A Glimpse into the Future
What does the future hold?
That question looms large in the minds and hearts of people around the world. Some ask it out loud and debate, predict, or philosophize about it. Others ponder it silently in the innermost recesses of their hearts. Still others resolutely push it aside and stifle all thoughts of what the future might bring. Whatever the case, the question refuses to be ignored.
Scripture Provides the Answer
Jesus Christ will take His earthly throne as King of kings and Lord of lords, and the kingdoms of this world will all become “the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ” (Revelation 11:15). However, according to Biblical prophecy, He must first come to catch away those who have made spiritual preparation for that event—those known in Scripture as the “Bride of Christ” or the “Church.” This occurrence, the Rapture of the Church, is the next great event to take place in God’s plan for the ages.
The Holy Spirit is in the world today, dwelling in the hearts of believers, and He is holding back a terrible tide of destruction that will come upon the world when the Bride has been taken away. (See 2 Thessalonians 2:7-8.) God’s wrath will then be poured out upon those who have rejected Him, in a period of time referred to in Scripture as the Great Tribulation—a literal time of terror and torment like has never been known.
How do we know that these cataclysmic events are just ahead?
Scriptural prophecies clearly indicate that the culmination of God’s dealings with the people of this earth will soon occur. When Jesus’ disciples asked Him what signs would precede His coming and the end of the world, He responded with a comprehensive list. (See Matthew, chapter 24.) He said there would be:
• Wars and rumors of wars. Warfare has long been part of human existence, but the sheer annihilative potential of current weaponry and the possibility of conflict on a global scale, has made our day a unique and dangerous time unprecedented in history. Today, nine countries possess nuclear weapons,[1] and military engagements are constant. Since the end of World War II, there have been 280 armed conflicts involving one or more governments.[2]
• Famines. In 2016, an estimated 815 million people worldwide were suffering from hunger and malnourishment.[3] In addition to drought, other contributing factors of worldwide hunger include economic collapse, the displacement of people as a result of warfare, an increasing world population, and diminishing natural resources. In 2017, the chief economist for the United Nations World Food Programme said that twenty million people were in danger of dying from starvation in the next six months due to four different famines. [4]
• Pestilences. As of 2012, there were 219 virus species known to affect humans, and every year new strains of viruses are being discovered.[5] The past few decades have witnessed the emergence of “new” infectious diseases such as Ebola, HIV/AIDS, SARS, and the Zika virus. In addition, there is the growing problem of antimicrobial-resistant strains of “old” diseases such as influenza, malaria, and tuberculosis. According to the World Health Organization, about 490,000 people contracted a drug-resistant strain of tuberculosis in 2016.[6]
• Earthquakes. Approximately 500,000 earthquakes are detected in the world each year, though only around 100,000 are felt because many occur in remote areas or have small magnitudes.[7] In 2017 there were 13,095 earthquakes worldwide measuring 4.0 or greater.[8] In recent years, new technologies, such as processes related to oil and gas extraction, have increased the risk of earthquakes occurring in parts of the world where they were never before experienced.[9]
• Persecution and killing of followers of Jesus. Open Doors USA, which tracks persecuted Christians worldwide, stated that around the globe, oppression against Christians has increased with 215 million Christians experiencing high to extreme persecution in 2017.[10] A resolution passed by the United States House of Representatives condemning human rights abuses against Christians listed recent persecutions from around the globe, stating: “The Christian population in the Middle East has significantly decreased over the past few decades as a result of persecution, displacement, and genocide . . . such persecution ranges from social harassment and discrimination to physical violence, imprisonment, torture, enslavement, rape, and death.”[11]
• False prophets deceiving many. Since the time of Christ, numerous individuals have amassed followers by falsely claiming to be God’s messenger, including Mohammad in the seventh century, Nostradamus in the sixteenth, and more recently, Joseph Smith, Sun Myung Moon, and David Koresh to name a few.
• Widespread iniquity. This past century has seen an increasing tolerance for sins relating to the devaluing of human life and sexual immorality. In 2013, 61 percent of the world’s population was living in a country where abortion was legal on demand or for social and economic reasons,[12] and from 2010 to 2014 an estimated 56 million abortions were performed annually, constituting 25 percent of pregnancies worldwide.[13] Euthanasia and doctor-assisted suicide are also gaining acceptance; one or the other is now legal in nine countries.[14] There is a growing movement to embrace “alternative lifestyles” as natural and healthy, and same-sex marriages are now recognized in twenty-six countries.[15]
• Declining love for truth. As of 2017, over 11 percent of the world’s population did not claim any allegiance to a religion, and 45 percent adhered to Buddhism, Hinduism, or Islam.[16] Even many churches which at one time preached the fundamentals of Christianity—the new birth and a life without sin—have changed their doctrine, “having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof” (2 Timothy 3:5).
• The Gospel preached worldwide. Several interdenominational groups are currently working toward the goal of reaching every part of the world with the Gospel message. By 2001, the film entitled JESUS had been shown in every country of the world in over 1,000 languages.[17] Today, in addition to audio and video recordings and printed materials, the internet is taking the Gospel to places where it has never before been heard. One website, Bible.is, has posted the Bible online in 1,293 languages.[18] The Wycliffe Global Alliancereports that one or both of the Old and New Testaments are now available in 2,200 different languages, and organizations are currently working on 2,584 translations. They estimate translations are still needed in 1,636 languages.[19]
In addition to the end-time events detailed by Jesus, numerous other prophecies in the Word of God deal with the last days.
• Perilous times. Paul wrote that perilous times would come in the last days and evil men would become worse and worse (2 Timothy 3:1,13). We live in a day of inexplicable outbreaks of violence—riots, mass murder, and random shootings. In 2016, there were 469 suicide bombings in twenty-eight countries,[20] and in 2017 there were eight mass shootings in the United States alone, resulting in 117 deaths.[21]
• Automobile traffic. Nahum prophesied that in the end time, “chariots shall rage in the streets, they shall justle one against another in the broad ways: they shall seem like torches, they shall run like the lightnings” (Nahum 2:4). Automobiles throng our six- and eight-lane freeways; it is estimated that more than 1.2 billion are traveling the world’s roads today.[22]Each year motor vehicle crashes result in nearly 1.3 million fatalities and up to 50 million injuries globally, and are the leading cause of death among young people ages 15 to 29.[23]
• Widespread travel. Daniel prophesied that “many shall run to and fro” in the time of the end (Daniel 12:4). Air travel continues to increase worldwide, with about 4.1 billion people traveling by air in 2017.[24]
• Knowledge increased. Daniel also foretold that knowledge would be increased in the last days (Daniel 12:4). Modern computers have capabilities that would have been unfathomable a few decades ago, and technology is continually advancing. The Internet allows instant access to vast quantities of information, and engineering feats are performed that stagger the imagination.
Perhaps the greatest sign of the end of the Church Age is found in recent happenings concerning the nation of Israel. Jesus said, “Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it [the coming of Christ] is near, even at the doors” (Matthew 24:32-33). Scripture teaches that this fig tree represents the Jewish nation. (See Jeremiah 24:5-10; Hosea 9:10; Luke 13:6-9.)
God said that because of their disobedience, the Jewish people would be scattered among all nations. During the thirty or more centuries of their perilous existence, the Jews have been on the verge of annihilation many times, yet they have always regained their footing. They have been miraculously preserved for a special purpose in connection with the future fulfillment of God’s plan.
• The Promised Land inhabited by Jews. In 1948, a portion of the land promised by God to the Jewish people was restored to them in a United Nations vote, and they were declared a nation for the first time since 597 B.C. when they were conquered by the Babylonians. The new nation was named Israel. Today Jewish emigrants are moving to Israel from every country in the world just as the Bible foretold in Jeremiah 16:14-15.
• Jerusalem a burdensome stone. Zechariah prophesied, “In that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people” (Zechariah 12:3). Jerusalem has increasingly become a source of world contention as it is the location of holy sites significant to three major religions. Arab states captured a portion of the city in 1948 and barred Jews from entering. In the Six-Day War of 1967, Israel once again assumed full control of Jerusalem and renamed it their capital. On December 7, 2017, the United States became the first country to recognize it as such, and on May 14, 2018, moved its embassy there amidst violent Arab protests and international criticism.[25]
• Return of rainfall. When the Jews were scattered after the crucifixion of Jesus, the region became desolate, unproductive, and barren. For nearly 2000 years, rainfall was minimal. The Prophet Joel indicated that the rains would return when the Day of the Lord was at hand (Joel 2:1,23). At the turn of the twentieth century, rain began to fall in Palestine (modern-day Israel) and vegetation began to grow. From 1961 to 1990, the annual rainfall increased by roughly 30 percent.[26]
• Restoration of a pure language. The prophet Zephaniah foretold that the nation of Israel would have a pure language during the end times (Zephaniah 3:8-9). In 1982, Hebrew was declared the official and national language of Israel—a language which had been considered dead.
• Preparation to rebuild the Temple. Daniel 9:26-27 indicates that during the Tribulation period, the Temple sanctuary will be in use. Currently, in Jerusalem, several organizations are preparing to rebuild this sacred structure. The Temple Institute has recreated seventy artifacts needed to furnish the Temple and perform the sacred rites, including the golden menorah, the jeweled breastplate of the High Priest, and the musical instruments to be used by the Levitical choir. In addition, the Nezer HaKodesh Institute for Kohanic Studies was established in 2016 to train men from the tribe of Levi in performing the priestly duties of the Temple.[27]
• Availability of a red heifer. Numbers 19:1-10 indicates that a red heifer is necessary for the ceremonial purification of the Temple and the priests who serve in it. For over 2000 years, there has been no acceptable red heifer, though a handful have been located and then disqualified. Since 2015, rabbis of the Temple Institute have been coordinating an effort to breed a red heifer in Israel using the imported embryos of red Angus cattle.[28]
• Restoration of the shekel. According to Ezekiel 45:12-13,16, the shekel will be used as the offering to the Messiah at the Temple during the Millennium. In 1980, the shekel was restored as the official currency of Israel.
• Military victories. The overwhelming victories of Israel over the vastly superior armies of Egypt, Syria, and Jordan in 1948, 1967, and 1973 amazed the world. According to Zechariah 12:6, these victories are a prelude to the revelation of Christ at the end of the Great Tribulation.
• Jewish unbelief. In spite of the powerful evidence to Jews today that Jesus Christ is the promised Messiah, according to Romans 11:25, their continued unbelief is a sign of the nearness of the Lord’s Second Coming.
We are seeing a foreshadow of what is yet to take place in this nation which will be at the center of end-time events. The fig tree of Biblical prophecy is budding and putting forth leaves. The Jewish people, however, are not yet turning to God, nor crying for their Messiah as Zechariah prophesied they will do (Zechariah 12:10).
Another indication that we are living in the last days is the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the Latter Rain foretold in Joel 2:23 and James 5:7. In the early 1900s, God gave a sign to an unbelieving world by pouring out the baptism of the Holy Ghost on a group of sanctified believers, just as it was given in the “early rain” on the Day of Pentecost. Since then, a widespread preaching of the Gospel by those endued with power from on High has resulted in the salvation of many souls, the sanctification of believers, the empowering of witnesses, and the healing of many from incurable diseases. Clearly, the Holy Spirit is in the world and is preparing a Bride for Jesus.
Without a doubt, the stage has been set. We are seeing the fulfillment of the prophesied events which are to herald the Rapture of the Church. Jesus could come back for His followers at any moment!
The Rapture of the Church
This event will occur when Jesus calls His followers (both Gentile and Jewish believers) with a trumpet blast, and they will be removed from the earth and transported to be with Him in the heavens. The Rapture will take place suddenly, unexpectedly, and lightning-fast—in the “twinkling of an eye,” according to Scripture. Jesus will descend from Heaven “with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God” (1 Thessalonians 4:16). The word rapture means, “being carried away in body or spirit,” and this is literally what will happen. Those who have died as Christians will arise from their graves to meet Him in the clouds. Then those who are alive, and who have prepared themselves for His coming, will be changed in a moment and will join Christ and the resurrected dead in the air. (See 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; 1 Corinthians 15:20-38.)
The Marriage Supper of the Lamb
The Christians who gather with Christ at the Rapture of the Church will take part in the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, described in Revelation 19:7-9. Jesus Christ is the Bridegroom, and He will serve the saints. (See Luke 12:37.)
There, rewards will be given for faithful service. Those who have labored for God’s glory will hear the words, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord” (Matthew 25:21). Some will be given authority over ten cities, others over five. (See Luke 19:12-19.) Among the rewards to the overcomer will be “to eat of the tree of life,” to wear “white raiment,” and to be given the “morning star.” Jesus said, “I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels,” and, “to him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.” (See Revelation chapters 2 and 3.)
The Great Tribulation
While the Marriage Supper of the Lamb is taking place above, the terrible outpouring of God’s wrath will occur on earth because of mankind’s rejection of God’s love and mercy. This period of time, known as the Great Tribulation, is described in the Book of Revelation. The Tribulation will last seven years. It will begin with a covenant made between Israel and a world leader, identified in Scripture as the Antichrist, and it will end with the physical return of Jesus Christ to set up His kingdom on earth. In between these events, those on earth will experience seven years of fear and terror, of darkness and torment. Daniel, prophesying of this, said, “There shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book” (Daniel 12:1). Jesus spoke of the same time, “Then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be” (Matthew 24:21).
The Antichrist
The dominant figure of the Tribulation will be the Antichrist, the “man of sin,” who will be revealed after the Bride has been taken out of the world. Initially, he will expand his empire through diplomatic ventures and subtle “peace” diplomacy. Only later will his true nature be revealed. His ascent to power will be rapid, and authority will be given to him from Satan. The Apostle John wrote of this man that “power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations” (Revelation 13:7). He will be a phenomenally persuasive and brilliant man, and also extremely wicked and diabolical. Scripture alludes to him as “the son of perdition” and also the “beast.” All who dwell upon the earth, whose names are not written in the Book of Life, will worship him. (See Revelation 13:8.)
As the Antichrist gains control of the world during the Tribulation period, those who follow him will receive an identifying mark. The mark or seal of the beast will be placed in the right hand or forehead of all his followers, and those who do not have the mark will not be allowed to buy or sell. “The mark of the beast” will be literal, and those who receive it will seal their own eternal damnation, for the Word says, “If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb” (Revelation 14:9-10).
The Antichrist will come into power through flatteries, the promise of peace, and a certain measure of prosperity. He will change his tactics during the Tribulation, however, and will become the most cruel and despotic ruler this world has ever seen. (See Revelation 13:1-18.)
The Jews during the Tribulation
For the past two thousand years, both Jews and Gentiles have had an opportunity to enter in and accept God’s grace, but after the Bride is taken away in the Rapture, and the Tribulation sets in, God will turn back to the Jews alone. (See Romans 11:25-27.) Because God will again deal with the Jews as His chosen people, the Tribulation is also known as the time of Jacob’s Trouble. During this time, the Jews will suffer in a greater measure than they ever have.
The Antichrist will deceive the Jewish people. He will make a treaty with them during the first part of his reign; among other things, this treaty will allow them to resume the ancient sacrificial system of temple worship. In the middle of his seven-year rule, however, he will ruthlessly break his covenant, ending the sacrifices and substituting the worldwide worship of himself and his image. (See Daniel 9:27.) This action will reveal to the Jews his demonic nature. When that covenant is broken, tribulation such as has never been known before will be poured out upon the Jews. A third of them will survive (Zechariah 13:9), and they will cry for their Messiah to come and deliver them.
Terrible Upheaval on Earth
During the Tribulation, God’s judgment will be poured out upon the earth in the form of horrendous environmental catastrophes. The following are some of the cataclysmic events which will take place during that period.
• A storm of hail and fire mingled with blood will destroy one-third of all vegetation on the earth. (Revelation 8:7)
• A meteor will hit the earth, causing the sea to become like blood. This will kill one-third of all creatures in the sea, and destroy one-third of the world’s shipping. (Revelation 8:8-9)
• A star named Wormwood will fall from the sky and poison one-third of all fresh water. This will kill many people. (Revelation 8:10-11)
• The sun, moon, and stars will be darkened by one-third, and both the day and night will not be lit for one-third of their time. (Revelation 8:12)
• Locust-like beings will be released from underground. Their attacks will be very painful and will last five months. (Revelation 9:3-10)
• An army of 200 million horsemen on horse-like creatures will kill one-third of the earth’s
remaining population. (Revelation 9:15-19)
• Two beings, referred to in Scripture as “witnesses,” will preach the truth of Jesus Christ for three and a half years and will be killed by the Antichrist at the midpoint of the seven-year tribulation. After three days, they will be resurrected and will ascend to Heaven in a cloud. (Revelation 11:3-12)
• People who have taken the mark of the Antichrist will develop a dreadful sore on their bodies within a short time. (Revelation 13:16-18; 16:2)
• The oceans will chemically change and become like congealed blood. Everything in the sea will die. (Revelation 16:3)
• The fresh waters will become like blood. (Revelation 16:4)
• The sun’s rays will scorch the people on earth with tremendous heat. (Revelation 16:8-9)
• Great darkness will come upon the earth, and terrible pain will afflict its inhabitants. (Revelation 16:10-11)
• The kings of the world will gather their armies to battle against God at Armageddon. The River Euphrates will dry up, whereby the “kings of the East” will march toward Palestine in preparation for this battle. (Revelation 16:12)
• A tremendous earthquake will take place unlike any other—so devastating that all the mountains and islands will disappear. (Revelation 16:18-20)
• A hailstorm, with hailstones weighing close to 100 pounds, will cause men to blaspheme God. (Revelation 16:21)
The End of the Tribulation
At the close of the Tribulation, all the armies of the Antichrist and of his henchman, the false prophet, will gather in Israel to war against God, in an effort to usurp the Kingdom that Christ will set up on earth. (See Revelation 16:13-14,16.) In their rage, they will especially ravage Jerusalem and destroy a great part of Israel’s population. (See Revelation 16:14-16; Zechariah 12:3.) At this point, the heavens will open and Christ will return to this earth in power and great glory with the heavenly host. He will execute judgment on the ungodly and set up His Millennial kingdom. (See Revelation 19:11-16.) The armies that follow Him upon white horses are the raptured saints.
Christ’s feet will touch the Mount of Olives, and then, in a bloody encounter which will eclipse every other war known on earth, He will wreak vengeance and judgment upon His enemies. Concentrated in a place called Armageddon (possibly the Valley of Megiddo), the resulting carnage will cover a two-hundred-mile expanse. The birds will feast upon the dead bodies of the slain. During the battle, the Antichrist and the false prophet will be cast alive into the lake of fire. (See Revelation 19:20-21.) The armies of the Antichrist will be slain with the sword from Christ’s mouth.
The surviving Jews will accept their Messiah, whom they have so long rejected. “They shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son” (Zechariah 12:10).
Christ’s Millennial Reign
Following the Battle of Armageddon and the close of the seven-year Tribulation, the Millennium, or thousand-year literal reign of Christ and His saints, will begin. Jesus will be crowned King of kings and Lord of lords, and will judge the nations. (See Matthew 25:31-32.) This will be a time of peace and blessing, in which the people of earth will enjoy a “Garden of Eden” existence. The curse, which came upon the earth when Adam and Eve disobeyed God, will be lifted from creation, and the glorious and everlasting Kingdom of Christ and His saints will be established in peace. The Millennial Kingdom will have the following characteristics:
Jesus will rule from Jerusalem. The Lord is going to rule the world with the seat of His government in Jerusalem. Christ’s kingdom will never be destroyed. (Zechariah 14:9; Isaiah 24:23; Daniel 2:44)
Saints will reign with Jesus. The armies that follow Jesus from Heaven, after the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, will rule and reign with Him. Among this group will be the prophets, Apostles, and martyrs of ages past, who will also return in glorified bodies to take part in Christ’s government. (Jude 14-15)
Satan will be bound. An angel will come from Heaven and bind Satan for a thousand years, casting him into a bottomless pit. For the first time since the fall, people will dwell in the world without the power of Satan to tempt or torment them. (Revelation 20:1-3)
War will end. Nation will no longer fight against nation, and preparations and equipping for warfare will be over. (Isaiah 2:4)
Sickness and disease will be eliminated. After the curse has been lifted, all who remain and come under the rule and dominion of Christ will be set free from every disease and sickness. (Isaiah 35:5-6)
Mankind will enjoy longevity. Men will live long to enjoy the blessed reign of Jesus. (Isaiah 65:20)
Animal nature will be changed. The venom of the serpent, the sting of the scorpion, the instinct to kill in the wolf and the lion—everything that is savage and brought on by the curse in the animal kingdom will be done away with. (Isaiah 11:6-9)
Vegetation will be luxuriant. In our world today, even vegetation is dwarfed as a result of the curse. Nothing grows as lushly now as it will when Jesus reigns on earth. (Isaiah 55:12-13)
Nations will rebuild. The people who survive the Great Tribulation will rebuild. (Isaiah 65:21)
Annual visits will be made to Jerusalem. Everyone will be required to make a yearly visit to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts. (Zechariah 14:16-19)
Nations will worship God. All nations that remain will be brought into subjection to the Son of God. They will then obey the Word of God. (Micah 4:1-2; Zechariah 8:20-22)
The Jews during the Millennium
During the Millennial Reign, God will renew His covenant with Israel. “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord: But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people” (Jeremiah 31:31-33).
Close of the Millennium
At the close of the Millennium, there will be a fresh outburst of evil, when Satan shall be “loosed [for] a little season” (Revelation 20:3). A final rebellion will take place, followed by swift judgment. Satan will go out to deceive the nations in the four quarters of the earth, and will gather them together to battle against God in a conflict known as the Battle of Gog and Magog. The armies will surround the camp of the saints—the city of Jerusalem. At that point, fire will come down from Heaven and destroy them. The devil will be cast into the lake of fire for eternity. (See Revelation 20:7-10.)
The Great White Throne Judgment
Then will come the Great White Throne Judgment. At this time, God will assemble the wicked living and wicked dead to stand before Him who sits on the Throne. The books will be opened, and all present will be judged according to their deeds done in the body. (See Revelation 20:11-12.) Because none of their names will be found written in the Book of Life, all will be cast into the lake of fire. (See Revelation 20:15.) There they will remain throughout eternity.
“Then Cometh the End”
Christ will reign until time has run its course. “Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet” (1 Corinthians 15:24-25).
Scripture tells us that the present heavens and earth will be destroyed by fire at the close of the Millennium. (See 2 Peter 3:12-13; Micah 1:3-4.) After the earth has been destroyed by fire, God will establish the “new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness” (2 Peter 3:13). The heavenly headquarters for the universe—the New Jerusalem—will descend from Heaven. The redeemed will dwell with God forever, and the new heavens and earth will never pass away.
We are living in tremendous days, the time of the end of the age and the end of the world. Have you made the proper spiritual preparation? Your answer could have awesome and irrevocable consequences. Realize that if you neglect those preparations, you are gambling with the eternal destiny of your never-dying soul!
There are those who say they believe that the end is near, but who speculate that perhaps the Lord will delay His coming a few years longer. We have no guarantee of that. The minutes on God’s clock are ticking by, and the evidence is conclusive: The culmination of the ages cannot be far in the future.
God wants us to have our eyes on the skies. We do not know the day or the hour of His return for His Bride, but we do know that those who are watching and waiting will be ready when He comes. Those who are looking for the coming of Jesus want to be like Him. There is ample instruction in the Bible about what the Lord expects His follower to be. He shed His Blood to wash away our sins and to make us pure in heart, so there will be no excuse for those who do not prepare themselves for His coming.
The Apostle John’s parting words were: “He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20).
Let’s be ready for that day!
Notes
[1]Hans Kristensen and Robert Norris, “Worldwide deployments of nuclear weapons, 2017,” Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists 73:5 (August 31, 2017): 289-297, https://doi.org/10.1080/00963402.2017.1363995.
[2] Kendra Dupuy, Scott Gates, Havard Mokleiv Nygard, Ida Rudolfsen, Siri Aas Rustad, Havard Strand, and Henrik Urdal, “Trends in Armed Conflict, 1946-2016,” Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO): Conflict Trends Project (February 2017), https://www.prio.org/Publications/Publication/?x=10599.
[3] Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), World Food Program (WFP), and World Health Organization (WHO), The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2017: Building resilience for peace and food security, (Rome: FAO, September 5, 2017), http://www.fao.org/3/a-I7695e.pdf.
[4] Tom Miles, “Four famines mean 20 million may starve in the next six months,” Reuters(February 16, 2017), https://www.reuters.com/article/us-un-famine/four-famines-mean-20-million-may-starve-in-the-next-six-months-idUSKBN15V0ZO.
[5] Mark Woolhouse, Fiona Scott, Zoe Hudson, Richard Howey, and Margo Chase-Topping, “Human viruses: discovery and emergence,” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B 367:1604 (September 10, 2012), https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2011.0354.
[6] World Health Organization (WHO), “Antimicrobial Resistance,” News: Fact Sheets (last updated February 15, 2018), http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs194/en.
[7] U.S. Geological Survey, Earthquake Facts, http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/facts.php (accessed July 3, 2018).
[8] U.S. Geological Survey, “Search Earthquake Catalog,” Search Parameters: Magnitude = 4.0-10; Date & Time = 2017-01-01 00:00:01 to 2017-12-31 23:59:59; Geographic Region = World, https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/search (accessed February 13, 2018).
[9] Justin L. Rubinstein and Alireza Babie Mahani, “Myths and Facts on Wastewater Injection, Hydraulic Fracturing, Enhanced Oil Recovery, and Induced Seismicity,” Seismological Research Letters 86:4 (July/August 2015), https://profile.usgs.gov/myscience/upload_folder/ci2015Jun1012005755600Induced_EQs_Review.pdf.
[10] Lindy Lowry, “2015 Million Believers Face Persecution for Their Faith in Christ,” Open Doors USA (January 10, 2018), https://www.opendoorsusa.org/christian-persecution/stories/215-million-believers-persecution-for-their-faith-in-christ.
[11] Condemning the Persecution of Christians around the World, H.R. Res. 407, 115th Cong (2017), https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/115/hres407.
[12] United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, “Abortion Policies and Reproductive Health around the World,” United Nations publication, Sales No. E.14.XIII (2014):11, http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/publications/pdf/policy/AbortionPoliciesReproductiveHealth.pdf.
[13] Guttmacher Institute, “Fact Sheet: Induced Abortion Worldwide,” (March 2018), https://www.guttmacher.org/fact-sheet/induced-abortion-worldwide.
[14] ProCon.org, “Euthanasia & Physician-Assisted Suicide (PAS) around the World,” (last modified July 20, 2016), https://euthanasia.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=000136.
[15]David Masci, Elizabeth Sciupac, and Michael Lipka, “Gay Marriage around the World,” Pew Research Center, (August 8, 2017), http://www.pewforum.org/2017/08/08/gay-marriage-around-the-world-2013 (accessed July 2, 2018).
[16] Todd Johnson, Gina Zurlo, Albert Hickman, and Peter Crossing, “Christianity 2017: Five Hundred Years of Protestant Christianity,” International Bulletin of Mission Research 41, no. 1 (2017), http://www.gordonconwell.edu/ockenga/research/documents/IBMR2017.pdf.
[17] Jesus Film Project, “The History of Jesus Film Project,” https://www.jesusfilm.org/about/history.html (accessed July 2, 2018).
[18] Bible.is, http://www.Bible.is (accessed July 2, 2018).
[19] Wycliffe Global Alliance, “2017 Bible Translation Statistics FAQ: Going Deeper,” (November 2017), http://resources.wycliffe.net/statistics/Wycliffe%20Global%20Alliance%20Statistics%202017%20FAQs_EN.pdf.
[20] Yoram Schweitzer, Aviad Mendelboim, and Yotam Rosner, “Suicide Attacks in 2016: The Highest Number of Fatalities,” The Institute for National Security Studies, No. 887 (January 5, 2017), http://www.inss.org.il/publication/suicide-attacks-2016-highest-number-fatalities.
[21] Bonnie Berkowitz, Denise Lu, and Chris Alcantara, “The Terrible Numbers that Grow with Each Mass Shooting,” The Washington Post (last updated June 29, 2018), https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2018/national/mass-shootings-in-america.
[22] International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (OICA), “World Vehicles in Use by Country and Type, 2005-2015, All Vehicles,” http://www.oica.net/wp-content/uploads//Total_in-use-All-Vehicles.pdf (accessed July 2, 2018).
[23] World Health Organization (WHO) “Global Status Report on Road Safety 2015,” (2015), http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/road_safety_status/2015/en/.
[24]International Air Transport Association (IATA), “Annual Review 2017,” (June 2, 2017), http://www.iata.org/publications/pages/annual-review.aspx.
[25] Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz, “Trump to End Jerusalem’s 70-Year Exile with Historic Recognition of Capital, Embassy Move,” Breaking Israel News, (December 6, 2017), https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/98959/president-trump-end-jerusalems-70-year-exile-recognition-capital-embassy-move.
[26] T. Ben-Gai, A. Bitan, A. Manes, and P. Alpert, “Long-Term Changes in Annual Rainfall Patterns in Southern Israel,” Theoretical and Applied Climatology 49, no. 2 (June 1994): 59-67, https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00868190.
[27] Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz, “School to Train Levite Priests for Third Temple Service to Open in Jerusalem,” Breaking Israel News, (August 4, 2016), https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/73287/school-year-begins-for-third-temple-priests/#4rZjAO0mUk21Fg1C.97.
[28] Rabbi Chaim Richman, “The Red Heifer: Fact & Fiction,” The Temple Institute, https://www.templeinstitute.org/red-heifer-fact-and-fiction.htm, (accessed July 2, 2018).
Consecration
Consecration is the route to everything we receive from God. The sinner who comes to God in repentance must give his life to God and promise to serve Him with his whole heart. Then the Blood of Jesus is applied and that soul becomes a new creature in Christ. This is justification.
At that point, consecration is only begun. The converted heart desires sanctification and makes a deeper consecration, deeper than words can tell. The power of the Blood comes down and sanctifies wholly, giving the experience, which purifies the heart.
Then a still deeper consecration must be made to receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost, and it does not stop here. The Apostle Paul said: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Romans 12:1-2).
Under the Mosaic Law, the Israelites brought animals, laid them on the altar, and slew them. But Paul said that Christians are to present their bodies a living sacrifice. How can that be? Paul also said, “I die daily.” In other words, I offer myself, my service, my talents, everything I am, to the Lord daily.
Is the Lord asking too much? Sometimes it may seem God is requiring more than you are able to give, so far as your natural abilities are concerned. You see your own shortcomings and inabilities, but with God, all things are possible. The requirement is that you be willing, that you offer your life to Him, and let Him take care of it. Paul said that such consecration is “a reasonable service.” It is reasonable because the Lord paid the price of your redemption by His death.
The word consecration means, “to offer, to devote, to yield, or to set apart for some holy purpose.” God requires His people to submit to Him continually in consecration. This is what brings God’s blessing and makes Christian progress possible in our lives.
It takes heart searching to know what the Lord requires. As you yield your life to God, give Him any specific area He shows you. God demands that all be surrendered to Him—your time, your thoughts, your everything. It will abundantly pay in blessings on your own soul, to say nothing of the channel of blessing you will become to others. God will give you your desire, the deepest spiritual desire of your heart, when you make a full consecration. Let God control your mind, your heart, and your soul.
If you have anything in your life that you fear to trust into the hands of God, you have not made a complete consecration. When your consecration is complete, God may put you to the test. Then you will know if you are fully consecrated. Many have believed that they had committed all to God, but when they were put to the test, they failed to keep their offering on the altar. When you are completely consecrated, God can send you where He will, try you as He may. Your heartstrings may be wrung, but you will say, “God, I promised and I am in Your hands to do Your bidding.”
Sincere seekers will make their consecrations to God, saying in essence, “God, I dedicate my life to You and everything I have or ever expect to have.” God demands such a consecration in order that you might progress spiritually. There is grace for the one who is willing to submit to the mighty hand of God. Consecration makes room for the fullness of God by emptying out the heart.
Consecration is not a one-time, all-inclusive commitment to God. Christian living takes daily consecration. You must keep surrendered, keep your will in God’s hands and your life unspotted from the world, obeying the Word of God.
David said, “I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart” (Psalm 40:8). The most sacred place on earth, to every soul, should be in the center of the will of God. Many say they long to know His will, but they do not live in close touch and constant communion with Him. A consecrated heart and life open to God are necessary for Him to continually reveal His will. There is great joy in knowing God’s will and doing it.
Jesus’ whole delight and mission on earth were to do the Father’s will. He said, “Not my will, but thine, be done.” He knew the Cross lay before Him, and that He must give His life’s Blood for the salvation of the world, but the joy that was always before Him was to do His Father’s will.
Every child of God can make that unreserved consecration. Throw yourself into the arms of God, and yield yourself to Him. It does not matter what your failures have been. If you can get to the place where you wholly yield yourself to His will with a true and honest heart, He will give you His best and make you an instrument in His service.
God honors a holy, consecrated life. It is essential to Christian growth and will bring down God’s blessing. Consecrations made years ago will not suffice. Continuously, daily and hourly, your life must be yielded to God.
Divine Healing
We serve a miracle-working God, and we can thank God that His healing power still works today!
Does God still heal the sick? If you have ever walked through the valley of affliction, or have watched a loved one suffer in the grip of some painful or debilitating disease, you know the vital importance of the answer to this question.
In the Old Testament, we read of many instances when God performed miracles of healing. King Hezekiah was on his deathbed, but when he cried out to the Lord, God added fifteen years to his life. Naaman was healed of leprosy when he obeyed the instructions of God’s prophet, Elisha. God healed Job of terrible boils when he prayed for his friends.
When Jesus lived on earth, multitudes came to Him and were healed of all kinds of diseases and afflictions. He healed Peter’s mother-in-law of a fever. He healed the man, sick with palsy, who was let down through the roof. He cleansed the lepers, restored sight to the blind, and cast out devils. We read in Matthew 12:15 that “great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all.” Does God’s healing power still work today, or are these just Bible stories which happened thousands of years ago?
Thank God, we can be assured that the day of miracles is not past! In Hebrews 13:8, we read that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. His healing power is never exhausted. He made our bodies, and He is well able to mend and restore them. No form of illness or disease exists that He cannot heal. The most progressive methods of man may fail; the most notable achievements in the medical field still leave countless unanswered questions. Yet, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God” (Luke 18:27).
Purchased with His stripes
Disease, pain, and death entered the world when Adam and Eve sinned. However, with the curse that followed sin, God gave a promise of deliverance to mankind. Isaiah said, “With his stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5), looking hundreds of years ahead to the day when this promise was fulfilled in Jesus’ death on the Cross. With His blood Jesus paid the price, not only for our salvation and spiritual healing, but also for our physical healing. We read in Matthew 8:16,17, “When the even was come, they brought unto him [Jesus] many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.”
Jesus purchased our healing at an infinite cost. When we think of the terrible agony He suffered, we recognize how unworthy we are to receive healing from Him. However, the multitudes Jesus touched when He walked on this earth were not healed because they deserved it. They were healed because Jesus looked on them with love and compassion, and that is how He regards His children today. We read in 2 Chronicles 16:9, “For the eyes of the L ord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him.” The poorest and weakest among us may trust in the love of God and look to Him for healing.
Prayer for the sick
God’s Word gives clear instructions regarding what to do when we are afflicted. In the Book of James we read, “Is any among you afflicted? let him pray.” We have the blessed privilege of taking our physical needs to God in prayer, knowing that He hears and answers any heartcry that reaches out to Him in faith. “Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him” (James 5:13-15). Prayer over the sick should be accompanied by faith, both in the person praying and in the person being prayed for. When it is, God answers!
God wants each of us to walk in close communion with Him so He can pour His blessings upon our lives—including the blessing of healing. As we approach Him, we need to make sure that our spiritual lives are in a condition where our faith in God can take hold. We must be assured that no sin or lack of surrender to God exists in our lives. We cannot come to God demanding or hoping to earn self-shaped answers to our request by our great faith. Rather, we come basing our request upon the words Jesus expressed in His prayer, “Thy will be done.”
There may be times when God answers our prayers for healing with a supernatural act, but there may also be times when the illness or disease is not taken away immediately. God may want us to endure for a time, and this trial of our faith does not have to defeat us. In 1 Peter 1:7 we read, “That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.” If we truly trust in God, then we will offer our praise for whichever answer He sends, because we have confidence that He will choose what is best for us.
Are you afflicted today? Choose to trust in God, and He will not fail you.
Divine Healing (In Depth)
God is the Great Physician. He is the omnipotent God, the Creator, and His knowledge of the human soul, mind, and body is absolute. He has made provision for every need in the lives of human beings, and this provision includes healing of the physical body.
Sickness not in God’s original plan
There was no place for sickness or disease in the original plan of God. After completion of His work during each day of creation, God looked upon what He had done with approval and saw that “it was very good” (Genesis 1:31). The decision of our foreparents to rebel against their Creator brought terrible consequences for everyone; disease, pain, and death entered the world when Adam and Eve sinned. However, with the curse that followed sin, God gave a promise of deliverance.
Healing provided through the atonement
Jesus came to destroy the works of Satan. We read in 1 John 3:8, “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.” Along with paying the penalty for our sins, Jesus provided for our healing at an infinite cost. The prophet Isaiah describes the sufferings of Christ in great detail, saying, “Surely he hath borne [lifted or taken away] our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted” (Isaiah 53:4). The word translated griefs is the same word used in reference to physical sickness and disease in 2 Chronicles 16:12; 21:15,18-19, and Isaiah 38:9. Sorrowsis the same word used in Job 33:19 to denote physical pain. So this verse could be translated, “Surely he hath borne our sicknesses and carried our pain.”
Isaiah continues, “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5). The verb healed, meaning “to mend or cure,” has a connotation of being made whole. While the prophet seemingly saw the picture of Christ’s future suffering in such clarity that he spoke of it in the past tense, he indicated that with His stripes we “are healed,” the verb tense reflecting an ongoing or continuing action. Thus, the prophet foretold that with His blood, Jesus would pay the price not only for our salvation and spiritual healing, but also for our physical healing.
In the New Testament, the Apostle Peter quoted from Isaiah’s prophecy. “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed” (1 Peter 2:24). In stating that Jesus’ stripes brought healing, Peter used the Greek word iaomai. In the vast majority of cases throughout the New Testament where this word is used, it indicates physical healing. (The only two exceptions, where the word could possibly be referencing spiritual healing, are Matthew 13:15 and John 12:40, both of which are quoting from Isaiah 6:9-10.)
The Apostle Matthew also quoted from Isaiah’s prophecy. We read in Matthew 8:16-17, “When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.” Isaiah had prophesied that the Messiah’s stripes would avail for humanity’s healing. Matthew simply recorded that Jesus fulfilled this prophecy by physically healing the sick, giving definite proof that both Isaiah and Peter were talking about physical healing. Matthew used two specific words to make clear this truth: infirmities (from the Greek word astheneias, meaning the “consequences of sickness”) and diseases (from the Greek word nosous, meaning “sicknesses”).
The fact that Jesus healed people of physical ailments before giving His life on the cross does not negate the fact that healing was provided through the Atonement, as Scripture records that Jesus also forgave sins before His death on the cross. (See Matthew 9:2,6-7; Luke 7:48-50.) Healings that took place prior to Christ’s crucifixion foreshadowed the price that would be paid at Calvary, just as healings that take place in our day look back in faith to that event.
Healing in the Old Testament
In the Old Testament, we find many references to God’s power and willingness to heal. God gave the first recorded promise of divine healing soon after He brought the Israelites out of bondage in Egypt, telling them, “I am the Lord that healeth thee” (Exodus 15:26), and this promise was subsequently repeated (see Deuteronomy 7:15; Proverbs 4:20-22).
A number of the types or foreshadowing of Christ in the Old Testament relate to healing and atonement in conjunction with one another. For example, at the time of the Passover, the Israelites were commanded to slay the Passover lamb—the lamb symbolizing the Perfect Sacrifice who would one day come. They were to put its blood on the doorposts, and were promised that the blood of the lamb would save them from death. They were also instructed to eat the body of the lamb, and this would give them strength and health for their flight from Egypt. Psalm 105:37 says that when they came out, “there was not one feeble person among their tribes.” The blood of the lamb availed! In 1 Corinthians 5:7, Christ is referred to as the Passover Lamb—pointing to the fact that Jesus’ blood purchased our salvation and the stripes He bore on His body purchased our healing.
When the Children of Israel sinned and God sent poisonous snakes among them to punish the people for their unbelief and complaining, a remedy was offered. Moses was commanded to make a bronze serpent and lift it up on a pole so that any Israelite who had been bitten could look upon it and be healed (see Numbers 21:5-9). In John 3:14, Jesus specifically referred to the bronze serpent in the wilderness as a foreshadowing of His crucifixion. Just as the Israelites were healed of their physical sickness when they looked to the serpent suspended above them, humanity can be delivered from the spiritual sickness of sin by looking to Jesus’ death on Calvary.
The Old Testament records many miracles of healing and even raising of the dead. For example, a dead child was restored back to life through the prayer of the prophet Elijah (1 Kings 17:22). Naaman the leper received healing when he obeyed the command of Elisha to wash seven times in the Jordan River (2 Kings 5:1-14). God healed King Hezekiah in response to his prayer, and added fifteen years to his life (2 Kings 20:6).
In Psalm 103, the Psalmist David gives praise for the fact that God “healeth all thy diseases” (Psalm 103:3). In other psalms, too, both physical and spiritual healing are referenced as coming from God.
A picture of spiritual healing
Throughout Scripture, physical healing is often used as a picture of spiritual healing. The Psalmist proclaimed, “He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds” (Psalm 147:3). The prophet Jeremiah, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, spoke of a day of hope for Israel, promising, “I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds” (Jeremiah 30:17).
As Hosea decried the terrible moral and spiritual decay of God’s chosen people, he pled with them to return to God, saying, “Come, and let us return unto the Lord: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up” (Hosea 6:1). In the closing verses of the Old Testament, the prophet Malachi spoke of a day of destruction for the proud and the wicked, but promised that to those who fear God’s name, “The Sun of righteousness [shall] arise with healing in his wings” (Malachi 4:2).
Jesus’ ministry of healing
When Jesus walked on this earth, He did not minister only to the spiritual needs of the people; a great portion of His ministry involved healing those who were physically afflicted. Miracles of healing were an important part of the works God sent Jesus to do (John 9:3-4). Eye-witness accounts in the New Testament show that Jesus’ ministry included both divine healing and the forgiveness of sins.
Jesus’ power to heal was, in fact, a proof of His authority to forgive sins—His miracles of healing authenticated His teaching and preaching, showing that He truly was from God. In Mark 2:1-12, we read how four friends brought a palsied man to the Lord. They were so consumed with their mission that they tore apart the roof of the place where Jesus was teaching in order to lower the sick man down in front of the Lord. No doubt the paralyzed man was anticipating that he would be healed. The four friends who brought him would have had that same anticipation. Perhaps they were surprised when the first words out of Jesus’ mouth were, “Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.” In fact, this man was paralyzed more than in his body—he was paralyzed in his soul! Jesus spoke to the greater need first.
To the Jewish leaders present, Jesus’ words were blasphemy; they knew that only God could forgive sins. However, Jesus’ claim to divine authority was true, and He subsequently proved His claim. He said to them, “Why reason ye these things in your hearts? Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house” (Mark 2:8-11). Immediately the paralyzed man stood to his feet, took up his bed, and “went forth before them all.”
At other times also, healings helped to identify Jesus as the promised Messiah and Savior. When John the Baptist was imprisoned, he began to experience doubt as to whether Jesus really was the Promised One, and wondered if they should look for another. Jesus responded by calling attention to the “things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised. . . ” (Luke 7:22). He knew that these miracles—observable deeds, not theories—were the very acts that the prophets had said the Messiah would do (see Isaiah 35:5-6; 61:1).
Again and again, references to Jesus’ miracles of healing are paralleled by references to His preaching of the Kingdom of God. For example, we read in Matthew 4:23, “And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.” The teaching and preaching aspect of Jesus’ ministry reflected His concern for wholeness of the spiritual man; the healing aspect of His ministry reflected His concern for wholeness of the physical man.
As word spread of Jesus’ ministry, multitudes came from all directions both to hear Him and to be healed. He never turned any away, but undertook for all who came to Him (Matthew 12:15; 14:14). He cleansed the lepers, restored sight to the blind, gave hearing to the deaf, and speech to the mute. He cast out devils, cured fevers, and even raised the dead. No sickness or disease was beyond His ability to cure.
Divine healing available today
The healing ministry of Christ did not end with His earthly life; it is part of His work in the Church today. Jesus himself promised, “And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They 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” (Mark 16:17-18). And this has been the case, for many were healed during the days of the Early Church and also since that time, as recorded in the history of the true Church to the present day.
Jesus’ promise at the time of His ascension is closely connected with prayer and asking in Christ’s name (see John 14:12-14; 16:23-24). The disciples, working in the power of the Holy Spirit, were to take the message of the Gospel of God’s Kingdom into the whole world, but it had to be in His name—that is, according to God’s character and His will. Requests made in His name, including those for healing, must be in line with His desires and eternal purpose on earth.
From Genesis to Revelation, God has shown His supernatural power, and His Word states repeatedly that He does not and will not change. We read in Hebrews 13:8 that Jesus Christ is the same “yesterday, and to day, and for ever.” He made our bodies, and He is well able to mend and restore them. No form of illness or disease exists that He cannot heal, for “the things which are impossible with men are possible with God” (Luke 18:27). He is still a God of miracles. His power to heal is still the same today as it was when He walked this earth—it spans all of time, from the dawn of creation until this very day. Thank God, we can be assured that divine healing is still available today!
Causes of sickness
The Fall of Man resulted in terrible consequences for all humanity—we live in a world where evil impacts the health and welfare of every individual. Adam and Eve’s decision not to follow God brought upon mankind the realities of sickness, aging, accidents, and other physical calamities. Intemperate living and sinful lifestyles have also led to human illness in many forms: addictions, diseases, some types of mental and emotional disturbances, stress-related conditions, etc. Because of the Fall, even those who obey and serve God are not immune to sickness, disease, and affliction.
Some theologians suggest that God imposes, or at least permits, sickness and disease as punishment for wrong actions. At times, this may be the case (see Genesis 19:11; Exodus 9:8-11; 2 Kings 5:26-27; Acts 13:10-11). However, there are numerous other reasons given in Scripture for why affliction occurs. There is the normal decline of physical health that occurs in conjunction with old age (see Genesis 48:10 and 2 Samuel 19:35). Job was declared “perfect and upright” in the sight of God, yet God allowed Satan to afflict him tremendously. Job’s friends wrongly assumed that suffering always came as a result of sin, and tried to persuade Job to repent. God had a purpose behind Job’s suffering that was not related to failure in his personal life.
Sickness may be the result of rigorous duties. Paul’s companion in the Gospel, Epaphroditus, was “sick nigh unto death…for the work of Christ.” In other words, his illness was not due to any sin in his life, but because the work of the ministry was so demanding (see Philippians 2:25-30).
At times, affliction may be permitted as a means of displaying God’s power to observers. When Jesus’ disciples saw a man who had been blind from his birth, they asked Him who had sinned, the man or his parents, to cause him to be born blind. Jesus answered, “Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him” (John 9:3). When word came to Jesus that Lazarus, a beloved friend, was ill, Jesus said that his sickness was not unto death, “but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby” (John 11:4). Another time, through the healing of Aeneas’ paralysis, the entire cities of Lydda and Saron turned to the Lord (see Acts 9:34-35).
Affliction allowed for personal spiritual gain
Sometimes God permits affliction to come into the life of a child of God for the purpose of that person’s personal spiritual growth or refinement, rather than for the benefit of others. David said, “It is good for me that I have been afflicted” (Psalm 119:71). He recognized that he could be strengthened and perfected by going through trials.
Although the Apostle Paul was a man of faith and spiritual power, he had to endure affliction. Some have suggested that Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” was intense bodily pain, or a chronic physical problem. Whatever its nature, this thorn was a distress in Paul’s life and he prayed three times for its removal. God refused, but He let Paul know that the trial would be accompanied by the enduring grace of God. (See 2 Corinthians 12:7-10.)
Scripture offers many other reasons why suffering may come to a Christian. Some of these include:
Requirements for receiving healing
Serving God does not bring an assurance of a trial-free life. Rather, the Gospel promises adversity, challenges, sickness, and affliction, so believers need to know what to do when these events occur. Clearly, when our faith is anchored in the Great Physician, we will turn to Him in prayer.
A study of Jesus’ healing ministry reveals some spiritual requirements necessary for receiving physical healing. In most cases, a desire to be healed is expressed, either by the individual himself or by the one bringing that individual to the Lord. In Matthew 20:30-33, we read of two blind men sitting by the wayside who heard that Jesus was passing by. They cried out to Him for mercy. We read, “And Jesus stood still, and called them, and said, What will ye that I shall do unto you?” When they responded that they wanted their eyes to be opened, He “had compassion on them, and touched their eyes: and immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed him.” Jesus asked a similar question of blind Bartimaeus (see Mark 10:51). When the Lord approached the lame man by the pool of Bethesda, He asked him, “Wilt thou be made whole?” (John 5:6). When the answer was affirmative, Jesus healed him.
A desire for God’s divine intervention must be accompanied by a belief that God is able to heal. When Jesus was approached by a Roman centurion on behalf of his servant who was “grievously tormented,” He agreed to come and heal the servant. However, the centurion said he was unworthy to have Christ come under his roof, and indicated that if Jesus would just say the word, he knew his servant would be healed. Jesus commended the centurion’s faith, and responded, “Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee.” The servant was healed “in the selfsame hour.” (See Matthew 8:5-13.)
We find many other examples of times when faith was a key component of a miraculous healing. The woman with an issue of blood exemplified faith when she pressed through the crowd to touch the hem of Jesus’ garment. His response to her was, “Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole” (Matthew 9:22). He asked two blind men who approached Him for healing, “Believe ye that I am able to do this?” When they responded that they did believe, He touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith be it unto you” (Matthew 9:28-29).
Peter and John testified to the efficacy of faith after healing the lame man at the gate of the temple, saying, “And his [Jesus’] name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all” (Acts 3:16).
The Bible makes it clear that from the beginning, faith in God must also be accompanied by a willingness to obey Him. In Exodus 15:26, Moses told the Children of Israel, “If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the Lord that healeth thee.” The same principle was repeated to God’s people in Deuteronomy 7:12,15.
We find numerous examples in the accounts of Jesus’ ministry when He required people to take an action that would demonstrate their submission to and faith in Him. For example, a lame man was commanded, “Rise, take up thy bed, and walk” (John 5:8), a blind man was told to wash in the pool of Siloam (John 9:7), and Lazarus was told to “come forth” (John 11:43).
Instructions for the sick
In James 5:13-15, God’s Word gives clear instructions regarding what to do when we are sick. We read, “Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.”
James discusses the proper response to affliction (any type of assault from the devil) and to times when the heart is merry. Then he asks the question, “Is any sick among you?” At this point, he is being specific with regard to health issues. Our duty in those times is noted here: we are to “call for the elders of the church.” The Bible puts the burden on the sick person to approach the ministry and request prayer. He takes the first step by indicating his desire to follow God’s Word in this matter.
The question may arise, “How sick should one be before calling the ministry?” We should call sooner rather than later, because doing so is a Bible commandment. We need support when we face illness, and we need not carry this burden alone. We can benefit by obeying this commandment. It is a blessing!
The healing process outlined in these verses specifically involves the “elders”—the ministry, or mature spiritual leaders of the church. The ministers are told to anoint the sick individual with oil. The oil itself carries no supernatural or curative powers, but is used in anointing to symbolize the out-pouring of God’s Spirit. The oil has been consecrated by prayer—ministers prayed over it and asked God to use it for His glory—and that is what is used to anoint the sick.
The anointing is done in the name of the Lord, by the authority of the instructions given in God’s Holy Word. The ministers do not pray for the sick in their own name, spiritual strength, or ability. They want the attention and the glory to go to God, for only God can heal—they simply act in obedience to His Word. They take a bit of that oil on a finger, put it across the sick individual’s forehead, and acknowledge that they pray in the name of the Lord. They place their hands on the head of the sick individual, and pray a simple prayer asking God to undertake and to heal.
It is a prayer of faith—a prayer of expectation and reliance on God. It is also a prayer of yielding to God. It is implied that when we come for prayer we are asking for God’s will, for faith is based on submission to Him. In our hearts we say, “God, if You will get more glory out of me remaining sick than being healed, I submit to your sovereignty. That is not what I prefer, but Thy will be done.” As the ministers and the sick individual pray together, they look Heaven’s way and submit to God’s will. Thus, the “prayer of faith” is a peaceful assurance that He will do that which is most for His glory and the sick one’s ultimate good.
There may be times when healing does not come because of some spiritual hindrance. Scripture indicates that a lack of faith (James 1:6-7), the need for prayer and fasting (Mark 9:28-29), sin or disobedience in the life (Jeremiah 5:25), or seeking with a wrong motive (James 4:3) can all stand in the way of an answer to prayer. Yet, a lack of instant healing is not necessarily an indication that any of these conditions exist. It may be that instantaneous healing is not the will of God in a particular case.
While we do not know how God will answer in each case, Scripture indicates that extraordinary cures will occur. In James 5:17, we read that Elijah was a “man subject to like passions as we are” and God answered Elijah’s prayer. Thus, while “thy will be done” is implied, it is also implied that God will give uncommon results to common people who pray. God will be glorified by the healing of bodies. James concludes his instructions by saying, “And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; if he has committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.” If that person’s heart is reaching God’s way and he confesses his sins, God promises to forgive.
Medical care a personal choice
In today’s society, the general public gives no thought to God’s power to heal, immediately seeking professional care when becoming ill or afflicted. In opposition to that mindset, some Christians may be inclined to equate trusting God with a refusal of professional medical care. We do not need to discredit the medical profession in order to believe and teach the Bible doctrine of divine healing—a doctrine which stands on its own merit. The acceptance or refusal of medical care is a personal choice, not a Bible doctrine. The Bible doctrine is divine healing.
We believe and teach that the Lord is the Great Physician. It is also true that the Bible indicts King Asa because, when he was afflicted, “he sought not to the Lord, but to the physicians” (2 Chronicles 16:12). However, we also note that King Asa had previously sought help from Syria in an act of unbelief and disobedience (see 2 Chronicles 16:7). Thus, he was condemned because he refused to seek the Lord, not because he solicited the assistance of physicians. (Some commentators indicate that the physicians in this case may have been heathen physicians who resorted to magic.)
The woman who had the issue of blood “had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse” (Mark 5:26). If it had been wrong for her to seek the assistance of the medical experts of her day, Jesus would no doubt have pointed that out. Instead, He accepted the faith in Him that she expressed and commended her for it. Even today, God has performed many well-documented miracles for those who have been pronounced “incurable” by doctors. Many times, medical professionals themselves have expressed amazement at what their own tests have clearly substantiated was an act of divine intervention.
As Christians, we should support and pray for one who chooses to seek medical care in the same way we support and pray for one who chooses not to obtain medical care. It does not pay to make the refusal of professional care a cornerstone of our faith; it pays to make the doctrine of divine healing a cornerstone of our faith. We may find ourselves in a situation where we have no choice but to obtain care, or where it seems to be the best decision to solicit that care. We must build our faith upon the Word of God, not upon personal choices.
Ministers of the Gospel are often called upon to pray for saints of God facing health issues, including surgery. It is a privilege to go into a hospital before such procedures and pray with them. Those people have faith! Their trust is in God, so we must not equate the solicitation of medical help with an abandoning of Him. The Bible says, “Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is” (Jeremiah 17:7). Choosing professional medical care does not automatically mean one is abandoning God; looking to medical science instead of God would be. Ministers pray for the sick with anticipation that God will heal, and if they remain sick, that God will encourage their faith as they continue to rely upon Him.
Medical science has made amazing advances in recent years, both in the understanding and treatment of disease. However, man’s ability to restore health is still limited. At best, doctors and medical treatment may assist the human body in renewing the natural healing power invested in it by the Creator. God can heal in conjunction with medical help, but He also can and often does heal miraculously, without any human intervention. No matter what means God uses to perform the miracle of healing, Jesus is always the Healer (Exodus 15:26). He alone is to receive the glory for any manifestation of the power of God (Acts 3:12; 14:11-15).
How to endure in time of affliction
There may be times when God answers prayers for healing, but there may also be times when illness or disease is not taken away immediately. God may want us to endure for a while, but this trial of our faith does not have to defeat us. In 1 Peter 1:7 we read, “That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.” The miracle of continuing faith and grace amid the fires of testing is no less a mighty act of God than the miracle of instantaneous healing which causes the world to marvel. God may want to provide solutions that will strengthen and make whole the spiritual man, rather than the physical man. It is the miraculous work of God which makes triumphant, overcoming Christians—and at times, the endurance of affliction is part of that process.
As we grasp by faith the fact that God’s ways are best, there are some steps we can take to cooperate with Him in the process He is working out in our lives and to overcome any attempt of Satan to defeat us.
Perfect healing will come
It is true that following these suggestions may not be easy, but we can be sure of this: the God who loves us understands what a struggle it can be for us to lift our eyes away from the circumstances of our personal battle and fix them on Him. And He is there to supply help and strength for whatever we face. When the enemy comes in like a flood, we are assured that “the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him” (Isaiah 59:19). God may bring relief through an instantaneous healing, but if that is not His plan, He will be there to encourage, to comfort, and to sustain us in the way that He has ordained for us. He has offered to “walk with us,” yoked together with us in our sickness, grief, and pain (see Matthew 11:29).
If you are still coping with pain and waiting for healing, there is hope. Your healing is coming; perhaps sooner, perhaps later. We know that God has a time and a season for everything (see Ecclesiastes 3). The Psalmist tells us, “The steps of a good man are ordered [prepared; appointed] by the Lord” (Psalm 37:23), and you can be certain that God is going to do something on this healing journey of yours. If His plan is to touch you and remove the affliction that you are experiencing, rejoice in that deliverance. If a period of suffering is to be endured, recognize that He will use it for ultimate good.
Whatever the case, remember that when Christ reigns supreme, there will be no more sickness, no more suffering, no more sorrow, and no more death. Someday, no matter what you are facing in this life, perfect healing will come!
Financial Stewardship
How to handle our money matters God’s way.
God considers financial stewardship of vital importance. How do we regard this responsibility?
We live in a society inundated by appeals for finances. While giving is clearly a part of God’s plan for His followers, Biblical instruction must be the basis for how we give to God and His work. As a starting point, we must understand that when God teaches us how to handle our finances, He is not doing so to get our money. He is trying to help us benefit by what we have, and by what He gives in response to how we handle what we have. In a nutshell, God’s principles are designed to make us succeed in God’s eyes. He desires to use us—and that includes our finances—in fruitful ways.
God considers financial stewardship of vital importance. It might surprise some to learn that it is a dominant subject in the Bible. Over 450 separate Biblical passages concern proper handling of financial issues. Sixteen of Jesus’ thirty-eight parables mention the handling of money and possessions. God gave us these Scriptures about money matters, because our attitude toward money matters!
Tithing is the cornerstone
Let’s examine what Scripture says about giving. The cornerstone of God’s plan for financing His work is tithing—the returning to God of ten percent of our increase. We first read about tithing in the book of Genesis, where we find the patriarch Abram paying tithes to Melchizedek, king of Salem (Genesis 14:20), and Jacob vowing to give a tenth to God (Genesis 28:22). More than 400 years later, when God instituted the Law for the Children of Israel, tithing was part of the divine instructions. In Leviticus 27:30,32, we read: “And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord’s: it is holy unto the Lord. . . . And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, . . . the tenth shall be holy unto the Lord.” The tithe was given for a specific purpose: to support the work of God. In Numbers 18:21 we read, “And, behold, I have given the children of Levi [those who performed the religious functions of their worship ceremonies] all the tenth in Israel for an inheritance, for their service which they serve, even the service of the tabernacle of the congregation.”
The tithes are not only a provision that God has made for the maintenance of His work, but they also indicate a recognition on our part that all of our blessings in life come from the Giver of every good and perfect gift (James 1:17). Thus, when we pay our tithes, it should be with a heart of gratitude and a spirit of thankfulness.
The Prophet Malachi reinforced the importance of tithing by informing Israel that failure to pay tithes was comparable to robbing God. We read, “Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings” (Malachi 3:8). When this charge was brought against the Children of Israel, they seemed to be entirely unaware that their failure to bring in their tithes had brought on blighted crops, physical affliction, and oppression by their enemies. What a contrast their condition was to the blessings promised to those who fulfill this divine mandate. Malachi went on to say, “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, . . . and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it”
(Malachi 3:10).
In the New Testament, Matthew 23:23 shows us that the tithing principle was approved of and supported by Jesus. He rebuked the Pharisees for not practicing judgment, mercy and faith, though they were paying the tithe. He stated clearly, “These ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other [the paying of the tithe] undone.”
Offerings: commanded and commended
Tithing is unquestionably part of our responsibility toward God, but does faithfully giving ten percent of our income back to God fulfill our financial responsibility toward Him and His work? Careful inspection of Scripture indicates that offerings given in addition to the tithe are also commanded in both the Old and New Testaments.
The Lord told Moses, the leader of Israel, “Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take my offering” (Exodus 25:2). The word terumah, which was translated offering, actually means a “freewill offering.” Deuteronomy 16:16,17, records another instruction given to the Children of Israel. Three times a year, at certain prescribed feasts, the men were to come before the Lord. We read, “They shall not appear before the Lord empty: Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord thy God which he hath given thee.” The writer of Proverbs says, “Honor the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase” (Proverbs 3:9), and this specifically referred to the minchah, or gratitude offering, commanded under the Law.
The theme of freewill offering is restated in numerous places in the New Testament. Jesus, in His Sermon on the Mount, told the people, “When thou doest thine alms . . .” Note that He said “when,” not “if.” In Luke 6:38, Jesus instructed His followers, “Give, and it shall be given unto you.” In Luke 11:41,42 we read Christ’s words, “Give alms of such things as ye have.” This clearly was in addition to tithes, for He goes on to say, “Ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, . . .” Paul taught the principle of freewill giving to the Early Church, instructing them, “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give . . .” (2 Corinthians 9:7). This does not imply that giving itself is optional, but rather, just the amount.
Giving more than our surplus
Is it sufficient to just give what we can comfortably offer from our monthly income? The answer to this question is found in Luke 21:1-4, the familiar story of Jesus observing “the rich men” and the “poor widow” putting their gifts into the treasury. Jesus said that although the widow gave only two mites, she put in “more than they all.” Why? Because she gave from her poverty, while they gave from their abundance. Jesus commends giving that affects our lifestyle, no matter what the amount. If we give only out of our surplus, we’ve missed the point. Biblical charity is more than offering just what we could afford to do without anyway.
Paul could have stressed tithing, and as a former Pharisee, might even have been expected to do so. But in 1 Corinthians 16:1-4, when speaking about the needs of God’s people in Jerusalem, he does not mention tithing. Instead, he instructs the believers to set aside gifts “as God hath prospered him”—in other words, in keeping with their income. In 2 Corinthians 8:3, he encourages the same group of believers to emulate the believers in Macedonia, who gave as much as they were able, and beyond. So, how much should we give? The New Testament does not dictate a prescribed percentage, but it is clear that we are to give of our living, not just of our surplus.
We cannot outgive God. He will bless our lives as we follow the instructions He has given. Acts 2:44-47 tells us that the early Christians who gave of their substance to God enjoyed gladness, singleness of heart, and favor with all the people. Is that what we are experiencing in our lives? If our enthusiasm for giving is more a joyless “have to” than a joyful privilege, then perhaps it is time to examine our commitment to Christ.
Forgiveness A vital necessity.
We may never suffer what Corrie did, but all of us encounter situations where forgiveness is needed. How will we respond?
Corrie ten Boom lived through the horrors of the Holocaust and came out more than a survivor; she came out a victor. Having chosen to help the Jews by hiding them in their home, her whole family perished at the hands of the Nazis. After the war, Corrie traveled and spoke to thousands of people, telling of her experiences and teaching on God’s gift of forgiveness and salvation.
One evening, after concluding her message, the very officer who had been in charge of her sister, Betsie’s, torture and death walked up to her. It was the first time since Corrie’s release that she had been face to face with one of her captors and her blood seemed to freeze. He told her that he had been a guard at Ravensbruck, but since that time had become a Christian. “I know that God has forgiven me for the cruel things I did there,” he said, “but I would like to hear it from your lips as well. Will you forgive me?”
For a long moment, Corrie stood there. Her beloved sister had died in that terrible place. Could this man erase her slow terrible death simply for the asking? The moments seemed like hours as she wrestled with the most difficult thing she had ever had to do. But she knew that forgiveness is an act of the will, and she prayed silently, “Jesus, help me!” Finally, woodenly, mechanically, she thrust her hand into the one stretched out to her.
She tells what happened in her own words: “As I did, an incredible thing took place. The current started in my shoulder, raced down my arm, sprang into our joined hands. And then this healing warmth seemed to flood my whole being, bringing tears to my eyes. ‘I forgive you, brother!’ I cried. ‘With all my heart!’ For a long moment we grasped each other’s hands, the former guard and former prisoner. I had never known God’s love so intensely as I did then.”
Forgiveness is needed
Though few of us will face a challenge equivalent to what Corrie ten Boom faced that day, all of us encounter situations where forgiveness is needed. Offenses may range from minor irritations in marriage to infidelity, from hasty words spoken by parents to years of child abuse. They may occur on the playground, in the classroom, on the job, in the church. Whether it is an apparent slight of a friend or deliberate mistreatment, everyone faces circumstances that demand forgiveness. And each new situation requires a new decision to do so.
Many people carry grudges for years. They may have been wronged, falsely accused, or mistreated. They may think they have good grounds for the feelings that are down in their hearts. However the Bible gives no excuse for resentment, ill will, or lack of forgiveness, no matter what the provocation may be.
What forgiveness is
Forgiveness is something intensely personal. It affects the way we relate to God and interact with others. One way we can begin to understand forgiveness is by looking at what it is not. It is not a cover-up or game of pretense. It is not teeth-gritting determination to overlook or minimize an offense. It is not passive waiting until the problem diminishes. It is not tolerance—just excusing the rude driver or the person who grabs the parking place you were heading for. Forgiveness is not ignoring the past, it is facing up to the past and choosing to start over with the person who hurt you. Forgiveness releases a legitimate debt. It means ceasing to allow feelings of resentment against an offender—letting go of our right to hurt back.
All of us need forgiveness. We were born sinners and have no chance of entering Heaven without being forgiven. Even after we are saved and delivered from sin, we find it necessary to be forgiven for unwise decisions, inappropriate words, and errors. Jesus said, “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matthew 6:14-15). He was telling us that if we want to be forgiven, we must forgive.
Yet, does knowing we must forgive make it easy? We may think it is our right at least to let the other person know he has hurt us. Perhaps the hurt is so deep that forgiveness seems an impossibility.
Jesus said in Matthew 18:35 that we must forgive from our hearts. How is that possible when the heart rebels against it? At times there is no easy way to have a forgiving heart. The only route is through prayer. Some people have found it necessary to pray earnestly over a period of some time for a true spirit of forgiveness. Then sometimes more prayers must be prayed to retain that spirit. How quickly the enemy would slide the bitterness back inside!
No, forgiveness is not easy. Often our ability to forgive others is tied directly to the seriousness of the offense. If it is just a slight offense, we find it relatively easy to forgive. If the wrong was serious or the pain very deep, it is much harder to forgive. However, refusing to forgive others is like tying a rope around our spiritual “necks.” If we refuse to forgive, the knot gets tighter and tighter. When we forgive, we are released and set free.
The result of an unforgiving spirit
What is the result if we do not forgive? The Bible says that we should watch diligently “lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled” (Hebrews 12:15). Without forgiveness, bitterness grows in the heart. At some point, that resentment will spill out. It may come tagged onto an unrelated disagreement, or result in a hard attitude toward someone. Whatever form it takes, the bitterness will grow. If unresolved, it will result in a person’s standing before God unforgiven. What a price to pay!
An unforgiving spirit will also hinder our prayers. Jesus warned: “When ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses” (Mark 11:25). This message is included in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, where He said directly, “If ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matthew 6:15). What a warning!
Although forgiving does not instantly solve the complications of every situation, it frees us to work on those situations with God’s help and wisdom. It helps us lay down the defense of ourselves, and endeavor to find solutions.
Jesus’ example
Jesus himself is the best example of a forgiving heart. Sinless and holy, He was falsely accused, beaten, and nailed to the Cross. In His dying agony He cried, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). If we want to follow Him, we must seek to follow His example.
One time, Peter asked the Lord how often he should forgive his brother. He suggested seven times, as though that would be a bountiful number. Jesus answered, “I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven” (Matthew 18:22). Four hundred ninety times! Someone may come and ask our forgiveness, and we may reply, “I will forgive you, but . . .” God does not make any exceptions in forgiveness. If we forgive our enemies, those who despitefully use and persecute us, we will have a reward from our Father in Heaven. If we love and befriend only those who love and befriend us, we are no better than sinners, for they do that.
If we have done some wrong to someone else, it is necessary to seek forgiveness. “Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift” (Matthew 5:23-24).
Some have made restitution but never received forgiveness. If we have done all in our power to make things right, obeying God’s instructions, then there is nothing more we can do. If we cannot achieve reconciliation after we have humbled ourselves and made confession, we can leave the situation in God’s hands. He will handle it from there.
The Bible does not tell us to question who is right and who is wrong. The all-important issue is getting wrongs made right, if possible. It takes the love of God in the heart to do that. Our personalities are not all alike, and some people are difficult to get along with. We need to overlook others’ mistakes and shortcomings. We all have something that others must tolerate in us. God will honor us if we have a spirit of forbearance, love, and forgiveness.
An unforgiving spirit is a tool of the enemy of our souls. He uses it effectively to drive people from God. Let’s defeat Satan rather than allow him to defeat us. Choose to seek God for a forgiving heart.
Hell
Prayer
Restitution
Salvation (In Depth)
God extends the offer of salvation and eternal life in Heaven to every individual. Each person must choose whether or not he will accept God’s offer.
What is salvation?
Salvation is the act of God’s grace by which man receives forgiveness for his sins and stands before God as though he had never committed them. This experience is made possible by the death of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, on the Cross. In fact, the word salvation comes from the Greek word meaning “redeemer” or “saviour.” When Christ was born, the angels proclaimed, “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour” (Luke 2:11). Christ’s sole purpose in coming to earth was to bring salvation to the human family through His sacrificial death.
In a letter to believers at Corinth, Paul the Apostle makes it clear that Christ’s death for the salvation of humanity is the very foundation of the Gospel message. “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).
Why is salvation necessary?
In the beginning of time, God created the first man and woman on earth, Adam and Eve. They enjoyed perfect fellowship with God, walking and talking with Him, and living pure and joyful lives in a beautiful garden that supplied all of their needs. God created Adam and Eve as free moral agents—they had the ability and liberty to choose whether or not to obey Him. His only rule for them was that they were not to eat the fruit of a certain tree: the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. In spite of knowing there was a penalty for disobedience (Genesis 2:17), they chose to ignore God’s warning and to eat from the forbidden tree. Through this act of deliberate rebellion against God, sin entered into their hearts. Since God can have nothing to do with sin, their sin separated them from Him. Theologians call this initial disobedience in the Garden, “The Fall of Man.”
The descendants of Adam and Eve—every person born into this world—inherited the sinful nature of their ancestors. Instead of coming into the world desiring to do right, each individual is born with a natural inclination toward evil. We read in Romans 3:23 that “all have sinned and come short
of the glory of God.” Sin is not simply a catalog of committed transgressions, but a condition out of which individual acts of wrongdoing are generated.
Sin may be obvious or subtle, but it always separates from God. The prophet Isaiah indicated this in Isaiah 59:2, “But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.” The ultimate result of sin is death and separation from God for eternity. Since all people in their natural state are sinners, all people are doomed to eternal death. However, God in His mercy and infinite goodness provided salvation through Jesus Christ as a way for humanity to escape sin’s awful consequences and to be united with God in loving communion.
God’s plan for man’s salvation
Sin and guilt are inseparable, so the sinner stands guilty and condemned before God. God’s perfect righteousness and absolute justice demands a penalty be paid for sin. According to Romans 6:23, “the wages of sin is death”—physical death, spiritual death (separation from God), and eternal death (eternal separation from God with no hope of ever experiencing His saving grace).
God’s plan from the “foundation of the world” (Hebrews 9:26) was to send His Son, Jesus Christ, to pay the penalty of sin. Only a perfect and guiltless person could satisfy the justice of God in making payment for humanity’s sins. Because Christ was sinless, He could “taste death for every man” (Hebrews 2:9), and pay the atoning price for their sins. In His amazing love and compassion for us, Christ willingly gave His life on the Cross of Calvary, suffering its cruel, agonizing death so that we could be saved from sin and its consequences. He died in our place that we might have forgiveness for sins through His shed Blood. When a repentant sinner comes to God and by faith confesses his belief that Jesus is the Son of God who died for all mankind, he will experience salvation.
Three days after Christ’s sacrificial death, He arose from the grave and walked on earth once more! That amazing fact was documented by hundreds of people who saw Jesus after His Resurrection. Now, He lives in Heaven with God.
Terminology relating to salvation
There are many terms used in Scripture that refer to the same work of grace.
Justification — To be justified is to be judicially pardoned by God and thus absolved from the penalty of sin. Justification, the opposite of condemnation, occurs when God cancels the guilt and forgives the transgressions of a sinner. We read in Romans 5:1, “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” God looks upon the sacrifice Jesus made on Calvary, and accepts that sacrifice as a substitute for the repentant sinner paying his own penalty. For Christ’s sake, God forgives the sinner, blots out his transgressions, and in so doing, justifies him.
Saved/Salvation — In Acts 16:30, we read that the Philippian jailer fell before Paul and Silas and inquired in desperation, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” The word saved comes from a Greek word meaning “delivered” or “made whole.” The angel of the Lord who appeared to Joseph told him that Mary would bring forth a Child conceived by the Holy Ghost, and declared, “Thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).
Conversion — Jesus used the word converted when He instructed His disciples, “Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3). To be converted means “to be changed from one purpose or use to another.” As an example, a current trend in areas where housing is at a premium is to convert buildings that were once industrial buildings or warehouses into apartments. The inside is completely changed; only the outer dimensions of the structure remain the same. That building has been converted—changed completely—from one purpose to another. When a person is converted, he is changed completely by the power of God.
Atonement — In Romans 5:11, we read, “We also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.” The word atonement means “exchange; restoration to divine favor.” It refers to the reconciliation between God and humanity, accomplished through the death of Jesus Christ on the Cross. The same word is translated reconciliation in most places in the New Testament. The only way a person can be saved is through faith in the atoning work of Christ on Calvary.
Reconciliation — Sin corrupted the moral nature of humanity, and thus the original state of every person born into this world is rebellion against his Creator. Reconciliation needs to take place—agreement and harmony must be restored—but a person cannot approach God in a sinful condition. Repairing the breach can only occur through a mediator, and that mediator is Jesus Christ. We read in Colossians 1:19-22, “For it pleased the Father that in him [Jesus] should all fulness dwell; and, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself;…And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight.” Through the provision of Christ’s shed Blood, harmony is secured between the repentant sinner and God, and they are brought together in fellowship and love.
Regeneration/Born again/New birth — The word regeneration literally means “to be born again,” and refers to the spiritual change that takes place in a person when he comes into possession of new life in Christ. Jesus told a ruler of the Jews named Nicodemus, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). Nicodemus did not understand this statement, and he asked, “How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?” Jesus answered, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again” (John 3:4-7). The phrase bornagain means “born from above.” Jesus, using the universally familiar example of physical birth, was teaching the necessity of spiritual rebirth.
Redeemed/Redemption — The word redeem means “to ransom; to buy back.” Peter wrote to believers in the Early Church, reminding them, “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold,…but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Peter 1:18-19). The price was paid for a sinner’s redemption by Christ’s death on Calvary.
Who may receive salvation?
The grace of God is freely and generously offered to all, for Jesus shed His Blood that all might be redeemed. No one is held under the bondage of sin and condemnation and forced to serve Satan without the opportunity of becoming a child of God. Everyone has been given the power of choice. Whatever the condition of an individual, Jesus is able and eager to save him. He said, “Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out” (John 6:37). Those who open their hearts to God have this promise: “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13). In Revelation 22:17, the universal invitation is repeated, “Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” God’s appeal extends to all people in every generation, but the individual must make a personal choice to avail himself of salvation.
How to receive salvation
The steps for receiving salvation are laid out in God’s Word—the Bible. The moment an individual takes these steps honestly and sincerely, God will pardon him and assure him that he has been born again to new life in Christ.
Acknowledge the need. The first step toward receiving forgiveness is realizing the need for it. The Bible says that all have sinned. “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8). When a person recognizes the fact that he is a sinner and doomed to Hell unless he is completely changed by God’s mercy, his self-righteousness and self-sufficiency will disappear. He will rightly see himself as being in a perilous condition, in desperate need of God’s intervention to save him from eternal damnation.
Repent and confess. When a sinner comes to God with genuine sorrow in his heart for committed sins and confesses them, asking God to forgive him, God will not turn him away. God’s Word promises, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). It also says, “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out” (Acts 3:19). Repentance does not earn God’s forgiveness, but rather, it places the sinner in a position where it can be received. It is the condition of the human heart required by God before forgiveness can be granted. We read in 2 Corinthians 7:10, “For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.”
Forsake all known sin. A person who is truly repentant will be willing to turn away from the sins of his past and to purpose never to go back to them. Isaiah 55:7 reads, “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him…for he will abundantly pardon.” As one turns from sin and his own ways, God’s pardon is offered in abundance!
Ask. The repentant sinner must invite Jesus Christ into his heart and life, yielding control of his life in complete honesty and surrender to Him. Jesus said, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8).
Believe. When a sinner has reached out to God for mercy and forgiveness, the gap between him and the Savior must be spanned by faith. Receiving is conditional upon the individual’s faith in Christ’s atonement. “He that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Hebrews 11:6). Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.” When a repentant sinner looks to Christ’s atoning work at Calvary, faith takes hold and he receives salvation through the redeeming power of Christ.
The assurance of salvation
God will let a person know when he has been saved. The Bible tells us, “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God” (Romans 8:16). Joy and peace will replace all feelings of guilt, emptiness, and heartache. The sense of condemnation will be gone in a moment of time. In its place will be a deep love for God and a desire to please Him.
What salvation accomplishes
When a person is converted, he stands before God as though he had never sinned. His sins are forgiven and removed from him as “far as the east is from the west” (Psalm 103:12), and cast “into the depths of the sea” (Micah 7:19), never to be remembered against him again. We read in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” The newborn believer’s outlook and life style change. The wrong things that were once loved are now hated; the right things that were once hated are now loved. Not only do actions change, but even motives and desires are transformed. When salvation takes place, the sense of separation and inner emptiness vanishes. Salvation causes the individual to feel complete, loved, and at peace. He will have love for God and for other people.
How to keep salvation
Some simple actions will help new believers keep what God has given them.
Purpose to continue to live for God. A new Christian needs to make a commitment to cherish his connection with God and value it above all else. While it is possible to turn away and become separated from God again, that is not necessary. God will help the one who determines to retain his salvation at any cost. If a person walks within the framework of God’s Word, he will be kept by the power of God.
Make restitution. After receiving salvation, the newborn believer must make right any wrongs that have been committed against others in order to have a clear conscience before God and other people. God expects His followers to straighten out the past wherever possible. Paul the Apostle said, “Herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men” (Acts 24:16).
Read the Bible. The Bible says in 2 Timothy 2:15, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” To rightly divide the Word of truth means “to properly proportion it; to attach the right weight to it.” Believers must value the Word of God, building their lives on His Word and building His Word into their lives, for it enlightens, encourages, and points out areas of danger.
Talk to God. In 1 Thessalonians 5:17, we find the instruction, “Pray without ceasing.” We cannot spend every moment on our knees, but it is possible to have a prayerful attitude at all times. This attitude is built by acknowledging our dependence upon God, realizing His presence within, and determining to obey Him fully. The person who does this will find it natural to pray frequent, spontaneous prayers in addition to regular times of sustained communion with Him.
Seek for entire sanctification. If a person genuinely wishes to stay saved, the best course of action is to seek immediately for entire sanctification. Salvation deals with the acts and guilt of committed sins, but the sinful nature—the inward tendency inherited from Adam—still remains. Entire sanctification deals with the nature of sin. John addressed the two-fold sin problem and offered the two-fold remedy in 1 John 1:7-9, saying, “If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin [singular, the sin nature]. If we say that we have no sin [if we say we were not born with an Adamic or sin nature], we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, [plural, committed sins] he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins [salvation], and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness [sanctification].” Forgiveness is offered for actual committed sins, while cleansing is offered for the Adamic nature. “The very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it”
(1 Thessalonians 5:23-24).
Fellowship with other Christians. Friendships should be developed with other like-minded believers. Spending time with those who have committed their lives to God, both on an informal basis and in the more organized setting of collective worship, is a great source of spiritual strength and encouragement. Hebrews 10:24-25 warns against forsaking the assembling together with other Christians. When believers gather together to worship, they receive help and encouragement from other believers.
Learn to recognize a trial. The Apostle Peter cautioned believers in the Early Church not to think it was strange when a fiery trial came along to try them, as though some strange thing happened to them (1 Peter 4:12). He let them know that trials were not abnormal, but are within the plan of God. God allows the faith of a Christian to be tested to strengthen and encourage growth.
Distinguish between temptation and sin. It is vital for new Christians to distinguish between a temptation to do wrong and an act of sin. Temptation is not sin. Rebelling against God’s command and resuming evil is sin.
Tell others. It is important that newborn Christians tell their close associates about the change that God has made in their lives. In Revelation 12:11, we read that those who triumphed over Satan “overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony.”
Be sensitive to the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God is the Guide and Teacher of the believer. We read in Romans 8: 14, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” It is vitally important to heed the warnings and counsel of the Holy Spirit to our hearts.
Living victoriously
One of the results of salvation is that a victorious life without sin is made possible. We read in 1 John 3:9-10, “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. 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.” The nature of God and the nature of sin are never blended together; they are so radically different that it is impossible to make a composite of the two.
A follower of Christ must continue to walk in obedience to the light of God’s Word in order to retain his salvation. If he does not, that light becomes darkness—and how great is that darkness! The only way for a newborn Christian to retain his freedom from spiritual death is by continuing to abhor and reject all known sin.
As long as the believer is in a mortal body, he will suffer from human frailties and limitations. Saved and sanctified individuals continue to face physical, mental, and even emotional limitations that were a result of the Fall. He may make mistakes and may face chastening from God; he may need to come before God and express sorrow for grieving the heart of God. However, if the motivating and underlying theme of his life is to love the Lord with all of his heart, soul, mind, and strength (Luke 10:27), the grace and power of God are sufficient to keep that one pure and free from sin. In Jude 24 we read that He “is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy.” Paul wrote to Timothy, “For I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day” (2 Timothy 1:12). God will keep the person who wants to be kept. Just as the vital union with the Lord Jesus broke the power of sin in our hearts and nature, continuing in unity with Him prevents sin in our lives.
A clear message
New life in Christ is possible for every person. The reality of the new birth has been proved by countless numbers of people who have experienced God’s pardon and experienced a complete transformation in their lives.
The Bible is clear: all who have not been born again need to repent and look to God for salvation. The urgency of this message cannot be overstated, for the consequences are eternal! While eternal loss awaits those who refuse, eternal joy and happiness will be the reward to those who receive and retain this wonderful experience of salvation.
Sanctification
As a newborn babe is born desiring food, so a newborn child of God desires spiritual food to sustain and strengthen him for the future.
Have you ever wished you could draw closer to God? Do you desire to be more like Him in your everyday actions? Seek the path of holiness. Seek God for sanctification.
The Bible teaches that the experience of justification and the experience of sanctification are two different works of grace. They are received by faith through the power of the shed Blood of Jesus Christ.
The word sanctify means “to make holy, purify, consecrate, dedicate, cleanse, and separate.” In order to be sanctified, the born-again Christian must consecrate, dedicate, and separate himself to God and His will. Then God will do His part by purifying the heart and making it holy.
The Problem
When Adam disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden, sin entered into his heart. Every person born into this world has inherited that nature of sin. But sanctification removes that Adamic nature and cleanses the heart. The inherited inward tendency to sin is taken away by the Blood of Jesus, and the heart is made pure and holy.
Sanctification is provided through Jesus’ Blood. We are told in Hebrews 13:12, “Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate.”
Sanctification brings holiness. God is a holy God. Heaven is a holy place, and God has always demanded holiness. His Word says, “Be ye holy; for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:16).
Christ wants His Church to be made up of holy, purified people. He gave Himself for the Church, “That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish” (Ephesians 5:26,27).
Sanctification also brings unity, a oneness among God’s people. “For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one” (Hebrews 2:11). Jesus prayed for His disciples “that they may be one, even as we are one” (John 17:22). This prayer was definitely answered, for before the Day of Pentecost they “all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication” (Acts 1:14).
Christ’s Prayer
The holiness and unity which are the results of sanctification should be the desire of every Christian. And the experience of sanctification is for all those who have been saved from their sins. This is also shown by Jesus’ prayer for His disciples,
“They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth” (John 17:16,17).
Jesus was not praying for sinners because He was praying for those who were in the world but not of it. However, He did include Christians of today:
“Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me” (John 17:20,21).
If you want to be sanctified, fully surrender your life to the will of God. Consecrate and yield yourself completely to Him and let Him have His way in all your plans, hopes, and desires. Look to God in simple faith, praising and believing Him for sanctification. God will make your heart pure and holy by the cleansing Blood of Jesus. The sinful nature with which you were born will be destroyed.
You will know when you receive the experience of sanctification just as surely as you knew when you were saved. The divine love of God will flood your heart. A deeper peace and rest and joy will come into your soul. The Spirit of God will witness with your spirit that you are sanctified.
After a person is sanctified, it is easier to live a joyous, victorious Christian life because the inherited sin nature is no longer inside. Temptation and trials will continue to come, but the inward tendency toward sin will be gone.
Humanity versus Carnality
However, even though a sanctified person has a heart that is perfect toward God, he is not perfect in the same way that God is perfect. He still is human and makes mistakes. He can misjudge a situation and be very much in error. But his motives are right. In his heart he craves to do the will of God, and to do right toward all men.
After receiving the experience of sanctification, a person must continue applying God’s Word to his heart. Study of the Bible, daily opportunities to learn God’s will, and His corrections teach a person how to follow His ways more perfectly.
Do you want to have this experience of sanctification? Do you want to live a holy life? You can. If you are saved, and not sanctified, pray to be sanctified. The moment you make a complete surrender to God and believe His Word of promise, the Lord will sanctify you. Then you will be ready to seek for and receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost, the enduement of power for service.
Sanctification (In Depth)
Starting Out
The Antichrist
The Atoning Blood
The Baptism of the Holy Ghost
The Baptism of the Holy Ghost (In Depth)
The New Birth
Are you a Christian? It is vitally important to know. Church membership is honorable, and doing good deeds is worthy of praise. But the soul-searching question still remains: Are you really a born-again Christian? Jesus said, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3).
A born-again Christian is one who yields himself completely to Christ. This is necessary to inherit eternal life. When Jesus told Nicodemus that he needed to be born again, Nicodemus did not understand. Then Jesus used the illustration of the wind. Even though we don’t fully comprehend how it blows or why, we know it blows, and we can see its effect. So it is when a person is born again. We cannot understand how it happens, but we see and feel the results.
Many people who claim to be Christians are ignorant of this new birth, while others try to receive it in their own way. It cannot be obtained by good works, joining a religious organization, or merely turning over a new leaf. It takes a repentant heart, a godly sorrow for the sins one has committed, and a turning away from all sin. Then by faith one must reach out to God for mercy and forgiveness, and claim His promise of pardon. One can know personally what it means to be born again. A prayer such as the publican prayed, “God be merciful to me a sinner,” will bring the Lord’s forgiveness. The Bible says the publican was justified (Luke 18:13-14).
Some may feel they have committed only little sins and do not need to be justified. Because Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the Garden, the entire human family became sinners by birth and need to repent. However, God provided the plan so that all can be saved. Jesus, God’s Son, died in our place that we might have forgiveness for our sins through His Blood (Colossians 1:14).
Because of Christ’s death, every person has the opportunity to be pardoned. No one is held under the bondage of sin and condemnation without a chance of becoming a child of God. No one is serving Satan because he does not have the power of choice. Jesus shed His Blood that all might be redeemed.
The gap between the sinner and the Savior must be spanned by faith in God. Faith believes what God says. In Hebrews 11:6 we read, “He that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Jesus said, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). Faith reaches out so a person can experience saving grace through the redeeming power of Christ.
The first step toward forgiveness is realizing the need for it. The Bible says that all have sinned. “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:8-9). Many feel they are too weak to overcome sin. In their own power they are, but when one is born again, his life is changed. God gives him the power to have victory over sin. Then he can say like Paul the Apostle, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” (Romans 8:1).
When you repent and ask God to forgive you, His Spirit will witness with your spirit that you are a child of God (Romans 8:16). You will know that you have been pardoned. The peace, joy, and love of God will fill your heart, and you will feel a sacred fellowship with Him. As you keep living in the will of God, your life will be a testimony that you are a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Many were defeated, the picture of despair, when they came to God. Some were hopelessly bound by crime, immorality, drugs, or alcohol. But God delivered them instantly. Even their countenance was changed when they repented with an honest heart. Others were so self-righteous, proud, moral, and kind that they didn’t see their need for salvation. Yet when these self-righteous ones saw their need and repented, God made just as great a change in their lives.
While most people are saved in church, you can be saved anywhere. People have been saved in their homes, alone in the woods, or walking among the crowd. Others have knelt in a prison cell. God requires only an honest heart. “Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Acts 2:21).
Do not think you have strayed too far in sin to receive this salvation. Whatever your condition, Jesus is able and eager to save you. He says, “Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely” (Revelation 22:17). In place of the word “whosoever” you can write your own name.
If you desire to be saved, God will never turn you away. Jesus said, “Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out” (John 6:37). All you need to do is meet the conditions God has laid down in His Word. Pray with an honest heart, “Lord, I am a sinner and I need forgiveness. Have mercy upon me and I will serve You the rest of my life.” A sincere prayer like that will receive an answer. When you receive that born-again experience your name will be written in Heaven, and you will have the hope of eternal life.
Will you call upon God now? “To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your heart”
(Psalm 95:7-8). Invite Him into your heart and find pardon.
The Trinity
Three Steps
Salvation
The Bible clearly teaches that we are all born in sin. We read in Romans 3:23, “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” We face the penalty of death because of our sins, for the Bible also says that the soul that sins shall die. We need to be saved—granted pardon from that death sentence and delivered from the power of Satan.
Salvation is not just joining a church, accepting Christ, or turning over a new leaf and deciding to do better. To be born again is to be saved from our sins, forgiven, and made a new creature in Christ Jesus. When this happens, we are changed in a moment. This definite transformation is likened in the Bible to a new birth.
In John 3 we read an account of Jesus’ conversation with a man named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. Christ told him, “Ye must be born again.” Nicodemus asked, “How can a man be born when he is old?” He didn’t understand what Jesus was talking about, but Jesus explained that He was not referring to physical birth. He meant that man, because of the sin in his heart, needs to have a spiritual rebirth.
“Spiritual rebirth” and “born again” are other phrases that mean salvation. This salvation is possible for us because of the sacrifice Jesus Christ made on Calvary. He took the death penalty for our sins and died so that we might be free.
We receive the pardon He purchased for us when we repent and turn away from our sins. We come before a holy God and say, “Have mercy on me. Forgive me for the wrongs I have done. I turn my back on them.” God forgives those who wholeheartedly desire to turn away from any actions that would displease Him and who are willing to submit to His direction and will for their lives.
God is not a respecter of persons. He says, “Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out” (John 6:37). It doesn’t matter what your background has been, what church you have been in, or what kind of life you have lived, salvation is available to everyone.
How will you know you are saved? The Bible tells us, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). God’s Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God, letting us know that we have been converted. We have a desire and purpose to live differently. “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
If you are a child of God, you have been freed from the clutches of the devil. You have power to go and sin no more. Thank God for His forgiveness and for the salvation He has made available!
Sanctification
When we believe on Jesus Christ and become born-again Christians, the sins that we have committed are forgiven. That is the experience of salvation. However, the nature of sin is twofold. The second aspect of sin is the carnal nature inherited from Adam and Eve. Because they transgressed God’s commandment, they became sinners possessing a depraved nature, and that nature of sin was passed on to the whole human race. This can only be removed by sanctification.
Sanctification makes us pure—holy of heart—by removing the inherited inward tendency to sin. We are saved because Jesus Christ died on Calvary. Our sanctification, as well as our salvation, is available because Jesus, “that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate” (Hebrews 13:12). Holiness of heart comes about because God, through Christ’s sacrifice on a hill outside of Jerusalem, made a way that we can be freed from the depravity of human nature. We must not disregard or minimize this doctrine of sanctification, because it is essential in our Christian lives.
We are not claiming that sanctification makes us humanly perfect. We are not saying everything we do is exactly right from that point on. No, we are still human and thus subject to human error. We forget. We make mistakes in judgment. However, God gives us a holy purpose and purity of motive.
Sanctification is a dual process—our part and God’s part. The word sanctify means “to set apart or dedicate to a holy cause.” When our Portland church building was dedicated, we had a dedication service, praying that God might bless the building. That’s what might be called sanctifying the place, dedicating it for a holy purpose. In the same manner, we as individuals dedicate ourselves for a holy purpose. We humbly ask God to accept the offering of our lives and our service. We separate ourselves from the world, determining to shun every appearance of evil. We set ourselves to serve God and say, “O God, sanctify me.”
Then the second part of the sanctification process takes place as God does a spiritual cleansing of our inner man by purging us from the nature of sin. The glory of God fills our souls when we are sanctified, causing us to know that the work is done. Paul referred to this part of sanctification when he wrote to the Thessalonians, “The very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:23).
The doctrine of holiness is vital. We want to be sure that we are saved and sure that we are sanctified.
The Baptism of the Holy Ghost
God’s Word is definite about the importance of the baptism of the Holy Ghost. This is a different work from salvation or sanctification, and it is given for a different reason. Salvation is to justify. Sanctification is to cleanse. The baptism of the Holy Ghost is to empower, and the outward witness of that experience is the speaking in other tongues as the Spirit gives utterance.
Jesus’ last words to His disciples were a command that they should wait in Jerusalem until they received the Holy Spirit. His followers obeyed. We read in Acts 2:1, “When the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.” Read that verse carefully in the King James Version of the Bible. Note especially the words, “one accord.” Jesus had prayed that His disciples would be sanctified. And here we find that they were all in one accord. In other words, they had been sanctified.
The Spirit of God came down, because those who were praying had prepared their hearts to receive. “And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:2-4).
Some people teach that the baptism of the Holy Ghost was given only for the establishment of the Early Church. However, on the Day of Pentecost, Peter told the thousands who heard him preach that the promise was to them, and to their children, and to all who were afar off, “even as many as the Lord our God shall call” (Acts 2:39). That includes believers of our day.
God’s Word teaches us that the Holy Spirit is given to comfort and to counsel us. He will guide us into all truth and give us power and ability to be effective witnesses for Christ. He will bring to our memory the things that Jesus taught. He will direct our steps, give us hope and spiritual protection, help our infirmities, and bear us up in our weaknesses.
Are you saved? Are you sanctified? Have you received the baptism of the Holy Ghost? If not, seek God for these experiences.
Water Baptism
