Friday, December 20, 2019

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.


Tuesday, November 26, 2019

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.



Saturday, October 26, 2019

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 onlyno 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 1st 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 notif 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 itbut 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! 
 

#Justified #Works #Deeds #Law #Flesh #Faith #Jesus #Christ #Good #Bad #Self #Righteous #Holy #Spirit #Fruits #Walk #New #Life #Peace #Victory 

Thursday, September 26, 2019

For you are not under law but under grace, what does it mean? Are good works bad? What Does it Mean to be Justified? Part 2

By John Foll, written 04/04/2019 to 04/05/2019, 4/12/2019 – 4/13/2019, 9/21/2019- 9/26/2019.
© Copyright 2019 John Foll



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

To recap what we learned from Part 1:

For not the hearers of the Law are just before God, but the doers of the law will be justified.

The just man is the one who does the law.

To be just means to be righteous.

The just or righteous person does the law.

Therefore to justify someone is to make them a doer of the law.

Therefore to justify someone is to make them righteous.


But who is the one who justifies a person to make them a doer of the law? Is it those who try really hard to obey? Or is it God alone? No it cannot be the ones who just try really hard to obey God, who haven’t given themselves to Him all the way yet and let His Spirit fill them, who are the ones who can obey Him! Because we discovered in Part 1, God is the only one who can make us righteous, because there is no one who is good but God alone. Matthew 19:16, Mark 10:18. So if you want to be good, you must get help from God to do so!

And as we discovered in Part 1:
Those who have faith in God will be made righteous by Him.

In Part 1 we pulled in Galatians 2:16, because it appeared by some to contradict Romans 2:13.

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.

We have already addressed this apparent issue in Part 1, but we need to address other issues that may have arisen in your mind regarding this passage.

The thought that many have is that since ‘by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified,’ then it must follow that doing good works is bad. We want to see if it is really true that doing good works is bad or not, and if God still expects us to obey Him (if we are under grace and not under the Law). We want to find out if bad is really good and good is bad, which is the natural conclusion of what some people teach. Whether bitter is sweet and sweet is bitter. Isaiah 5:20. Is this really true? Keep reading and find out.

So we will continue our topic of what it means when God justifies us – of being justified – of being made a doer of the law. In this article we will focus on some of the counter ideas which many teach that contradict the Bible.


Are “good works” really bad?

The belief that good works are bad is contradicted by Paul who declared that we were created in Christ Jesus for good works: "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." Ephesians 2:10 NASB. If God is working in you to will and to do His good pleasure, then these good works are acceptable to Him. Philippians 2:13. Notice that Paul said that ‘God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.’ What is he talking about here? God has prepared ahead of time that we should walk in good works. This really goes against what many people are teaching nowadays! How can it be that all good works are bad, if God prepared ahead of time that we should walk in them? This contradicts what many believe doesn’t it? God prepared beforehand a way that you and I can have good works! How did God prepare ahead of time? By Jesus’ death on the cross for our sins – to make atonement for them, and by providing the Holy Spirit to write His Law of love in our heart and help us obey Him. John 3:3,5,16-17;  2 Corinthians 5:14-15; Romans 5:8-11; 1 John 2:1-2; 4:10; Jeremiah 31:31-34, Ezekiel 11:18-20; 36:25-30; Deuteronomy Acts 2; and Joel 2; Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-5, 8; 2:37-39; John 7:37-39; Matthew 22:35-40.

Are we to continue in sin so that grace may more abound?


What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.” Romans 6:1-14 NASB.

Let us review again what brother Paul declared above: Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase?

Are we to continue in sin so that grace may more abound? God forbid! May it NEVER BE! Many people miss this point and simply pick up part of the phrase after it: “you are not under law but under grace,” while ignoring the rest of this passage - which contradicts their view. Let us not take Paul out of context here. Paul continues: If you died with Jesus (i.e. if you were buried with Him in baptism) and were resurrected with Him - your old self should have been crucified with Him, and you should have been raised with Him to walk in newness of lifethis should have made you free. Dear reader, are you free? Have you died with Christ in the likeness of His death? Have you been resurrected with Him in the likeness of His resurrection, walking in the newness of life yet? If you have, you should not be a slave to sin anymore, and you should have the power to be a better, kinder and gentler person; you should be walking in newness of life. Are you walking in newness of life now? Are you dead to sin yet? If you have died to sin you will be freed from the slavery of sin, or else you have not fully died with Jesus yet. If you have died to sin, the body of your sin has been done away with as Paul declared.

If you have died to sin, you will have been raised up in the likeness of Jesus’ resurrection to walk in newness of life, as Paul declared.
Yes, we repeated it again, because we want you to get it.

What did Paul really mean when he said that ‘you are not under law but under grace?’

If the idea that ‘you are not under law but under grace’ means that you do not need to obey God, then why is it that Paul stated ‘for sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace?’ This indicates that if you are under grace, sin shall not be master over you! Don’t miss this point! To ignore this is to not understand what Paul wrote. ‘Why did Paul write: “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness’? The idea that some have is that since we are not under the law but under grace that this means we don’t need to obey God. This contradicts what Paul wrote. He said no such thing. Paul clearly states that we are not to let sin reign in our bodies, i.e. we are not to give ourself over to sin, or be caught up in repeated sinful addictions. If you are under grace, sin will not have the mastery over you. Paul does not mean that you are free from the need to obey the Law, ‘for the Law is good’ (1 Timothy 1:8 NASB), for you were created in Christ Jesus for good works! Ephesians 2:10.

So we see here that there is another meaning to being ‘under grace’. We learned from Paul above that God’s grace is not only forgiveness for your sins that you do not deserve. But we also learned from Paul above that:

If you choose to be ‘under grace’ (from God), sin will not have the mastery over you.

If you choose to be ‘under grace’ (from God), you will not have sinful addictions that you cannot break by His power.

If you choose to be ‘under God’s grace’, God will free you from sin and addictions.


Those who are not under grace or do not have the power of the Holy Spirit fully in their life cannot have true self-control over every aspect of their life, and will eventually be caught up in sin or addictions of some kind.

But Grace is both the power and the forgiveness of God! Note what Paul declared here: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” Romans 1:16 KJV. Now what is the gospel of Christ? It is the ‘power of God unto salvation’. To whom is this salvation given? ‘To every one that believeth’. Who else? No one else. The gospel of Christ is only the power of God unto salvation to those who believe. It is for no one else. Now what is salvation? Salvation is to be saved from sin. In a prophecy given by the angel of the Lord about Jesus in a dream to Joseph (Mary’s husband) he said, “And she [Mary] shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21 KJV. Jesus’ mission was and is to save ‘his people from their sins’, as the angel of the Lord plainly declared. And the apostle John plainly declared: “He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.” 1 John 3:8 KJV. From this we get that Jesus’ mission was to destroy the works of the devil, which is sin. And John the Baptist also declared: ‘Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.’ John 1:29 KJV. Now what does this mean: the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world? It means that Jesus came to take away the sins of the world like John plainly declared! Amen! Hallelujah! Jesus came to take away your sins in the past and in the present by forgiveness, and to take away your sins in the future, if you let Him, by helping you to overcome. John 16:33; 1 John 4:4; 5:4; Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 26; 3:5, 12, 21; 21:7. Jesus came for this purpose – ‘to take away the sins of the world’ – literally! (For those who let Him.) He came to destroy the works of the devil which is sin. Amen! Hallelujah! Amen!

Without yielding to and obeying the Holy Spirit, no one can have complete self-control over every bad thought, word and deed in their life. Thus it is necessary for those wanting to be saved to keep their heart humble and contrite before God. “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” Proverbs 16:18 RSV. Those who have not kept humbling themselves before God, kept confessing their sins to Him (1 John 1:9), or are living a careless life of indifference to His requirements, or trying to be good by themselves, have not died with Jesus in His death and have not been raised with Him in the likeness of His resurrection. They will not stay under grace or be under grace unless they repent. Those who don’t repent will come under the curse of the law, which is the penalty of death. But “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. The law condemns sin, but Jesus came to free you from your shackles to it.

What does the phrase ‘you are not under law but under grace’ mean?

That is the question. Some people have taught that all people will be saved, since we are now ‘under grace’. By this it is implied that all people good or bad after Jesus’ death will be saved automatically. This is universalism. Others teach that once we have our initial conversion and are baptized - from then on we are under grace. This is once-saved-always-saved. Then they teach that from then on we will remain ‘under grace’, implying that there is no more need of confession, humbling our heart before God, giving our heart to Him again every day, dying daily to sin (1 Corinthians 15:31), or for repentance - that we are automatically saved after this – regardless. There are a surprising number of people who believe one or the other of these two propositions or something suspiciously close to it. (They may deny it if you ask them whether they believe this.)

We learned from Galatians 3:13 above that Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law. What is the curse of the law? Death. Paul declares: “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23 KJV. When do we come under the curse or the penalty of the law? Do we come under the curse of the law: 1) every time we sin, 2) every time we sin before we gave our heart to the Lord and were baptized but after that never again, or 3) never since everyone is under grace, because of Jesus death on the cross?

3) Do we come under the curse of the law anymore since everyone is under grace?
This is Universalism. This belief ultimately leads to the idea that there is no more sin, since Jesus died on the cross for us over 2000 years ago. Or it leads people to think that God is giving people a free pass on sin - that all will be saved whether they asked God for mercy and repented or not. (Because some say that we are now under grace.) This contradicts the Bible in too many places to mention. If there were no more sin and wrong or if everyone was given a free pass on sin, there would be no point in worrying about whether we are doing what is right or not. Are people still locked up in prison in our day for murder, theft and other crimes? Yes. Then sin and wrong are still with us in this world today. Are there still wars and atrocities being committed in various parts of the world? Yes. Then sin and wrong are still with us in this world today. Where would be the justice if the governments of this world held their citizens to a higher standard than God does? How could anybody believe that God will save everyone when there is so much sin and wrong in this world? Therefore the law still condemns all sin and wrong in the world, because God’s standard is infinitely higher than man’s.

2) Do we come under the curse of the law only when we sinned before we gave our heart to the Lord, but never again afterwards?

This leads to the two extreme ideas that Christians can no longer sin or that God now gives Christians a free pass on sin after they give their heart to Him.

Are Christians sinless after they give their heart to the Lord and are baptized? No! There have been “Christians” in jail or on death row for their crimes and some have turned their back on God and never returned to Him. The apostle John declares:If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” 1 John 1:8 KJV. So Christians are not without sin. If Christians are not without sin, then they will come under the law again after they sin, until they confess to God and repent again.

Do Christians get a free pass on sin after they give their heart to the Lord? No. If someone believes this they can stop trying to do the right thing and wait until the judgement comes, to see if God really gives them a free pass on sin or not... But this is a dangerous thing to do! This is once-saved-always-saved.

1) Do we come under the curse of the law every time we sin?
Yes - we come under the penalty of death every time we sin, because the law condemns sin! Every time you sin you come under the curse of the law again, unless you are forgiven by God. The law makes no distinction whether someone professes to be a Christian or not. Because ‘the wages of sin is death’ (Romans 6:23) and because sin is the transgression of the law (1 John 3:4 KJV), it is plain enough that whether someone claims to be a Christian or not, if they sin, they earn the wages of sin whenever they break God’s law. This is because sin is the transgression of the law and the law condemns sin, not just for the unbeliever. The governments of this world don’t give their citizens a free pass on breaking their laws, so why would God give them a pass on sin? Much of what is written in the Bible would make no sense, if someone didn’t have to be concerned about going back to their old ways once they became a Christian.

You earn the wages of sin whenever you sin.

That is why it is a wage, because you earn it or deserve it. Whenever you sin you earn death. But the gift of God is eternal life.

Can Christians fall from grace after they give their heart to the Lord and are baptized?

Yes. We know that there are some who teach that after we give our heart to the Lord, that we can’t be lost afterwards because God is so strong – but this removes our power of choice. A related question is: Can someone stop believing in Jesus after they give their heart to Him? There are those who strongly assert that you can know if you are saved and that you cannot lose your salvation once you get it. But if you bring up the fact that there are Christians who have done very bad things or completely walked away from their faith - they will admit this can happen, but quickly add that those people who did that were never really saved. This leads to the question: How can someone know if they are saved, since a Christian can leave their faith never to return? (By their own admission.) Using their logic, the only way that someone could know for sure if they are saved or not is when they enter the kingdom of Heaven. But this contradicts their first proposition that someone can know if they are saved! This robs people of the comforting personal assurance of their salvation that God wants to give them. Did any of the people who left the church believe that they were saved? We think that many of them did. And did any of these people who left the church, who thought that they were saved, also believe in once-saved-always-saved? Yes, we think so. It’s hard to believe that none of the people who back slid from God, who were a Christian at one time, never had the belief that they were being saved before they back slid. So if someone believes in once-saved-always-saved, then they really hold a confusing belief, if they really think about it, - that they really don’t know if they are saved or not. Or they simply believe that they are saved, but this may not in fact be the case, since some Christians have left the faith (by their own admission meaning that they were never saved). They are not on the solid ground that they think they are on, and hold contradictory beliefs. This leads us to the question:

Can a Christian backslide from the truth and leave God?

The very term “back slider” indicates that someone fell from the truth or the faith! How could they backslide from the truth or the faith if they never had it? Doesn’t make sense. You can’t lose what you don’t have! There are examples of people in the Bible who were doing what was right, who later turned their back on God. And we have read about and have known some people who had a walk with Jesus, who backslid from the faith. We know without a doubt that at least one of them had the Holy Spirit in full! We can tell that by their writings – their writings were so wonderful and full of beautiful truth that touched our soul and many other people! But something terrible happened to them (persecution) and they fell and as far as we know they never returned to God before they died – only God knows. The writings they wrote before they fell had a profound effect on me! They helped me give my heart to God all-the-way and get the Holy Spirit! What? How could someone who was never really converted or saved help me or anyone else get the Holy Spirit? Spiritual things are spiritually discerned (1 Corinthians 2:14 KJV) – it is impossible for an unconverted person to impart the Holy Spirit to anyone else – they can’t give what they don’t have. Jeremiah 2:13; Matthew 13:12; 2 Peter 2:17; Jude 1:12. To say that all of these people who left the faith never had a relationship with Jesus and were never saved is ridiculous and untrue. And we gave you our testimony of some people who were saved, who were most likely lost later.

There were times in my own life after my baptism as a boy, where I was doing my own thing and not living right all the way, and was drifting from God. But God brought me back. I know that I had a choice to repent and do what God was asking me to do, or go my own way. No one can convince me that I had no choice in repenting from my sins and asking God to help me be good again. That was my choice. God never forced me to return to Him, but He did not give up on me either. But He worked on my heart, and I wanted to be forgiven, and He changed my life again. God will not remove your choice either as long as you live: whether you are good or bad, righteous or wicked, young or old. The only one who can take your salvation away from you is yourself by your choice. But not choosing is also a choice.

Formula: Believe in Jesus = being saved

What does John 3:16 say? “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16 KJV.

1) Do you believe that Jesus can save you? Have you asked Him to save you?
2) Do you still believe (after many years since you were baptized) whether Jesus can save you? Have you asked Him to save you?
Yes. Then you are being saved right now!
See how easy it is to know for sure if you are being saved right now?

The soul that sinneth it shall die. The only way you can have eternal life is if your sin is taken away. Jesus has to die for your sins and you must accept His death for your sins. God declared, “Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.” Ezekiel 18:4 KJV.

The formula is: Soul sins = soul dies: (Or Jesus death must be substituted by faith for the life of the sinner.)

If you stop believing that Jesus and His Father can save you from your sins, then you are no longer saved, unless you believe again and repent. This is because your salvation is conditional on believing whether Jesus can save you or not. John 3:16. God never removes your power of choice. It will always be your choice. If you do not want to be saved you will not be saved or go to Heaven – it is as simple as that. God will not make you be saved. If God removed your power of choice at any time, that would be unfair; that would not be real love. Real love depends on a mutual exchange of love and affection; the choice to love the other by both parties involved. Real love is only based on choice. When choice is removed, there can be no more love. 1st John 4:8 says that God is love. God would never remove your power of choice, no never! He holds this sacred. Your salvation depends on whether you believe and continue to believe in Jesus. But Christ is well able to help you to continue to believe in Him so as to be saved. Philippians 4:13. You still have the power of choice. But as to why someone would choose to be lost after they gave their heart to God all the way, we cannot tell. It is a mystery that cannot be really understood.

Romans 6 Revisited and Expanded

The remedy for the curse of the law must be applied every time you fall. It will help you to read more of our passage from Romans 6 to get the full meaning: “For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:20-23 KJV. When someone sins they need to confess, repent and forsake their sins again – because Jesus wants to make them free from sin, become a servant of God and have the fruit of holiness in their life – which leads to everlasting life. Jesus was your sin offering. He became sin in order to take away your sins. The curse of the Law is the penalty of breaking it – the wages of sin is death. Jesus wants to remove the curse of the Law by removing your sin, and by forgiving you, and helping you to overcome temptation, if you will allow Him to do this for you. Therefore Jesus came to free you from sin and from the transgression of the Law. Are you a servant of righteousness or free from righteousness? Are you a servant of sin or a servant of righteousness? Do you have the fruit of holiness in your life?

If you let Jesus make you free, you shall be free indeed.

Jesus Himself plainly declared, If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” John 8:36 KJV. This is freedom! Jesus gives freedom to the believer who wants to be truly free, who hungers and thirsts after His righteousness, they are no longer a slave to sin when He frees them. How do we know that Jesus didn’t mean that we were free to keep sinning, no worries, and that we don’t need to be freed from sin? Because He also declared just before this: ‘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 those who are in bondage to sin and addictions are NOT free. It is impossible for someone to be freed by Jesus and be in bondage to sin at the same time! There are only two choices here: 1) To be a servant or a slave of sin, or 2) To be made free by Jesus – free indeed – not a slave of sin anymore.

Dear reader are you still a slave to sin?

Jesus came to free you from this slavery and bondage of sin. He came to free you from the lusts of the flesh and slavery and help you to obey Him! Do you long to be free and want to be free? It is yours if you want it! You will be so happy if you make this choice for yourself, Jesus will take away all of your shame, and you will be able to look yourself in the mirror again and be happy that He loves you and died to save you and is saving you! You have been freed by what Jesus already did for you at the cross. It is only a matter for you to claim this freedom that Jesus bought for you, if you would have it. Jesus didn’t just die to save you so that you can go to Heaven and live forever, He also died to save you now, so that you can be happy and have all of your guilt gone, buried in the depths of the sea, never to be remembered anymore. “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.” Psalm 103:12 KJV. Is that what you want? To be free, guilt free? It is yours, Jesus bought it for you and wants to give it to you! So take it up! And take up the joy and peace of your salvation! Amen.

There is no reason for you to go around anymore with guilt, or to be a slave to sin or bad habits anymore, because Jesus came to make you free.

Do you believe that Jesus can make you free indeed like He promised?

Free from all sinful habits and addictions? Do you believe that He has the power to do this? Do you believe that all power was given to Jesus in Heaven and on Earth like He declared in Matthew 28:18? Do you believe that it follows that justifying someone makes them just (or righteous), which makes them a doer of the law? Do you believe that Jesus can make you righteous and a doer of the Law? Or do you think there is no help for you while you are living on this earth, and that Jesus can’t help you and that you are bound to an endless round of sinning and addictions? Do you believe that Paul taught that you were created in Christ Jesus for good works, ‘so that you would no longer be a slave to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin’? We hope so, because this is the blessed truth of the Gospel! This is our prayer for you. The other teachings that contradict this are ‘another Gospel’ and an anathema to the true believer.

Jesus came to free you from the guilt and shame of sin. It is your destiny, so take it up, and take up the joy of your salvation! It is yours to take up because Jesus died on the cross for your sins. Let Him have all of your sins, let Him take them all away and make you free indeed! What need do you have of any of these sins? Why not let Him take them all away from you?

To sum it all up:

Good works are not bad, and bad works are not good. You earn the wages of sin which is death whenever you sin, not just when you sinned before you gave your heart to the Lord. You come under the law whenever you sin, but under grace whenever you have received Jesus’ forgiveness. After you give your heart to the Lord, you must continue to humble your heart before Him, continue to confess your sins to Him and continue to give your heart to Him each day, dying daily to self. You must continue to believe that only Jesus and His Father can save you; you must continue to want their forgiveness and the eternal life that They want to give you, if you wish to be saved. When you are under grace you will allow Him to change you and help you to be good. God ordained ahead of time that you should walk in the path of good works, for you were created in Christ Jesus for good works. If you died with Jesus in the likeness of His death and were raised up with Him in the likeness of His resurrection, sin should not have the mastery over you; you should not be in bondage to sin anymore, because Jesus came to free you from that; He came to free you from sin and the transgression of His law of love. Are you under grace? Then sin will not have the mastery over you. If you have the forgiveness of God and the power of the Holy Spirit in your heart all-the-way, sin will not have the mastery over you. Are you a servant of righteousness or free from righteousness? Are you a servant of righteousness or a servant of sin? Do you have the fruit of holiness in your life? All who are justified by Jesus are made righteous by Him and will be righteous, as long as they allow Him to justify them; as long as they allow Him to make them righteous! Wow! This is intense! Wow! This is powerful! All those who are justified by Jesus have been freed by Him from their slavery to sin and gladly obey Him. They have died with Him and have been raised up with Him in the likeness of His resurrection, to walk with Him in newness of life. They don’t come under the curse of the law, which is its condemnation of death, because He has forgiven them and is helping them to keep His law of love. And if they sin they confess it and give themselves back to Him again. “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” Romans 8:1 KJV.

May the grace of God be with you all! May you be justified by Jesus’ blood; may you allow Him to make you righteous! May you have and do good works for Him. May His name be forever praised! Amen.

Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe,
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow!

Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe,
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow!

Amen!

* From the Hymn: Jesus Paid it All, by Elvina M. Hall.

Listen to this hymn on YouTube.


#Believe #Under #Grace #Justify #Righteous #Law #Good #Works #Servant #Slave #Free #Mastery #Sin #Humble #Holy #Spirit #New #Life #Saved #Curse

Friday, April 12, 2019

What Does it Mean to be Justified? Part 1

By John Foll, written 04/04/2019 to 04/05/2019, 4/12/2019.
© Copyright 2019 John Foll


"Justification has to do with the law. The term means making just. Now in Romans 2:13 we are told who the just ones are: 'For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.' The just man, therefore, is the one who does the law. To be just means to be righteous. Therefore since the just man is the one who does the law, it follows that to justify a man, that is, to make him just, is to make him a doer of the law."

- E. J. Waggoner, from the book: Living by Faith, Chapter: Being Justified. This book was written by both E. J. Waggoner and A. T. Jones.

Let’s state these propositions again:

For not the hearers of the Law are just before God, but the doers of the law will be justified.

The just man is the one who does the law.

To be just means to be righteous.

The just or righteous person does the law.

Therefore to justify someone is to make them a doer of the law.

To justify someone is to make them righteous.


The term justification by faith is used many places in the Bible, so we need to understand what it really means. It is important since it is used so many times. True faith takes the Bible as it reads and accepts it as the truth, because it is the word of God. Those with true faith believe and trust God and take Him at His word. Therefore the first step in order to get righteousness by faith is to believe the word of God, the Bible. Without the belief that the Bible is the word of God, no one can have the faith that is needed, which Abraham had, to be made righteous by God and be saved. The condition of salvation is to believe – to believe that Jesus and His Father can save you. John 3:16-17. You must also believe their word, the Bible. God doesn’t make mistakes, and you can trust His word, the Bible. This is what we are doing here, taking the Bible as it reads.

Jesus advocated believing the Bible as it reads. Note what He said 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. Jesus answered the lawyer with a simple question, ‘What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?’ What Jesus said here is actually quite profound! Is it really that easy to understand the Bible? Is it really just that simple? Surely it can’t be that easy, is it? Yes, you bet it is! How come so many other people have trouble understanding it, with different people teaching this and different people teaching that? It is not hard to understand the Bible if you simply read it and believe it as it reads. It is really just that simple. This is where many of the problems come, because many cannot believe it as it reads - without someone interpreting it with a meaning other than its apparent plain meaning. Jesus’ tells you how you can know what the Bible means, and how you can have eternal life: Read the law - how does it read to you? (And the rest of the Bible too.) Read it with prayer and you can understand what it means. It is really just that simple!

* Note there are places in the Bible that are highly symbolic – in these places you must prayerfully study them, allowing the Bible to interpret itself, and it will if you want to understand it.

Why then do so many people get confused about what the Bible means or want to argue about it? Because many people are used to hearing humanistic explanations of the Bible. Whenever they find texts that trouble them, because it brings them guilt or because it is something they don’t want to do, they may ask their trusted pastor or teacher to explain it to them. This is because they don’t want to accept the plain teaching of the Bible or they don’t want to do it, and there are teachers who will give them their own erroneous ideas on what it means - to calm their fears and quiet their conscience. Or they have tried many times and failed at doing what the text says, so they conclude that it is not possible to obey God or be good. But the truth doesn’t contradict itself. If you read the Bible, after praying and asking the Holy Spirit to give you an understanding of it, wanting to obey God, then you will have no problem understanding it - especially for the things you need to hear the most, when you need to hear them. Pray for understanding and then believe the Bible as it reads.

Now that we have the proper method of understanding what the Bible means, let us go back to our proposition again:

To be justified is to be made a doer of the Law.

To be justified is to be made righteous.


Wow! Many people who believe that we are saved by grace alone, which is righteousness by faith, believe that when God justifies someone, that it is purely symbolic - they believe that they are made righteous only in the eyes of God. I.e. they are only righteous in the record books of Heaven. They are not wrong in believing that they are saved by grace or righteousness by faith. But many of them believe that no change is made or needed on the part of the sinner, allowing the person who is "justified" to be stuck in an endless round of sinning and bad habits, or they teach that it is not necessary or even that it is bad to try to be good, saying that this is "works." This is not the gospel message at all, but ‘another gospel.’ Works are bad when they are self-righteous acts, done to earn favor with God or man, without God's help - for those who try to earn their salvation by themselves. But it is clear that to justify someone is to make them righteous as Waggoner stated. Another way of stating this proposition is that only those who are made righteous by God or just are the doers of the Law – only these are just before God.

If you have faith you will be made righteous.

If you have faith you will have peace:


Let us take this quote from Paul and run with it:
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,” Romans 5:1 NASB. What does this tell us? If we have been made righteous by faith, then we will have peace. We added the new understanding of what being justified means to bring out its complete meaning.


Does our theme text of Romans 2:13, which Waggoner interprets as meaning that the one who is justified is made a doer of the law, contradict Paul’s other teachings?


Some have argued that Romans 2:13 contradicts Galatians 2:16, but is this true?

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. 

This text on the surface appears to contradict Romans 2:13. But let’s break this down to understand why they are not contradictions of each other.

We have the testimony of Peter that agrees perfectly with Paul’s teaching in Romans 2:13, that it is not the hearers of the Law but the doers of the Law who will be justified: Listen now to Peter’s testimony: “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. Here Peter plainly teaches that the Holy Spirit is given to those who obey God – this is how we become born again or born by the Spirit, by obeying God. See John 3:3, 5. Here is the testimony of Jesus regarding this: ‘If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.’ John 14:23 NASB. It is clear that if someone loves Jesus, they will keep His word (which is to obey Him), and He and the Father will dwell in them through the presence of the Holy Spirit – This is how you become born again. This agrees perfectly with Romans 2:13, because it is only those who obey God (or those who want to obey Him) and Jesus, who will receive the Holy Spirit and be born again. John 3:3, 5. There is more to this subject, but we will not deal with all of it here. We have already covered many of these concepts in our previous articles and books that the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin, and helps us to obey God (if we want Him too). Only those who choose to obey God (who want to obey Him), will be given the Holy Spirit and be made righteous. But they have not the power to make this choice to obey God, unless the Holy Spirit first convicts them of sin and they want to obey Him. Jesus declared, “And He, when He [the  Helper or the Holy Spirit] comes, will convict the world concerning sin, and righteousness, and judgment; concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you no longer behold Me;” John 16:8-10 NASB.

When the Bible says that by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified - what are we to make of it? When we try to do good works or to keep the law we are unable to do it in our own strength, so we cannot be justified or made right by ourselves, because we are never perfectly right or just by ourselves, and never can be by ourselves. – Because Jesus said there is only one who is good: God alone! Matthew 19:16. The second stanza in the song Rock of Ages states this so eloquently: “Could my tears forever flow? Could my zeal no languor know? These for sin can not atone. Thou must save and thou alone.We cannot atone for any of our sins that we have made! No never! But if we are made ‘just’ or ‘righteous’ by God, then we are righteous indeed! This is wholly the work of God, not us.

The answer is that Galatians 2:16 does not contradict Romans 2:13.

Galatians 2:16 is talking about those who are trying to keep the law in their own strength (no one is good but God alone - Mark 10:18), while Romans 2:13 is talking about someone who wants to obey God, who makes a choice to want to obey Him, they ask God to give them the Holy Spirit (Luke 11:13), and God gives them the power to obey Him through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Acts 5:32. Thus only those who have faith that God can make them righteous, will be made righteous by Him through the Holy Spirit! So both Galatians 2:16 and Romans 2:13 are about being made righteous by God.

When the prophet Habakkuk and the apostle Paul wrote: ‘The just shall live by faith,’ what did they mean? See Habakkuk 2:4; Romans 8:36; Galatians 3:11; Hebrews 4:2.

Habakkuk and Paul meant that those who have faith will live by it and thus will be made righteous.

To sum up what we have learned here:

Those who have faith will be made righteous, because they will be given the desire and the ability of making the choice to obey God, and thus receiving the Holy Spirit, because no one is good but God alone. It means that those who have faith will get the Holy Spirit!It is the Holy Spirit alone who can make anyone righteous. And they must want to obey God to get the Holy Spirit in full. Acts 5:32. And they must be born again to be able to enter the kingdom of Heaven, John 3:3, 5, which is to be born of the Holy Spirit. So the only way you can be righteous and saved and enter Heaven, is if you want to obey God and are filled with His precious Holy Spirit! Wow!

You may think that we are reasoning here in a loop, but this is how it is laid out in the Bible. Which comes first? The chicken or the egg? We are putting together texts from the Bible here that you have probably never heard used together before. Have you? We are exhorted by the Bible to put the lines of truth together to get a greater gestalt or a better understanding of it.For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:” Isaiah 28:10 KJV. This is what we are doing.

Conclusion:


The just shall live by faith.
The righteous shall live by faith.
Those who have faith in God will be just.
Those who have faith in God will be righteous.
Those who have faith in God will be made just.
Those who have faith in God will be made righteous.
Those who have faith in God will have the Holy Spirit.
Those who have faith in God will be doers of the Law.
Those who have faith in God will obey Him.
Those who have faith in God will please Him!
Those who have faith in God will have peace.
Those who have been made righteous by faith will have peace.
Those who have faith in God will be saved!
Those who have faith in God will be born again!
Those who have faith in God will enter the kingdom of Heaven!

Salvation is from the Lord! He alone can save. He must save, and Him alone. So why not trust Him?

Wow! These are powerful concepts here! Think about all of this again and again – let it sink in until you get it! These are most wonderful truths! Fresh! Full of life, love and joy and power! They will impart to you eternal life if you accept and do them.

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

Now for the song for today:

Rock of Ages




#Justification #Faith #Law #Works #Make #Just #Righteous #Doer #Righteousness #Obey #Eternal #Life #Grace #Alone #God #Bad #Sin #Flesh #Born #Again