you should then be able to see what is being said as God opens up your understanding to receive His Word.
John 1:11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, to them that believe on his name:
John 1:13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
Here is what we see. Jesus came to His own but no one would believe on Him. However, Jesus did give the right to some to believe on Him and to receive Him.
The only reason the “many” believed on Him and received Him into their life was that they were first given the right to become the sons of God. In other words, they were first born again by the Spirit of God and not by anything that man did to deserve that right. Only God gives this right as He chooses.
This is what these verses are saying. Therefore, you can see that when most verses are read out of context they can be made to say one thing, but when read in the context of what was being said you would see that there is a completely different meaning.
Therefore, what should we all be doing? Trust only in the Holy Spirit to teach you as you read the bible instead of letting someone else read the bible and then tell you what they think; and that goes for what I am saying as well.
There is no better teacher than the Great Teacher Himself.
Have You Heard The Gospel Call of Your Salvation
Into the woods though dark & deep, I look for a place where I might sleep.
Through fog & wind amongst the trees, I find myself upon my knees.
A sword swings high above my head, but I awake peacefully and in my bed.
Then out of the shadows Lord Jesus came.
Your salvations’ secured for I have called you by name.
Dead in your sins you could not answer the call, so I made you alive to hear it all.
Not of your own will have you behaved, for by My Grace have you been saved.
Because of My choice do you I forgive, and with me will you eternally live.
1. Romans 8: 30
2. Ephesians 2: 1
3. Ephesians 2: 5
4. Ephesians 2: 8 – 10
5. Ephesians 1: 4, 5
5. John 10; 28, 29
Why There Are Moments of Failure For A Christian
The day starts our just fine. You have your early morning talk with God and you go off to start the day feeling good. You have God’s protection and you feel that nothing can go wrong. That is when it usually happens.
At some point of the day, you have a thought pop into your mind. It is a thought that you have not had for a while and in the surprise of it, you start entertaining the thought. Maybe something crosses your line of vision, the sight captivates you, and you let your eyes linger longer that you normally would have and you enjoy the view before you.
There is always the possibility that someone angers you and you spout salty words that you do not normally use. Then again, maybe something happens that causes you to react in a physical way that causes harm to someone.
As a Christian, we have to remember that we are not perfect. We still have a sin nature and though God promises not to let you be tempted beyond what you can bare and gives room for escape, there are times when you do not want to escape. At this point is when failure as a Christian comes into play. I know, for I have been there myself.
Who is he who temps us? It is not the Lord, as He temps no one. The tempter is Satan himself and, when he is not around, he has many demons to do his dirty work for him. They do not come to temp us during low or weak times. No, they come when we least expect to be tempted, in times when we feel at our best in our relationship with God. It is during these times, when we feel strong, that we forget who it is against whom we fight.
Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Those are the moments when we are caught off guard and we find ourselves doing the very thing that we do not want to do. The reason for this is very clear as we find in Galatians 5: 17:
Gal 5:17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
We forget that we do not fight an outward fight, one that we can see with our eyes. No, we fight a spiritual fight that creeps up on us and catches us at our moment of weakness, which is when we feel at our best. Then they attack and we are neither strong nor prepared for the onslaught that the demons bring on.
It is at times like this that our own lusts or desires over comes us and we are drawn into the trap that has been set for us. As we see in James 1:14:
Jas 1:14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
While it is true that any sin that we commit, after having been “born again” by the Spirit of God, is forgiven, when we know that we have committed a sin the best thing to do is to confess that sin and to ask God for forgiveness, and to confess our sorrow for having acted in disobedience to God.
Only in this way can we come back into the presence of God, to feel that forgiveness, to allow us to fellowship with God again so that during our closeness with the Lord the gnawing aspect of our sin will not hinder, nor interfere with, our relationship with God.
The life of a Christian, one who is a true disciple of Jesus, is a lifelong journey. We will never be without temptation nor will we ever come to the point of never giving in to sin. The flesh fights against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh. Most of the time the spirit wins, but when the flesh becomes the victor we must quickly recover, confess our willfulness to sin and to rely on God to bring us back into a right fellowship with Him; to once again feel His love and forgiveness of us.
We all must fight the good fight, walk in the Spirit as much as we can, and look out for those moments of weakness during those times when we feel strong in our faith. Living the Christian life is not easy and was never meant to be, but by looking to God, and not to ourselves, to keep us safe from the tempter, and his demons who constantly lie in wait, do we have any chance of overcoming the fleshly desires when something unexpected comes our way.
In the outcome, the victory is not ours, but the Lord’s. Jesus is the one who picks us up, cleans us off and provides forgiveness for us when we have lost a battle in our spiritual warfare. He will set us back on the straight and narrow and will continue to work in us His will until the time of the end will have come.
From Where Comes Believing Faith?
In Chapter 11 of Hebrews, we find a very interesting verse. It is verse 6 of this chapter that we read the following:
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.
Look at this verse again, read it and really give It some thought. After a few moments, ask yourself this. How can someone who is spiritually dead to God generate the faith needed to come to Him and to believe in Him?
This answer is that no one can. So, then, where does the faith come from that is needed in which to believe in Jesus? I know, enough questions already. Just give us the answer. Okay, I will.
In Ephesians we read this:
Eph 2:5 Even when we were dead in sins, He hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
God first must quicken us, make us spiritually alive, in order for Him to give us the gift of faith so that, with this faith, we can believe and receive Jesus into our lives as our Lord and Savior. The proof of this we find in two verses from John 1.
The first verse that you will read is one that many of us already know, but it is rare that the reader or teacher will follow up that verse with the next one; as it describes how what is done in the first verse is accomplished.
Here are the two verses about which I speak:
Joh 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
Joh 1:13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
The first verse speaks of receiving Jesus and in the second verse it tells us what is needed to be done first before one can believe and receive. That is, one must first be regenerated or made alive. Not because they were born into a believing family, which gave them the right to believe, not because they did good works that gave them the ability to believe, nor was it because they, of their own will, choose to believe. It was because of God that they were first born again, made alive in the spirit, so that they could receive the gift of faith and, with that faith, they could believe on Jesus and receive Him into their life as Lord and Savior.
Basically, it is because of God, and only of God, that anyone is born again and given the gift of faith with which to believe on Jesus, and chose to come to Him and bow down to Him in humble submission of His Lordship over us because of what He has done for us as Savior. No one can claim this for himself.
We are not saved because of anything we have done. We are saved because it was God’s will to save us, even when we were dead in our sins. In fact, because we were dead in our sins, if God had not chosen any of us to be saved, none of us would be saved.
In our spiritual death we are as dead as Lazarus was physically dead and in the grave so that when Jesus called out to him to “come forth”, Lazarus first had to be made alive so that he could hear Jesus and to have the ability to respond to His command and to come forth as Jesus said.
In our spiritual death, we are the same. Only when God calls us by name, and makes us alive – “born again” – are we able to hear Jesus and be able to respond and to “come forth” as He calls us. In John 6: 37 Jesus said that, “all that the Father gives me will come to me”…
Now you know the answer. The reason, and only reason, that one, who is spiritually dead in sin, is able to believe on Jesus, and by faith receive Jesus into their lives as Lord and Savior, is because of the work of God in choosing us to be saved on behalf of Jesus Who made it possible for us to be saved.
Being born into a believing family will not do it. Doing good works will not do it. Choosing of our own free will, while spiritually dead in our sins, will not do it. Only by God choosing to make us alive and giving us the gift of faith will we be able to do it.
That is, only by the faith given to us by God will we be able to confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord, and to believe in our heart that God has raised Him from the dead, will we be saved from the wrath to come.
Faith is a gift. A gift given to us by God and only by being “born again” will we receive this gift of faith. Without the new birth there is no faith given.
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