Tag Archive | paul

Was Paul not yet morally perfect according to Phil. 3:12?

Phil. 3:12 Not as though I had already attained, either were already PERFECT: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.

The context for this verse is the RESURRECTION of our bodies, and that’s important to keep in mind. If we don’t understand that it’s about the resurrection, there is a risk we might misunderstand Paul and believe that he is talking about a moral perfection and that he has failed to live morally upright here on earth. Paul doesn’t talk about moral perfection but about a bodily perfection, because as long as we remain in our earthly bodies we must accept that we are not physically perfect but actually rather weak and fragile. Our goal is to one day enter the kingdom of God, and get new glorified bodies. Jesus asked us to be perfect (which you can read more about here), and naturally Paul wouldn’t argue against his Master.

Phil. 3:2 For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.

Those who are the circumcision (of the heart) are those who worship God in spirit, and that is in contrast to those who obey their flesh. Only those who worship God in spirit will one day inherit the kingdom of God, so this is a condition for salvation.

Phil. 3:6 Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, BLAMELESS (“found blameless”, NASB). 7 But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.

The problem with the pharisees was that they were not clean on the inside but only on the outside, and Paul counted himself as a pharisee who was eager to obey God and his laws (as he understood them). Even if Paul was a learned man with a good reputation, he feels that such worldly glory isn’t worth anything in comparison to what he has found in Jesus Christ. We are told to not love the world or anything in it, but we are supposed to live our lives for Christ and his kingdom. Naturally Paul doesn’t suggest that it’s now less important to be faithful to God compared with before.

Phil. 3:8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

Paul’s aim is to win Christ and be found in him, and that means that he has to move forward and leave the Jewish ceremonial laws behind him and put his faith in Jesus Christ. The eternal life that Jesus offers is by faith (evidenced by obedience from the heart) and one is not saved only because he is born a jew and circumcised. Paul says again, in Phil. 3:2, that those are circumcised who worship God in spirit, and who rejoice in him. If we have sinned (and we have), we are not able to be cleansed and righteous in ourselves but we rely on righteous blood shed for our sake. We can be righteous if we confess our sins and repent, because then we become cleansed from our sins in the precious blood of Jesus. Paul makes a difference between works of the law (the entire Torah with its 613 laws) and obedience to God.

Phil. 3:10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;11 If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.12 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Above is the direct context to v. 12. It’s about the resurrection of the dead, which is the goal for Paul, and when he writes to the Philippians he hasn’t reached this goal yet. Paul presses forward towards the prize, but he still calls himself PERFECT, and shows that he isn’t the only one being perfect.

Phil. 3:15 Let us therefore, AS MANY AS BE PERFECT, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.16 Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing.

Paul isn’t physically perfect, but he is morally and spiritually perfect. He asks us to walk by the same rule, based on perfection.

Phil. 3:17 Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us.(NASB)18 (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:19 Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)

Paul – who calls himself holy, righteous and blameless – asks others to follow his example. If he would be mixing good deeds with bad deeds (sin), he wouldn’t be a very good example for us, but he would be a big hypocrite and someone to stay away from. Paul weeps about those who are not walking with him on the narrow path to God, and he calls them enemies of Christ. Their end is destruction! That’s because they have their mind on earthly things instead of focusing on God.

Phil. 3:20 For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:21 Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.

Paul continues to talk about the resurrection in heaven, and the new glorified bodies. He doesn’t say that he isn’t able to fight his flesh successfully unless he first gets a new glorified body. We don’t have to wait until we die before we can be faithful to God, but we can live holy lives here and now. Not even Jesus was “perfected” until the third day in his resurrection, so it’s about the physical body.

Luke. 13:32 And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.

Paul about himself:

1 Thess 2:10 Ye are witnesses, and God also, how holily and justly and unblameably we behaved ourselves among you that believe:—12 That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.

Acts 23:1 And Paul, earnestly beholding the council, said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.

1 Cor. 4:4 My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. (NIV)

Rom. 6:5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.–12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.—16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.

1 Cor. 9:24 Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.25 And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.26 I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air:27 But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.

Is PERFECTION Attainable In This Life? Yes and No – Jesse Morell

Jan7

Biblical Truth Resources

I got an email from a fellow street preacher who needed some legal help because he had been arrested. After connecting him with a Christian attorney, we began to dialog more through email. He asked a theological question relating to the doctrine of Christian perfection. He wrote to me and said:

I`d like to say that before I began preaching the way that I do today, which was a few years ago, I had a lot of influence from your bold videos. I didn`t really see such boldness until I saw your vids. So thanks for being faithful, lots of seeds you`ve planted and even watered…
(Quick off topic)
I did though, to be honest, back when I was watching a lot of your vids, wasn`t so sure about the `Perfect` Christian to the context that you say. I know the context according to what Paul is saying, and how…

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Romans 5 – Against Original Sin

Dec30

“Moreover your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, and your children, which in that day had no knowledge between good and evil, they shall go in thither, and unto them will I give it, and they shall possess it.” Deuteronomy 1:39

″Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good. For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings.” Isaiah 7:15-16

The Pilgrim

Rom. 5:12, 18-19: ”Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned…Therefore as by the offense of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.”

This passage is supposed to teach that all men are born sinners, and born under the condemnation and wrath of God because of Adam’s transgression.

But this passage does not teach that men are born sinners. It does not teach that they are born under the condemnation and wrath of God. It does not teach that they inherit a sinful nature from Adam. It does not teach that…

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The IMPUTED righteousness of CHRIST – is not Biblical

Dec14

And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it [believing God] was IMPUTED UNTO HIM FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS: and he was called the Friend of God. James. 2:23

The word “imputed” comes from the Greek word “logizomai” (Strong’s 3049) which could be translated as “reckon, count, charge with; reason, decide, conclude; think or suppose”. Notice that it doesn’t mean “transfer”, but rather “reckoned” or “counted as“.

The word is found 41 times in the New Testament, and 4 of those times the word is translated as “impute” in the KJV. Rom 4:6-11 and 22-24 have the same Greek word (logizomai) as in James 2:23, and it doesn’t mean “transfer” there either. These verses use the same word even if they are translated differently:

For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it [believing God] was counted unto him for righteousness. Rom. 4:3

Even as Abraham believed God, and it [believing God] was accounted to him for righteousness. Gal. 3:6

And therefore it [faith] was imputed to him for righteousness. Rom. 4:22

Counted = Rom 2:26, Rom 4:3, Rom 4:5, Rom 9:8, Reckoned = Luk 22:37, Rom 4:4, Rom 4:9-10 and Rom 6:11, Rom 8:18, Accounted = Rom 8:36, Gal 3:6

We are asked to be righteous just like Jesus is righteous

This doesn’t mean that the only means to get saved is to have lived a life free of sins just like Jesus did, but neither is the promise“If you only believe in Jesus, he will confirm you as righteous even if you’re not”. First we must be cleansed in the blood of Jesus – upon repentance – and then the idea is to be led by the Spirit and not by the flesh, which no one else will do for us. We are not able to go piggybacking on Jesus.

1 John 3:4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.5 And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.6 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.7 Little children, let no man deceive you: HE THAT DOETH RIGHTEOUSNESS IS RIGHTEOUS, EVEN AS HE IS RIGHTEOUS.8 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.9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.10 In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.

God’s wrath is still upon us if we sin, and if we are under God’s wrath we are not saved.

John 3:36 He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” (NASB)

Romans 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

Romans 2:5 But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;

Jesus righteousness cannot be transferred/injected into us and we are not righteous unless we LIVE righteously

Our righteousness does not depend on being injected another person’s righteousness, but our righteousness depends on how we live our lives.

Jesus lived a perfect life (always being obedient to God the Father) and died on the cross for us, and in THAT WAY he is our righteousness. Had Jesus not lived an obedient life for us, he could not have been our righteousness, because the atonement wouldn’t have been perfect. He is NOT our righteousness because he has transferred his righteousness into us (and neither did he literally take our sins on himself as in some kind of an exchange) to make us righteous in position despite that we still live in sin. It’s important to understand that Jesus did NOT obey our moral obligations for us and instead of us! The Bible talks about imputed righteousness but NEVER the imputed righteousness “of Christ“. We can read about the righteousness of GOD throughout the Bible (and that Jesus is righteous), but the idea that God looks upon us and sees the righteousness of Christ in us (or the blood of Jesus) instead of our sin, will result in a license to sin. When God looked at the churches in Revelation, he DID notice their sins and asked them to repent.

We are not justified by the works of the law but by God’s grace, so to say that we need perfect obedience to the Torah to be credited to our account in order to be justified is justification by works instead of justification by grace/mercy. God cannot declare the guilty to be innocent – like in a forensic justification – as that would be a lie, but God can PARDON the guilty and he does so if the guilty person repents from his sins.

Abraham is given as an example when it comes to being righteous/justified through faith, because he was counted as righteous BEFORE the law of Moses started to apply. Not all who have Abraham as a forefather are the children of Abraham and saved, but only those who are spiritually circumcised (in their hearts) and BELIEVE the way he did – and he showed his faith with some amazing deeds (work). Those who WALK as he did and obey God as he did (which is something we DO) are circumcised in heart and the true children of Abraham. We do not deserve salvation by anything we do (or believe) but faith without deeds is dead. We can read “blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin”, which shows that all people apparently don’t have sin – namely those whom the Lord do not impute sin. Who are they? They are the ones who have confessed their sins, repented and who walk with Jesus. So when we read “God imputeth righteousness without works”, it means the works of the law (the Torah and the 613 laws in it), and naturally God wouldn’t impute righteousness to Abraham if he only sat under a tree and “believed” without showing his faith by OBEDIENCE. Not obedience to the law of Moses (which didn’t exist at the time) but obedience to GOD.

When it comes to Rom. 4:6, it doesn’t say that a person is especially appreciated and blessed if he doesn’t have any works to show up at all and that he only has “faith alone”. If that were true, it would mean that the less works we have, the more blessed we are and the better it is. No, Paul’s point is to get the jews to understand that they are not saved due to being born Jews and/or for obeying the Torah (613 laws), but a person is blessed/saved if he repents from his sins, believes in Jesus and through this procedure becomes cleansed from his sins. Those are blessed whose trespasses are FORGIVEN, because then God will not impute sin to them. Does this wonderful promise only apply to the Jews? No, Paul wants them to understand that also the uncircumcised (the gentiles) have his promise which is by faith and not by law. Notice how many times we can read about “circumcision“, so this is what is in focus (the ceremonial law) because the Jews were so concerned about it.

Rom. 4:3 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.4 Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.6 Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works,7 Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.9 Cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision only, or upon the uncircumcision also? for we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness.10 How was it then reckoned? when he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision.11 And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also:12 And the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised.—20 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.22 And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.23 Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;24 But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;

James doesn’t contradict what Paul is saying. James says that Abraham was justified BY WORKS, and not faith alone. Are we perhaps teaching salvation by works if we choose to quote James?

James 2:18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.25 Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

Paul is not disappointed with the Galatians for their suggestion that it’s still necessary to obey the ten commandments

In the letter to the Galatians, the reason for Paul’s objection to Galatians’s attitude is NOT because they wanted to return to silly old laws such as the ten commandments – just like “Do not kill, steal, lie or commit adultery”. Why would he be disappointed or upset about that? Those commandments have been in use ever since the days of Adam, and they never cease to apply. No, Paul was disappointed with their teaching that circumcision – which is a ceremonial law in the Torah – was still necessary for salvation. The ceremonial laws are not necessary for salvation, but the law of love certainly is (and the ten commandments provide details of how the law of love works). Paul makes a different between the works of the law (Torah), and the obedience of the holy Spirit. The Torah was our schoolmaster to keep us in order until the arrival of Jesus – after Jesus death the holy Spirit took over as our guide – and we’re supposed to have the law of love in our hearts. We will never be “free” from the requirement to love God and our neighbor as ourselves, and as long we are slaves to sin (obey sin) we are definitely not free.

Acts. 15:1 And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.2 When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question.

Gal. 3:5 He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?6 Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.7 Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.9 So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.11 But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.12 And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them.— 19 Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.—22 But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.23 But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

Paul makes it clear that sinning = spiritual death (also for christians).

Gal. 5:16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

The significance of having our faith “imputed” as righteousness, is that God forgives us our transgressions and treats us as though we have never sinned. This means that our sins disappears (without taking a detour in the body of Jesus) and God doesn’t have to LIE to declare us not guilty. We are 100% cleansed when we are forgiven and free from our sins, but it doesn’t say “once cleansed always cleansed”. If we become dirty once again, we’re back at square one.

2 Cor. 5:19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

2 Pet. 2: 18 For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error.19 While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.21 For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.22 But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.

Speaking in tongues was NOT a sign for unbelieving jews, and the gift is still in use

Oct29

Speaking in tongues was NOT only a sign for unbelieving jews (as a sign of God’s judgment on Israel)

1 Cor. 14: 3-4 He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth HIMSELF; but he that prophesieth edifieth THE CHURCH

Paul writes extensively about speaking in tongues in the Bible, and he devotes three chapters in his first letter to the Corinthians to describe how the speaking in tongues should be used properly. At no time did he suggest that speaking in tongues would soon cease, but he rather encouraged the Corinthians (and all of us) to seek this gift and the others, in order to get edified and maybe even edifying others. We are to be EAGER to get the gifts, so it’s a shame that there are some christians who try to amend what Paul is telling us, by suggesting that speaking in tongues was only a sign for unbelieving jews and of God’s judgment on Israel. Instead, we are told to pray for one another so that we may be healed, regardless of if unbelieving jews are present or not. Since we can read “is any sick AMONG YOU”, it suggests unbelieving jews might not be present at all.

Ja. 5:13 Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.16 Confess your faults one to another, and PRAY ONE FOR ANOTHER, THAT YE MAY BE HEALED. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.17 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.

John. 14:11 Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake.12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

A few questions – mainly about Paul’s teaching…

Why would Paul give the Corinthians instructions how to handle the tongues among themselves, when they were NOT “unbelieving jews“?
Why does he suggest that the gift of tongues is one of many gifts that helps to build up the body of Christ? What does this have to do with unbelieving jews, particularly when Paul emphasizes that this is a rule for both jews and gentiles? (1 Cor. 12:10-13)
Why would he suggest that God has set diversities of tongues IN CHURCH apart from apostles, prophets, teachers, miracles, healings, helps and governments? Where do the unbelieving jews fit in here? (1 Cor. 12:28)
Why does he say that we don’t even speak to man but UNTO GOD, if the signs were supposed to be for unbelieving jews? (1 Cor. 14:2)
Why does he say that NO MAN UNDERSTANDS due to tongues being a MYSTERY, if unbelieving jews were supposed to understand? (1 Cor. 14:2)
Why does he distinguish speaking in tongues (not understood) with prophesies (understood), if the speaking of tongues were supposed to be for unbelieving jews? (1 Cor.14 1-3)
Why does he suggest that the one who speaks in tongues edifies himself if they were supposed to be for unbelieving jews? (1 Cor 14:4)
And why doesn’t even interpreted tongues (prophesies) seem to be for unbelieving jews, since Paul specifically says they are for edification, exhortation and comfort, rather than being a sign for unbelieving jews? (1 Cor. 14:3)
Why are the tongues called “unknown” tongues, if tongues were always supposed to be known and understood by unbelieving jews? (1 Cor. 14:4)
Why does he again say that interpreted tongues are good for the edification of the CHURCH rather than unbelieving jews? (1 Cor. 14:5)
Why does he say that speaking in tongues can be made among BRETHREN (so not unbelieving jews), but that it wouldn’t profit anything unless there were interpreted – when they would indeed be profitable for these brethren? (1 Cor. 14:6)
Why does he indicate that speaking in tongues is not connected to knowledge (unless interpreted)? (1 Cor. 14:6-9)
Why does he again suggest that spiritual gifts (such as speaking in tongues if interpreted) can be used for edification of the church, rather than being for unbelieving jews? (1 Cor. 14:12)
Why is there a separate gift called “interpretation of tongues”, if tongues were always understood by unbelieving jews, and why do not all people who can speak in tongues have this gift? Why even call them “unknown tongues“? ( 1 Cor. 14:13)?
Why does he again say that a person’s understanding is unfruitful if he speaks in tongues, if they are always supposed to be understood by unbelieving jews? (1 Cor. 14:14)
Why does he make a distinction between praying with our spirit (when we don’t understand) and praying with our understanding? And if speaking in tongues are always supposed to be understood by unbelieving jews, why does Paul say we should pray in BOTH ways (without our understanding and with our understanding) and IN CHURCH? (1 Cor.14:15)
Why does he again suggest that not all people understand the tongues (unless interpreted), and why does he suggest that people are able to say AMEN to tongues whenever they DO understand them (when they are interpreted)? Why does he suggest that speaking in tongues can involve GIVING THANKS, if they are supposed to be for a judgment towards unbelieving jews? (1 Cor. 14:16)
Why does he again make a distinction between speaking in tongues with and without interpretation if tongues were always supposed to be understood? And why does he say that whenever tongues ARE understood, they can be used for TEACHING, rather than being for a sign/judgment for unbelieving jews? (1Cor. 14:18-19)
Why would he assume that unbelievers, who might visit the church, think we are mad when we speak in tongues? Could it be because we speak gibberish? (1 Cor. 14:23)
Why does he again make a distinction between speaking in tongues (no one understands) and speaking in prophesies (interpreted tongues) where people DO understand, and where they can even get the benefit of being convinced of all and able to worship God – thanks to realizing that God is with these christians who speak with interpreted tongues? (1 Cor.14:24-25)
Why does he again suggest that speaking in tongues has a valid place in the body of Christ, and that they can be used for EDIFICATION of the body/church, rather than being for unbelieving jews? (1 Cor. 14:26)
Why does he again separate the gift of speaking in tongues with the gift of interpretation of tongues? (1 Cor. 14:26-27)
Why does he suggest that we should speak in tongues to OURSELVES and to GOD, if we are not able to get the gift interpreted IN CHURCH? How many unbelieving jews do we expect to find in our own closet where we are told to pray? If the tongues were for unbelieving jews, why would we think about using them for ourselves and for GOD? (1Cor. 14:28)
Why does he again say that speaking in tongues is for learning and comforting (of the church), rather than being for unbelieving jews? (1 Cor. 14:31)
Why does he again suggest that speaking in tongues has a place among the saints in church, rather than being for unbelieving jews? (1 Cor. 14:33)
Why does he give instructions for the church that they should seek to get the gift of prophesy (interpretation of tongues) and not forbid people to speak in tongues? (1 Cor. 14:39)
Why does the Bible provide a few accounts of people who are speaking in tongues where unbelieving jews are not around?
Why did so many people from various countries understand the tongues to be about “the wonderful works of God”, rather than being judgments/signs for unbelieving jews?(Acts. 2:11)

We are encouraged to speak in tongues

Speaking in tongues is never labelled as means to spread the gospel, but if someone will hear interpreted tongues they will hear a christian praising and magnifying God about his wonderful works, and/or making prophesies. If the tongues are not interpreted, they will come out as gibberish because the person speaks mysteries which NO MAN UNDERSTANDS, and Paul specifically says that the tongues (unless they are interpreted) are not even supposed to be for man but UNTO ourselves and UNTO GOD. We are not told to not pray in tongues every again if we don’t have the gift of interpretation, but we are told to pray at home for ourselves and to God. Tongues (if interpreted) are supposed to be for the edification of the church, but how can one be edified by speaking words of judgment against the Jews? The reason God sent tongues (prophetic speech) to the believers is for power and praise.

Believing jews (not unbelieving jews) were astonished when they realized that gentiles had received the holy Ghost, and they were confident that they had received the holy Ghost precisely because they heard the gentiles spoke in tongues and magnified God.

Acts 10:⁴⁴While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.⁴⁵And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.⁴⁶For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter,⁴⁷Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?⁴⁸And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.

We can get power, after the holy Ghost has come upon us, and we can begin to speak with other tongues:

Joh. 7:³⁷In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.³⁸He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.³⁹(But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)

Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Acts. 2:1 2 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.²And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.³And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.⁴And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Some people use Acts 2 as a proof text and as a filter to read Paul’s letter to the Corinthians

It’s a risk that skeptics misunderstand Acts 2 (or purposely add things which are not stated), and read 1 Corinthians 12-14 in the light of their misunderstanding of Acts 2. They are not as keen to read Acts 2 in the light of 1 Corinthians 12-14!

Acts 2 says that “every man heard them speak in his own language”, but it does NOT say that ALL men understood ALL tongues by ALL disciples. If that were the case, then each of those individuals understood an awful lot of languages and must have been incredibly talented! Note that people from EVERY NATION under heaven were present, and is it really likely that every single one of those men understood ALL languages that the disciples spoke?! Just imagine how it would be to understand all languages under heaven! Depending on how we count, no less than 14 different people are listed as present. I don’t know to what extent these 14 different groups of people understood each other’s languages (I’m for instance Swedish and I also understand Norwegian and Danish), but the whole point with this story is to tell us that different kinds of people from all nations, still understood what the disciples said. Maybe it wasn’t unusual for some exceptionally learned men to speak maybe 2-3 languages, but to understand more languages than that must have been highly unusual, even if we reduce the 14 languages to a smaller amount.

Acts 2:⁵And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, OUT OF EVERY NATION UNDER HEAVEN.⁶Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.⁷And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans?⁸And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?⁹Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia,¹⁰Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,¹¹Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.

1 Corinthians 14:21 and the quote from Isaiah 28:11

Just as the OT Jews were perplexed by the Assyrian dialect, so they are perplexed today by tongues they don’t understand, and uninterpreted tongues will not help them in any way.

Paul’s message is to NOT stand up and speak in tongues in church unless there is interpretation, because only then will the listeners be able to understand, learn and be edified. The consequence of tongues-speaking is that unbelievers (Jew and Gentile) do not understand what is being spoken, so to them it is just a mysterious “sign” and nothing they can grasp.The Greek word for “sign” can apart from “sign” also mean “wonder”, “mystery” or “perplexity”. Paul wrote 1 Cor 14 to show that tongues without interpretation does not benefit anyone except the speaker, and therefore the Corinthians should not speak tongues loudly in the church service (without interpretation) because for others, it is just a mystery/sign.

1 Cor. 14:²⁰Brethren, be not children in understanding: howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men.²¹In the law it is written, With men of other tongues and other lips will I speak unto this people; and yet for all that will they not hear me, saith the Lord.²²Wherefore tongues are for a SIGN, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not: but prophesying serveth not for them that believe not, but for them which believe.²³If therefore the whole church be come together into one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those that are unlearned, or unbelievers, will they not say that ye are mad?²⁴But if all prophesy, and there come in one that believeth not, or one unlearned, he is convinced of all, he is judged of all:²⁵And thus are the secrets of his heart made manifest; and so falling down on his face he will worship God, and report that God is in you of a truth.

Isaiah 28:⁵In that day shall the Lord of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of his people,⁶And for a spirit of judgment to him that sitteth in judgment, and for strength to them that turn the battle to the gate.⁷But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment.—:¹¹For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people.¹²To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear.¹³But the word of the Lord was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.¹⁴Wherefore hear the word of the Lord, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.¹⁵Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:¹⁶Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.¹⁷Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.

Paul also talks about the church order, and he says that tongues are for a sign (sēmeion Strong’s 4592) to them who do not believe, but prophesying (interpreted tongues) are for those who BELIEVE – for their instruction and edification. Prophesying can also convict a stray unbeliever that happens to be there, and therefore prophecy is better than tongues in the church unless there is an interpretation. Mark tells us on the other hand that speaking in tongues is one of the signs that shall FOLLOW a believer, but then he is referring to something that you would normally expect to see among christians (and he doesn’t say this was a fact for his generation only).

Mark 16:¹⁷And these signs (sēmeia Strong’s 4592) shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;¹⁸They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

As Paul gives these instructions, he lets us know that speaking in tongues had actually been prophesied beforehand by the Prophet Isaiah, centuries before Pentecost. Paul didn’t say that tongues are a sign to only unbelieving Jews, but that tongues were a sign “...to them that believe not…“, and tongues can be a sign to unbelieving Jews and/or to unbelieving Gentiles alike. If speaking in tongues were a sign to only Jews, and Jews had to be present before speaking in tongues could be exercised, he would have made this clear. Are we actually to believe that Paul would not pray to God in other tongues, unless an unbelieving Jew were present with him in his prayer closet? In Isaiah 28 God is basically telling Israel that they have been so wicked that he will allow them to be conquered by Assyria, so it was a judgment and an assurance that they would be taken captive. The quote in Isaiah can’t be a prophecy that is fulfilled by the church because Christians did not take the Jews captive to a foreign land. The prophecy was only to be fulfilled once – in the 700’s B.C. Cessationists might say that tongues are still a judgment against the Jews, to show them that they are no longer God’s exclusive people, but Paul is speaking of prophecies/tongues in the church service where there are believers – for their edification and instruction. If tongues are a sign of judgment against the Jews because they do not understand it, then it is also a sign of judgment against everybody (including apostles) because NO MAN understands unless it is interpreted.

Speaking a message in tongues and interpreting it in a public service can have convicting effect on an unbeliever – by exposing them to their faithless state, and stirring them to rededicate their lives to Christ. Today millions of millions of christians speak in tongues despite no presence of unbelievers, and if the tongues have ceased, we must ask ourselves why they haven’t ceased! Many true born again christians, who show lots of good fruit, still speak them! Are they demonic? Would God give a stone to someone who asks for a spiritual gift?

Did they speaking in tongues occur only when unbelieving Jews or Gentiles were present?

Unbelieving jews were not always present when people spoke in tongues.

Peter preached the gospel to the gentiles in Cornelius’ house, and those present were already believers before coming there, or they were born-again in that instant. So now, you have a room full of christians, speaking in tongues, with no unbelieving jew hear them.

Acts. 10:⁴⁵And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.⁴⁶For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter,⁴⁷Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?

In Ephesus, Paul found 12 of John the Baptist’s disciples and he preached the Gospel to them, resulting in that they believed and were baptized. The only ones present were Paul and twelve born-again christians – so no unbelieving jews.

Acts. 19:⁴Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.⁵When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.⁶And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.⁷And all the men were about twelve.

Abraham showed his faith by obedience and was therefore righteous

Jun23

(An excerpt from Jesse Morell’s upcoming book, “The Vicarious Atonement of Christ.”

There was a problem in Israel of thinking that righteousness consisted in external works of the law, which notion Paul needed to confront. There were Israelites who thought that they were righteous before God as long as they obeyed the Torah, even while sinning in their hearts. Jesus said our righteousness needed to exceed that of the Pharisees who obeyed the outward requirements of the Torah but were sinful inwardly. In context Jesus expounded upon the sins of the heart and not mere outward action, in regards to our righteousness exceeding that of the Pharisees.

Paul argued for a circumcision of the heart by faith in order to be righteous. Paul argued that Abraham was righteous and justified before the Torah was given through Moses, so that the external works of the law that the Torah demanded cannot possibly be what true righteousness consisted of. It could not be the means through which we are made righteous or justified in character. Paul argued that by faith in God Abraham was righteous and consequently justified, and so that is how Gentile believers are made righteous and are justified too.

In his heart Abraham trusted God so that in his life Abraham obeyed God. Faith of the heart was the seed to real obedience of life, so God imputed (reckoned or considered) Abraham’s faith as righteousness, as that was what it really was. A heart of faith is a righteous heart. Faith, which results in obedience, is what real righteousness is. Righteousness is not merely being circumcised or keeping the dietary requirements of the Torah. It is what comes out of the mouth that defiles a man, not what goes into it. It is not by obeying the external requirements of the Torah and having outward works, even with selfish motives to be praised by men, which makes a man righteous before God.Real righteousness is not a work of the law at all, but is faith in God.

However, there is a problem in the church today just like there was in Israel. That is a problem of thinking that righteousness consists in works of the law or obedience to the Torah. Like the Pharisees who thought that they were righteous on a technicality, by observing the outward requirements of the Torah while still sinning in their hearts, the Theologians of today are teaching that you can be righteous before God on the same technicality as well. They teach that Christ obeyed the Torah or the law for us on our behalf as our substitute, so that His works of the law are imputed to us. In light of Christ’s works of the Torah being imputed to our account, they say, we are made righteous in the eyes of God and are consequently justified even though we are still sinful in heart and character. This is identical to the problem Paul had to confront when he argued that we are not righteous or justified by the works of the law but by a faith in Christ that purifies the heart. Paul was confronting this Pharisaical notion of being technically righteous before God by outward obedience to the Torah while still sinning inwardly in your heart.

The Pharisees and reformed theologians are both wrong in assuming that righteousness does not consist in works of the law, either performed by the individual or performed by a substitute on their behalf and imputed to them. There is no righteousness by works while still sinning in heart. It is a faith in Christ, a trusting of the heart that results in obedience of life, that is real righteousness in the eyes of God. When a man is sinning in his heart, he is not trusting God in his heart. But when a man is trusting God in his heart, he will not be sinning in his heart or life, and so God will impute or consider his faith as righteousness. It is by faith that our heart is purified so it is by faith that we are made righteousness.

Demons BELIEVE and tremble – faith without deeds is dead

May26

Faith alone is not enough for salvation

When Paul told the Philippian jailor in Acts. 16 that he must BELIEVE to be saved, he didn’t have an empty faith in mind but a faith that is the same as “loving God with all your heart and all your soul”. If we truly believe in Jesus and love him with all of our heart, then we would like to obey him and this is what saving faith means. We can read that Paul and Silas afterwards spoke with this jailor and those with him in his house, and at that point they likely explained the meaning of a prosperous life together with our savior Jesus Christ – who is son of God and God in flesh.

Acts. 16:²⁷And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.—²⁹Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas,³⁰And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?³¹And they said, BELIEVE on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.³²And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.³³And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.

1 John 3:23 And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.

John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.-—21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

What demons (devils/evil spirits) believe

James makes it clear that also demons (devils/evil spirits) believe (see verse further down below) so a faith without deeds is dead, which means that we can’t be saved without works. It’s true that angels and demons can’t be saved in the same way as human beings because they are messengers of God, but once upon a time Satan and 1/3 of his angels were expelled from heaven due to their behavior – and not due to lack of faith in the only true God. The point James is making is that demons don’t have good fruit to go with their faith, and he also gives examples of various DEEDS one is expected to do as a truly saved person. James is not impressed with a person who says he believes in God, unless the same person shows good fruit to go with his faith.

If you think you’re saved if you only

believe in Jesus Christ
believe he is the son of God
believe he is the Holy One of God
believe he is the Messiah (the Christ)
believe he is from Nazareth
believe he has power over heaven and earth, and tremble by this awareness
believe he is able to punish you for your actions
believe there is ONE God only
believe the first christians (like Paul, Silas, Luke, etc) were true servants of God and individuals who showed mankind the way of salvation (which they constantly claimed to be through Jesus Christ only)
fall down before Jesus
confess out loud that Jesus is the son of God and the promised Messiah
have good Bible knowledge

then you must keep in mind that also demons/devils also accomplish all those things on that list, as the below verses will show:

James 2:19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

Mat. 8:²⁸And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way.²⁹And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?

Mark 1:²³And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out,²⁴ Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Yeshua of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God.

Mark 3:¹¹ And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God.

Mark 5:7 And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Yeshua, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not.⁸For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit.

Luke 4:³³And in the synagogue there was a man, which had a spirit of an unclean devil, and cried out with a loud voice,³⁴Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art; the Holy One of God.³⁵And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. And when the devil had thrown him in the midst, he came out of him, and hurt him not.

Luke 4:⁴¹ And devils also came out of many, crying out, and saying, Thou art Messiah the Son of God. And he rebuking them suffered them not to speak: for they knew that he was Christ.

Luke 8:²⁷And when he went forth to land, there met him out of the city a certain man, which had devils long time, and ware no clothes, neither abode in any house, but in the tombs.²⁸When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high? I beseech thee, torment me not.²⁹(For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For oftentimes it had caught him: and he was kept bound with chains and in fetters; and he brake the bands, and was driven of the devil into the wilderness.)³⁰And Jesus asked him, saying, What is thy name? And he said, Legion: because many devils were entered into him.

Acts. 16:¹⁶And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying:¹⁷The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation.¹⁸And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.

Matt. 4:⁶And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.

Read more about James 2, and faith/works, in this blog article

Saved as by fire as per 1 Cor. 3:15? Yes, but NOT if we sin!

May12

If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire. (1 Cor 3:15)

This verse does not say that we can be saved in our sins, and notice that sins are not even mentioned in the context. This is a warning to christians (not sinners) who might not always build their lives on a proper foundation, and sometimes also lack the proper motivation for doing good works.

There are christians who are satisfied by with having a “fire insurance” – an insurance that gives them the right to at least be exempted from hell, as long as they believe in Jesus Christ. They are content with this type of insurance because this means they can still get away with sinning once in a while, and the only thing they would ever risk amounts to reduced rewards in heaven. They might think it’s worth it because heaven is always heaven, and with this type of insurance they can both have their sins and their salvation too. You might exclaim that “true christians wouldn’t reason in that way!”, but isn’t it true that also christians can choose to sin? And isn’t it likely that they might give in for sins more readily if they are being told they won’t end up in hell for it? The tragic thing is that we do NOT have an unconditional fire insurance. We risk to be cut off the vine and thrown in the fire if we lack fruit (John. 15), and we will not reap eternal life in heaven if we break the commandments and sin. If we love Jesus, we obey him (John. 14:15).

The context in 1 Cor. 3:15 shows that it concerns believing christians and their building material and building methods. Sin is nowhere mentioned, and it’s not even needed to be mentioned since we already know from the rest of the Bible that sins separate us from God unless we repent. Nothing unholy shall enter heaven, and sins evidently make us unholy. We can read that the foundation that we build upon must be JESUS CHRIST (and not ourselves, a philosophy, a pastor, a church, a dear friend, money, high status, tradition or someone/something else). It’s the motives in our hearts that will be judged by God. He can see what ground we are building on, and the reasoning in our hearts. Our motive should be to spread the gospel about Jesus Christ in order to see people saved.

Paul is addressing “brethren”, but he is warning these brethren. He also lists a few sins that would make us carnal, and if we are carnal we are not saved:

1 C0r. 3:³For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?

Rom. 8:6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

Speaking about christians, Paul says that they shall receive “his own reward” according to their LABOR. This indicates these christians at least do some work, which means they produce some good fruit. That is a good thing because we know that lukewarm christians are not saved. We will reap the reward of eternal life if we show our faith with good works, and we will also be rewarded individually depending on our works.

1 Cor. ⁸Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.⁹For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.

Revelation 3:16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.

Galatians 6:8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

Rom. 6:¹⁶Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

Paul warns christians that they must take heed on the way they build their lives, and every man’s work shall one day be made manifest. Do we work in order to get a popular position in the society, or because we want to go with the flow? What are our true reasons?

1 Cor.3:¹⁰According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.¹¹For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.¹²Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;¹³Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.

Paul says “IF any man’s work abide“, meaning it’s not certain it will. It’s still “work”, but will it abide? It depends on the motives. If it abides, the man shall receive both eternal life and individual gratification, but if the work does not abide but burned he will be saved but as by fire. If the man would be sinning on the other hand, he would not even be saved as through fire, but he wouldn’t even be able to enter the kingdom at all. This story is about christians who WORK, in combination with their motives for doing so. Paul ends with a warning to christians that if they defile the temple of God, which they all are, they will be DESTROYED.

1 Cor. 3:¹⁴IF any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.¹⁵IF any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.¹⁶Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?¹⁷If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

Read also the next chapter which is also about the intent of the heart.

1 Cor. 4:⁵Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.⁶And these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and to Apollos for your sakes; that ye might learn in us not to think of men above that which is written, that no one of you be puffed up for one against another.

Three chapters later Paul lists sins that will prevent us from entering the kingdom of God, and christians are not exempted:

1 Kor. 6:⁹Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,¹⁰Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

We can unfortunately be the cause for that a brother stumbles/falls/is offended, by the way we are living our lives:

1 Kor. 8:¹²But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ.¹³Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend. (“stumble” NKJV)

When I have a convenient time I will call for you, said Felix to the Preacher – Acts 24:25

Mar20

Is there anything more foolish than rejecting the word of God, and to decline to hear more about the Creator who can save your soul? This happens frequently when christians go out in the world to tell others about Jesus Christ, when those who are approached feel they can afford to say “no thanks”, or at best “I will think about it. Maybe in the future” . That is also what Felix the governor did when he had the chance to listen to the apostle Paul when he (Paul) explained how to enter the kingdom of God and get eternal life. Felix likely felt that he was a much luckier guy than Paul, because Paul was only a poor and despised prisoner while Felix was a powerful governor with few things to worry about in this world – as long as he sided with the right kind of people.

Felix actually had some knowledge about the Way, and learned even more about God through Paul’s initial talk. Yet, he cut it short by adjourning the meeting, and it’s possible that he was too afraid to make a decision himself about Paul’s future (in combination with that he also hoped to get bribed by Paul or his friends). (From NKJV because I had a hard time understanding this section in KJV):

Acts. 24:²²But when Felix heard these things, having more accurate knowledge of the Way, he adjourned the proceedings and said, “When Lysias the commander comes down, I will make a decision on your case.”

Maybe it was his conscience that told him that it was a good idea to give Paul some liberty while he was in custody, because Paul was a kind man who did not harm anyone:

²³So he commanded the centurion to keep Paul and to let him have liberty, and told him not to forbid any of his friends to provide for or visit him.

Felix wife Drusilla (daughter of Herodes Agrippa I) seemed to be curious about Paul and his teaching and likely wanted to hear more about it, and also see this man who everyone was talking about. Felix called for Paul when Drusilla was with him, and Paul lost no chance to spread the word of God to all who wanted to hear:

24 And after some days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, he sent for Paul and heard him concerning the faith in Christ.

But when Paul told Felix about the conditions for salvation, and that one must be self-controlled in order to be righteous in the eyes of God, and that there is a judgment day ahead of us where the almighty God will judge each one of us for what we have done and not done, and such things, Felix became AFRAID and didn’t want to hear any more. That is often the case when people start to realize the seriousness of sin, and that there actually is a Creator out there who has opinions about the way we live our lives. Some people therefore reason that it’s better to put the lid on in order to not disturb their bad consciences even more, because it’s a scary thing to know that you’re actually heading for eternal damnation. Felix then tells Paul to leave, and explains to him that he will call for him when he has a convenient time! That is such a bitter comment because here is a man of God – the apostle Paul – who has met Jesus in person on the way to Damascus and who knows exactly what is required to get eternal life in heaven, and yet Felix doesn’t take the chance to learn more about how to save his SOUL from HELL. A more convenient time? YOU CAN DIE TOMORROW! If you hear the word of God today, then don’t wait for tomorrow because tomorrow might never come:

25 Now as he reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and answered, “Go away for now; WHEN I HAVE A CONVENIENT TIME I WILL CALL FOR YOU.”

Not only did Felix miss a great opportunity to hear more about how to get this great PEARL in the form of Jesus Christ when Paul was telling him about him and how to reach salvation, but he also hoped to get bribed by Paul, which conveys his worldly outlook on things. For this reason he checked on Paul once in a while and talked to him with the hope that some extra money would be coming his way, because that would certainly be a bonus. On top of this he chose not to release Paul prior to being succeeded by Festus, and thus he left the destiny of Paul’s future in another person’s hands despite that he had the power to release Paul himself. Felix reason for doing so was so that he could make the jews a favor. I don’t believe Felix himself was concerned about whether Paul spread the gospel in the synagogues and in markets or not, but he made whatever decision that was the most advantageous for himself, and not to be fair to others. It’s possible that he felt a bit bad about keeping a nice person like Paul in custody, but he eased his conscience by giving him some liberty…

Jude 1:16 These are grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts; and they mouth great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage. (NKJV)

As long as Paul was in his custody, there was always a chance that he could be bribed, and at the same time he scored points among the jews who liked the fact that Paul was locked up and no longer could spread his words about Jesus among them. Releasing Paul, on the other hand, would give Felix no benefit at all, so he found no reason to do it now when he didn’t have to. Felix believed he was a smart guy, and yet he was guilty of sin and he let a great opportunity to get saved slip through his hands:

26 Meanwhile he also hoped that money would be given him by Paul, that he might release him. Therefore he sent for him more often and conversed with him.27 But after two years Porcius Festus succeeded Felix; and Felix, wanting to do the Jews a favor, left Paul bound. (NKJV)

Friend, if you have not given your life to Jesus today, do it now before it’s too late! All other things can wait while you make this most important decision in your whole life. You are never certain of that you will get a “tomorrow”, so priority No 1 must be to make sure your soul is saved before you do anything else. It’s not a difficult decision unless you make it that way. You must first start to realize that you are separated from God due to your sins, but if you confess your sins and repent God will forgive you if you truly mean your repentance! God loves you and he hopes that you will come to him to get LIFE, and it will be a decision you will never regret. Spend your time in prayer and by reading his Word in the Bible, and you will get to know him more and more. You will be given the Holy Spirit as a Helper in your life. Don’t uphold your decision for another day!

Matthew 16:26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

Luke 12:¹⁶And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:¹⁷And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?¹⁸And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.¹⁹And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.²⁰But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?²¹So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

Jesus HEALED the SICK and so can we

Sep30

Jesus – our great Healer and Doctor!

But how about this Bible text?:

Mark 6:⁴But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house.” ⁵Now HE COULD DO NO MIGHTY WORK THERE, EXCEPT THAT HE LAID HIS HANDS ON A FEW SICK PEOPLE AND HEALED THEM. ⁶And He marveled because of their UNBELIEF. Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching. (NKJV)

It could of course be interpreted as though Jesus was unable to heal sick people due to their unbelief, despite trying a few times, or maybe he gave up before trying because he could sense their unbelief. That scenario would be quite different from other scenarios where Jesus was healing people, because then he healed ALL. Another interpretation of the above verse, is that people lacked belief (in getting healed) to the extent that they didn’t even approach Jesus about it, because they believed they wouldn’t be able to get healed anyway, so why bother trying? Neither did they believe that sick family members and friends would be able to get healed, so they didn’t bring them to Jesus either. The outcome would be that Jesus couldn’t heal that many people for the simple reason that he didn’t have that many candidates to work on. He did heal a few, because a few people asked to get healed.

Since Jesus was so effective when he performed healing, it increased the level of faith among people – to believe that he could be successful also concerning THEM. If you see friends and family members getting healed (despite knowing they have an illness) then why couldn’t it also happen to you? The more people who got healed, the easier it would be for others to get the needed faith to get healed themselves – much like an avalanche. Jesus fame spread and multitudes followed him and got healed, leading to even more multitudes following him.

Luke 4:¹⁷And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,¹⁸The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised—²¹And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.

Matthew 12:15 But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence: and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all

Matthew 9:35 And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.

Matthew 4:24 And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them.

Luke 4:³⁶And they were all amazed, and spake among themselves, saying, What a word is this! for with authority and power he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out.³⁷And the fame of him went out into every place of the country round about.

Luke 5:15 But so much the more went there a fame abroad of him: and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by him of their infirmities.

Jesus is rather clear about that FAITH is an important ingredient for getting healed

Jesus was of course effective when he healed people because he was anointed by his Father to do mighty work, and of course he didn’t lack any belief in that people would be able to get cured. On top of that, it certainly looks like other people’s FAITH had much to do with getting healed, but not always since Jesus’ friend Lasarus was healed despite being dead and unable to have faith.We are not expected to believe anyone is the Messiah just for saying so, but Jesus showed that the circumstances surrounding him were prophesied about him in Scripture long before he was born, and also the miracles he did confirmed that he indeed was the Messiah. Jesus expects us to believe he is who he says he is for these reasons.

John 10:³⁷If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not.³⁸But if I do, though ye believe not me, BELIEVE THE WORKS: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.

Matthew 11:21 Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, THEY WOULD HAVE REPENTED long ago in sackcloth and ashes.

Matt. 17:¹⁴And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying,¹⁵Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water.¹⁶And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him.¹⁷Then Jesus answered and said, O FAITHLESS AND PERVERSE GENERATION, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me.¹⁸And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.¹⁹Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?²⁰And Jesus said unto them, BECAUSE OF YOUR UNEBELIEF: 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.²¹Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.

Examples where FAITH plays a big role in order to get healed:

Luke 5:¹⁷And it came to pass on a certain day, as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judaea, and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was present to heal them.¹⁸And, behold, men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy: and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before him.¹⁹And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus.²⁰And WHEN HE SAW THEIR FAITH, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.—²⁴But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house.²⁵And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God.²⁶And they were all amazed, and they glorified God, and were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things to day

John 4:⁴⁷When he heard that Jesus was come out of Judaea into Galilee, he went unto him, and besought him that he would come down, and heal his son: for he was at the point of death.⁴⁸Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe.⁴⁹The nobleman saith unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die.⁵⁰Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. And THE MAN BELIEVED THE WORD THAT JEUS HAD SPOKEN unto him, and he went his way.⁵¹And as he was now going down, his servants met him, and told him, saying, Thy son liveth.

Acts 14:⁸And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his feet, being a cripple from his mother’s womb, who never had walked:⁹The same heard Paul speak: who stedfastly beholding him, and PERCEIVING THAT HE HAD FAITH TO BE HEALED,¹⁰Said with a loud voice, Stand upright on thy feet. And he leaped and walked.¹¹And when the people saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in the speech of Lycaonia, The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men.

Luke 17:.¹⁷And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?¹⁸There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.¹⁹And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: THY FAITH HATH MADE THEE WHOLE.

Matthew 15:28 Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, GREAT IS THY FAITH: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.

Luke 18:⁴¹Saying, What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee? And he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight.⁴²And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight: THY FAITH HATH SAVED THEE.⁴³And immediately he received his sight, and followed him, glorifying God: and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God.

Some people believed they could get healed just by touching Jesus, and since they believed this very strongly, they got healed:

Luke 6:¹⁷And he came down with them, and stood in the plain, and the company of his disciples, and a great multitude of people out of all Judaea and Jerusalem, and from the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, which came to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases;¹⁸And they that were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed.¹⁹And THE WHOLE MULTITUDE SOUGHT TO TOUCH HIM: FOR THERE WENT VIRTUE OUT OF HIM, and healed them all.²⁰And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God.

Mark 5:²⁷When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment.²⁸For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole.²⁹And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague.—³⁴And he said unto her, Daughter, THY FAITH HATH MADE THEE WHOLE; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.

Jesus was truly amazed when he saw the faith of the Centurion:

Luke 7:⁸For I also am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say unto one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.⁹When Jesus heard these things, HE MARVELLED AT HIM, and turned him about, and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I HAVE NOT FOUND SO GREAT FAITH, no, not in Israel.

Matthew 8:8 The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. —13 And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and AS THOU HAST BELIEVED, SO BE IT DONE UNTO THEE. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.

People close their eyes and ears and thus make it hard for Jesus to heal them.

Matthew 13:15 For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes THEY have closed; LEST at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them

Acts 28; ²⁶Saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive:²⁷For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and THEIR EYES THEY CLOSED; LEST they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

John 12:³⁶While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself from them.³⁷But though he had done so many MIRACLES before them, YET THEY BELIEVED NOT ON HIM:³⁸That the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed?³⁹Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again,⁴⁰He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.⁴¹These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him.

In Jesus home city he wasn’t successful in his healing due to people’s unbelief. Only a few people got healed, and Jesus MARVELLED at their unbelief:

Mark 6:⁴But Jesus, said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.⁵And HE COULD THERE DO NO MIGHTY WORK, save that he laid his hands upon A FEW sick folk, and healed them.⁶And he marvelled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages, teaching.

Luke 4:²⁴And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country.²⁵But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land;²⁶But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow.²⁷And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian.

Jesus disciples had the gift of healing as well

Jesus disciples must have watched countless of people getting healed through the hands of Jesus, and it would therefore have been easier for them to actually believe in their own abilities to heal once they got this power. The same thing applies here; they were successful and when people noticed the wonderful results they could easier produce faith to believe that the disciples could heal also THEM.

Matthew 10:1 And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.

Luke 9:6 And they departed, and went through the towns, preaching the gospel, and healing every where.

Acts 28:8 And it came to pass, that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and of a bloody flux: to whom Paul entered in, and prayed, and laid his hands on him, and healed him.9 So when this was done, others also, which had diseases in the island, came, and were healed

Acts. 3:⁹And all the people saw him walking and praising God:¹⁰And they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him.¹¹And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon’s, greatly wondering.¹²And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?

Acts 5:16 There came also a multitude out of the cities round about unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them which were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed every one.

Acts. 4:⁶Saying, What shall we do to these men? for that indeed a notable miracle hath been done by them is manifest to all them that dwell in Jerusalem; and we cannot deny it.—¹³Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.—¹⁶Saying, What shall we do to these men? for that indeed a notable miracle hath been done by them is manifest to all them that dwell in Jerusalem; and we cannot deny it.—²¹So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding nothing how they might punish them, because of the people: for all men glorified God for that which was done.²²For the man was above forty years old, on whom this miracle of healing was shewed.—.³⁰By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus.³¹And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.³²And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.

We are told to be eager to seek the gift of Healing (and other gifts) TODAY

There are people wanting to see mighty miracles and getting healed just as much today as the case was 2,000 years ago, so there is no reason for this powerful gift to have passed away shortly after Paul wrote his letters. (Surely we would expect to see information about this ceasing if it ever occurred in our past.) That’s why we shouldn’t let the devil fool us into believing that this gift was only for the first christians, and thus miss out on the wonderful promises. Many christians DO realize the gift is for today and are blessed with the gift of healing, and it wouldn’t make sense for them to try to ignore the obvious – loads of people getting healed!

Despite the information in the Bible, and despite that true born again christians have this gift, there are still christians who are skeptic about this gift and some even tie today’s healing with the devil. (Wouldn’t that be close to the unpardonable sin?) Each time Satan manages to convince church leaders that healing isn’t something they should engage themselves with because it’s “controversial” or because they simply don’t believe they are for today, Satan will stand there as the winner since there WILL be people who miss out on the opportunity to get healed, and God will get less glory when we place the lid on such wonderful manifestations which could actually lead to people getting saved due to what they see.

Some ask for “proof” (often from secular non-christian sources), but what proof would convince them? There are hospital journals which confirm that a cancer has strangely vanished unexpectedly, and doctors even write “much like a miracle”, but would the doubters accept this as proof? No, they would say “Such journals can easily be tampered with” or “That is no proof” or “Send it to me then, and let me have a look“. I don’t have these journals in my own possession and naturally a hospital wouldn’t send out copies of other people’s journals. And if I would provide the contact information to a person who got healed so that a copy of such a journal could be acquired, would they actually write and ask for it? I highly doubt it since they wouldn’t accept a copy as proof anyway.

I’ve heard people saying things such as “I’ve been a christian for 30 years and I have not seen one single example of healing”. Well, I’m sorry that no one has ever knocked on their door to ask if they care to be a witness to a healing, but even if someone did, would they actually believe it and accept it? I don’t think so! If they on top of this attend a church where the leaders don’t even believe in the gift of healing (or it’s nothing they engage themselves in even if they are not officially “against” it), then of course it’s extremely unlikely that the congregation will ever be witness to a healing. So again, what “proof” would ever satisfy them? Some might say “the burden of proof is on those who claim there is healing today“, but why would we even bother trying to provide proof? What would WE gain by spending valuable time trying to convince people who have already made up their mind? They are free to believe whatever they want, and the rest of us can continue praising God for the gift of healing which has been such a blessing to loads of people and which highlights the power of the mighty one.

Yet others try with “guilt by association”, or they try to convince people that the misuse of the gift of healing (which they claim is SO COMMON despite that they have no means of knowing this since they are not active in charismatic churches) is evidence for that ALL healing should be avoided to all costs. They reason that if the evangelist Smith, the horrible charismatic prosperity preacher, misuses the gift of healing and loves luxurious houses, fancy cars and private jets, then this is “proof” for that ALL healing are ungodly.

It seems to be easier to believe in healing in certain countries/areas that are less fortunate when it comes to material things, like in the third world. A witness told me that she went with a group to a large christian meeting in a country in Africa and she said; “It seemed like more people got healed than NOT healed”. That is hard to imagine in a western country where faith is lacking. But the promise to us is that we too can perform healings due to the gift from the Holy Spirit. We are even promised to do “greater works” than Jesus and that is BECAUSE Jesus went to his Father and made this possible for us. Thanks to his death on the cross and his resurrection, we can get the help from the Holy Spirit to do all those mighty things and even get people back from the dead. Just like Jesus. The reason why we don’t see this very often is likely due to lack of faith.

John 14:¹¹Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake.¹²Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and GREATER WORKS THAN THESE SHALL HE DO; because I go unto my Father.¹³And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.¹⁴If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.

Mark 16:17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues

1 Cor. 13:²And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.

Paul provides instructions for how a church (a christian assembly) is supposed to function, and the gift of healing is part of it. We are told to be eager to get the best gifts, and the gift of healing is mentioned fifth:

1 Cor. 12:⁴Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.⁵And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord.—⁷But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.⁸For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;⁹To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;¹⁰To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:¹¹But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.¹²For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.—⁸And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.²⁹Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles?³⁰Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret?³¹But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way.

Also James explains how a gathering of christians should function:

James 5:¹³Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.¹⁴Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:¹⁵And the PRAYER OF FAITH SHALL SAVE THE SICK, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.¹⁶Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

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Tag Archive | paul

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The IMPUTED righteousness of CHRIST – is not Biblical

Speaking in tongues was NOT a sign for unbelieving jews, and the gift is still in use

Abraham showed his faith by obedience and was therefore righteous

Demons BELIEVE and tremble – faith without deeds is dead

Saved as by fire as per 1 Cor. 3:15? Yes, but NOT if we sin!

When I have a convenient time I will call for you, said Felix to the Preacher – Acts 24:25

Jesus HEALED the SICK and so can we

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