Posts Tagged ‘faith’
Not Planted By My Father
Mat 15:10 And he called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand:
Mat 15:11 Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.
Mat 15:12 Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying?
Mat 15:13 But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up.
Mat 15:14 Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.
My Dad was born on a farm in 1908 that lay in a wonderful valley next to a mountain in the hills of West Virginia. The farm was about a mile across the valley over a dusty and bumpy road from the little town of Lost City. Most of the folks, in and around Lost City, had a garden of their own in varying sizes depending on their ability and family size.
Being the middle brother of three, he learned early what farm life was all about. They grew their own food and had livestock for their meat, poultry and fish from the river that flowed through the valley. They learned how to hunt for game and wildlife for eating as well.
When he was old enough for school he had already learned the basics of farming; one of them being growing the crops, and when and how to bring in the harvest. This was very important as when the crops were brought in they were canned and stored away for winter food.
The most important thing was not to remove improperly the good crops so that nothing bad was included in the canning process. You see, as the crops that they had planted were sprouting and growing to full potential, other non-eatable plants, that they had not sown, would sprout and grown along with them.
If the plants that they had not planted were pulled to soon it may have been possible for them to pull up the good plants as well, which is not what was wanted; for the roots between the two may have been intertwined as they began to grow. So, to keep the good ones they would let the un-wanted plants that could not be pulled grow along with them.
At harvest time, as they were pulling up the good plants, my Dad along with the rest of the family, knew what they had planted and separated them from the bad plants, and took the bad plants and set them aside in a pile of their own for burning later on.
Only what the family planted would be kept for eating through the winter months, and they knew what these plants were for they had planted them. They knew their own plants and what the plants were that they did not plant. The crops that they did not plant they uprooted up and burned them; for these plants had not been sown by them.
In the same way God has planted a garden as well. He knows who are His whom He has planted and they whom He has not planted. Just as Jesus said in the verses quoted above.
– For another good explanation of how God plants and what he does at harvest time, read the Parable of the Weeds found in Mathew 13: 24-30.
How about you, which one are you – a good plant or bad? Here is how you can tell.
If you can do as these verses say, and say it from a changed heart, then as these verse claim you will have been found to be a good plant…
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 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
My prayer for you is that you can do as these verses say and are able to do so right now. Call upon Jesus and proclaim Him to be Lord, and find you to have been saved by Him all along.
Christianity Is Not A Political Party
As a disciple of Jesus I am constantly amazed how someone always seems to identify their Christianity with being either a Capitalistic Conservative Republican or a Socialistic Liberal Democrat. When in fact Christianity is neither.
Basically capitalism is based on greed… more money, bigger home, better job, etc. and keep all they get, and socialism is based on the power of the elite few who take from everyone and enslave the populace to government programs. Neither party truly espouses Christian values unless it will get them some votes.
Jesus taught us not to have a love for money, nor should we have a desire for it, and money is at the root of all that is capitalistic. Without greed there is no capitalism. Jesus also taught not to desire to have the power to Lord it over others nor to regard one person better than another. Without the desire for power over others and in telling them what they can and cannot do you have no socialism.
In short, being a disciple of Jesus means being content with what you have. We are to work for what is given to us on a daily basis, whether working for ourselves or for others, make what is needed for daily living and whatever excess we have we are to share with others who are truly in need. If we have food, clothing and shelter that is all we should desire.
Think about it … if we deeply trust in Jesus for providing us with our daily needs what more do we need? God knows our needs and Jesus promised that if we would seek the Father and to rely on Him to provide us with our daily needs that He would do so.
We as Christians are not to live as the world lives, nor to desire the things of the world. Our desire is to be where our home is in Heaven with our Father who is Lord of us all. We should not seek to have a political party tell us what we should do or to tell us for whom we should vote and then believe their promises of what they will do for us if we would just turn our vote over to them. Once you are devoted to one you are then enslaved by that system and you will have a tendency to believe that they can do more for you than God will do.
If you want to vote for someone during an election then at least look for what Christian values they hold, and not the values that they tell you they have, but the values they show by their actions. Remember what James told us:
James 2: 14-20
14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? 17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your[d] works, and I will show you my faith by my[e] works. 19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! 20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?
If the person you are considering does not show their faith by what they do, the faith that they say they have is dead; they have no faith – just lies. And if no one reveals by their daily life that they do not have any Christian values at all then you need to stand aside and let God put into office the one that He wants and then to trust in Him for what the outcome will be because of His decision.
Yes, Christianity is not a political party. Being a disciple of Jesus is living our daily lives as if we are just passing through on our way home. Nothing here should be of top priority or desire – only the will of God is where our desire should be. As for me, I would rather be known as a disciple of Jesus than being identified with any political party.
As A Christian – Are You Living By Faith?
In the Bible there are several verses that make the statement, “the just shall live by faith.” Basically these verses are talking about having faith in Jesus for our salvation and that by trusting in Him and His finished work, and not in our own good works, we have received forgiveness for our sins and have been granted eternal life in Heaven.
However, there is another way at looking at the statement, “the just shall live by faith.” For instance, read the following verses from Proverbs 3: 5, 6
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.
Here we are told to “trust in the Lord”. What is trusting but the very act of having faith. Depending on how much faith we have will determine how much we will trust. Since we are told to trust with all our heart shows that we should have strong faith in the Lord for what is happening.
Living by faith is basically just trusting in the Lord for the outcome, no matter what we see or do not see – what our understanding is of the circumstances – and that we know that in our trust in the Lord He will lead us in the direction that He wants us to travel.
As our faith grows so does our trust in Him. In our trust of the Lord we will not look to ourselves for the answer. We will look to God instead. The results are that we will see how God is working in our lives, and we will have more peace by our Trust In The Lord.
How about you? Are you living a life of faith? Only by having strong faith can one truly
“trust in the Lord with all of our heart”.
How Deep Is Your Trust In God
Trust is a word that is not used that much in biblical teaching these days, yet it is central to the faith of all of God’s elect. For without faith no one would be able to trust in the Lord, and the level of faith that one has will determine how deep is their trust in God.
One of the first verses that I ever learned as a new disciple of Jesus is the following from Proverb 3: 5-6
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.
Once learned, however, I started to wonder about how does one trust and from where does it come? In looking up the definition of “trust” I learned that, basically, it is a level of confidence that someone has in another person; confident in the fact that what someone has said they would do they will actually do.
So, the question is this, “how does one gain trust?” If we believe what we are told from someone in whom we have faith that they speak truth, will we not trust in them to do what they say? But wait a minute. From where comes this faith? Where does it originate?
In thinking this I remembered another verse that was one of the early ones that I took as a guide in growing with Jesus in my walk with Him. It came from Hebrews 11: 1
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Faith – the substance of things hoped for. It is evidence that generates our trust. Here we can see the connection. Depending on our level of faith will determine how deep is our trust. Where, then, do we get this faith?
Here is where I like reading the 1599 Geneva Bible, because in it the translation makes more sense, and I believe is more accurate, than any modern language. One verse that is in all translations is this – Romans 10: 17
Then faith is by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Knowing from where faith comes sure helps because our faith – faith that we think we have – is considered as nothing. Unless God gives us the ability to hear and understand the Word of God, we will not grow any faith, and only perfect faith is the faith that God will accept; for we are imperfect people and any faith that we have is an imperfect faith. If we cannot generate any faith that God will allow from where, then, does this faith come?
In Romans 3: 20-22 we read (pay special attention to verse 22 and the parts that are in bold lettering)
20 Therefore by the works of the Law shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the Law cometh the knowledge of sin.
21 But now is the righteousness of God made manifest without the Law, having witness of the Law, and of the Prophets,
22 To wit, the righteousness of God by the faith of Jesus Christ, unto all, and upon all that believe.
Now you might think that this is a lot to read but it shows from where the “faith” originates that we need to not only believe in Jesus but to also “trust” in Him as we grow and walk with Him.
We are given the “faith” of Jesus, which is a perfect faith and the only faith that God will accept. Think of this. We come to God and we say that we have our own faith by which we believe. Another one comes and says “Lord the only faith that I have to offer is the faith of Jesus given to me so that I could believe”. Which faith do you think God the Father will accept?
Which one would you accept?
When we come to Christ and bow to Him as Lord and receive Him as Savior we can only do so by faith; faith that we cannot generate because we are spiritually dead and can do nothing to please God. So we are given the gift of faith with which to believe:
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God – Ephesians 2: 8
With this gift of faith, faith that comes from Jesus, we are not only given the ability to believe in Him but we also learn to “trust” in Him. In our walk with Jesus we will learn to have confidence that He will do what He says He will do, and it is with the “faith of Jesus”, given as a gift, with which we can then live our lives in trusting the Lord with all our hearts, not trusting in our own understanding, and in all things that come our way – the highs and the lows, the good and the bad, the rough path and easy road – and in “all” of these things we will have the faith to trust in God no matter what the situation.
So, the more “faith” that we have, the faith of Jesus that was given to us as a gift, the more “trust” we will have in the Lord our God. Faith and trust go together. You cannot have deep trust without perfect faith. Faith is a gift. God takes the faith of Jesus and gives it to us and with this perfect faith we can have trust in our Lord. When we “Trust in the Lord with all our heart” we do so with the “faith of Jesus”.
As we grow in our walk with our Lord we will begin to see our faith increase from the highs and lows that we experience, as we see the Lord working in our lives in all our ways, and we will also notice, and acknowledge, a deeper trust in our Lord in reigning over our lives, and we will find ourselves heading down paths that we normally have not taken with a trust that says, “wherever you lead I will follow”.
Faith is a gift and trust is the evidence of that faith. Why would anyone want to trust in their own imperfect faith when the faith of Jesus is the only true faith that provides us with the ability to trust in our Lord?
So, how deep is your faith? I guess it will depend on whose faith you are trusting…
Faith – The Gift Of Life
At night Jesus receives a visitor; it is Nicodemus, a Ruler of the Jews. During their conversation Jesus tells Nicodemus that unless one is “born again” not only will he not see the Kingdom of God but he will not be allowed to enter.
Imagine that! Of all of the things that someone can do to try to be allowed into Heaven they can only do so if they are “born again”. The question is this:
- What does it mean to be “born again” and how does one accomplish that? How do we receive this “gift of life”?
If one needs this experience – to be “born again” – that would insinuate that one is somehow dead. Indeed we are dead, spiritually dead to God because of our sinful nature. Our sins separate us from God and we do not want God in our lives. We love our sin and our way of life. We do not seek God nor do we even desire to do so. And, even if we did, we would search for a God that would fit our needs, our desires, our wants. One that would allow us to continue living as we are but allow us into Heaven, if we are good enough. I have even heard people say that, “God is so loving, He would never send me to Hell and would forgive or overlook my “bad” points and would let me into Heaven to be with Him.”
Nothing could be further from the truth. As Jesus said, “unless you are “born again” you will not be allowed into Heaven.” But, if we are dead, how do we become “born again” if we do seek God or want Him on His terms? We are dead and we cannot do anything.
In Colossians 2: 13 we read the following:
13 And you which were dead in sins, and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him (Jesus), forgiving you all your trespasses,
Here we see that it is God who makes us alive having forgiven us for our sins. But, do we not do something in the process? Should we not come to Jesus to ask Him to forgive us and to “accept” Him as our personal Savior? Actually, there is nothing in the Bible about anyone “accepting” Jesus as a personal Savior. In fact, in John 6: 44 Jesus says the following:
44 No man can come to me, except the Father, which hath sent me, draw him:
This is a simple, but a very important, statement by Him. No one, neither you, me nor anyone can come to Jesus on our own unless we are drawn by God the Father. Here is a good example of how this works.
Remember the story of Lazarus? In short he died. When Jesus, Who loved him, came to his grave He asked that they remove the stone from the opening. Then He did the most remarkable thing, He specifically called “Lazarus” and ordered him to “come forth”. Question… Being dead, did Lazarus have any ability at all to obey the command to “come forth”? Of course not. Lazarus was dead and was not able to do anything at all until… Until he was first given life so that he could respond; he was given life, he obeyed the command of Jesus and he “came forth” out of the grave.
The same goes for anyone who is drawn by God to “come forth” to Jesus. We can only obey the command to come forth after we have been made alive, that is, “born again”. A good explanation of this can be found in Ephesians 2: 4 – 5
4 But God which is rich in mercy, through his great love wherewith he loved us,
5 Even when we were dead by sins, hath quickened us (born again) together in Christ, by whose grace ye are saved,
It takes God to make us alive so that we can respond, just like Lazarus needed to be made alive so that he could respond. Once having been made alive (born again) we also need the will, the desire and the ability to come to Jesus for forgiveness for our sins, and to trust in Him for our salvation; so that by what Jesus has done for us will we be allowed into Heaven. Once having been “born again” only by faith can we do so, and here is where faith becomes the “gift of life”.
In Ephesians 2: 8 – 9 God tells us:
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God,
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast himself.
God gives us the gift of faith by which we can believe on Jesus and to come to Him for salvation, trusting in Him as the only one who can provide for our eternal security with God in Heaven. Faith is not something that we can do on our own, we cannot do anything to generate faith as it needs to be given to us as a gift, a gift of life, so that we cannot boast about how “we” were able to save ourselves by creating our own faith by which we believed.
The Father draws us, makes us alive spiritually – that is, the act of being “born again” – and gives us the gift of faith that is needed to believe. It is by this gift of faith – this gift of life – that we receive Jesus as Lord and to trust in Him as Savior for providing salvation (forgiveness for our sins) by what He has done through His death, burial and resurrection from the grave, and to insure our eternal life in Heaven with God.
Yes, faith is a gift as we are told in Ephesians. Without this gift of faith we would not believe and come forth unto Jesus our Lord and Savior. This gift of faith truly is a “gift of life”.
Born Again By The Word Of God
As a Biblical Student of Reformation Theology, believing in the doctrine of election, I am often asked how can I believe in being an Evangelical and doing the work of an Evangelist? My response is to say, “It is easy.” … 🙂
“Easy?” they will say, “how can it be easy if God has already chosen who will be saved?” At this point I begin to remind them of a few scripture verses.
Remember how Paul first went to Corinth? In a dream God told him in Acts 18:
9 Now the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision, “Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent; 10 for I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you; for I have many people in this city.” 11 And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.
God told Paul that He had “many people in this city.” and Paul stayed there for more than a year preaching the Word to them. It was through that preaching that God saved those who were “His” people. Only by hearing the Word of God can anyone be born again by the Spirit of God.
In Romans 10: 17 Paul says the following:
17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
The Word of God is two-fold. First there is the written or spoken Word of God, that His disciples are commanded to share with the world, and second there is Jesus Himself, Who is the Word of God (see John 1:1), it is He Who works through the Holy Spirit to give understanding of the Gospel and opens their heart to receive it and to respond to it. As all who are saved receives a measure of faith, it needs to be applied – first, in order for it to work; so that one can respond with the faith needed in believing the gospel of Jesus.
In Ephesians 2: 8, 9 Paul writes the following:
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.
This is why Paul can also write in that same chapter, but in verse 1 the following:
And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,
Since we are spiritually dead in our sinful nature, and cannot understand or respond favorably to anything of God, we first need to be made spiritually alive in order to respond as God wants of us. It is because of the Word coming into our hearts and taking out the old one and giving us a new heart, a soft, welcoming and receiving heart that one becomes willing to respond to the Word, to be able to cry out to Jesus for forgiveness for our sins and to be willing to submit to Him as Lord in order for Him to be our Savior.
However, in order for all of this to happen we first need to hear the Word of God so that we can have the faith that is needed to be able to believe and be saved from the wrath of God that is to come in the end times.
Yes, I do believe in the doctrine of election but I also know that God has people, everywhere, whom He intends to save, but it takes for them to hear the Word in order for that to be achieved. As Paul tells it in Romans 10:
14 How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach unless they are sent?
How about you? Do you want to be forgiven for your sinfulness and be given the gift of salvation? It is as easy as doing what these verses in Romans 10: 8-10 says:
“The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): 9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
How much more can this be any easier? Just call upon Jesus and proclaim Him to be Lord. Confess your sinfulness and believe with your heart that God has raised Jesus from the dead and you, too, will find out that you have been given the gift of salvation, and that you have been born again into the family of God.
A Good Reason For Prayer
For the Christian prayer is an important avenue to God. Actually, prayer is only for the Christian as they are the only ones who stand before God forgiven for their sins, and have been given the right to come directly to God with our petitions. All other people are still under God’s wrath and God’s condemnation. So, being a Christian allows us a way to talk with God anytime anywhere for any reason.
Therein lies the reason for prayer.
God knows our needs even before we think of them and come to having a desire to call out to Him. Our prayers cannot change God’s will nor can it bring anything to Him that He does not already know and for which He has not already a planned response. So, if God knows all things and controls all things through His direct and permissive will, then why is there a need for prayer? Why should we pray if we cannot influence God or change His will in any manner shape or form.
Because prayer is not for us to bring God around to our way of thinking. Prayer is for our benefit. Through prayer we can, and will, grow in our reliance upon and trust in God. You see, prayer allows us to come to God and tell Him all about our problems, our concerns, our joys and our sorrows. We can tell Him what we would like, how we think the results should be in a given situation, why we need the things for which we ask, in short, we can bare our souls desires to Him and let Him know what it is exactly what “we” want and yet, be completely reliant upon Him for the answer, no matter what it is, knowing that He has our best interest at heart.
We may not get the answer that we want, but can rest assured that we will get an answer. How we respond relies upon our trust in Him for knowing His way is always the best way.
For instance, we know what it is that God tells us in Romans 8: 28:
“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”
All true Christians are the “called” of God and since we are called by God to be His children do we not think that He will take care of us in the best way possible? That is what prayer is all about – trusting in God and relying upon Him for our care while in this life.
As this trust and reliance upon God grows we will find how much at peace we can be no matter what the situation is in which we find ourselves.
In Philippians 4: 6, 7 we read:
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
We can pray to God for any and all reasons and, if we do so with an understanding of how God responds and how we find our faith, trust and reliance upon God growing, we can have a peace no one else in this world will ever know. We can have much or we can have little, we can even be in the worst of times but we can still have this peace, a peace that keeps us in God’s will and love knowing that what is happening is for God’s praise and for our good.
So, dear Christian, pray always. Actually prayer is nothing more than talking with God, not some ritual that we must repeat or go through every time we want to come before God. He knows you, He loves you and He is always there whenever you want to be with Him. What I like is that we can talk with Him whether we have a need or not. Just to talk with God about anything is the greatest feeling there is, but only if we grow in our trust in Him and in our reliance upon Him for responding to us in a way that is good for us. The peace that follows is something that this world does not have nor will it ever know or experience.
So, what is a good reason for prayer? Anything at all and the peace that we can find within it. And, remember this. The more you pray, or talk, with God the more your trust will grow and you will become more reliant upon God for being there at anytime you want to talk with Him. The result is peace of mind and peace of heart, and feeling the love of God fill you with joy unspeakable no matter what the situation is in which you find yourself.
Oh, one more good reason for praying is the fact that God wants to hear from you, but He will only listen to you if you are a Christian. So, why not submit now to Jesus as Lord of your life, confess your sinfulness and you will find that Jesus is also Savior of your soul. He is the only way to the Father and only through Jesus, and no one else, can we have access to the throne of God.
Peace is waiting for you, and you can find it in Jesus through your prayers to the Father.
The Bible ……. Only For Christians
The Bible is the number one best-selling book of all time. It is also on the list of the least read books, and there is reason for that.
Anyone can take the Bible and read it for the literary and poetic aspect. Many will also take it and read it for the varied stories and historical information that it has. Then there are those who will try to read it for spiritual guidance and in the end get nothing from it. Interestingly, the reason they cannot do so is because they are not true-born again Christians. Even the Bible will state that non-Christians will not understand its spirituality.
In 1st Corinthians 2: 14 we read the following:
“But the natural man perceives not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”
Now I know that the Holy Spirit can take any verse and cause anyone, even non-Christians, to understand the spirituality of any verse but why would He? For if that person is not a child of God the spiritual information would basically be of no use to them as they would not truly understand what it is that God is saying.
Also, Jesus made references to this same thing. In John 8: 42 – 47 Jesus, in talking to the Jews while teaching in the Temple, said the following:
42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me. 43 Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. 44 You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. 45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me. 46 Which of you convicts Me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me? 47 He who is of God hears God’s words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God.”
Jesus tells them from where He came and they just could not understand what He was saying. He even asks them why is it that they do not understand what He is saying. Then right away He explains that it is because they are not able to listen to Him. Not only that but He also plainly says that the reason that they cannot hear and understand what He is teaching is because they “do not” belong to God. Only they who belongs to God will hear what He is saying and they also will understand what He is saying.
Again, the unsaved or “natural” man, the one who is not “born again” of God, will not be able to understand what the Spirit of God is saying because it needs to be spiritually understood and that is something that they simply cannot do.
Then, in John 10: 24 – 30 Jesus is asked a question and He gives a simple answer to what they ask:
24 Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, “How long do You keep us in doubt? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.”
25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me. 26 But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. 27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. 30 I and My Father are one.”
The Jews asked Him if He was the Christ and the answer that Jesus gives is simple – Yes. He said, “I told you, and you do not believe” Then He goes on and tells them “why” they do not believe. It is because they do not belong to Him. They are not true-born again followers of Christ and they do not have the ability to believe in the spiritual aspects of what Jesus is teaching. He is the Messiah but only they who belong to Him not only will “hear” His voice, what He says, but will also “follow” Him where ever He goes. He gives them eternal life and He will never lose any of those who follow Him.
You see, it takes someone who is “born-again” of the Spirit of God to be able to understand the teachings of the Spirit of God. The non-Christians, that is “natural” man cannot hear God’s word in a spiritual sense and he cannot understand the spiritual aspects of God’s word, and he will not receive nor obey the spiritual things of God because he does not belong to the family of God.
So, you can read the Bible for its poetry and literary characteristics and anyone can read the Bible for its historical details, but only they who are true “born-again” followers of Jesus can read and understand the Bible for the spiritual guidance that God gives through His written word.
How about you? Do you understand the spiritual side of the Bible? If not then the possibility that you may not be a true “born-again” follower of Jesus exists. It may be that you are not one of His sheep and that you cannot hear nor understand what He says to those who belong to Him.
If that is the case then your only recourse is to throw yourself on the mercy of God and cry out for forgiveness and for the ability to believe in and confess that Jesus is the only Lord and Savior of your soul, and that Jesus is the Christ Who can save your soul from suffering eternity in Hell.
Only God, by His grace, can give you the faith as His gift with which to confess that Jesus is Lord and to believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead. If you will but just do this then you can be assured that you will be saved from facing God’s wrath, and that you will spend eternity in the loving hands of God Who forgives sins upon those who ask.
Why would you not do this now? In 2nd Corinthians 6: 2 we read:
For He (God) says:
“In an acceptable time I have heard you,
And in the day of salvation I have helped you.”
Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.
Your Faith Did Not Save You
You’ve heard it and you’ve seen it in print. If you just accept Jesus by faith you will be saved. The plain teaching today is that you can be saved from your sins if you will just have a little faith in Jesus. The problem with all of this is that in your sinful state you are dead in sins and are unable to respond to any calling to having any faith of any kind in Jesus for salvation.
In the following passages we read:
And you hath he quickened, that were dead in trespasses and sins… Ephesians 2: 1
even when we were dead in trespasses… Ephesians 2: 5
And you, being dead in your trespasses… Colossians 2: 13
As you can see, before you are “born again” you are dead, spiritually dead, and are unable to do respond to anything pertaining to Jesus. Just as Lazarus was physically dead in a physical grave, you are spiritually dead in a spiritual grave. When the call comes to “come forth” you must be given to ability to do so, just like Lazarus was given the ability to respond to Jesus’s command to come out of the grave. Before you can come out of the grave you, too, need to be given the ability to do so before you can answer the call to come forth.
Now we know this verse well:
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast… Ephesians 2: 8, 9
Here we are told that it is by “grace” that we are saved through faith that is given to us with which we can believe on Jesus. That is very clear in this verse. Any faith that we have is given to us as a gift from God so that we cannot boast about how “our” faith saved us. So, if it isn’t by “our” faith that we are saved, then by whose faith are we saved?
Now here is where the problem arises with today’s modern language translation bibles. Look first at the following verses; you will recognize them all.
1. Romans 3:22
This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.
2. Romans 3:26
he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
3. Galatians 2:16
know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.
4. Galatians 3:22
But Scripture has locked up everything under the control of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe.
These all came from the New International Version (NIV) translation of the bible, and many of today’s modern translations say the same thing, in one way or another. The question is this. If we are dead in trespasses, as we have read, how then can we generate any kind of faith in order to believe? The answer is… we can’t. However, the answer to this problem is easy. It is not by “our” faith with which we believe!
Now, read this verses. They are the same four as above, but they are from the 1599 Geneva Bible. All but forgotten in our day, the Geneva Bible was the most widely read and influential English Bible of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. A superb translation, it was the product of the best Protestant scholars of the day and became the Bible of choice for many of the greatest writers and thinkers of that time. (from Bible Gateway.com)
1. Romans 3:22
To wit, the righteousness of God by the faith of Jesus Christ, unto all, and upon all that believe.
2. Romans 3:26
Through the patience of God, to show at this time his righteousness, that he might be just, and a justifier of him which is of the faith of Jesus.
Know that a man is not justified by the works of the Law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we, I say, have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the Law, because that by the works of the Law, no flesh shall be justified.
But the Scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by the faith of Jesus Christ should be given to them that believe.
Do you see the difference? Today’s translations state that we are saved by “faith in Jesus”. However, as we have seen we are spiritually dead in trespasses and are unable to respond with any faith at all, and what faith it is that we use is given to us by God that we may believe.
You see, the little word “in” is from the Greek word “apo'” which should be translated “of” and not “in”, basically meaning “taken from or off of”. As in “off of” or “from” Jesus, i.e. “faith of Jesus”.
This is where the 1599 Geneva translations comes into its own. The Geneva Bible states clearly that it is by the “FAITH OF JESUS” that we are saved. This is the faith that is given to us as a gift by God so that we can believe. This way we cannot boast about “our” faith, because we have none, and it is by the “FAITH OF JESUS” given to us that we believe.
This may help you to understand this:
For I say through the grace that is given unto me, to everyone that is among you, that no man presume to understand above that which is meet to understand, but that he understand according to sobriety, as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith… Romans 12:3
When we are called to come to Jesus we cannot do so unless God gives us the ability to do so (see John 6: 44 and John 6: 65), and He gives us a measure of faith with which to believe, and the faith that is given to us is the faith of Jesus that He had with the Father when He was here on earth. We have no faith of our own and, even if we did, it would be an imperfect faith that we would have to rely upon for our salvation, However, the faith of Jesus is a perfect faith. A faith which gives us the ability to come to Jesus and to believe on Him.
So you can see that, if you are saved, if you are born again by the Spirit of God that is was not by the result of any faith of your own, but by the “FAITH OF JESUS” that you are saved. This way you cannot boast of anything as it is a gift of God, given to you so that you could believe with a perfect faith. A faith that would be offered, accepted and held by God for eternity. For it is by the “FAITH OF JESUS” that you are justified and saved.
Think of this. By whose faith would you like to base your eternal salvation upon? Your faith or the “FAITH OF JESUS” given to you with which to believe? To me the answer is clear and I hope you will agree, for only by the “FAITH OF JESUS” are we justified and saved…..
Salvation Through Faith
But Who’s Faith Is It?
For one to become a Christian they need to be “Born Again” by the Grace of God through Faith. The question is, by who’s faith is it that we are saved?
In Ephesians 2:8, 9 we read, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”
So, if the faith through which we are saved is a gift then that faith must come from somewhere else. We know that God gives us this faith because of Eph. 2:8&9 and, in addition, in Romans 12:3 we read, “For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.”
Does God give us this faith just out of thin air or does this faith come from the action of someone else? The best translation of the Bible that answers this question comes from the 1622 Geneva Bible; the Bible that the Pilgrims first brought to America. Newer translations changes the wording to something else and in doing so nullifies part of the work of Christ in our salvation.
In the Geneva Bible in Galations 2:16 we read, “Know that a man is not justified by the works of the Law, but by the faith OF Jesus Christ, even we, I say, have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith OF Christ, and not by the works of the Law, because that by the works of the Law, no flesh shall be justified.” Newer, so called better, translations use the word “in” instead of “OF“.
In other words, it is not by faith in Christ that we are saved by by the faith OF Christ that we are saved. If we are saved by faith in Christ then it is our faith that is being used for our salvation, but we have no righteousness of our own, we are dead in our sins and there is no good in us from which to generate this faith. That is why faith must be given to us as a gift for our use in being saved.
In that case, that faith through which we are saved must come from the righteousness of someone else and the only one who can provide that faith is Jesus Himself. In fulfilling the Law, through His obedience to the Father, the faith by which He does all this is then imputed to us, that is it is given to us as a gift, so that we are then saved by the faith OF Christ that he made perfect for us.
For by grace have you been saved through the faith OF Jesus, not of our works, so that we cannot boast that we were able to come up with our own faith in order to be saved. We cannot contribute in any way to our salvation, no works are involved not even our own faith, everything is done by Jesus for us.
The Father defines our salvation, the Son completes the work of our salvation and the Holy Spirit applies that finished work. Salvation, from start to finish, is all done by the Soverign God who works all things according to His will.
Yes, we are saved by grace through faith, but the faith that saves is the faith OF Jesus. We are not saved by faith in Christ, we are saved by the faith OF Christ. Only He can provide that faith for us because only Jesus has completed the work of being faithful, and obedient, for us.
Salvation does come through faith, but it is through the faith OF Jesus that we are saved and not our own. This is the faith that is given to us, and it is by this faith, the faith OF Jesus, through which we receive salvation.
So then, the answer to the question, “by who’s faith is it that we are saved?” the answer is simple. It is by the faith OF Jesus that we are saved.
