Many will not be able to enter the Heavenly Canaan because of unbelief

By John Foll, finished writing 9/30/2017.
© Copyright 2017 John Foll

List of Articles


“Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end; While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation. For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses. But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness? And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.” Hebrews 3:12-19 KJV.

So what is the cure for unbelief? Faith. Faith is the opposite of doubt or unbelief. Unbelief in what? Unbelief in the promises of God. The children of Israel had been given a promise by God that He would give them the land of Canaan and help them to possess it, if they would follow His lead. Caleb and Joshua told the children of Israel that they were well able to enter the Promised Land, that God would open the way for them and give it to them. But the 10 other unfaithful spies lied to the children of Israel about this, saying many discouraging things to them, so that they did not believe the promise of the Lord.

“Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, ‘We should by all means go up and take possession of it, for we will surely overcome it.’ But the men who had gone up with him said, "We are not able to go up against the people, for they are too strong for us." So they gave out to the sons of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, ‘The land through which we have gone, in spying it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants; and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great size. There also we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak are part of the Nephilim); and we became like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight." Numbers 13:30-33 NASB. “Then all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night. All the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron; and the whole congregation said to them, ‘Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! Why is the LORD bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become plunder; would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?’ So they said to one another, ‘Let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt.’ Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces in the presence of all the assembly of the congregation of the sons of Israel. Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, of those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes; and they spoke to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, saying, ‘The land which we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. If the LORD is pleased with us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us — a land which flows with milk and honey. Only do not rebel against the LORD; and do not fear the people of the land, for they will be our prey. Their protection has been removed from them, and the LORD is with us; do not fear them.’ But all the congregation said to stone them with stones. Then the glory of the LORD appeared in the tent of meeting to all the sons of Israel.” Numbers 14:1-10 NASB. Read the rest of this passage and beyond for this sad account; for their punishment for unbelief and rebellion against God. Unbelief and rebellion are close cousins.

Who did the children of Israel believe? Caleb and Joshua or the 10 unfaithful spies? There were two reports, a good report and a bad report. Which report do you want to hear? The good report or the bad report? What do you want to believe, the promise of God to save you and take you to the Heavenly Canaan, or the lying report that says that God is not able to save you, or that you must try to find out how to save yourself? No, those who will enter the Heavenly Canaan will enter in only by belief and faith in God’s mighty power to save; they will believe the good report of God’s love, might and power, and reject all lying reports.

What did Jesus say regarding unbelief and faith and the ability of doing the work He gave His disciples to do? (This includes His modern day disciples too, which can be you too if you want this!)

“Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, ‘Why could not we cast him out?’ And Jesus said unto them, ‘Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.’” Matthew 17:19-20 KJV.

Is there a connection between faith and the Holy Spirit? If you have a lack of faith or have unbelief you can ask God who giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not (James 1:5) and He will give you all the faith you need by giving you the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?” Luke 11:13 NASB. This is a most beautiful promise that Jesus and His Father want to give you. Ask for it, believe it and receive it. Dwell on the rich promises of God and of His love for you until you believe. Put away all doubt and discouragement. You may have to pray much, and keep confessing and yielding yourself to God, until you receive this for yourself.

The answer to the question ‘is there a connection between faith and the Holy Spirit’ is yes! One of the fruits of the Holy Spirit is faith. Whenever someone has great faith, it has always been given to them by the Holy Spirit, but they must choose to exercise this faith, or they will lose it. Human belief is of no value, only the faith given by God will save you, but you must choose to exercise it. That is why it is so important to get the Holy Spirit in full, who will give you much faith, hope and joy! See Galatians 5:22-23 for the list of the fruits of the Spirit that God wants to give you. So if you want to have faith, and not be shut out of Heaven because of unbelief, you must get the Holy Spirit.

Many don’t see the necessity of having the full outpouring of the Holy Spirit or don’t know that they can get this for themselves. They think that what happened in the book of Acts with the early Christians only happened in the book of Acts and that it can’t happen in our day anymore or the like. And others think that they have the Holy Spirit, when they do not have Him in full if at all. There is a change in someone’s life that is impossible to hide whenever someone receives this most precious of gifts that God wants to give all who want to be Jesus’ disciple! There is much love and a gentleness that is imparted to them by God, and they will be given the victory over their bad habits and sins (or will be gaining victory by victory, day by day – not always all at once). Many do not know of their greatest need of having the fruits of the Holy Spirit in their life in full in order to help make their calling and election sure (2 Peter 1:10), and to be happy in their love for God. This is what God wants to do for all of His people if they would seek after Him with all their heart (Jeremiah 29:13), to help them be all that they can be for Him. It is dangerous to go it alone without the aid that God wants to give you.

Those who wish to enter the Heavenly Canaan must believe in His many precious promises because they have learned to love Him and that He is to be trusted. “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” 2 Peter 1:4 KJV. “For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are yes; therefore also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us. Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.” 2 Corinthians 1:20-22 NASB. Paul tells us here that God gave us the Holy Spirit in our hearts as a pledge. Pledge of what? Pledge of the many promises of God, as Paul said at the beginning of this passage.

Therefore the connection between the faith to believe the promises of God to take you to the Heavenly Canaan depends on whether you will receive the Holy Spirit fully into your heart or not, and whether you will willingly do all that God wants you to do, because the Holy Spirit is given to those who obey God. Acts 5:32. Therefore this is how you can be an overcomer and have the faith to please God and not be kept out of Heaven because of unbelief. God will make this easy for you if you will just cooperate with Him willingly. If you know that you need help in this area just pray to God, ‘Be merciful to me a sinner’, and He will help you! Amen.  Luke 18:13-14.

We are now very near the end of time. The times ahead will be very difficult. In fact, it will be impossible for anyone to make it through these times without being lost, unless they yield their heart completely to God (no one can ever save themselves, it is always by the grace of God). But God will give the needed grace and help to those who love and trust Him, like He always does, while the fearful and the doubting will be shut out forever from the gates of Heaven (shut out with all the liars, murderers, sorcerers, idolaters and the like.) – shut out because of unbelief. Therefore cast out all fear and unbelief and love God with all of your heart and mind and soul (Matthew 22:37; Deuteronomy 11:13-15), and accept His promised blessings that He wants to bless His people with. He will help all to overcome who want help and give them all the gifts that they need to serve Him with. He will help them to be successful and to be an overcomer. He will give them a heart to love Him all the way with (Ezekiel 11:19; 18:31; 36:26) and to love their neighbor as themselves with. Matthew 22:39. This is what God wants to do for His people, if they will let Him.

“He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” Revelation 21:7-8 KJV.  

Don’t be shut out of Heaven because of unbelief. God loves you and will give you all the faith you need to get rid of your unbelief, if you will accept it. Amen.

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

Click here for a Free PDF of this article!

List of Articles


#Unbelief #Faith #Heaven #Believe #Promise #God #Evil #Heart #Good #Bad #Report #HolySpirit #Pledge #Obey #Yield #Overcome #Fear #EndTime #Shut #Out

Lessons on Faith: Part 12 of 14: The Righteousness of God is Revealed to Faith

By A. T. Jones

List of Articles


The righteousness of God is revealed to faith. Rom. 1:17.

Faith is complete dependence upon the word of God, expecting that word to do what the word itself says. Is there, then, righteousness spoken by the word of God, so that people can depend completely upon that word, that the word shall accomplish what the word says?

There is. Indeed, that is the very object of the gift of Christ. For him "God hath set forth . . . to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God." Rom. 3:25.

Seeing then that God hath set forth Christ expressly to declare, to speak, the righteousness of God, it is certain that the word of God has been spoken, upon which there can be complete dependence, expecting that word to do what that word says. In other words, there is righteousness that can be received by faith.

Wherein is this word spoken? It is spoken in the word "forgiveness." "He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins"; "there is forgiveness with thee."

Now what is the meaning of “forgive"? The word "forgive" is composed of "for" and "give," which otherwise is give for. To forgive, therefore, is simply to give for. For the Lord to forgive sin is to give for sin. But what does the Lord give for sin? He declares "his righteousness for the remission of sins."

Therefore when the Lord forgives--gives for--sin, He gives righteousness for sin. And as the only righteousness that the Lord has is his own, it follows that the only righteousness that God gives, or can give, for sin is the righteousness of God.

This is the righteousness of God as a gift. As all men have only sinned and if they are ever clear must have forgiveness entirely free, and as the forgiveness of sin -- the righteousness of God given for sin -- is entirely free -- this is the righteousness of God as a free gift "upon all men unto justification of life." Rom. 5:18.

Every soul, therefore, who ever asks God for forgiveness of sin, in that very thing asks God to give him righteousness for sin. Every soul who asks God for forgiveness asks it solely upon the word of God, which speaks forgiveness. And faith is entire dependence upon the word for what the word speaks. Thus righteousness is altogether of faith.

"Every one that asketh receiveth." You have asked the Lord many a time to forgive your sins; that is, you have asked him to give for your sin. But when you ask the Lord to give for your sin, in that you ask him to give the only thing that He does or can give for sin, which is righteousness. That is what it is to ask forgiveness of the Lord.

And He does forgive -- He does give for -- your sins when you ask Him. He says He does, and He does. "He is faithful" -- that is, He will never fail -- "and just to forgive us our sins." And the only thing He gives for sins is His righteousness.

Then why not thank Him for the righteousness that He freely gives for your sins when you ask Him to? Do you not see that righteousness by faith is just as plain and simple as the asking God for forgiveness of sin? Indeed, it is just that.

To believe that righteousness is given for your sin, when you ask forgiveness, and thankfully to receive that righteousness as the gift of God -- this is what it is to exercise faith. 

Yet how true it is that "we suffer much trouble and grief because of our unbelief and of our ignorance of how to exercise faith." 

"Hast thou faith?" Have the faith of God. "Here are they that keep . . . the faith of Jesus." 

RH Mar. 14, 1899

By A. T. Jones in the Review and Herald periodical in 1899.

Blog Edited by John Foll.

Click here for a Free PDF of this article!

List of Articles

#Faith #Forgiveness #Righteousness #God #Complete #Dependence #Word #Ask #Receive #Remission #Sin #Give #Gift #Free #Grace #Faithful #Cleanse #Unbelief #Grief #Exercise

Lessons on Faith: Part 6 of 14: The Faith of Abraham 2

By A. T. Jones

List of Articles 

When Abraham and Sarah had cleared themselves of all the scheme of unbelief which had produced Ishmael and had stood upon faith alone -- dependence on the word of God alone -- Isaac, the true child of the promise, was born. 

In harkening to the voice of Sarai (Gen. 16:1), Abram had swerved from the line of strict integrity to the word of God, from the strictness of true faith, and now that he had returned to the word only, to true faith, he must be tested before it could be certainly said of him that his faith was counted for righteousness. 

He had trusted the naked word of God as against Ishmael and had obtained Isaac, the true child of the promise of God. And now, having obtained Isaac, the question must be determined whether he would trust the naked word of God as against even Isaac himself. 

Accordingly, God said to Abraham, "Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of." 

Abraham had received Isaac from God by trusting the word of God only. Isaac alone was the seed promised by the word of the Lord. After Isaac was born, God had confirmed the word by declaring, "In Isaac shall thy seed be called." Gen. 21:12. And now came the word of God, Take thy son, thine only son Isaac, and offer him for a burnt offering. 

God had declared to Abraham, Thy seed shall be as the stars of heaven for multitude. "In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed." "In Isaac shall thy seed be called," and now, Offer Isaac for a burnt offering! 

But, if Isaac is offered for a burnt offering, if Isaac is burned up, what will become of the promise of the blessing of all nations in him? What will become of the promise, Thy seed shall be as the stars of heaven innumerable? Yet there stood the word, Offer Isaac for a burnt offering. Abraham had trusted the word of God only, as against Ishmael, but this is more than trusting the word of God as against Isaac -- it is trusting the word of God as against the word of God! 

And Abraham did it, hoping against hope. God had said: Thy seed shall be as the stars of heaven; In Isaac shall thy seed be called. Offer Isaac for a burnt offering. Abraham did not insist that God should "harmonize these passages." It was all sufficient for him to know that the statements were all the word of God. Knowing this, he would trust that word, would follow that word, and would let the Lord "harmonize these passages," or "explain these texts," if any such thing were needed. 

Said Abraham: God has said, Offer Isaac for a burnt offering. That I will do. God has said, "In Isaac shall thy seed be called." And, Thy seed shall be as the stars of heaven for multitude. I interfered once in the promise and hindered it till I repudiated all that I had done and came back to the word only. Then, by a miracle, God gave me Isaac, the promised seed. Now He says, Offer Isaac, the promised seed, for a burnt offering. I will do it. By a miracle God gave him at the first, and by a miracle God can restore him. Yet when I shall have offered him for a burnt offering, he will be dead, and the only miracle that can then restore him is a miracle that will bring him back from the dead. But God is able to do even that, and He will do it, for His word is spoken, Thy seed shall be as the stars of heaven for multitude, and In Isaac shall thy seed be called. And even the bringing back of Isaac from the dead will be to God no more than He has already done, for, as to offspring, both my body and Sarah's were as good as dead, and yet God brought forth Isaac from us. He can raise Isaac from the dead, and He will. Bless the Lord! 

It was settled. He arose and took his servants and Isaac and went three days' journey "unto the place of which God had told him." And when on the third day he "saw the place afar off," "Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship and come again to you." Gen. 22:5.  Who will go? "I and the lad will go." And who will come again? "I and the lad will go . . . and come again to you." Abraham expected to have Isaac come back with him as certainly as that he went with him. 

Abraham expected to offer Isaac for a burnt offering and expected then to see Isaac rise from the ashes and go back with him. For the word of God had gone forth, In Isaac shall thy seed be called, and, Thy seed shall be as the stars of heaven for multitude. And Abraham would trust that word only, that it could never fail. Heb.  11:17-19. 

THIS IS FAITH. And thus "the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness." James 2:23. But yet above this, "It was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him, but for us also to whom it shall be imputed; if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; who was delivered for our offenses and was raised again for our justification." Rom. 4:23-25. 

To trust the word of God only, to depend upon the word of God only, to depend upon the word of God, even as against the word of God -- this is FAITH. This is the faith which brings the righteousness of God.  

This is what it is to exercise faith. This is "what the Scripture means when urging upon us the necessity of exercising faith.” And "understanding how to exercise faith," this is the science of the gospel. And the science of the gospel is the science of sciences.  

RH Jan. 31, 1899 

By A. T. Jones in the Review and Herald periodical in 1899.

Blog Edited by John Foll.

Click here for a Free PDF of this article!

List of Articles