The Prayer of Faith Part 1: Conditions for Answered Prayer Handout

How to Get Answers to Prayer?

By John Foll, written between 11/21/2019 and 11/27/2019, 01/11/2020 and 01/17/2020.
© Copyright 2019 John Foll


“Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: and the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” James 5:14-16 KJV.

“Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him. Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.” James 5:14-16 NASB.

Do you believe it?

Why are we bringing up this text about healing the sick? We are using this text because it’s startling. We're bringing this up because we need to start right where people seem to have the problem: With faith. So why start with a most difficult promise? Because we want you to know with God the impossible is possible, that there is nothing too hard for God. Genesis 18:14.

Why do you need faith?

If it’s something you can do for yourself or mankind can provide, why do you need God for it? Faith is all about making your needs and petitions known to God that you cannot provide for yourself or for things you can do too! (We need God for everything!) When you have faith in God, then there is nothing that you need that He cannot provide if it’s for your best. So let’s start with discussing prayers that seem impossible as a place to start our talk on faith! That's why this Seminar is entitled the Prayer of Faith. Without faith it is impossible to please God! Hebrews 11:6. You need to believe the promises of God, as in James 5:14-16. You need to believe the Bible as it reads, because God says what He means, and means what he says and can be trusted because He loves you!

Since John 3:16 declares that whosoever believeth shall not perish but have everlasting life – believing in and having faith in Jesus are the requirements for everlasting life. Do not doubt that God could heal someone through the Prayer of Faith or for a big request. Whatsoever is not of faith is sin. Romans 14:23. So we want to believe and teach that God in fact can do what He has promised that He can do, and not have an evil heart full of unbelief. Hebrews 3:12.

How do we know that we are to take the Bible as it reads?

Listen to what Jesus told the Jewish Lawyer, ‘the expert of the Law’: “And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, ‘Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?’ And He [Jesus] said to him, ‘What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?’ Luke 10:25-26 NASB. Well then Jesus told him to read what was written in the Law. How does it read to you? Can Jesus make it any plainer than that? So how are we to understand the Bible? How does it read to you? Can it really be just that simple? Yes it is! How does it read? We are generally to take the Bible ‘just as it reads’ in most cases, except when dealing with highly symbolic Bible passages or prophecies. Symbolic Bible prophecy can also be understood by following basic rules of logic and comparing scripture with scripture, here a little, there a little. Isaiah 28:19. What Jesus said also applies to our passage in James too. We also know that: “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17 NASB.

This may seem like a novel idea to many - that we should take the scriptures as they read. Too often irrational reasoning is used to make the scriptures mean something different than what they plainly state, because they don’t fit with someone’s ideas of the truth. How can people know what the truth is and what they should do, if they are accustomed to hearing texts reinterpreted to mean something other than there apparent natural meaning? There are clues in the Bible that can be learned to know when a passage must be interpreted because of its symbolic nature. We will not go into this here.

God can heal someone through the Prayer of Faith.

So what have we learned from James? That God can choose to heal someone as the result of the Prayer of Faith, and that by the Prayer of Faith their sins can also be forgiven too. How can we know that this promise of healing and forgiveness of sin is real and that God has promised it? What have we learned from Jesus that we need to know here? That we can know how to understand the Bible by reading it – we are to take it as it reads or in the spiritual sense. We also learned that ‘all scripture’ is profitable for teaching, doctrines, and reproof, correction and training in righteousness so that the man of God may be adequate and equipped for every good work. Is the book of James part of ‘all scripture’ that Paul was talking about? Is the book of James part of the Holy Bible? Yes. Then what James wrote in James 5:14-16 is also the inspired word of God, and we should believe what it says and take it as it reads. We should believe that someone can be healed, raised up and forgiven due to the prayer of faith like it declares - it must be so – since it says so and because James is part of ‘all scriptures.’ We should believe that it is telling the truth that God can heal the sick as an answer to the Prayer of Faith. We need to believe the word of God as it reads and in its Spiritual sense, and not try to assign some mystical meaning to what it says or just doubt it. But you may say how can it be true that God might heal someone through the prayer of faith, since you have heard of people praying for healing and anointed by the elders of the Church and it didn’t work? Well we need to learn the true basis for faith and the conditions for answered prayer. To know why God does not always hear our prayers we need to study to find out why. Do not assume that God can’t answer a prayer like this because it is hard and because people have prayed for healing and didn’t get it. We can say without a doubt that God has heard some people’s prayers for healing and healed them! We want to teach you to believe in the promises of God and know the conditions for them, so you can get answers to prayer. There is no virtue or goodness in doubting that God can do something which the word of God says He can do. We saw earlier that Paul declared that ‘whatsoever is not of faith is sin.’ Romans 14:23 KJV. So it is a sin to doubt that God can do what the Bible says He can do.

Since we learned from Jesus that we can understand the Bible by reading it (or taking it as it reads), let us then proceed with the rest of this lesson and believe what God has said.

Did you know that there are conditions for answered prayer?

We will unfold these truths as this seminar progresses. Yes there are conditions for answered prayer, just as there are conditions for Salvation. Prayer and faith work together. Study the protocol for prayer to God: How to approach His throne to obtain help and mercy in time of need.

There's a science behind salvation and getting answers to prayer.

Study out what God is asking you to do. He will give you the desire of your heart and life and make your life complete in Him, if you believe and pray for His help. We want to declare the wonderful power and promises of God and show that there's more to prayer than many think. Faith is part of the Gospel and necessary to be saved. John 3:16.

Condition #1: The Prayer of Faith

The First Condition For Answered Prayer is Faith.

Prayer and Faith work together. Prayer is our communication with God. (Two way.) And faith is believing Him. True faith is not presumption; it complies with His conditions. The true faith is trusting in God.

True faith is believing and expecting that God will do what He says He will do – by His word alone! 

¹ ‘Say the word alone, and my servant will be healed.’ What did Jesus say in response to this? “Lo I have not found such faith, no not in Israel.” “The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.” Matthew 8:8 KJV. What did the centurion expect alone would heal his servant? The word ONLY – the word of Jesus only! Because Jesus was a man under authority too like the centurion was! Matthew 8:8-10 KJV. So true faith is believing and expecting the word of Jesus ONLY and His Father to do what They say They will do. Amen!

How should you expect God to fulfill His promises?

Through the Word Only. The true basis of true faith is believing in the word of God ONLY to do what it says. It’s not believing in yourself to be able to be righteous AND God, it’s believing in God – the word of God ONLY! There is nothing you can do to earn or merit God fulfilling His promises to you, but they are fulfilled through His word, since He loves you and has promised them – when you meet the conditions. God always keeps His promises. It’s time for God’s people to start believing and living like they believe that He will do what He says He will do, and not something else. If you expect to get answers to prayer, you must believe that God can and will grant them, and know the promises whereby He has promised to grant them. This is a most important secret to getting answer to prayer is believing.

Do not be afraid to pray for the big or hard prayers that you need

– like healing someone who is sick, or helping someone want to change and give their heart to God! Do not think that in our day that God cannot answer a big or hard prayer like healing the sick or forgiving their sins. See the promises of God for what they are: the riches of God - that you can gather and use, if you need His help or love Him and are devoted to Him.

God did not give His word, the Bible, so that you could fritter away His rich promises,

casting them aside as something unattainable or useless, except for the elect few. Oh no! – God gave His Bible so He could bestow on you His rich promises of love, grace and mercy - to help you become His son or daughter! ‘Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God:’ 1 John 3:1 KJV. You are an heir to the promise through Jesus and can become God’s son or daughter. Romans 8:14-17; Titus 3:7; Hebrews 6:17; 11:9; James 2:5. Amen! Just believe it!


God doesn't always answer your prayers in the way or by the means or methods you ask Him to do.
It’s important to understand what real faith is and what the real prayer of faith is. It is important to know the conditions in the Bible for answered prayer or for the ones that you are praying for. You want to concentrate on this, because this prayer helps you to live a victorious life in Christ.

How do you get Faith?

Faith comes through hearing the word of God. “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Romans 10:17 KJV. ^2. Therefore there can be no faith without the word of God. We’re talking about the faith of the Bible. The faith of the Bible is not based upon what man thinks, or what man has written, it’s based only on the word of God. If it’s based on anything else it’s not real faith. There can be no faith without the word of God! Faith has everything to do with prayer and the promises of God, and nothing to do with “I think”, hearsay, or so-and-so said, or so-and-so thinks. You cannot expect to receive answers to your prayers without faith. Paul teaches here that faith is based on the word of God. God promises to give you the power to obey if you want it.

There’s Creative power in the Word of God:

God promises to give you the power to obey and do whatever He’s asking you to do. The power is there in the word itself. The centurion said to Jesus, ‘say the word only and my servant will be healed’. He didn’t need Jesus to come down there and wave His hand over something - you know. He knew that Jesus had the power – and all He had to do was to say ‘the word only.’ Why did he say that Jesus only had to say “the word only” and his servant would be healed? What happened to the fig tree after Jesus cursed it when they came back to see it the next day? It was withered. “On the next day, when they had left Bethany, He [Jesus] became hungry. Seeing at a distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to see if perhaps He would find anything on it; and when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. He said to it, ‘May no one ever eat fruit from you again!’ And His disciples were listening.” Mark 11:12-14 NASB. “As they were passing by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots up. Being reminded, Peter said to Him, ‘Rabbi, look, the fig tree which You cursed has withered.’” Mark 11:20-21 NASB.] So what happens when Jesus says something? There’s an active power that takes place, it’s not just words, its creative power! I don’t know if the centurion knew this, but it’s so powerful if you think about it! Jesus didn’t need to do something, all He had to do was say something and that was going to heal the centurion’s servant!

What happened when Jesus said, ‘let there be light?’

There was light. What happened when Jesus said, ‘let the waters separate from the earth and there would be dry ground?’ Genesis 1:3, 6, 9, 11, 14-15, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 29-30; 2:3. Did you know that Jesus created the world before He was called Jesus? “in these last days [God] has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He [Jesus] is the radiance of His [God’s] glory and the exact representation of His [God’s] nature, and upholds all things by the word of His [God’s] power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high [God],” Hebrews 1:2-3 NASB. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made.” John 1:1-3 1 KJV. “He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. He came unto his own, and His own received Him not. 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. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, ‘This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for He was before me. And of His fulness have all we received, and grace for grace’” John 1:10-16 KJV. “I myself [John-the-Baptist] have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God." John 1:34 NASB. [I.e. the Word of God, Son of God, Jesus Christ.] And Paul wrote: “Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; and to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:” Ephesians 3:8-9 KJV.

When did God speak the word only?

When He caused His word the Bible to be written. Hebrews 1:1-4. When Jesus [the Word of God] or His Father reveal something, then the power to do what They declared is already there, through the word of Their power. When God said let there be light what happened? There was light! What happens when God said ‘I forgive you’? You are forgiven just believe it! You must believe that you ‘can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth’ you. Philippians 4:13 KJV. When God said or revealed truth in the Bible, He spoke the word Only. Therefore you can expect God to fulfill the word only that He spoke or caused His servants and prophets to write in the Bible. “A lion has roared! Who will not fear? The Lord GOD has spoken! Who can but prophesy?” Amos 3:8 NASB.

God’s words are as good as done after He spoke them or caused them to be written. God declared through the prophet Isaiah: “So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; it will not return to Me empty; without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55:11 NASB95.

The Bible comes backed up with the power of God.

The Bible is not like other books! It comes backed up with the power of God to enable you to do what He asks. “Let all the earth fear the LORD; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.” Psalm 33:8-9 NASB. The word of God in the Bible is backed up with the same creative power that the Lord used to create the world. Do you believe that Jesus is a man under authority like the Centurion said? This is the secret to faith. You must believe that Jesus has been given the authority and sets at the right hand of God. “And Jesus came up and spoke to them [His disciples], saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.’” Matthew 28:18 NASB.

What does hearing the word of God mean?

“Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.” Psalm 130:2 KJV. This Psalm is a prayer! ‘Hear my voice’ means that this person wants God to be attentive to their supplications and prayer requests. If you want God to listen to your prayers, shouldn’t you listen to Him too? God wants you to hear His voice too! He wants you to be attentive to the voice of His Word; He wants you to obey. “And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.” Isaiah 30:21 KJV. God wants to guide you! He does this by the Bible and the Holy Spirit. You don’t have to guess what God wants, it has been revealed in the Bible. The Bible uses the expression, ‘he who has ears, let him hear’ many times. Hearing means wanting to hear and obey. Those who don’t want to hear are likened to the stubborn and disobedient. Those who want to be healed and saved must want to hear God and turn from their wicked ways and their evil deeds. “Listen to Me, you stubborn-minded, Who are far from righteousness.” Isaiah 46:12 NASB. “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14 KJV. Acts 7:51; Romans 10:21; Proverbs 19:20; Isaiah 6:10; 28:23; Jeremiah 5:21; 25:4-7; Ezekiel 2:8; 3:7; 20:8; Hosea 4:1; Nehemiah 9:16-17; Matthew 11:13-15; 13:4-9; Mark 4:3-9; Luke 8:5-8; Acts 28:27-28; Revelation 2:7,11,17,29; 3:6,13,22,13:9.

So ‘faith comes through hearing the word of God’ means that God will give faith to those who want to read or listen to His Word, the Bible, to do what it says, or want to be made more willing to do so. It’s a process. When you want to hear God’s word, read it, and obey it, then you will be given all the faith you need to please Him. True faith accepts only the plain true teaching of the Bible as true, because God’s voice tells them ‘This is the way, walk in it.’ True faith does not accept teachings that are contrary to the plain word of God, because God’s voice tells them ‘this is not the way, don’t walk in it.’ Faith means to listen to God’s voice, which teaches you from the Bible saying, ‘This is the way, walk ye in it.’ And those who listen to His voice, allow Him to help them obey! This is how you get faith! There is power in the word of God when you want to obey Him – then He will give you all the faith you need and the power to obey Him. So if you want to get answers to prayer, read the Bible with the desire to follow it, and the word of God in it will give you all the faith you need to get answers to prayer.

You must ask in faith, without doubting... “But he must ask in faith without any doubting,

for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” James 1:6-8 NASB. From this we learn that the one who doubts is unstable and double minded; they may not expect to receive anything from the Lord - while they engage in doubt. Faith is a condition for answered prayer. James 1:6-8. It is impossible for God to lie. Hebrews 6:18. Therefore you can trust His promises when you meet His conditions.

Become a partaker of Christ and become pleasing to God:

“For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;” Hebrews 3:14 KJV. “And without faith it is impossible to please Him [God], for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6 NASB. You will become a partaker of Christ’s nature if you hold fast to your faith until the end. Without faith you cannot please God. You must seek Him and believe that He is and rewards those who seek Him.

The Promises of God in the Bible are the true basis of Faith.

Have the promises of God in hand when you pray, so that you can know what He has promised – this is the true basis of faith - so you can know that you will receive the answers to your prayers. Because faith is how you get answers to prayer. When your faith is based on the word of God, you will know how you can get answers to prayer, and how you can live a successful Christian Life.

* Prayer is the key to heaven, but Faith unlocks the door.

Confession and the Prayer of Faith result in new life and obedience. This is how you get the happiness that you were meant to have, an eternal joy, eternal love and eternal peace. Make your petitions to the Father in prayer, as with a friend. This is how prayer should be conducted: with respect for God and with faith in Him and love for Him: ‘Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee.’  Psalm 119:11 KJV.

Conclusion:

The closer you get to God the more in harmony with Him you will become. By His strength as time progresses, you will get more power from prayer, and become more unselfish, as you are changed by His power, from faith to faith. To get answers to prayer, study the word of God, the Bible, seeking to follow His wishes for your life, making its study your delight, because it is the voice of God whom you love to your soul!

When you read the Bible do you see it through the eyes of faith?

When you learn righteousness by faith, you learn the power of prayer for the promises of God. When you are clean before God, yielded fully to Him, and have these promises of God in hand and in your thoughts, dreams and desires, these many precious and exceeding promises will guide you safely to Heaven’s peaceful shore! You'll see the Bible in a different light, if you have not already seen it that way. The Bible is the revealed will of God. He tells you what He wants you to do and what He's promised to help you to do. Therefore it is usually but a simple task to know what prayers God will answer and which He will not, once you know what He wants from you – it is written in the Bible. But God hasn’t given specific promises on everything, but He has given some general promises that cover our basic needs in life.

Have you placed yourself on God’s side?

To place yourself on His side: confess your sins, give yourself to Him, do everything He asks and yield to Him all the way. Then you will not have to worry about your salvation, because you will know that He will take care of you and save you, and give you peace, love, joy and eternal life! It's a wonderful thing to put yourself on God’s side and reap the benefits of being born again. It's really not that hard to get answers to prayer. So put yourself on God’s side by giving yourself to Him all the way, and receive all of the blessings from Him that you were meant to have! It’s quite easy to get answers to prayer once you learn the secret of faith and giving yourself to God all-the-way! Getting answers to prayer that you need, and all of the blessings of being born again are why it's so important to understand faith and see the Bible through the eyes of faith. When it's viewed in this way, the Bible becomes an immeasurable priceless treasure to those who love Him! Because it reveals His will to them for their lives. It tells them what they should pray for and what they should not pray for. It tells them what kind of prayers God will answer! This is the kind of faith we are talking about! Faith is the first condition for answered prayer! If you know God you belong to Him - then the promises of God will be very precious to you. Remember: *Prayer is the key to Heaven, but faith unlocks the door!

We can tell you from experience that God is true and what the Bible says is true – it’s the word of God!

God can be trusted to keep His promises! God has been so wonderful to me – to one who is so undeserving. The Bible shows me His love and teaches me to trust Him all-the-way, to give me the help I need to keep me from going back to my old ways. I love him so much! It's been so wonderful writing and teaching others about His love and how to believe in Him, so that they can have great peace, love and joy too! The sacred fire of God’s salvation is burning in our heart and we cannot hold it in. That's why we are declaring it now to you.

Dear audience and readers, we challenge you to put God to the test – to see if He is good or not, if you have not already found this fountain of life!

And if you've already started to taste that God is good, you know the true value of the most wonderful salvation He is offering you! Please continue down this path until you fully believe and possess these many precious promises of God for yourself. It's the most wonderful thing you can ever experience in this life! You know that you can trust God. The love of God is a wonder and joy and experience beyond compare! Oh the riches and splendor and majesty of God! We can tell you from experience that the word of God is true, and if you taste and see that God is good… you won’t be disappointed!

May the grace of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all, as you seek to learn the conditions to prayer, and yield yourself fully to His loving heart! Amen!

*Faith Unlocks the Door (Prayer is the Key to Heaven) 1955, by Samuel T. Scott, Robert L. Sande.

Sources:

1. Lessons on Faith in: The Review and Herald: Feb. 21, 1899, Feb. 14, 1899, Feb. 7, 1899,  Jan. 31, 1899, Jan. 24, 1899, Jan. 17, 1899, Jan. 10, 1899, Jan. 3, 1899, Dec. 27, 1898 by A. T Jones.  
2. Lessons on Faith in: The Review and Herald: Dec. 27, 1898 by A. T Jones.

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#Faith #Conditions #Prayer #Key #Heaven #Righteousness #Heal #Latter #Rain #Holy #Spirit #Believe #Word #God #Only #Confess #Salvation #Read #Hear #Love

The Prayer of Faith Part 1 Conditions for Answered Prayer Transcript (Corrected)

How to Get Answers to Prayer?

By John Foll, given at the Decatur Alabama on 11-30-2019.
Transcription Finished: 01/10/2020.
© Copyright 2020 John Foll

* Note: Added words not in the original speech were surrounded by [square brackets]. In some places words were deleted.


Hello my name is John Foll and I have a ministry called White Raiment Evangelism. My goal is to help as many people as possible break out of the lukewarm state.

The title for tonight’s session is the Prayer of Faith Part 1 Conditions for answered prayer.

We won’t be able to cover everything here. But the main thing is to understand [that there are conditions to answered prayer.] – How many people here want God [to] hear their prayers? How many people here want their prayers to be answered? (Audience: Yea.) There’s a science behind it – we don’t always know every prayer, but there’s some prayers that you can know that God is going to answer them. Did you know that? (Audience: Yes.) Did you know that there are some prayers that God isn’t going to hear? And some of it has to do with our attitudes. We’re not going to go into all that tonight. But there’s a protocol for dealing with God, and if we want answers to our prayers we need to understand. We are not going to go through all of them tonight. But the biggest one of them all is Faith! I mean I had known this for awhile – but it didn’t really sink in. You know I was thinking [about] other things. But when I did this study I realized that the prayer of faith is like the number one condition!

Prayer is the Key to Heaven (John Foll sings)

Prayer is the key to Heaven
But faith unlocks the door,
Words are so easily spoken,
But prayer without faith
Is like a boat without an oar!
Have faith when you speak to the Master
That’s all He asks you for!
Prayer is the key to Heaven,
But faith unlocks the door!

God’s word is the key to knowledge
But faith unlocks the door.
If you can believe what is written….
But doubts crowd your mind
And it’s too hard to trust His word.
Have faith God will show you the answer
In time when He sees best
God’s word is the key to knowledge
And faith unlocks the door.

Prayer is the key to Heaven,
But faith unlocks the door!

I just love this song, it’s a sermon by itself. We could go home tonight after this couldn’t we? It really says about what we need to hear.

*Faith Unlocks the Door (Prayer is the Key to Heaven) 1955, by Samuel T. Scott, Robert L. Sande
Unknown author of second stanza, which we got from Fountain View Academy’s version of the song on their Step’s to Christ in Song DVD Collection.

How do you get answers to prayer?

Let’s start with a hard one here: “Is there any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord” and what does James say? He says, “the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray for one another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” James 5:14-16 [KJV.]

Wow! There’s a lot in this passage isn’t there? Doesn’t this seem like a hard prayer to answer? You’ve heard of people doing this right? Anointing someone? Does it always work? But we are not really just here to discuss that tonight… But what is the prayer of faith? Because James tells us that the elders of the church when they pray the prayer of faith and anoint the person - it shall save the sick and the Lord shall raise them up and - if they have committed sins they shall be forgiven. Now that’s kind of interesting there: Did you know that you could pray for someone – that God would forgive their sins? Confess your faults one to another and pray for one another that ye may be healed.

When we study righteousness by faith a little farther… [A related topic is the latter rain, which is produced by the teaching of righteousness by faith.] The Latter Rain outpouring starts [to be mentioned]… [the] first time it’s talked about in the Bible is Joel Chapter 2 and it mentions that there would be a confession and repentance - starting with the leadership or the priests on down. And that God would promise the early and latter rain. So this confession is so important. How? It says the fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Now how many of us are good here? -- No hands? (Audience: Ha ha, ha ha.) How do we become good? Well James tells us here that the effective fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much, or as the New American Standard says – “The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.” So there must be a way that we can be righteous…

Do you believe that the prayer of faith can heal the sick and cause their sins to be forgiven?

Which is harder? Isn’t that what Jesus said? Which is easier? Say thy sins be forgiven or take up thy pallet and walk? But so that you may know that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins on earth, take up your pallet and walk! [Mark 2:8-9.] Which is harder - for someone to be healed or for someone to be forgiven? Aren’t they about the same thing? [Aren’t they both hard?] Would you want to be forgiven, and not healed, or would you rather be healed and not forgiven? Or would you rather have both? (Audience: Both.) Is there anything too hard for God? (Audience: No.) Sometime if you get the chance look up Genesis 18:14 where God tells Abraham, ‘Is anything too hard for Me?’ Why are we starting with this promise in James? [Because we need to start right where people seem to have the problem: with faith. We want you to know that with God the impossible is possible! There is nothing too hard for God!] This may sound like a hard prayer - but is anything too hard for God? Why do you need faith? Why do we pray? We have needs? If we are just asking God for something that we can do ourselves how much faith does that take? [You need to believe the promises of God, as in James 5:14-16.]

[You need to believe the Bible as it reads, because God says what He means, and means what he says and can be trusted because He loves you!]

[Without Faith it is Impossible to Please God]

Let’s look at Hebrews 11:6: It says, “Without faith it is impossible to please God.” So how do we get that faith that we need to please God? When you have that faith in God there is nothing that you need that He cannot provide. We’re only going to be able to scratch the surface of this tonight. But the prayer of faith is something we should all continue to learn. What does John 3:16 say? (Audience: ‘For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son…) For God so loved the world that He gave His only son that whosoever shall believe in Him shall have everlasting life. Can we be saved without believing in Jesus? What are we believing in Him to do for us? (Audience: ‘Forgive us our sins, save us. Help us overcome.) That’s the most important one of them all! So you see how important faith is? Without faith we have nothing right?

Paul tells us in Romans that ‘whatsoever is not of faith is sin.’ Now this is where it starts to get a little serious here! That’s why we need to learn what real faith is! - Because did you know that you could be shut out of Heaven because of unbelief? Says [so] in Revelation [21:8 KJV]. It mentions two groups of people with the wicked: It says the fearful and the unbelieving. We want to believe that God can do what He says He can do and not have an evil heart of unbelief. Hebrews 3:12.

Here’s another one here: We need to understand what the basis of faith is. A lot of people think well, faith – it’s just oh I believe in something – I believe in God, I believe in a God, I believe in this or that. But don’t the devils also believe? What makes us different? [James 2:19 KJV.] What is the true basis of faith? We’re going to get to that.

How do we know that we are to take the Bible as it reads?

Jesus was telling the Jewish lawyer, an expert of the law something here: “And behold a certain lawyer stood up and put Him to the test saying, ‘Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?’ And He [Jesus] said to him, ‘What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?’” [Luke 10:25-26 NASB.] When Jesus told him to read what was written in the Law what was He telling him to do? How does Jesus tell us to interpret the Bible? ‘How does it read to you?’ The first thing to understand in the Bible is trying to go by its apparent meaning, instead of some mystical meaning. This is [so] important, because some people have said some things that were confusing about the Bible. Now what does this have to do with faith? Well we’re going to see in a little bit. I think that Jesus made that pretty plain that we are to take the Bible as it reads. So why are we bringing this up? Oh what did James say? He said that the sick would be healed if they – someone [the elders] prayed the prayer of faith and their sins would be forgiven. So isn’t that what James said? If James said it, isn’t it true? Or do we have to assign some kind of mystical meaning to it?

[All scripture is inspired by God]

“All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching for reproof, for correction for training in righteousness, so that the man of God maybe adequate, equipped for every good work.’ [2 Timothy 3:16-17 NASB.] Is the book of James part of the scriptures, all scriptures? (Audience: Yes.) Then it’s also the inspired word of God. So we should… I know this may sound like I am playing word plays here but – it’s a different way of viewing [things]… righteousness by faith, there’s a step above it – it’s called faith. When we read the Bible – we take it for what it says and we believe it without questioning it. And that may sound – There’s a lot of difficulty in the Bible that can be under[stood] - that can be reconciled when we start to see it through the eyes of faith – and your view on the Bible will open up and expand when you simply accept it for what it is without trying to re-explain it to mean something else.

Can we pray for someone and have their sins forgiven? What did we learn from Jesus? That we can understand the Bible by reading it. OK we know that there are conditions for answered prayer and we were discussing one that was called faith. And faith is part of the protocol as we’ll see, because if we want God to hear our prayers, we need to believe. There’s a science behind salvation and getting answers to prayer and we should study the Bible out to see what it has to tell us. And if we love God and believe we will make the word of God our study and delight. And faith is part of the gospel, because how many people can be saved without believing in Jesus? He died on the cross for us, but what happens if we don’t believe Him? So the first condition for answered prayer is faith.

True faith is believing that God will do what He says, by His word alone.

It doesn’t depend on how good you are, or what you’ve done. If you come to God and meet the conditions: if you confess your sins what does 1^st John tell us? He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. So what part in that 1 John 1:9 do we have a part to play? Only that we confess. And what happens if we confess? God is going to forgive us isn’t He? Now some people aren’t sure when they read this! But when we understand righteousness by faith: It’s a formula: If the person has confessed, then what happens? They’re forgiven! When the Bible…  It’s amazing how many difficulties in the Bible can be straightened out when somebody views it in a simple manner like that!

‘Say the word alone, and my servant will be healed!’ A. T. Jones was commenting on this in one of his discourses. If you get a chance you should read it sometime from the Review and Herald. There’s a series of lectures or articles that he wrote in 1899 or something like that. – I have the reference here in the handout.

In Matthew 8:8, “The centurion answered and said, ‘Lord, I am not worthy that though shouldst come under my roof, [but] speak the word only and my servant will be healed.’” Matthew 8:8 [KJV]. And later on he says, ‘I too am a man under authority’ and what did Jesus say? “I have not found such faith in Israel!” Now what would happen if God’s people actually believed in God and Jesus the way this centurion did? What would happen? If we actually believed that God had authority – Jesus had authority and if we believed in Him that whatever we asked if it was His will it would happen? How much – How much of that healing depended on how good that centurion was? Was that centurion a gentile? (Audience: Yes.) Did he follow the law of Moses? What? I mean by their standards [the standards of the Israelites] how good was he? What claim did he have on Jesus? Could he say well, ‘You have to heal my servant?’ His only claim on Jesus was he asked Him, and he knew He [was] a man of authority – his only claim was his faith in believing that Jesus would do that for him. That tells you something about that centurion that he cared that much about his slave-servant doesn’t it?

[So what would happen if Christians actually believed God? What would happen? This is where it gets real serious! If Christians actually believed God, there would be a huge change in their lives that would be impossible to hide - that most people do not have now! And they would be a great force for good, love and obedience in the world and filled with the Holy Spirit, in the same way the early church in the book of Acts was a great force for good, love and obedience to the world, filled with the Holy Spirit! So you should see how important it is to have true faith in God and take Him at His word. So the biggest problem with God’s people today is faith. Hebrews 11:6. “And the Lord said, "Hear what the unrighteous judge said; now shall not God bring about justice for His elect, who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? I tell you that He will bring about justice for them speedily. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?" Luke 18:6-8 NASB. “And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.” Matthew 17:20 KJV. God forgive us for our lack of faith in Your word! Wonderful things would be happening on this earth right now if there were more Christians who actually believed fully in God and His promises!]

[The True Basis of Faith]

So this is the basis of true faith – believing in the word of God ONLY to do what it says. It’s not believing in yourself to be able to be righteous AND God, it’s believing in God – the word of God ONLY!

How should we expect God to fulfill His promises to us? Through the word only. You might say, ‘I know what that means.’ When we start reading the Bible… [and taking it as it reads – we don’t have to figure it out a lot of the time because it’s meaning is plain] and when God says something - you can know what He’s going to do, because He says it! And faith doesn’t question whether God is going to do it. If He says it – He’s going to do it! God always keeps His promises. How? What would it be like if God hadn’t fulfilled His promise? What would happen if somebody would humble their heart before God and ask Him to forgive them and God didn’t do it? The whole universe depends upon God! What would happen if God removed His power from this universe? We need to depend on God’s promises. [It’s time for God’s people to start believing and living like they believe that God will do what He says He will do, and not something else!] It’s time for us to start living like we believe what God said [in the Bible]. And when we start to believe what God said it will revolutionize our life and we will start to see the word of God in a different light. If you expect to get answers to prayer you must believe that God will grant them, and you need to know how He will grant them. See there’s some things we can know. If we’ve confessed our sins what does it say? We will be forgiven? And John wrote in the book of 1^st John, I am writing these things to you little children so that you may know you have eternal life. [1 John 5:13 KJV.] So if we want to know if we have eternal life - don’t we want to know how we can know if we have eternal life? It’s not a guessing game! You know it’s not like this person might be saved because he’s destined for salvation and I am destined to be lost because I’m just a hopeless loser. No! We can know how we can be saved! I don’t believe in Calvinism. The most important secret to [getting answers to] prayer and eternal life is believing.

[So how does John say we can know we have eternal life according to 1^st John 5:13? “He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.’ 1 John 5:10-13 KJV. So to sum it up, if you want to know if you have eternal life you must believe that God gave His son and believe in Jesus His Son, and that God has given you eternal life through Jesus and you must have Jesus the Son. So it’s not a guessing game - to know if you can have eternal life and be saved or not, according to John. So do you have the Son? It’s really just that simple! So this is the ONLY true basis of faith – believing the plain meaning of the word of God.]

Don’t be afraid to pray for big things in your life!

There might be some things that you’d say, ‘Oh I can’t pray for that!’ Well if you know the rules for [answered prayer] – that God has promised in the Bible – you might be surprised what you can pray for and what you can’t! Did you know that some of the people in the Bible made big prayers to God? Remember what happened to Daniel and his friends when they heard the king’s edict, they were going to destroy all [the] wise men? So what did they do - pray? Was Daniel a prophet before or after they had their prayer? They asked God to help them and what did He do? He gave Daniel the wisdom to understand the king’s [dream, after He revealed the king’s dream to Daniel. Daniel 2:16-19. Also note this big prayer of faith by Elijah: ‘Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. Then he prayed again, and the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit.” James 5:18 NASB. Wow! What faith! See also the prayers of Moses, Job, David, Jonathan and others.]

So is their really something that’s too big? What happens if you decide that you love God and you want to serve Him? Do you think that God will hear your prayer if you ask Him to help you to do it? [But you have to mean it when you say nice things like this to God.] There is nothing really that’s too big as long as it meets God’s requirements. When we understand it in this light we will see that there are many rich promises in the Bible! There’s no reason for any Christian to be depressed or down in the dumps thinking ‘Oh this is real hard, I don’t know how I’m going to be saved! I don’t know how I’m going to do this or that?’ None of us should be worrying about things like that because all our guilt and burdens should have been rolled away right? At the cross? And we should know that God loves us, and that He sent His son to save us, and He sent a precious gift of the Holy Spirit to help us to live a righteous life for Him. So gather the promises of God in the Bible and don’t just read them. You know when you see them write them down, make a diary or something and when you pray, if you have a specific prayer, try to find the ones that fit with what you need.

God did not give us His word so that we could fritter away His rich promises.

Many people do not see them [for] what they are. Why is that? Well because they have heard people try to reason them away. They use human reasoning power: ‘Oh maybe God won’t do this? Maybe I’m not good enough?’ There’s any number of reasons why people will say things. But see what they’re doing is they’re going by their own feelings – they’re going by the word of man. But if they go by the word of God – it tells a different story doesn’t it? -- What do we want, a faith based on what so-and-so says, or what I think? Or do we want our faith to be based on the word of God?

John tells us, ‘Behold what manner of love the Father hath given to us that we should be called the sons of God.’ [1 John 3:1.] Did you know that God has put a plan in place so that you and I and all of us could become a son or daughter of God? What does it mean to be a son or daughter of God? Are we gonna be still involved in wickedness and the world, and hurting other people or hurting ourself? [Are] we trapped in sin [and] there’s no way that we can be helped out of it? Or is a son and daughter of God – does that mean God’s going to help us to be a better person? This is a very big promise here – that He has bestowed upon you and I the ability of being His son or daughter! You are an heir to the promise through Jesus. You could become God’s son or daughter! Romans 8:14 to 17; Titus 3:7; Hebrews 6:17; 11:9; James 2:5. The person who believes in faith will read those and take them just as they read! Not try to read [with] human reasoning: ‘Well I think this’ or so-an-so said this. They’ll take it literally as it reads or within [the] spiritual sense. And they’ll see ‘hey, it says here that if I confess my sins that I’ll be forgiven for all my sins. It says here that I can become a son or daughter of God!’ Am I going to believe it?

God doesn’t always answer your prayers in the way or by the means [or methods] that you ask Him to.

But we need to understand what the real basis of faith is. It’s important to know the conditions of the promises. We want to concentrate on this because [the] prayer [of faith] helps you to live a victorious Christian life!

[Faith comes through hearing the word of God]

Now we get to a very, very important text here: Faith comes through the hearing of the word of God. [“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Romans 10:17 KJV.]

How do we get faith - what does the Bible tell us? Now what kind of faith do we want? Do we want the kind of faith of human faith or do we want the faith that comes from God? Did you know that the word of God contains the power in it that’s needed? You know the word of God is not just like any book that you can pick up from the library or in a bookstore. The word of God is different isn’t it? When you read the word of God its different, because those books that were written by the world – they have no power to make you a better person. And some of them have power to make you wicked right? But with the word of God, it comes backed up with the power of God. When God says something it’s not like what man speaks! When man speaks he has no ability of making it so, and if He says something that’s wrong what is it? Is it a lie? But when God says something if it’s not so, it’s created when He says it! What happens when God says ‘Let there be light?’ (Audience: There’s light.) What happens when He says, ‘I’ve forgiven you’? (Audience: forgiven?) But God when… The same creative power that created the universe is in the word of God. And if we will just hear it…? And today when we read – once upon a time a lot of people probably couldn’t read and there was a lot of books and so they would go and hear the law read. If we will just listen to it or read it – there’s power that God will impart to us. [See Deuteronomy 31:10-13.]

This is a very important connection here that A. T. Jones made: This is one you may have heard before: ‘There can be no faith without the word of God.’ We’re talking about the faith of the Bible. The faith of the Bible is not based upon what man thinks, or what man has written, it’s based only on the word of God. If it’s based on anything else it’s not real faith. There can be no faith without the word of God! Faith has everything to do with prayer and the promises of God, and we cannot expect to receive any of our answers to prayer without faith. Paul teaches us here in Romans [10:17] that faith is based on the word of God. Its’ not based on hearsay. God promises to give you the power to obey and do whatever He’s asking you to do. The power is there in the word itself. And remember we read – the centurion said, ‘through your word only’. He didn’t need Jesus to come down there and wave His hand over something - ya know. He knew that Jesus had the power – and all He had to do was to say ‘the word only.’ Why did he say that? What happened when Jesus said, ‘let there be light?’ What happened when Jesus said, ‘let the waters separate from the earth and there would be dry ground?’ Did you know that Jesus created the world before He was called Jesus? [Hebrews 1:1-4; John 1:1-5, 9-14.] [What happened when Jesus cursed the fig tree, right before He died on the cross when they came back to see it the next day? It was withered. “On the next day, when they had left Bethany, He [Jesus] became hungry. Seeing at a distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to see if perhaps He would find anything on it; and when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. He said to it, ‘May no one ever eat fruit from you again!’ And His disciples were listening.” Mark 11:12-14 NASB. “As they were passing by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots up. Being reminded, Peter said to Him, ‘Rabbi, look, the fig tree which You cursed has withered.’” Mark 11:20-21 NASB.] So what happens when Jesus says something? There’s an active power that takes place, it’s not just words, its creative power! So – I don’t know if the centurion knew this, but it’s so powerful [if] you think about it! Jesus didn’t need to do something, all He had to do was say something and that was going to fix his servant!

What does hearing the word of God mean?

Now we just learned that we can get faith through hearing the word of God. “Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications” Psalms 130:2 [KJV]. Let’s break this down: ‘Hear my voice’ in this text means that [this] person wants God to be attentive to their supplications and prayer requests. Isn’t that what we are trying to do here tonight? To figure out how we can [get] God [to] hear our prayers. Question: If we want God to hear our prayer shouldn’t we listen to Him too? (Audience: Yes.) God wants you to hear His voice too! I was going to put this text there from Exodus 19, its part of the covenant. [Exodus 19:3-6.] God told His people that if they would hear His voice [and obey] that He would save them and [He] would cause them… Go read it! He saved them from Egypt but He wanted them to commit to Him. He said, ‘If you obey my voice…’ Are we still to obey His voice today? God wants us to obey His voice, listen to His voice. So we see here that hearing means more than just hearing. It means wanting to hear. Another words if someone says, ‘please hear me out’, what are they saying? That they got their ears stopped up or are they saying, ‘Oh they’re not paying attention to me, I’m trying to say something, but they’re not listening to me or they don’t believe what I’m saying.’ So you see there hearing implies belief. So if we are supposed to hear the word of God that means we’re also to believe it. God wants you to hear His voice, He wants you to be attentive to the voice of His words, He wants you to obey. “And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee saying, ‘This is the way, walk ye in it when ye turn to the right hand and when ye turn to the left.’ How many people want to hear God tell them which way to go? I do! God wants to guide you, He does this by the Holy Spirit and the Bible.

[Isaiah 6:10; Jeremiah 5:21; 25:4-7; Matthew 11:13-15; 13:4-9; Mark 4:3-9; Luke 8:5-8; Acts 28:27-28; Revelation 2:7,11,17,29; 3:6,13,22,13:9.]

So faith comes through hearing through the word of God means to read or listen to the Bible and believe it and obey it. True faith only accepts the plain teaching of the Bible because God’s voice tells them ‘this is the way – walk in it.’ How many of us need the Holy Spirit to tell us how – what we should do? I mean we can read the Bible, we may not understand it, but without the Holy Spirit how can we possibly know? God will tell us if we’re wanting to listen to Him. He says, ‘This is the way, walk in it.’ And we might try to go over here and He [will] say, ‘No, that’s not the way.’ What did Jesus say? He said, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but through Me.’ How many of us are going to come to Heaven except through Jesus’ blood? How many of us are good enough to get to Heaven without Jesus’ blood? (Audience: None?) So Jesus is the way. If we want to be saved we must walk in that way. So true faith does not accept any teachings that are contrary to the plain word of God. And God will tell them, ‘This is not the way don’t walk in it!’ So righteousness by faith means to listen to God’s voice, which teaches them from the Bible, ‘This is the way, walk in it.’ And those who listen to His voice He will help them to obey.

[You must ask in faith without doubting.]

“But we must ask in faith when we are praying without doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For the man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double minded man, unstable in all His ways.” James 1:6-8. So we find out here that the one who doubts is unstable. Well we have all done doubt, I know I have. Heavenly Father please forgive us for not believing in your word! But God can forgive us for doubting can’t He? (Audience: yea.) So we don’t want to engage in that. It’s actually a criminal thing when you look at what God has done for us. And sometimes we just don’t believe what He said. But if we know that He loves us - then how can we doubt Him? How can we possibly be saved and get answers to prayer while we are doubting that God loves us? Or we’re so bad we can’t be saved? How can we possibly be saved? We need to have God’s grace soften our heart, we need to confess and do what the Holy Spirit is telling us to do. There are reasons why people don’t have faith… And… But God can help us past those… God will help us if we want to know. Hebrews 6:18. Read that one and memorize it! What does it say? “It is impossible for God to lie!” He said, “I act and who reverses it? See if God says something… What happens if an earthly government says something and God comes along and changes His mind, what happens? Can the government do anything about it? He said, “I act and who can reverse it?” [Isaiah 43:12-13.] God has the final say. So let us not be one who has doubts towards God and double minded. God can forgive you for being double minded. It is impossible for God to lie, so let’s take the promises of God and the Bible as it’s written without trying to cavil over it.

How many here want to become a partaker of Christ and become pleasing to God? “We have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end.” [Hebrews 3:14 NASB.] Now here’s one here: Without faith it is impossible to please God. Now what have we been studying so far – about faith? What does the Bible… How does Jesus say we’re to take the Bible? Are we to take the Bible as it reads? What does it say here? Without faith it is impossible to please God! And that… we go back to another verse there… (Where is it?) ‘Let us not have an evil heart of unbelief.’ Did you know that it is actually evil to doubt God – once you’ve come to know how good He is and you don’t believe what He has to say? It’s actually evil – that’s what the Bible says! We want to have faith in God – we must believe that He is God and loves us, and that He rewards those who seek after Him. So maybe the reason why some people are doubting is they [haven’t] really haven’t sought after Him with all their heart? And so they are looking for an excuse - to try to doubt Him. If you want to have a better life, God will provide it for [you]. If you become a partaker of Christ there will be a big change in you – but that – that faith will help you. But you know what? Does God ask everyone to have a lot of faith? Remember what happened to that paralytic that Jesus healed? Did He ask him to believe before He’d heal him first? He just picked his hands up and said, ‘take up thy pallet and walk.’ [John 5:6-11 NASB.] See God knows that sometimes people are so weak they can’t believe. And I believe that God carries us sometimes. But we need to learn that faith in Him. We need to believe that God loves us.

[Love is greater than faith!]

Another thing too, I know this wasn’t in my script here but – love is greater than faith. Isn’t that what it says in [1^st] Corinthians 13? So love is greater than faith. How do we have faith in God? If we don’t believe that He loves us, how can we possibly have faith? Look at the example of the child and their parents: If the parents treat their child good, they take care of ‘em, the child learns to love and trust their parents. But love comes first doesn’t it? (Audience: Um.) If we don’t have faith in God, what is that really saying? We don’t really love God. Or we don’t have enough love for Him. Because if we have the love… If we know that He loves us we can’t help but have faith. So there’s a reason why people have trouble with faith. So if we will confess our sins and get closer to God and ask God to be the Lord of our life – He can remove that criminal doubt, because it really is criminal. But you know what? We don’t always know, so God doesn’t always hold us accountable to it. But as we get closer to God it will become more important to believe in His word. It’s the only way you can have a successful Christian life. Prayer is the key to Heaven – as the song said, but faith unlocks the door.

And there is a relationship between obedience and faith. We saw there that faith produces obedience. Now the only way that true obedience to God can be rendered is through faith. Because the only way we can be righteous - we didn’t talk about this that much but – is if God helps us to be righteous. But the power to obey God is in His law – in His book. He gives you the power. And when we see the light of the Bible through the eyes of faith – it completely changes [things]! When we start to see it – it’s not a book of ‘oh it might be this, and it might be that?’ When we see that it’s the word… It’s not a book like other books! It contains the power of God in it. And it is the revealed will of God. When you see it that way and love God, the Bible will not be just a book of do’s and don’ts, but it will be a book that will delight you… because it will be something that you will want to study, because it’s the revealed will of God. And when you see that… When you love someone, you are going to spend time with them. If you love God, you’re going to spend time in His word. And He will help you.

So have you placed yourself on God’s side? The Bible is an incalculable treasure to those who love God. Because we don’t have to guess. We don’t have to guess when it comes to God’s will on most things – they’re spelled out. Things we need to know the most are already spelled out in the Bible. If you belong to God, the promises of God will be precious to you. We can tell you from experience that the word of God is true, and if you taste and see that God is good… you won’t be disappointed! (Audience: Amen.)
 

Sources:

1. Lessons on Faith in: The Review and Herald: Feb. 21, 1899, Feb. 14, 1899, Feb. 7, 1899,  Jan. 31, 1899, Jan. 24, 1899, Jan. 17, 1899, Jan. 10, 1899, Jan. 3, 1899, Dec. 27, 1898 by A. T Jones.  
2. Lessons on Faith in: The Review and Herald: Dec. 27, 1898 by A. T Jones./li>

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#Faith #Conditions #Prayer #Key #Heaven #Righteousness #Heal #Latter #Rain #Holy #Spirit #Believe #Word #God #Only #Confess #Salvation #Read #Hear #Love

The Prayer of Faith Part 1: Conditions for Answered Prayer Video

An inspiring message on how to get answers to prayer and get closer to God and get all the happiness and love and joy you were meant to have!

Introduction:
Hello my name is John Foll and I have a ministry called White Raiment Evangelism. And my goal is to help as many people as possible break out of the lukewarm state.

The title for tonight’s session is the Prayer of Faith Part 1 Conditions for answered prayer. We won’t be able to cover everything here but, the main thing is to understand – How many people here want to have God hear their prayers? How many people here want their prayers to be answered? There’s a science behind it – we don’t always know every prayer, but there’s some prayers that you can know that God is going to answer them. Did you know that? Did you know that there are some prayers that God isn’t going to hear? And some of it has to do with our attitudes. We’re not going to go into all that tonight. But there’s a protocol for dealing with God, and if we want to answers to our prayers we need to understand. And – we are not going to go through all of them tonight. But the biggest one of them all is Faith! I mean I had known this for awhile – but it didn’t really sink in. You know I was thinking of other things. But when I did this study I realized that the prayer of faith is like the number one condition!

In this seminar we also sing the beautiful inspiring song: Prayer is the Key to Heaven But Faith Unlocks the Door! It will touch your heart! Oh the wonder and love of God!

Watch this message to learn how to get the faith you need to please God and be happy and have wonderful peace!

Recorded in Decatur Alabama November 30, 2019.

Click here for the corrected transcript of this seminar. It also includes the Bible references.

#Faith #Prayer #Conditions #How #Get #Answer #Healing #Righteous #Hearing #obey #Believe #Sin #Forgive #Please #God

White Raiment Evangelism Presents: The Love of God and Righteousness by Faith Seminar: The Prayer of Faith Part 1: Conditions For Answered Prayer

For those who would like to hear me speak, I will be having a righteousness by faith seminar session in the Decatur Seventh Day Adventist Church on Saturday, November 30, 2019 at 6:00 PM.

The topic: The Prayer of Faith Part 1: Conditions for Answered Prayer. Or "How to Get Answers to Prayer". This is near the Huntsville Alabama area.

Decatur SDA Church, 540 Beltline Rd SW, Decatur, AL 35601

This will be a combined topic on the Prayer of Faith and Conditions for answered prayer (Bible Promises). There is a science of salvation, a protocol of how we should deal with God. When someone gets it their life will never be the same again! What is holding you back from having all the wonderful peace, and all of the love and joy you were meant to have? When you learn the truths behind righteousness by faith, and learn to give your heart completely to God, your life will never be the same! This is what makes life worth living, living for all eternity.

What Does it Mean to be Justified Part 3

What does the ‘works of the law’ in Galatians 2:16 mean?
How is self-righteousness related to ‘the deeds of the flesh’ in Galatians 5:19-21?

By John Foll, written 10/05/2019 - 10/26/2019.
© Copyright 2019 John Foll

We wish to present some additional insights into some of the key texts of Part 1 of this article.

If you have not read our first article in this series: “What Does it Mean to Be Justified? Part 1” and “Part 2”, we recommend that you read them first before reading this article.

A comment here on Galatians 2:16 may be in order.

“Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.” Galatians 2:16 KJV.

The key to understanding this text is:

What does it mean to be justified? Are good works bad?

We think it will be clear once we break it down. Some people want to insist that works are bad because works are done by those who are trying to save themselves. But is it true that works are bad? That depends on whether someone is trying to do good works in their own strength to save themselves or not. Paul doesn't contradict himself here. There's another way that good works can be done – they can be done by the Spirit of God. All this text is saying is that people who try to keep the law and their own strength will not be justified. We believe that since all our righteousnesses are filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6 KJV), then the attempt to save oneself by their works is actually sin. This is because those who do this make themselves to be their own god, little “g”. It is God’s job to save us, not ourselves – we have no ability of saving ourselves. For someone to be justified - that's an act of grace by God alone, which is Paul's point. Those who are trying to save themselves cannot have the Holy Spirit, or enjoy what it means to really live – which is to be filled with wonderful peace, great love and joy inexpressible! Nor can they ever be truly righteous – it is a hollow shell. Paul’s point is not that we won't be doing good works, his point is that those who seek to try to work out their own salvation by themselves will not be justified. We think this is clear! Jesus said, “And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.” Luke 18:13-14 KJV. The danger for those who trust in themselves, the self-righteous, is that they do not see their need clearly and may fail to confess their sins and humble themselves before God before it’s too late, because they may think that they are good and do not need to repent. So those who try to keep the law in their own strength will not be justified, until they ask for mercy, this is what Jesus and Paul taught. If they feel that they are keeping the law, they may have failed to confess the sin of breaking it. Self-righteousness is a form of Spiritual blindness. Therefore Galatians 2:16 does not contradict our passage in Romans 2:13: 'For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.' They are both in perfect harmony with each other, but they're talking about two different things. “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.” Proverbs 28:13 KJV.

Dear reader, do you wish to be justified? Then humbly ask God for His mercy. That is the key, like Jesus said! It is those who pray to God, ‘God be merciful to me a sinner,’ who will be justified, not those who do not ask for mercy. It is only those who ask for mercy who will get it. Those who think that they are keeping God’s law (by themselves) may not think to ask God for mercy, because they think they are obeying Him. Galatians 2:16 is talking about those who try to save themselves by their own works, by the flesh; but this will never happen; they do not have the power or the ability of doing this. It's a useless endeavor that only ends up in failure. Paul is not saying here that those who try to be good by the Spirit will not be justified; he makes no such statement. But that is the implication made by those who try to use this text to show that good works are bad or that we should not try to do good works at all.

Now what are “the deeds of the flesh” or “the works of the flesh”?

“Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: Immorality [adultery & fornication], impurity [uncleanliness], sensuality [lasciviousness], idolatry, sorcery [witchcraft], enmities [hatred], strife [variance], jealousy [emulations], outbursts of anger [wrath], disputes, dissensions [seditions], factions [heresies], envying, drunkenness, carousing [revelings], and things like these, of which I forewarn you just as I have forewarned you that those who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.” Galatians 5:19-21 NASB.

Now we believe that “the works of the law,” by which “no flesh shall be justified,” are related to “the deeds of the flesh.” They are both done by the flesh, not by the Spirit of God; they are both sin as we shall see below. They are both done by someone apart from God. I.e. they are both done by the flesh or man. Some may be thinking that “the works of the law” are done by all who are trying to keep the law, without qualification. Some folks imply that works are “bad,” i.e. all works are bad, and that those who make no effort to obey God are doing exactly what they should be doing. But the truth is that it is the works done by one’s own strength apart from God that are bad. We and others stipulate that “the works of the law” are man’s efforts to keep the law in his own strength,” which is self-righteousness.

Let us now see what Paul meant by the word “works” that he used in Galatians 2:16, so that we can understand what “the works of the law” means: Strong’s Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary says that the Greek word for “works” in Galatians 2:16 is ‘ergon’ “from a primary (but obsolete) ergo (to work); toil (as an effort or occupation); by implication an act :- deed, doing, labour, work.” Strong’s Number: 2041. Now the primary meaning of this word ‘works’ in this passage is someone who is trying to work to earn the law - presumably to earn their salvation, because ‘work’ or ‘ergon’ means the work or the occupation someone does to earn a living. This key phrase can also be rendered: “Knowing that a man is not justified by the deeds of the law or the deeds of trying to earn the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ…” And: ‘By the works of trying to earn the law or their salvation shall no flesh or man be justified.’ We conclude here that when Paul wrote “by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified,” he was saying that those who work to earn the law shall not be justified. Now it is obvious here that Paul is not referring to all works as being bad, but he is meaning that those whose effort or work or toil is to earn the law or their salvation will not be justified, i.e. forgiven and clear before God. Therefore “the works of the law” here cannot be referring to the act of obeying God’s law by the Spirit when someone loves Him, when they are not trying to earn their salvation - in their own strength – this is not what Paul was teaching here.

Paul’s text here in Galatians 2:16 is only referring to those who are trying to work to earn the law or earn their salvation. Paul in no way is condemning good works rendered by those who are motivated by love for God and a desire to obey Him, who are doing it by His power.

We say that “the works of the law” in Galatians 2:16 can only be referring to the act of trying to earn one’s salvation by keeping the law. So let’s try to spin this text in a different way to see if we can make it mean that someone can save themselves through works by trusting in God, and see if that makes any sense: Are you ready? ‘Anyone who is being helped by God to have good works, who are trying to earn their salvation through the power of the Holy Spirit, will not be justified.’ Let’s try this again just to be sure: ‘Anyone who is trying to earn their salvation by trusting God and letting Him help them to be saved and have good works, is trying to earn their salvation by the power of the Holy Spirit, and will not be justified.’ Maybe we should have another go at it? ‘Anyone who has good works from God will not be justified, because they are trying to save themselves by letting God save them.’ Wait a minute! This doesn’t make any sense! What rubbish. This is utter nonsense. Why were we giving these ridiculous wacky statements? Because we are trying to illustrate absurdity with the absurd, showing how deep the misconception of the truth is to many people based on extreme examples. People are so used to hearing that “works” are bad and that any effort to be good is “works” – which are interpreted to be bad, that they are greatly confused about the truth of what “the works of the law” means that Paul warned us against. If God is helping someone to keep His law, there is simply no way that they can be saving themselves through their own works, because when the work to be Holy comes from God, not from man, it is the Holy Spirit who is doing it, not them! In no way can it be said that they are trying to keep the law in their own strength apart from God through the power of the Holy Spirit! What nonsense! This is not works by the flesh by any means, but only, solely by the Holy Spirit! The two are mutually exclusive here!

One can be doing things by “the flesh” or by “the works or the deeds of the flesh” or they can be doing things by “the Spirit of God,” but not both! Never the twain shall meet. No man can serve two masters. Jesus declared, ‘No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other.’ Matthew 6:24 NASB. You cannot serve God and the flesh at the same time! People who are not totally serving God are still serving the flesh. Those who are not totally serving God and still serving the flesh are breaking the first commandment to not have other gods before Him. There is simply no way someone can save themselves by God’s power through the Holy Spirit, that is an impossibility! Therefore since no man can serve two masters, there are only two ways that someone can attempt to obey God, ‘by the flesh’ in the effort to earn one’s salvation or ‘by the Spirit of God’ because one love’s God and has yielded themselves to Him, allowing Him to work in them to will and to do His good pleasure. Philippians 2:13. But only one of them is really obeying God. Guess which one? The first one, the self-righteous person, thinks that they are obeying God, but they are not. The second one is able to obey God as they continue to yield to the Holy Spirit. We discovered, based on our word study in Galatians 2:16, that the Greek word ‘ergon’ means to try to work to earn one’s salvation or work to keep the law. So some people’s idea that good works are bad, based on Galatians 2:16, is a fallacy.

No one can try to save themselves by trying to do good works by the power of the Holy Spirit. That is impossible!

“The works of the law” in Galatians 2:16 are “the works done to earn the law” - they are ‘the deeds of the flesh,’ because they are done by man apart from God to save themselves, and all efforts to save one’s self apart from God are sin.

We will show below that the effort to be saved by working to earn the law, self-righteousness, is sin. Now since “the works of the law” or “the works done to earn the law” is self-righteousness, which is sin, then it is similar to other sins, because sin is sin. Therefore self-righteousness is similar to the deeds of the flesh, since both are sin and both are done by the flesh. We will also show below that the self-righteous people who put Jesus to death definitely had some of the “deeds of the flesh” that Paul described above in Galatians 5:19-21. We think that those who are trying to keep God’s law in their own strength are always doing at least one of the deeds of the flesh!

With that new thought in mind that “the works of the law” as in Galatians 2:16 are the attempts by those who are self-righteous to save themselves apart from God, and cannot be the works done by those who love God, who have given themselves to Him and are walking by the Spirit, let us now answer the question whether self-righteousness is sin or just a bad idea on how to be saved that doesn’t work:

Some may question whether self-righteousness is sin, or is it rather just a bad idea on how to be saved that doesn’t work? Most people probably don’t view self-righteousness as sin, but the Bible in fact declares that it is SIN! No! Self-righteousness is not just a bad idea -- it is sin! God declared through the prophet Jeremiah: “Thus says the LORD, ‘Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind and makes flesh his strength, and whose heart turns away from the LORD. For he will be like a bush in the desert and will not see when prosperity comes, but will live in stony wastes in the wilderness, a land of salt without inhabitant. Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD and whose trust is the LORD. For he will be like a tree planted by the water, that extends its roots by a stream and will not fear when the heat comes; but its leaves will be green, and it will not be anxious in a year of drought nor cease to yield fruit.” Jeremiah 17:5-8 NASB. Here the prophet plainly declares that those who trust in themselves to save themselves, Christian though they be, are really turning from the Lord and will be cursed by God! Is not this trusting in mankind or oneself the very definition of self-righteousness? From this we see that all self-righteousness is sin and those that do this will be under a curse from God, unless they repent. The one that is cursed, is the one who trusts in themselves or mankind to save them. The one who is blessed by God is the one who trusts in Him completely, and them only – no one else is blessed by God like this – where they are a tree planted by water, which will not be anxious in the year of drought and will not cease to yield its fruit (even in drought conditions).

But those who don’t want to obey God, or think that they shouldn’t or can’t are missing out on the sweetest joy they could ever know and great peace! Note well the blessing God pronounces on those who want to obey Him: “How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night. And he will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers.” Psalm 1:1-3 NASB. This blessing is not for those who don’t want to obey God. “I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart. I have preached righteousness in the great congregation: lo, I have not refrained my lips, O LORD, thou knowest. I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation: I have not concealed thy lovingkindness and thy truth from the great congregation.” Psalm 40:8-10 KJV. “And I will delight myself in thy commandments, which I have loved. My hands also will I lift up unto thy commandments, which I have loved; and I will meditate in thy statutes.” Psalm 119:47-48 KJV. “Let thy tender mercies come unto me, that I may live: for thy law is my delight.” Psalm 119:77 KJV. “I have longed for thy salvation, O LORD; and thy law is my delight.” Psalm 119:174 KJV.  “Yet they seek Me day by day, and delight to know My ways, as a nation that has done righteousness, and has not forsaken the ordinance of their God. They ask Me for just decisions, they delight in the nearness of God.” Isaiah 58:2 NASB. Now from Paul: “For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:” Romans 7:22 KJV. Now from Peter, “And we are witnesses of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him." Acts 5:32 NASB. Now if this is not enough, listen to what Jesus declared about works: “For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.” Matthew 16:27 KJV. And Jesus declared, “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done [- works]. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” Revelation 22:12-13 NASB.

In any case, it seems obvious that “the works of the law,” which are ‘the works done to earn the law or salvation,’ which are sin, which no one shall be justified by - that Paul was talking about in Galatians 2:16, are also “the deeds of the flesh,” because they are both done by the flesh or man, never by the Spirit of God (these are the only two options for any deeds that are done). A person may appear to themselves or others as keeping the law, but inwardly they may be breaking it, or having a bad attitude about it, or only “paying lip service” to it, etc. The act of trying to keep God’s law without relying totally on His help is sin, since anyone trying to act as their own “god” and save themselves apart from total reliance upon Him is sin. This can never satisfy God’s requirement to keep His law, since it is sin to have another god before Him. Exodus 20:3.

If you do not believe that those who are trying really hard to be good, who are not born again are breaking the 1^st Commandment or committing “the deeds of the flesh,” think again and consider what the Jewish leaders did to Jesus the Son of God: They were self-righteous hypocrites by Jesus’ declaration (Mathew 23:13-39): and murdered Him by hanging him on a tree, He was innocent of any sin, (Acts 10:24-43) – by nailing him to a cross (Acts 2:22-23) (getting the Romans to do their dirty work for them). If the murder of the Son of God, who healed the sick, raised the dead, and tried to help His people to be saved is not the definition of evil, I don’t know what would be. Jesus was perfect and never did anything wrong! (He said, ‘Which one of you convicts me of sin?’ John 8:46) What the Jewish leaders did to Jesus represents the end result of self-righteousness and hypocrisy – killing the Son of God! Need we say any more? In any case, the motives of the self-righteous person are wrong and impure, and are already covered by Paul’s list of the deeds of the flesh and “their like”. They hated Jesus without a cause. John 15:25. Hate is covered in Paul’s list of the Deeds of the Flesh in Galatians 5:19-21. Only someone who is born again (John 3:3, 5) with a renewed heart can have good motives and do the right thing on a regular basis. So it is evident that since “the works of the law” in Galatians 2:16 are ‘the works done to earn the law or salvation,’ are sin, they can also be viewed as “the deeds of the flesh” which are also sin, since by the self-righteous works of the law no one can be justified.

Paul’s list of the deeds of the flesh in Galatians 5:19-21 covers a lot of bad things.

You might think of bad things that are not in this list, but Paul adds “and things like these”. This covers the other gross sins, bad attitudes, and other antisocial behavior or selfishness in general, etc. It was not necessary for Paul to list every “deed of the flesh”; you should be able to get the idea what they are from his list. It seems obvious here that Paul’s list of the deeds of the flesh covers just about every willful or habitual sin that a person can commit, or bad attitude they can have if not all of them. Man in his unrenewed state is capable of evil; this is our inherited nature. But thanks be to God, he has not left us stuck with no way out! “But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 15:57 KJV. That is why God has provided the Holy Spirit to those who want Him, so that they will not stay trapped in sin and have the most wonderful fruits of the Spirit and new life with Him, instead of the deeds of the flesh and being overcome by their evil tendencies, bad habits and bad attitudes and being lost! Amen! Thanks be to God for giving us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! “But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.” Romans 6:17-18 NASB. “But thanks be to God, who always leads us in His triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. And who is adequate for these things?” 2 Corinthians 2:14-16 NASB. “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” 2 Corinthians 9:15 NASB. Amen.

Can someone saved by grace still practice the deeds of the flesh and be saved?

Many insist that we are saved by grace, which is true, but they think that no change is needed in them or required by God – that they are covered by Jesus’ death - no worries. Have you heard this before? But what does Paul say in Galatians 5 above? That people who practice such things as “the deeds of the flesh” and “their like” shall not inherit the kingdom of God! We would not want to base our belief on being saved and going to Heaven with the thought that God can’t or won’t give us the victory over the flesh; that we are doomed to keep committing the sins of the flesh over and over again. It is very dangerous to your soul to think that you can continue to practice the deeds of the flesh after becoming a Christian; that there is no fallout from it! This is a most decisive statement – that those who practice such things as “the deeds of the flesh” and “their like” will not inherit the kingdom of God, which contradicts what many people teach from Paul’s writings. It’s one thing to try to make Paul the center of the Bible, making him the “acid test” for salvation and for deciding what is the truth in the Bible and what is not, ignoring the rest of the Bible that doesn’t agree with their interpretation (which is not good), but it’s quite another thing to take part of what Paul taught, and pit it against other things that he taught, ignoring things that he taught that they don’t want to believe. But this is a “jungle of illogic,” as the character Spock on the T.V. show Star Trek would say. At the very least if one follows Paul, they should believe everything he wrote as ‘the gospel truth’ without argument about it or cherry picking ‘the truth’ from it. The fact is that Paul taught that those who practice the deeds of the flesh, in Galatians 5:19-20, will not go to Heaven unless they repent! Could we make this point any more clear?

“The works of the law” can never justify anyone, because we discovered that the effort of trying to keep the law in one’s own strength is sin. (Self-righteousness.) We believe that what Paul meant by “the works of the law” in Galatians 2:16 was works of self-righteousness, because the works done by keeping God’s law by His power are not self-righteousness by any means, but real righteousness! and those with God’s power ask for forgiveness and get it from Him (which is to be justified by Him). “For the kingdom of God does not consist in words, but in power.” 1 Corinthians 4:20 NASB. “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.” 1 Corinthians 1:18 KJV. The saints are justified by God because of their belief in Jesus to save them, and yielding to Him all the way, not because of how good they are or for their righteous deeds, but because they love Him and want His most wonderful salvation. Oh how sweet it is! “For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace” Romans 8:3-6 NASB. Yes we are weak! But He is strong! We can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth us! Philippians 4:13 KJV. Notice that Paul declared that God “condemned sin in the flesh!” Paul makes no mention here of any exclusion for those who are Christian. God condemned all sin in the flesh (for all Christians and non-Christians alike), by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin. This means when someone sins they are condemned and come under the curse of the law again, even if they were already a “Christian,” since God sending His Son to die on the cross for our sins condemned all sin in the flesh. Therefore the Bible does not teach the doctrine of once-saved-always-saved, since God condemns sin in the flesh when it happens, even if the person doing it was already a Christian and “saved” as some people call it. – Because they must confess their sin and repent if they wish to be saved, just like the sinner who is living out there in the world. Notice that Paul declared why God sent His own Son: to provide a way that the requirements of the Law might be fulfilled in us! God has provided a way to obtain the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! Thanks be to God for giving us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!

Listen to: “Thanks be to God”  From The Messiah by Handel.

Sin can never justify sin.

The works of the law done by somebody in their own strength apart from God can never justify anyone because they are sin - sin can never justify sin. But the works of the Spirit are done by the Spirit of Christ only and bring life and peace - it is Christ who justifies us, who clears our debt of sin and makes us righteous. Only Christ can justify our sins through His righteous life, and through His death on the cross, and help us to be righteous. But it is those alone who believe that Jesus can forgive their sins, and save them from their sins - who are justified – no one else. Those who are justified by Jesus are the ones who can walk by the Spirit and have life and peace.

Do you wish to inherit the kingdom of God?

Galatians 5:19-21 declares that those who do the deeds of the flesh (and keep doing them, never getting any victory over them), will not inherit the kingdom of God. Do you wish to inherit the kingdom of God? Yes - then ask God to help you to not practice the deeds of the flesh, but walk by the Spirit.

“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.” Galatians 5:16 NASB. 

This is the key to getting the victory, being free, and losing the shame that sinning again and again brings. Yes we repeated this again – we want you to get it. We cannot stress this too much! If you wish to be more like Jesus and stop hurting yourself and others and to please God, walk by the Spirit.

But some may say ‘I do not practice the deeds of the flesh.’ Many people who claim to be obeying God, keeping His law, are not, because they have not yielded to Him all the way and been completely converted. They might not think that they do the deeds of the flesh, but they are. So that while many of them appear on the outside to be keeping God’s law, on the inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence as Jesus declared (Matthew 23:25 NASB) or they have bad thoughts or have anger or unforgiveness towards others, and they sometimes outwardly break God’s commandments and try to hide it. But all of our righteousness is not righteousness at all. The only way someone can be good and do good is by God’s help.

The Fruits of the Spirit

Brother Paul does not stop there with his description of the deeds of the flesh, he continues by saying… “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” Galatians 5:22-24 NASB. So you don’t have to be stuck with the deeds of the flesh! God has given you another option: you can walk by the Spirit, receive His Holy Spirit and have the fruits of the Spirit in your life! You need not keep practicing the deeds of the flesh. God has made ample provision for your need.

What does Paul mean when he said “against such things there is no law”?

(Galatians 5:23.) What things? Against the Fruits of the Spirit there is no law. The law tells us how God wants us to live: how we are to treat Him and others. The law condemns us every time we break it and fail to love Him and others. When someone knows God, they have the fruits of the Spirit in their life, and will love Him and others. See also 1 John 4:7-8. When someone has the Fruits of the Spirit, they have the Holy Spirit (because this is the only way anybody can ever get the Fruits of the Spirit), and they are being given the victory over the deeds of the flesh day-by-day. When you allow God to help you to obey Him, you don’t come under the condemnation of the law, or if you sin, you ask for forgiveness from God and get it and thus don’t stay under the law.

How can someone stay under the law? Or come under the law again?

People come under the curse of the law or stay under it every time they sin if they do not ask for mercy, stop believing that Jesus can save them, stop humbling themselves before God or reject their salvation. They will stay under the law until they humble themselves before God and ask for mercy again. The law is God’s perfect standard of righteousness. It seems to me that there is no way someone can lose, if they keep humbling their heart before God and keep asking Him to give them the victory. So why would anyone not want to do this? What do they have to lose? Their eternal life is at stake if they harden their heart against God, but why would anyone want to do this? If someone has experienced the wonderful peace that all get who ask for forgiveness and believe, yielding to God all –the-way, and taste of His most precious gift of the Holy Spirit in full, the Comforter, and keep His abiding presence in their heart every hour of every day, why would they be worried about their salvation? You are safe in the arms of Jesus! Don’t leave Him, and you will remain safe! And if you sin, you still have an advocate with the Father! 1 John 2:1 KJV/NASB. So just ask for mercy and be clean again!

Why would people rather believe in eternal security than asking God for forgiveness?

The Bible teaches that we need to die daily (1 Corinthians 15:31) and keep our heart humble before God and ask for His mercy. “If there is any person who will not humble himself on this same day, he shall be cut off from his people.” Leviticus 23:29 NASB. “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14 KJV. “O LORD, Thou hast heard the desire of the humble; Thou wilt strengthen their heart, Thou wilt incline Thine ear” Psalm 10:17 NASB. “He leads the humble in justice, and He teaches the humble His way.” Psalm 25:9 NASB. “Seek the LORD, all you humble of the earth who have carried out His ordinances; seek righteousness, seek humility. Perhaps you will be hidden in the day of the LORD'S anger.” Zephaniah 2:3 NASB.

There shouldn’t be anyone concerned about being lost, because all someone has to do to be clear before God is to humble their heart before Him and ask for forgiveness. So why would people rather believe in eternal security? Or OSAS? Do they want to stop asking God for forgiveness? Do they want to stop being humble before God? Or are they confused on how to be saved?

Let us now comment on another passage we used in Part 1 from Galatians 3:13-14:

“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us for it is written, ‘CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON A TREE’ in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” Galatians 3:13-14 NASB.

Paul declares here that Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law. Let us hone in on that. What did Christ redeem us from? He not only redeemed us from the curse of the law, death, by giving us the ability of being saved and having eternal life, he also redeemed us from the cause of the curse of the law – which is sin. He redeemed us from being stuck in sin and our sinful addictions we do over and over again that we have no power to break. The curse of the law is brought on by sin. Death is brought on by sin. It would do little good if Jesus just redeemed us from death but not from the sins that bring death. If Jesus just redeemed us from death what would that make us? That would make us eternal sinners, would it not? If He redeemed us from the law itself, as some assert that He did, that would make us eternal sinners would it not? But what did Christ do? He also redeemed us from the power that sin holds over us! Sin produces the death. It would do no good for Jesus just to redeem us from the law or from death, if He did not also redeem us from sin too. This is implied in this passage. The curse of the law is brought on every time we sin, especially for sins of will or bad habits. Therefore Jesus also redeemed us from the cause which brings the curse of the law – sin! This agrees perfectly with Jesus’ other declarations that He came that we might be free indeed from the bondage of sin. “Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” John 8:34-36 KJV. So from Jesus own mouth the declaration was made “whoever commits sin is the servant of sin” and that He came to make us free from sin, if we would let Him. This indicates that whenever someone sins they are the servant of sin, for if they are made free from it, they wouldn’t fall back into it, unless they stopped allowing Jesus to make them free and return back to bondage. It makes no difference that this person is a Christian or not, or had given their heart to Jesus and were baptized or not – if they fall back into their old habits of sin, then they will need to come clean with Jesus again and allow Him to free them again, or go back to the bondage of sin and be under the curse of the Law again – and there they will stay, until they make some kind of a confession and yield their heart back to Jesus again! But why would someone not want to confess and give their heart back to Jesus again? Don’t they love Him? It’s hard to believe that someone could love Jesus and yield to Him all –the-way, yet fail to confess their sins to Him if they temporarily lose their hold on Him and sin… We think that is hard indeed, if not impossible! No, if someone loves Jesus, they will not find it hard to yield to Him and ask Him for mercy when they need it, and every time they sin they need it – but they will keep their heart humble before Him at all times and His Father.

Are there eternal sinners as we postulated above?

No! To prove this point note what God here said in the Garden of Eden after Adam and Eve sinned: “Then the LORD God said, ‘Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever’— therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken.” Genesis 3:22-23 NASB. So God prevented man from becoming immortal sinners in the Garden of Eden so they were thrust out due to their sin. And as we discovered above in John 8, Jesus came to make us free indeed from the bondage of sin! So God does not give baptized Christians who gave their heart to Him a pass on sin and going back to their old ways. He will not make them eternal sinners by any means! Oh no! Because Jesus came to destroy the works of the Devil, which is sin! “The one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, that He might destroy the works of the devil.” 1 John 3:8 NASB.

Christians who fall back into willful habitual sin must repeat the cycle of confession, humbling and yielding to God and asking for His help, etc. each time they fall. Because Jesus came to make us free, and He will not allow someone to keep sinning and bring sin into Heaven, and will not give Christians a pass on sinning, while condemning only those who are not Christians for doing the same thing. If you think about this, this would be unfair! In the judgement, if God did this, wouldn’t the unbelieving non-Christians make the cry “Unfair!” to God and have credibility? No! God has to treat everyone the same way, and not grant special favors to Christians who think they are above the law. The very idea that God would give Christians a pass on sin, while coming down on unbelievers or non-Christians for committing the exact same sin or similar sins is ridiculous. Jesus rebuked hypocrisy when He saw it – when it needed rebuking! Just note what He said to the “religious leaders” of His day who thought that they were righteous and Holy: Matthew 6:1-5; 15:1-9; 22:15-22; 23:-12,13-37; Mark 7:6; Luke 11:37-54; 12:54-56; 13:15. If the scribes and Pharisees needed rebuking for their sins by Jesus (the leaders of God’s people who should have known better, why do Christians not need rebuking for sin too? Are Christians who repeatedly go back to their old sins any better than the Jewish leaders who put Jesus to death on the cross? We think not. Do they think that they get a free pass on sin, a “get out of jail free card” that covers all sinning from then on after they give their heart to the Lord? Why would Jesus rebuke the hypocrites of the Jewish leaders, and say nothing to the Christian “hypocrites” of our day? No, He expects more from people who have become Christian than those out there in the world with no or little knowledge of right and wrong and for the Scribes and Pharisees of old.

Note what Hebrews has to say about those who have the knowledge of the truth (i.e. Christians) who go back into willful sinning: “For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain terrifying expectation of judgment, and THE FURY OF A FIRE WHICH WILL CONSUME THE ADVERSARIES.” “How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?” Hebrews 10:26-27,29 NASB. Christians who go back to sin again and again and do not yield themselves to Christ and ask for forgiveness for their sins will eventually go too far and be lost. But those who have a new life with God will not mind humbling themselves before Him and dying daily to sin, nor confessing their sins each time they sin and will give themselves to Him continually. This is why the meek (or the humble or the gentle) will inherit the earth - the new earth in Heaven, where there will be no more sin, no more crying, no more sighing and no more dying!  Revelation 21:4 “Blessed are the gentle [i.e. the meek], for they shall inherit the earth.” Matthew 5:5 NASB.

Summary

Summary Points:

* Good works can only be done by the Spirit of God – only by those who have received His Spirit.
* It’s only those who ask God to be merciful to them who will be justified (and get mercy). Luke 18:13-14.
* “The works of the law” in Galatians 2:16 are “the works done to earn the law” - they are ‘the deeds of the flesh’ because they are done by man apart from God to save themselves, and all efforts to save one’s self apart from God are sin.
* ‘By the works of trying to earn the law or salvation shall no flesh or man be justified.’  Galatians 2:16.
* The deeds of the law cover most everything bad that you can do, think or say. Galatians 5:19-21.
* Those who practice the deeds of the law without repentance can not, will not inherit the kingdom of God! Galatians 5:21.
* God condemned sin in the flesh by sending Jesus to die for our sins that the requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us. Romans 8:3.
* Self-righteousness is sin. Trusting in yourself is sin. Jeremiah 17:5-6.
* Self-righteousness is someone making oneself their own god, and breaking the first commandment. Exodus 20:3.
* Those who trust in themselves or mankind instead of God alone will be cursed by God. Jeremiah 17:5-6.
* The works of the law can never justify anyone. Galatians 2:16 KJV
* Only Jesus can justify someone.
* Trying to keep the law cannot justify sin.
* Sin cannot justify sin.
* The self-righteous practice the deeds of the flesh. Galatians 5:19-21.
* The self-righteous put to death Jesus, the innocent Son of God.
* The end result of self-righteousness is death, eternal death.
* Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD. Jeremiah 17:7-8.
* Those who delight in obeying the Lord will be greatly blessed! (Texts too numerous to re-cite here.)
* God provided a way for us to have good works and be good.
* The mind set on the Spirit is life and peace. Romans 8:6 NASB.
* Those who are justified by Jesus are the ones who can walk by the Spirit and have life and peace. Luke 18:13-14 KJV.
* Walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. Galatians 5:16 NASB.
* Against the Fruits of the Spirit there is no law. Galatians 5:24 NASB.
* Every time we willfully or habitually or carelessly sin against God we come under the law and it condemns us.
* The law condemns sin in Christians and non-Christians alike. Romans 8:3-6 NASB.
* Those who confess their sins to God and humble themselves before Him asking for mercy will get it and will not then be under the law.
* Those who pray, seek God’s face, humble themselves and turn from their wicked ways will be forgiven and God will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14 KJV
* Jesus redeemed us from the curse of the law. Galatians 3:13-14 NASB
* We come under the curse of the law every time we willfully or habitually sin and we stop being under the law every time we confess and are forgiven.
* Those who stop confessing their sins, stop humbling themselves before God will stop being forgiven.
* There is no eternal security, except through continual trust in God; when we get to Heaven we will then be forever safe.
* The only security we can have is trusting in the LORD, humbling our heart before Him, confessing our sins, and asking Him to help us.
* Those who love Jesus and have tasted of the good things to come of the heavenly gift of the Holy Spirit will not find it hard to humble themselves before God and stay penitent and contrite before Him and stay forgiven, because they know the true value of what He is doing for them.
* There are no eternal sinners (“special people”) whom God allows to go on sinning and live forever. Genesis 3:22-23 NASB.
* Those who are Christian, who give themselves to Jesus, do not get a pass on sin, with God condemning the  non-Christian for the same or similar sins that they commit – this would be unfair!
* Jesus came to make us free! No need to stay stuck in the endless round of bad habits and habitual sin. John 8:34-36
* Since Jesus rebuked the hypocrisy and sins of the scribes and Pharisees, then He will also rebuke the hypocrisy and sins of Christians too. Matthew 6:1-5; 15:1-9; 22:15-22; 23:-12,13-37; Mark 7:6; Luke 11:37-54; 12:54-56; 13:15.
* No one gets a free pass on sin.
* Those who keep humbling themselves before God will have a new life with Him, will be humble, gentle and will inherit the earth – the New Earth, where there will be no more sin, no more crying, no more sighing and no more dying. Matthew 5:5 NASB; Revelation 21:4.
* We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. Philippians 4:13 KJV.
* Thanks be to God for giving us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! 1 Corinthians 15:57 KJV.

No doubt there are other truths and thoughts that could be garnered from these passages that we have enumerated so far in this series from part 1 to part 3. We may not have stated everything in the most eloquent manner that it could be stated in. But if you will study out these texts you should see deeper truths in them. These truths are necessary because they help expose lies and deceptions. There is no reason for anyone to be deceived! God has revealed in the Holy Bible all that we need to know to be saved and be forever happy in Heaven! So avail yourself, dear reader of this rich resource to make your calling and election sure, with much prayer. 2 Peter 1:10 KJV. Amen.

It is necessary for those who wish to be saved to pray to God for understanding, and obey everything He has revealed for them to do. If they do not love what has already been revealed to them or don’t want to do it, a pleasing lie will be given to them and they will accept it, so that they might be damned because they believed not the truth or took pleasure in unrighteousness. 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12. Those who do not long for the victory over sin will not have it. Those who do not long to be more like Jesus will not become more like Him. Those who want to continue in sin will find a teacher who will tell them that they are OK - what they want to hear. You'll find what you're searching for. If you're tired of the sin and the endless round of disappointing God, yourself, and others – if you have longed for a better life you can have it! It is within your reach! Heaven is within your reach dear reader! Do you want it? It is yours if you will search for it and find it as a hidden treasure, as the pearl of great price. Matthew 13:44-46. You may have that victory over sin that you always wanted; you may have relief and freedom from the shame that sinning brings. You can have salvation if you want it. But if you'd prefer to go on with your sin and misery, God will not prevent you from doing that, though it will make Him sad, oh so sad! God will save you if you want Him to. If you love Him, want to obey Him, want to be like Him, and long for a better life you can have it. If you long for freedom from sin and shame you can have it. This is within your reach dear reader!

May the grace of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all! Amen.

Now for the song for today: Safe in the Arms of Jesus!

Listen to: Safe in the Arms of Jesus  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOHtcyPNit0
A most beautiful rendition of this by Harvest Celebration – a blast from the 70’s! As good as it gets! Oh, so smooth! 
 

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