Faith & Works

Faith & Works

In my last article, we saw that Grace as a comprehensive Biblical term represents everything God did in providing salvation to mankind.  The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23), which means eternal separation from God.  Sin is a violation against God and causes mankind to lose fellowship with Him.  God is absolutely holy and absolutely just and He cannot just overlook sin.  There has to be punishment for sin and that punishment is eternal separation from fellowship with God.  The only way man can regain that fellowship is if he pays the just penalty for that sin.  It doesn’t matter what that sin is, the penalty is the same.  We have all lost our fellowship with God and that cannot be restored unless we pay the penalty in full.

faith works and glorifies god

Faith works and glorifies God!

Thankfully for us, God is rich in grace and mercy and He doesn’t want to see man suffer for all eternity.  He wants man to have a chance to regain that fellowship so He came up with a plan where man can have a hope of being reconciled without having to suffer an eternity of punishment.  God was under no obligation to do this.  There is nothing mankind can do to earn or pay for it, we don’t in any way deserve it. Nothing man did compelled God to do this.   And this means of reconciliation came at great personal expense for God.  Namely the life of His Son as a substitutionary death penalty for us.  God could have washed His hands of mankind and walked away to leave mankind to his fate forever and God would have been perfectly within His right to do so.  He didn’t owe man anything.  Mankind got himself into this predicament all by himself without any help from God.  God was absolutely blameless in all that man did.  God had no obligations towards mankind whatsoever in this entire affair.

But because God loves us so much, He graciously came up with a plan whereby man could be reconciled to Him and escape the death penalty of sin.   Grace can be illustrated as God reaching down from heaven towards sin sick and doomed mankind with an offer of salvation.  His motivation for doing this came entirely out of His love for mankind.  That’s grace.

Faith as a comprehensive Biblical term represents man’s response to God’s gracious offer.   We respond to God’s grace by faith.  Grace alone cannot save us because if it did, then everyone living would automatically have their tickets punched for the ride to heaven no matter how they lived.  We have to respond to God’s gracious offer in order to receive it.   The response we must give is represented in the Bible as faith.  It is by grace that we are saved through faith (Ephesians 2:8).

Neither grace nor faith are mutually exclusive, meaning one does not rule or cancel the other one out.  Our salvation is not by grace only because we must have faith.  Salvation cannot be by faith only because we must have grace.   Salvation is made available by grace through faith.  Two roles, two actions, two responses working together.  God responded to our situation with grace.  We respond to God’s offer through faith.  In order for either one of these to be of any benefit to us, we have to have both.

Now when we read on to Ephesians 2:9 we see another point that Paul makes in that context.  “Not of works, lest any man should boast.”   So how do works operate in our faith response?  This is a very important question that needs to be answered because there a vast number of people who believe and teach that faith is really faith only and that no works are necessary.  They support this teaching by saying that works don’t save us.  And within the proper context, they are absolutely right.   Works don’t save us.  The remainder of this lesson is going to examine the role of faith and how it relate to works.

First of all, we need to define what a work is.  A work is any mental or physical act that is intended to produce a result.  The act of making a decision is a work.  Even the mental exercise of believing something is a work.   Believing something requires the intake of information upon which a decision is made.  That is an act which is intended to produce a result.

The Bible even defines faith as a work in 1 Thessalonians 1:3
“Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father“.  And again in 2 Thessalonians 1:11, “Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power” (KJV).

Faith is a work.  Now for those who believe and teach that Biblical faith means ‘faith only’ and that we are saved by faith without works, this becomes a problem because if we are not saved by works, then we cannot be saved by faith which is defined as a work in scripture.  So then how do we solve this problem?  How can we be saved by faith which is a work, but not be saved by works?   The simple answer to this is that, yes the word of God does teach us that we are not saved by works, but it never says we can be saved without them.  The understanding that not being saved by works and being saved without works is an assumption that is totally foreign to what the word of God actually teaches us about faith and works.

Our understanding of faith and works must come from a comprehensive view of all that was written about them.   Jesus declared in Matthew 7:21 that only the obedient would inherit eternal life.  One cannot be obedient to Jesus without engaging in works.

There are more than one kind of works and more than one way which they are relevant to our salvation.  Not all works are the same and not all of them have the same application in regards to our salvation.  So one must ask, in what way do my works save and in what way do they not save me?

1)  The gift of God’s grace, which is everything He did in order to secure a means and hope of salvation for mankind cannot be bypassed by any work.  God’s grace cannot be taken away from or diminished by any human work.  God’s grace cannot be earned, payed for or deserved by any human work.  In that way, our works cannot save us.  Our works cannot save us by going around God’s grace.

2)  God was under no obligation to provide man a means of salvation.  He would have been perfectly well within His rights to let us die.  The entire plan of redemption for mankind was all set in place before time began  1 Peter 1:20.  Paul wrote in Romans 5:8, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”  No human work can add to or take away from that commitment.  In that way, we are not saved by our works.  Our works cannot save us by going around God’s plan of salvation.

3)  Jesus gave His life for us (Galatians 2:20).  He died the death we deserve (1 John 2:2).  No human work can make that sacrifice unnecessary.  In that way, we are not saved by our works.  Our works can not save us by going around the blood of Christ.

4)  Jesus said in John 14:6, ” I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”  No human work can bypass Christ and get us to the Father.  In that way, we are not saved by our works.

5)  We were dead in our sins before we came to Christ (Colossians 2:13).  He purchased us with His own blood (Acts 20:28).  We were purchased with a price (1 Corinthians 6:20; 7:23).   We are therefore His possession (Eph 1:14).   We were dead, and now we are alive.  The cost was Jesus’ blood.  We belong to God.  He is rightfully entitled to everything we do.  Every work we engage in rightfully belongs to Him.  Our works are not solely ours to decide what to do with. There’s nothing we can do that will buy us back from God.  We have nothing to offer that does not already belong to Him.   In that way, our works cannot save us.

In our last lesson, we looked at the term faith as it was used in many applications in the word of God.  We’re going to go back through a few of those and make some observations as it relates to the subject of works.  Let’s keep in mind as we go through this list that faith is defined as a work in the word of God which we saw earlier in this lesson.

Faith is a Work:
1 Thessalonians 1:3, “Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father”  And then again in 2 Thessalonians 1:11, “Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power…”  The inspired apostle Paul defined faith as a work.

The work of Faith is our Shield:
Ephesians 6:16, “Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.”

Using our faith as a shield is a work of faith.  We cannot use our faith as a shield and quench the darts of the wicked without engaging in a work.  Using our faith as a shield requires a decision to do so and then the act of doing it.  God does not owe us anything when we do this.  We don’t deserve God’s grace nor can we merit our salvation by making our faith a shield.   We have not bypassed Jesus with this work of faith.  We have not added to nor taken away from God’s grace with this action in any way shape or form.

The work of Faith is both a sacrifice and a service:
Philippians 2:17, “Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy, and rejoice with you all.”

Sacrifices are things we have to give up.  Service is something we do for one another and for those outside Christ.  We cannot engage in a faith that sacrifices and serves without doing something.  A faith without sacrifice and service would be a faith that is missing these works.  James wrote in chapter 2 and verse 14, “What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?”  This was a rhetorical question which had the implied answer of ‘NO’.  It is not possible for faith alone to be a sacrifice and a service.   It is not possible for faith to be a sacrifice and a service without works.  The work of Faith therefore includes the work of sacrifice and service.

That being said, this work of faith does not merit us salvation.  It doesn’t pay for it, it cannot add anything to what God has done for us, It cannot save us apart from the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.  In these ways, our work of faith through sacrifice and service can not save us.

The work of Faith is a Walk:
2 Corinthians 5:7, “For we walk by faith, not by sight“.
Ephesians 2:10, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”
Colossians 2:6, “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him…”

The work of faith includes a walk.  A walk is a way of life lived.  It is not possible to walk a way of life without engaging in a work.  Our work of faith must include our walk, our way of life.  This work of faith is not meritorious, meaning we don’t deserve eternal life, nor have we earned it.  It cannot get us to heaven apart from Jesus Christ, nor can it make His sacrifice for us unnecessary.  These are ways in which our walk of faith cannot save us.   But this does not mean our walk of faith is not necessary.

James wrote in James 2:17, “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.”   James says that a faith without works is alone and dead.   James made it clear in verse 14 that a faith without the walk will not save us.

The work of Faith is a trial:
1 Peter 1:7, “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”

A trial is a test of faith, patience, or stamina through subjection to suffering or temptation.   We cannot endure the trial of faith without doing something.  James wrote in chapter 2 and verse 18, “Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.”  We show our faith to others when we endure the trial of our faith and overcome suffering and temptation.

The trial of our faith cannot pay for our salvation.   This work of faith cannot get us a home in heaven apart from God’s grace.    We don’t deserve God’s grace when we work the trial of our faith.  These are ways in which our work of faith cannot save us.  It does not mean that our trial of faith is unnecessary.

The work of Faith is a Fight:
1 Timothy 6:12 “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses”

Fighting requires defensive and offensive actions.  We have to defend and carry the truth of God’s word to the lost.  One cannot engage in a fight without doing something.  Fighting the good fight of faith requires action.  James wrote in chapter 2 verse19-20, “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?”  James declared that a faith with no works is a dead faith.  In verse 14 of James 2, He made it clear that faith only would not save.  A dead faith cannot produce a living soul.

Fighting the good fight of faith is a work.  Does this work of faith merit God’s salvation? No…   Will this work of faith make Jesus sacrifice on the cross for our sins unnecessary?  No…  Will this work of faith repay God what it cost Him to offer us salvation?  No way…  These are ways in which our fight of faith cannot save us.  There are things that our works simply cannot do and we need to know this in order to have the proper mindset or attitude about them.

Biblical Faith is a Shield, faith is a sacrifice, faith is a service, faith is a walk, faith is a trial, faith is a fight, therefore faith must be a work.

Works cannot earn or merit us salvation but we can’t be saved without them.  Jesus declared in Matthew 7:21, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.”   Since we cannot get into the kingdom of God without doing His will, then we know we can’t get there without works.

Works cannot compel God to offer man a means of reconciliation but we cannot be reconciled without them.  Paul wrote in Titus 3:5, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost”  God implemented the plan of redemption all on His own without any help or motivation from us whatsoever.

Works cannot place us in a position where we can boast of our salvation.  Ephesians 2:8-9, “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.”   Works can never be used to make us prideful, but we cannot be saved without them.

Works cannot replace Jesus on the cross,  But we can’t be saved without them.

Works cannot bypass Jesus to gain access the Father but we can’t access Him without them.

Works cannot repay what it cost God to save us, but we can’t be saved without them.  1 Corinthians 6:20, “For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”  The price that was paid for us has nothing whatsoever to do with our works.  Works cannot repay that debt but we certainly cannot be saved without them.

Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 1:8-9
“…God, Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began”

God’s grace was given to us through Christ Jesus.  That decision was made before time began.  Nothing we can possibly do can change that, add to it or take away from it.  But that does not mean works/obedience to God is not necessary,

2 Thessalonians 1:7-9
“And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,

8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:

9 Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;”

We cannot obey the gospel without working. Its just not possible.  Those who obey not, or fail to obey, will be punished forever.  Faith without obedience leads to destruction.  Faith without works is dead.

James 2:20-22, “But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? 22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?” (KJV)

We have looked at lot of things that works cannot do.  Now let’s take a little time and look at some of the things the word of God says works can do.

The work of obeying Jesus makes us wise:  Matthew 7:24
“Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:”

Failing to obey Jesus makes us foolish:  Matthew 7:26-27
“And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.”

Works of obedience to God demonstrates our love for Him: John 14:23-24
“Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.”

Works of disobedience to God demonstrates that we do not love God:  John 14:24
“He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me.”

Those who work righteousness are accepted by God:  Acts 10:35
“But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.”

Works of obedience makes us servants of righteousness:  Romans 6:16
“Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?”

Works of righteousness make us righteous  1 John 3:7
“Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.”

Failure to work righteousness results in our not being of God:  1 John 3:10
“In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.”

If we fail to work obedience to God’s commandments and claim we know Him, we are liars with no truth in us:  1 John 2:4
“He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.”

Those who do work obedience to God’s commandments are in God and also have God perfected within them:  1 John 2:5
“But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.”

Those who work obedience have purified their souls:  1 Peter 1:22
“Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently”

Works of obedience will help us seek for glory and honour and immortality and eternal life:  Romans 2:6-7
“Who will render to every man according to his deeds: To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life”

Failure to obey will result in condemnation:  Romans 2:8-9
“But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile”

Those who do good will be resurrected to eternal life while those who do evil will be resurrected to condemnation:  John 5:28-29
“Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, 29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.”

Obedience to Jesus Christ results in Him being the author of our eternal salvation:  Hebrews 5:9
“And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him”

Good works result in good things.  Bad works result in bad things.  But one thing we must never forget is that no matter what good we may do in life, our works did not promote God to offer us salvation.  They can not pay for it.  They cannot earn it.   No matter what good we may do we don’t deserve it.  We can’t work our way to heaven without Christ.  We can’t work enough to get around the need for His death on the cross.  Those are things that works can never do and we must always keep that in mind.  We can never work enough to gain an eternal inheritance in heaven apart from God’s grace and our faith.

But on the other side of the coin, we also can’t get to heaven without works either.  If we want to be saved, we are going to have to work for something we can never earn, never pay for, never merit, never deserve and never get apart from God’s grace.

John 6:27
Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.

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The Queen of Sheba

The Queen of Sheba

A mysterious woman once came from far away to see King Solomon with her own eyes, and more importantly, hear his wisdom with her own ears. We have no way of knowing from First Kings 10 (and other corresponding passages) who the queen of Sheba was and from whence she came. Scholars believe she reigned over the kingdom of Southern Arabia. Jesus calls her the “queen of the south” (Matt. 12:42). He also said that this woman would condemn those of the generation to which he spoke; He meant she would condemn them by comparison. The reference to her by our Lord indicates that she is an important figure historically; thus, there must be some great lessons that we are able to glean from studying a biography of her life. As a result, let us engage in a profitable character study of this interesting woman.

what did the queen of sheba learn

What did the queen of Sheba learn?

First, she was not content to take second-hand information. She heard about the wisdom of Solomon, but she wanted first-hand knowledge. In this case, what she had heard was true, but as she surmises, “the half was not told me: thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard” (1 Kings 10:6-7). Indeed, the things we sometimes hear about others are not true, and we need especially to be careful. Some accept second-hand information about the things that determine one’s eternal destiny. For example, some preacher says the Bible teaches a certain thing, and many people accept his word without investigating for themselves. The soul of man is too precious to risk its salvation on information that may or may not be true (cf. John 8:32). Consider some fatal errors millions have accepted without making a personal investigation to obtain first-hand knowledge.

  • “All good people will be saved” (cf. Eccles. 7:20; Rom. 3:23; 6:23)
  • “It makes no difference what church of which one is a member” (cf. Matt. 16:18; Eph. 1:22-23; 4:4)
  • “The way one worships does not matter, just so long as he is honest and sincere” (cf. John 4:24)
  • “All one must do to be saved is just pray the sinner’s prayer” (cf. Matt. 7:21)
  • “The name we wear in religion is not important” (cf. Acts 4:12; 1 Cor. 1:12-13)

Hence, God has made it possible for us to know the truth (John 8:32). The queen of Sheba will rise in judgment and condemn us if we risk our souls on second-hand information. Remember that Christ is greater than Solomon is!

Second, she took the necessary time to hear the wisdom of Solomon. Remember that she was the ruler of her country. No doubt, she had important affairs of state to manage. However, she chose wisely to put this matter ahead of even important affairs of state. What of those in our time who think of themselves as being too busy with important matters to take the time for Bible study on Wednesday night? What of those in our time who never have time to study their Bible at home? What of those in our time who do not have time to visit the sick, the lost or the shut-in? The song “Take Time to Be Holy” should urge us to a better life. We usually find the time to do the things we really want to do. Doing the will of God should take precedence over everything else (Matt. 6:33). If we neglect our duty to God because we think we do not have the time, the queen of Sheba will rise in the judgment and condemn us. Remember that Christ is greater than Solomon is!

Third, she traveled a great distance to hear the wisdom of Solomon. As we mentioned before, scholars believe she came from Southern Arabia. If such is true, the distance from her home to Solomon’s was 800-1500 miles, depending on her exact location in Arabia. All we do know for sure is that Jesus said she came “from the uttermost parts of the earth” (Matt. 12:42). She made the journey without any of the modern modes of travel, and so it must have taken weeks. What of those today who will not travel across a county to attend a gospel meeting where one preaches Christ? What of those today who cannot go several miles to attend a lectureship program where outstanding Bible scholars deliver lessons from the word of God? What of those today who do not avail themselves of the opportunity to attend Bible study on Wednesday nights? What of those today who do not regularly attend the services of gospel meetings at their own home congregations? If we neglect opportunities to learn more of the word of the Lord, the queen of Sheba will rise in judgment and condemn us. Remember that Christ is greater than Solomon is!

Fourth, she came without an invitation. So far as we know, Solomon did not invite her. Could we imagine traveling that distance and expense to visit a king without an invitation? She did not know for sure that Solomon would receive her, or even that he was himself not gone on a journey and would not be there to receive her. Conversely, Jesus had given all of us invitation after invitation (Matt. 11:28; 24:37; John 5:40; Rev. 22:17). Not only are we invited to come to Christ, but He commands us to hear Him (Matt. 17:5; Acts 3:22-23). Twenty times in the New Testament, the expression occurs, “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear” or “He that hath an ear, let him hear.” If we do not avail ourselves of the opportunity to familiarize ourselves with the word of the Lord, the queen of Sheba will rise in the judgment and condemn us. Remember that Christ is greater than Solomon is!

Fifth, she came with an open mind (1 Kings 10:6- 7). She came obviously expecting to see that the reports she had heard were false. However, she examined the matter with an open mind, and changed her mind. She was not too stubborn to change her mind when she learned that she had been wrong. In like manner, we must hear Christ with an open mind. Some in His day refused to be open-minded (Matt. 13:15). The truth of the matter is that prejudice causes many people to remain in ignorance. Prejudice occurs when one draws a conclusion before examining all the facts. It means to pre-judge. Although the queen had formed a false conclusion before having access to all the information, she was honest enough and open-minded enough to change her mind when she saw the truth. If we are not open-minded, the queen of Sheba will rise in the judgment and condemn us. Remember that Christ is greater than Solomon is!

Sixth, she put Solomon to the test by asking hard questions (1 Kings 10:1). In other words, she was not gullible, as many people are today when it comes to religious matters. She would accept only that as being true that could stand the test. This is the attitude we must have with reference to religious matters. The apostle Paul penned, “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good” (1 Thess. 5:21). In other words, put every doctrine and practice to the test, and reject all that will not stand the test. The word of the Lord is the standard by which we are to judge each doctrine and practice (John 12:48; cf. 2 John 1:9-11). The New Testament was given to us “that we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive” (Eph. 4:14). We must examine things in the light of the New Testament. This further shows it makes a difference what we believe and practice in religion. False teachers do not want others to question them about their religious doctrine and practice. Those who teach and practice the truth have nothing to fear from examination (1 Pet. 3:15). If we accept error and refuse to conduct a careful examination, the queen of Sheba will rise in the judgment and condemn us. Remember that Christ is greater than Solomon is!

Seventh, she allowed Solomon to answer all her questions and show her all his wisdom (1 Kings 10:3- 4). She was not content with only a part; she wanted to know all she could about Solomon. In other words, she had an inquiring spirit. What of those who are content to know only a part of the will of God? We ought to develop an inquiring spirit that thirsts for the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth (cf. John 8:32; Heb. 5:12-14; Ps. 119:128). The psalmist stated, “Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth forever” (Ps. 119:160). The ASV translates this verse: “The sum of thy word is truth; and every one of thy righteous ordinances endureth forever.” Henceforth, this shows we must take all the truth on every subject. Some accept only a part of the word of God and leave off what they do not like. The queen of Sheba will rise in the judgment and condemn us if we do not learn all we can about the wisdom of Christ. Remember that Christ is greater than Solomon is!

Eighth, she gave precious gifts to Solomon (1 Kings 10:10). There is no indication that Solomon required such gifts. She did so of her own free will because of her appreciation of his wisdom. In like manner, we are taught to give to our Lord (1 Cor. 16:2; 2 Cor. 9:7). If we are stingy in our giving, the queen of Sheba will rise in the judgment and condemn us. Remember that Christ is greater than Solomon is!

In conclusion, tradition says that she asked that she might bear a son of Solomon. First Kings 10:13 suggests this might be the case. We would not consider such unusual in that day, considering the fact that Solomon had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines (1 Kings 11:3). Tradition also says through the influence of the queen, she converted her nation from heathenism and began to worship the true God. This we do know—the dust of the remains of the queen of Sheba lies somewhere awaiting the resurrection day. On that day, she will stand in the judgment with all of us, and by comparison, she will condemn those who failed to appreciate the Lord Jesus Christ. Look how she appreciated Solomon, and “Behold, a greater than Solomon is here.”

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Biblical Bigfoot

The Biblical Bigfoot; The Scriptural Sasquatch

its out there the bibilical bigfoot somewhere

It’s out there. The Biblical Bigfoot. Somewhere.

They claim it’s out there. They swear it exists. Whole t.v. shows and even television series – oft-times featuring otherwise intelligent, dependable, and reasonable people who are willing to put their very names and reputations on the line to persuade you of its earthly existence – are made regularly and readily available to be electronically piped into your personal and family time and circles, all with one agenda: to provide a case, based solely on shadows and speculation, for the existence of that which has never been physically proven or produced… A Bigfoot; a Sasquatch; a mythical, mystical, ape-like missing link type creature that many adamantly and militantly claim hunts and haunts the deepest and darkest nooks and crannies of the great, mountainous, North American wilderness. And the fact that there is absolutely no hard, earthly evidence whatsoever of its existence; that although some claim there are literally thousands of them out there, there has never been even one dead bigfoot body discovered anywhere; and that there’s never, ever, even once been one single Sasquatch killed or captured despite the decades of research and millions of dollars spent on such, doesn’t dampen the spirits or derail the intensity of the testimony of those who still want to try to convince you it’s out there. And the same thing holds true in the religious realm, when we start talking about the biblical landscape and its textual terrain.

They claim it’s in there. They swear it exists. And whole denominations of otherwise biblically-affluent appearing, pious, intelligent and reasonable religious people are willing to put their very eternal lives and souls on the line, being persuaded of its biblical existence. And like those mentioned above, these too, are made regularly and readily available to be electronically piped into your personal and family time and circles, as well as being found trumpeting their testimony from nearly every man-made denomination on every street corner, all with one agenda: to provide a case, based solely on satanic shadows and sinful man’s speculation, for the existence of that which has never been seen, proven, or produced, from within the pages of the sacred text… The so-called “Sinner’s Prayer” for salvation sake; the prayer supposedly needing to be said in order to have one’s sins forgiven, washed away, and to be saved, simultaneously “welcoming Jesus into one’s heart” at the same time. Subsequently, this so-called “Sinner’s Prayer,” might more appropriately be referred to, as the “Biblical Bigfoot,” or “Spiritual Sasquatch.”

Consider with me for a moment… When the 3,000 sinners were forgiven, saved, and converted to Christ on the Day of Pentecost as recorded in Acts 2, we see that they heard the gospel, believed the gospel, repented of their sins, and obeyed the gospel – this, by being baptized specifically for the forgiveness of their sins – and were thereby added by God, to His Son’s church (See Acts 2:37-47). They were saved and forgiven of their sins… but there was/is, not a shred nor shadow of Scriptural evidence anywhere there, to suggest or support the theory that any of them were taught to say, or recited the so-called “Sinner’s Prayer” in the process of their being biblically saved. In other words, this shadowy “Scriptural Sasquatch” or “Sinner’s Prayer” as it were, was – just like the supposed North American “Bigfoot” – nowhere in evidence anywhere. And throughout the remainder of the book of Acts, wherein we see everything from individuals, to whole households, to many from whole regions, and what amounts to the amassing of several thousands of examples of biblical conversions to Christ, we see not one shred of supportable, Scriptural evidence, to even remotely suggest the existence of this so-called “Sinner’s Prayer” (“Biblical Bigfoot,” or “Spiritual Sasquatch”) in these thousands of extremely verifiable examples of conversion to Christ and salvation from sin (See, study, and download chart from: http://www.clevelandcoc.com/?page_id=109).

The beloved Apostle, elder, and eventual martyr Peter, who preached that Acts 2 sermon and bound baptism and repentance as the heaven-honored “terms of entrance” into the Lord’s church (Matthew 16:19; Acts 2:38), would also later write as an older man in 2 Peter 1:3 ESV, that God’s “…divine power has granted to all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of Him…” (Underlining added – DED). In other words, ALL THINGS – EVERYTHING – we need to know about God, Christ, being saved, and how to get to heaven, God has lovingly provided us with, within the textual terrain of His eternal word. As the beloved Apostle John would also echo from within his divinely assigned corner of that landscape of love: “These things [are] written… that you may KNOW that you have eternal life…” (1 John 5:13 NKJV; CAPITALIZATION mine – DED).

To review: God has given us everything we need to know about how to be saved get to heaven in His holy word, the bible. The so-called “Sinner’s Prayer” for forgiveness, salvation, making one a child of God, and welcoming Jesus into one’s heart, is absolutely nowhere whatsoever to be seen therein, anywhere amongst all those thousands of examples of salvation and conversion to Christ we see in the sacred text from Acts 2 forward. If it is, then where is such a prayer found in the bible, “book, chapter, and verse?” If this “Biblical Bigfoot,” or “Spiritual Sasquatch” exists, then where is the unquestionable and unmistakable “body” of evidence found within the sacred pages of God’s eternal, exclusive, and all-sufficient revelation to man? It isn’t there – anywhere. In fact, the fact that there is no “book, chapter, and verse” body of proof of its existence within the textual terrain of the scriptures anywhere – wherein we have everything we need to know about God, Christ, heaven, and salvation – is made readily (even if unintentionally), very awkwardly apparent, by its extremely obvious absence from any and all denominational tracts sadly seeking to convince us it is for real!

But the fact that it is never seen in the sacred scriptures makes it abundantly clear that it apparently has nothing whatsoever to do with getting any lost soul to heaven according to God’s scheme of redemption. This makes it just another cruel, satanic, man-made hoax – a hoax which God will allow to lead untold millions of biblically ignorant masses who choose to continue to believe in its imaginary existence – despite a total lack of textual evidence – into a wild and terrible wilderness based on their belief in its existence, from which there will be no return (Mark 7:5-13; 2 Thess. 2:9-12).

Now please don’t misunderstand. I suppose that it is perhaps possible – very highly improbable and extremely unlikely in my mind, but not 100% impossible – that someday a Sasquatch, might, possibly be found. I am not naïve enough to believe that humanity has already discovered and catalogued every single species our great Creator created some 6,500 or so literal years ago when He formed the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1 and 2). However, should that highly unlikely day of legitimate Sasquatch production somehow come to fruition, it will immediately annihilate this article’s illustration, for one very irreversible and irrevocable reason: Unlike the earthly landscape of the North American continent, every inch and iota, jot and tittle, and nook and cranny; of every letter, in every word, of every line, of every sentence, of every verse, of every paragraph, of every chapter, of every book, of every writer, in either Testament of God’s complete revelation to His creation, being “forever firmly fixed in heaven” (Psalm 119:89), has been thoroughly and repeatedly explored and examined by countless millions over the past several millennia… and this so-called “Sinner’s Prayer of Faith for Salvation,” cleansing and saving the soul of the alien sinner and welcoming Jesus into their heart, simply isn’t there, anywhere, in God’s still all-sufficient plan for man… existing only in the shadow-driven minds of self-deluded and sadly, tragically, still lost souls. (For a two-part audio sermon mini-series dissecting this soul-destroying Spiritual Sasquatch in far greater detail, please see: http://www.clevelandcoc.com/?p=4825).

 

 

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Understanding Olam

The Importance of Defining Bible Words

Every time we fail to define a word as God used that word in the Bible, we open the door to believing something that God simply did not teach. For example, those who redefine the word “baptism” to include sprinkling allow individuals to believe that infant baptism is what God intended. There is another word, the Hebrew word olam, which is often misunderstood and which leads many to wrong conclusions about what God actually taught.

How should olam be understood

How should “olam” be understood?

The Hebrew word is often translated as “eternal,” “perpetual” and “forever.” The Jehovah Witnesses try to find proof here that, while 144,000 will enter heaven, the rest of mankind will be on the earth, for “…the earth abides forever (Hebrew word is olam)” (Ecc. 1:4). The Seventh Day Adventists, who want to find proof that God intended for the Sabbath to be kept even in the Christian age, find the verses which say the Sabbath was to be “a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever (olam)” (Ex. 31:17). The problem is that these denominations fail to understand the word olam (translated as “forever” in these passages above). The Hebrew word does not convey the same meaning as the English word “forever.”

How can we see that this is true? How do we show the true meaning of the Hebrew word olam? It is a simple process. Just look at the other things in the Old Testament which were to abide olam (forever). Just let God define the word.

What things did the Old Testament describe as being olam? Genesis 17:13 affirms that circumcision as a religious act was to abide forever. The same is true of the Passover (Ex. 12:14-17); slavery (Ex. 21:6); the Levitical priest wearing bonnets and girdles (Ex. 29:9);  the priests washing their hands and feet as a religious act (Ex. 30:21-22); the entire Levitical priesthood (Lev. 7:34-36); the blowing of trumpets on the first day of every month (Num. 10:8); the perpetual existence of the stones placed at the crossing of the Jordan (Josh. 4:7); and the amount of time Samuel would serve at the temple (1 Sam. 1:22). The word olam is found in every one of the verses listed in this paragraph.

One cannot be honest in selecting verses to support the eternal earth or the eternal Sabbath while denying that the other things no longer are binding. All these things stand or fall together.

Then, what is the meaning of olam? It simply affirms that those things given were intended to be long lasting with no end in sight. It was God’s assurance to Israel that His commands could be trusted by men. They were not temporary. They were established by God, and He alone would determine when they would end.

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That’s Not Love

When Love Really Isn’t Love

There are a great number of religious bodies today which advertise themselves as loving bodies of believers. This is fantastic and the way Christ’s Church should be identified. In fact, Jesus told his disciples the following in John 13:35: “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another”. The Bible has much to say about love. A scan of I Corinthians 13 lists a great number of attributes of love including patience, kindness, a lack of arrogance, proper behavior, and a desire for others betterment. God is love (I John 4:8). Jesus is the image of his father (John 14:7). Jesus Body is the Church (Colossians 1:24). Consequently, to know the Church is to know true love.

do you ignore wrong in the name of love

Do you ignore wrong in the name of love?

When is love not really love? Consider the mother who loves her son so much she cannot discipline him. A lot of these children seem to be found at the grocery store. Little Johnnie wants this, wants that, wants the other. “Yes, Yes, Yes”, mother gives in every time except one. “No”. What is the reaction of little loved Johnnie? Plug the ears. Johnnie throws himself on the floor and starts screaming. Mom starts pleading and negotiating to get him to stop. “No” becomes “Yes”, all supposedly in the name of love. How about the mom and dad who buy their children booze so they won’t go out and drive drunk. Is that true love? Perhaps true love is when mom and dad let their teenager go out alone with the opposite sex, hormones racing. A large amount of folks have no problem with this. How many of these young people experience the hands and lips of another person all over them and won’t end up marrying that person? How would they like these moments videotaped and shown to their future spouse? Even worse, how many of these arrangements end up with unplanned pregnancies or worse yet abortions? Purity lost from the first touch, dreams shattered, potential murder, all because they were loved so much they weren’t chaperoned and potentially embarrassed by the presence of mom or dad. True love? How loving is it to offer the child the choice of whether or not to attend Church? Certainly with infinite teenage knowledge, the teenagers know what is best for their life. True Love or not?

Many churches today advertise themselves as a non-judgmental church. The Church will accept anyone regardless of their behaviors because they are loved. Homosexual? No problem. Pedophile? No problem. Lying to the government about your birth certificate? No problem. Cheating on your taxes? No problem. Whatever sin you are in, it’s alright, because you are loved. There is no question God loves all men as should the Church (Romans 8:35-39). However, God also commands all men everywhere to repent of their sins (Acts 17:30). When sinners don’t repent God doesn’t leave them, they leave God (Isaiah 59:1-2). Scripture establishes that Christians should not be a stumbling block for sin by enabling it (I Corinthians 8:10-13). Christians are not to fellowship with sin (James 4:4, I Corinthians 15:33). If Christians do not tell others of their sin so they can repent and be forgiven in Christ, then they too are guilty of sin (James 4:17). The Church is told to break fellowship with those who will not give up their sin (Romans 16:17, Ephesians 5:11). Is ignoring the commands of God true love (I John 5:2)? This is what must be done if many modern religious bodies are listened to today.

In I Corinthians 5, the Corinthian Church is faced with an individual who is having a sexual relationship with his father’s wife. This is clearly a case of adultery and a sin (Matthew 5:27-28, Galatians 5:19-21). Yet, the Church cared about these people. Maybe they had a number of relatives in the Church. Maybe the Church members had known these folks their whole lives. So out of love, they chose not to say or do anything about the sin that was occurring. What wonderful Christians they felt they were! Here an awful sin was occurring in their midst. It certainly had to be embarrassing and awful to someone (perhaps the father?). Yet, because there was so much love, the sin just kept on going with no objection. What a great example for the youth of the Church! How mighty these Corinthian Christians were!

Paul doesn’t seem to take the view that ignoring the sin was acceptable. In fact, he chastises the church for their arrogance about how great their love was. He establishes love does not ignore sin. He exhorts the Corinthians turn the sinner over to Satan as he would. In other words, turn the sinner out to the world and the lusts therein. They were to get rid of the wickedness. Gasp! What a harsh cruel thing. Feelings could get hurt. Hopefully, shame would result in such a situation as well (Jeremiah 6:15). It is far better to have shame instead of spiritual destruction (Matthew 10:28). Proper shame brings about Godly sorrow and repentance (2 Corinthians 7:10). The inspired Paul wrote the God breathed words of I Corinthians 13 concerning love. He also wrote the God breathed words of I Corinthians 5. What he saw happening in Corinth was not love, but sinfulness.

Sometimes men operate from their own state of logic. They base their decisions on their own wisdom. However, “the foolishness of God is wiser than men; the weakness of God is stronger than men”. Enabling a drug addict is not love. Enabling a sinner is not love. Giving a gun to a suicidal person is not love. Encouraging sin by a sinner is not love. True love has the other person’s best interests at heart. The calling of God is to purity and eternal life (Matthew 5:8). Consider the advertising of a loving Church. Does it call for adherence to the commands of God and express a concern for the soul of the individual? Is a loving attitude expressed with an offer of help to escape the sins of the world? This is true love. If the call is for the individual simply to stay as they are, then that is when love really isn’t love.

2 Peter 3:9 – The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

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